>>> US After Hours Summary: NFE +35% jumps following supply deal with Puerto Ric

After Hours Summary: NFE +35% jumps following supply deal with Puerto Rico; AIR +5.3% higher on Cebu Pacific deal; JPM +0.1% increases dividend

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None.

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NFE +35% (reaches long-term gas supply deal with Puerto Rico), AIR +5.3% (signs multi-year support services agreement with Cebu Pacific), CYTK +3% ($550 mln convertible notes offering), TPC +2.1% (awarded $41.9 mln utility systems repair project), COHU +1% (secures additional Neon orders, raises 2025 HBM revenue forecast), NBIX +0.8% (to present new data from Phase 2 study of Osavampator), SMLR +0.8% (DOJ settlement agreement, provides revenue guidance), RTX +0.7% (awarded $670 mln modification to previously awarded Navy contract), BKR +0.5% (signs deal with Halfaya Gas to advance Flare Reduction Project in Iraq), BWXT +0.4% (awarded $1.5 bln DoE contract), WFRD +0.4% (awarded tubular running services contract from Petrobras), LSAK +0.2% (to delay 10-K filing), THTX +0.2% (receives final court approval to be acquired), JPM +0.1% (increases dividend), NVDA +0.1% (outlines plans to build AI infrastructure in UK)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None.

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: DEC -8.4% (stock offering by selling shareholders), RICK -3.6% (responds to NY AG charges), ARW -3.2% (CEO steps down), KURA -1% (highlights preclinical data for Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitors), AZ -1% (stock offering), PEB -0.3% (launches $350 mln convertible senior notes offering), COHR -0.2% (demonstrates WGP for integration into optical isolators)

TechCrunch : Figure reaches $39B valuation in latest funding round

Figure reaches $39B valuation in latest funding round

Humanoid robotics company Figure raised its largest round of funding yet, a sign of growing investor interest in robots designed to work alongside humans in warehouses, factories, and other settings.

San Jose, California-based Figure announced on Tuesday that it raised a Series C funding round that values the company at $39 billion. The round, which “exceeded $1 billion,” said Figure, was led by Parkway Venture Capital with participation from Brookfield Asset Management, Nvidia, and Intel Capital, among others.

Figure said the funding will be used to scale the company’s fleet of humanoid robots, build the necessary infrastructure to accelerate robot training, and launch advanced data collection efforts.

The company has raised nearly $2 billion in funding since its 2022 founding.

Earlier this year, Figure CEO Brett Adcock claimed that Figure was the most “sought-after” stock on the private market. But the company has also been sending cease-and-desist letters to multiple secondary stock market brokers, telling TechCrunch in April that it sends such letters when a broker isn’t authorized to sell its shares.

TechCrunch has reached out to Figure for comment.

FT : Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit receives surprise bid from Indian bill

Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit receives surprise bid from Indian billionaire
Naveen Jindal’s offer potentially opens door for German industrial conglomerate to offload the business

Indian billionaire Naveen Jindal has made a surprise bid to buy Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit, opening the door for the German industrial conglomerate to offload the business.

Jindal Steel, part of the magnate’s industrial group, said on Tuesday that it would enter into discussions with Thyssenkrupp over a potential purchase. The German company said it would “carefully review” the offer, whose value was not disclosed.

The Essen-based conglomerate is in the middle of a drawn-out restructuring process aimed at spinning off its five core divisions into separate businesses and converting Thyssenkrupp into a holding company.

The German group has been exploring a deal to sell half of the steel unit to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. Křetínský’s EP Corporate Group took a 20 per cent stake in the steel business last year and has been in discussions with Thyssenkrupp about raising its share by another 30 per cent.

Thyssenkrupp’s steel operations have had to contend with low demand in its key markets, high energy costs and a flood of cheap imports from Asia. The struggles forced the company to write down the value of the unit by €1bn last year, following another impairment of €2.1bn in 2023.

Workers at Thyssenkrupp’s steelworks in Germany earlier this month agreed to cut their hours and bonuses in a drive to cut costs. The deal is part of a turnaround plan for the unit that will slash capacity and cut 11,000 jobs.

Thyssenkrupp has also been fighting to cover the costs of decarbonising its steel production. The company is the recipient of a €2bn subsidy from the German government to install a direct reduction furnace, which produces fewer emissions when powered with green hydrogen at its plant in Duisburg.

Narendra Misra, Jindal Steel’s head of European operations, said the Indian company was committed to the “future of green steel production in Germany and Europe”.

No financial details of the offer were released. Jindal Steel said it planned to complete the direct induction furnace in Duisburg and would commit more than €2bn to install another low-carbon electric furnace.

The Indian billionaire’s steel company had previously been interested in Italy’s ailing Ilva steelworks. Hailing from a leading industrial family, Naveen Jindal runs a wing of a sprawling group with a presence across Africa, Australia, India and Oman. He is also a parliamentarian with the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thyssenkrupp said it would examine the “economic viability” of Jindal’s offer as well as the “continuation of the green transformation” and employment guarantees.

IG Metall, the union that represents Thyssenkrupp workers, welcomed Jindal’s bid, saying it would “constructively” follow the talks. Employee representatives hold half of the seats on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board.

Thyssenkrupp’s shares closed up 4 per cent.

FT : UK set to announce closer co-operation with US on cryptocurrencies

UK set to announce closer co-operation with US on cryptocurrencies
Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes greater regulatory alignment will allow better access to America’s deep capital markets

The UK and US are set to announce deeper co-operation on digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing Britain closer to the US after Donald Trump embraced the industry.

The drive to build closer transatlantic co-ordination in digital assets and capital markets was discussed on Tuesday between chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, the people said.

The idea was debated at a meeting whose attendees included crypto companies Coinbase, Circle and Ripple and banks Citi, Bank of America, and Barclays. 

The agreement was organised “last minute”, one of the people said. Talks were arranged after crypto industry groups wrote to the UK government last Thursday, ahead of Trump’s state visit this week, urging Britain to include digital assets and blockchain in any new deal with the US. Any deal is expected specifically to include stablecoins — crypto tokens pegged in value to traditional currencies.

British officials said Reeves hoped a closer alignment of rules would increase British companies’ access to the world’s deepest and most liquid financial markets, as well as attract greater American investment into the UK. 

The push follows a period of intense political anxiety over an exodus of London-listed companies to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, as businesses seek higher valuations on the other side of the Atlantic.

Under President Trump, the US has enthusiastically embraced digital assets, while British regulators have been more cautious, concerned about systemic risks and volatile prices. UK cryptocurrency companies have expressed concern that regulators’ stance is leaving them lagging behind US rivals.

The meeting on Tuesday involved significant amounts of discussion around the regulatory alignment of digital assets, according to one person familiar with the matter.

It was notable how much of the conversation focused on digital assets, the person added.

Another person said the feeling was that there was a “huge opportunity for the UK in digital assets” and that the Trump administration’s embrace of the industry meant closer UK-US co-operation would be “vital to unlocking adoption” in Britain. 

Reeves discussed the idea of aligning capital markets — including the regulation of digital assets — over dinner with the US ambassador to London, Warren Stephens, last week. It was viewed as a potential area to explore during Trump’s state visit.

British officials have said they expect that the idea of aligning UK and US capital markets will form one of the announcements to accompany political talks between Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.

George Osborne, a former Conservative chancellor and now a member of Coinbase’s global advisory council, wrote in the Financial Times last month that Britain was falling far behind the US in its approach to cryptocurrency.

He wrote: “On crypto and stablecoins, as on too many other things, the hard truth is this: we’re being completely left behind. It’s time to catch up.”

The Treasury declined to comment on the details of the proposals. Reeves, writing on X, welcomed Bessent to Downing Street and said: “Together we are delivering investment and opportunity for both our countries.”

British officials said work was also being done with the US over developing digital securities sandboxes, in which companies using blockchain in financial services can test the technology. 

Last year, Securities and Exchange commissioner Hester Peirce proposed that the UK and US create a joint digital sandbox, which would give regulators the ability to see more data in different contexts. Companies involved could serve both US and UK markets. 

In her Mansion House speech in July, the chancellor emphasised the need for the UK’s capital markets to remain globally competitive. Reeves also mentioned Peirce, saying the SEC commissioner was “driving forward proposals” for collaboration on digital topics between the UK and US.

FT : US in talks to fund multibillion-dollar mining initiative for critical mine

US in talks to fund multibillion-dollar mining initiative for critical minerals
Investments would finance projects to extract materials crucial for defence and high-tech manufacturing

The US government is in talks to set up a multibillion-dollar fund for overseas mining projects with investment firm Orion Resource Partners, as Washington seeks to counter Chinese dominance of critical minerals.

The US International Development Finance Corporation and New York-based Orion would each invest $600mn or more in the new fund — potentially alongside other sovereign investors and US agencies, said people familiar with the talks.

The fund would invest in projects to extract critical minerals such as copper and rare earths, which are crucial for defence and high-tech manufacturing.

“These talks really show that the [Donald] Trump administration is trying to align its financial tools with its broader mineral ambitions,” said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical minerals security programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This public-private partnership stands to catalyse a significant amount of capital.”

Talks between Orion and DFC, which started last year, were held up by questions from commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, who sits on its board, although those have largely been addressed.

The US has discussed investing $600mn, of which $100mn would be for equity stakes in mining projects and $500mn for debt. The DFC, which is only authorised to invest outside the US, is constrained in how much equity it can take in projects because of the rules governing its mandate.

The DFC declined to comment on the deal but said the agency “actively pursues investments that are aligned with administration priorities, including diversifying critical mineral supply chains”. But one person familiar with the situation said the deal was going ahead.

The White House has made securing critical minerals supplies a top priority and has rapidly expanded government investments into mining and supply chains.

The DFC is expected to work more closely with the private sector under the leadership of Ben Black, who is awaiting Senate confirmation.

It has made a range of mining investments, including providing $105mn for mining start-up TechMet and investing $50mn in a rare earths project in South Africa. The deal with Orion, if finalised, would be its largest. 

The DFC has also committed to lend about $550mn to the Lobito Atlantic Railway, a joint venture between Trafigura and Mota-Engil.

Earlier this year Orion set up a $1.2bn joint venture with ADQ, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, into which each side contributed $600mn — a potential model for how the US fund could operate, said people familiar with Orion’s thinking.

Orion declined to comment.

Led by chief executive Oskar Lewnowski, Orion is a specialist investor in mining and commodities with $8bn under management. It has a private capital arm, through which it provides equity and debt funding to mining projects, and a hedge fund arm specialising in commodities.

WWD : Ralph Lauren’s Next Strategic Plan: Three Years of Driving the Brand Forwa

Ralph Lauren’s Next Strategic Plan: Three Years of Driving the Brand Forward
The company will ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday and roll out its new strategic plan.

Ralph Lauren has always cultivated a certain timelessness with his preppy take on Americana.

Patrice Louvet, chief executive officer of Ralph Lauren Corp., is looking to do the same with the company’s business model.

Louvet will launch Ralph Lauren’s next strategic plan during an investor meeting at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, bringing the company into the “Next Great Chapter: Drive” and introducing new financial targets.

After executives ring the opening bell to start the trading day, investors will get the skinny on the new three-year plan, which has more than just the name in common with the former strategy, “Next Great Chapter: Accelerate.”

Ralph Lauren’s three strategic growth drivers are staying the same, with the company continuing to focus on:
  • Elevating and energizing its lifestyle brand.
  • Driving core product categories, like polos, and expanding for more business in other areas.
  • Winning in key cities by scaling in the brand’s 30 top-10 urban areas, while also starting to develop the next 20 top cities.

In a preview for WWD, Louvet said the three strategic pillars are “evergreen” to some extent.

“It’s really about how do you bring it to life? How do you execute?” the CEO said. “The strategy is wonderful on paper, but ultimately it’s about excellence and execution at every touch point. I think our teams have done that well around the world, and now we’re going to focus on doing that.”

And the company — which has already seen its stock rise 74 percent over the past year and has a market capitalization of $19.1 billion — is planning on seeing some results.

While Ralph Lauren continues to take a cautious stance on the back half of this fiscal year, it expects to see revenues increase at a midsingle-digit compounded annual rate over the next three years, through fiscal 2028.

Operating margins are expected to expand 100 to 150 basis points by Fiscal 2028 in constant currency and capital expenditures are expected to equal 4 percent to 5 percent of the top line annually.

All together the company plans to shell out $2 billion in cash dividends and share repurchases over the three years.

To get there, Ralph Lauren has the same strategic goals, but Louvet said the company will be tweaking just how it pursues those ambitions.

“On the brand side, you’re going to hear us talk about how we’re going to build our desirability in the future,” Louvet said. “On the product front, you’re going to hear more about how we’re going to tap into the women’s opportunity. Then on the key city front, we’re going to talk about how we’re going to deepen our penetration of the top 30 cities.”

Ralph Lauren, for instance, is opening new stores in the already established markets of London and Paris, while looking to expand in new target cities, including Austin, Zurich and Vienna.

As the company continues to grow, it will make changes here and there to meet the moment.

“I had a boss a long time ago who actually said that the organizational structure that has actually survived the longest over history is the amoeba,” Louvet said. “And so we believe in the amoeba concept, which is you have to constantly evolve to make sure that you are set up to bring your strategy to life.

“This characterizes our philosophy and this company looks different than it did three years ago, and I suspect three years from now it’ll look different than it does today, but it’ll stay true to our philosophy as a brand, our core values as a company and the culture that we’ve established,” he said.

Notably, the preview had no mention of the supply chain or tariffs or anything even vaguely trade war-y.

When asked, Justin Picicci, chief financial officer, said the company was prepared.

“We have a range of proven tools in our toolkit to mitigate cost inflation tariffs and other pressures,” Picicci said. “It starts with our supply chain, but we’re diversified so that we don’t have any one country of origin responsible for more than 20 percent of our sourcing, and most are in the single-digit percentage range.

“We also have really strong supplier relationships that we’ve sort of forged over the past decades, and they’re working with us on this process,” he said.

Louvet suggested the company was taking the challenge in stride.

“We don’t feel like we need a major overhaul,” the CEO said. “It’s going to be volatile, but I think we’re well positioned. There’s a dynamic element to our operations in a way that we can adjust to the terrain, even if the terrain is a little bumpy, that has proven to be a real competitive advantage for us, and that will continue to be, and we work really hard to avoid surprises.”

And all the while there’s Lauren himself, who is executive chairman and chief creative officer, pointing the way forward.

“For nearly 60 years, we have stayed true to our vision of timeless style, authenticity, optimism and a life well-lived,” the designer said. “As our teams carry this vision into the future, I am so proud of how they are working together with passion and commitment to who we are as we inspire more and more people all over the world to step into their dreams.”