>>> La Lettre - 25 Mars 2026 FR & EN (Nanobiotix)

La Lettre — 25 mars 2026
Résumé / Summary

🥊 Finance | Au Plaza Athénée, Cyril Dubreuil connecte autour du kick-boxing
FR — Le gestionnaire de fortune Cyril Dubreuil (Optélios Groupe) a organisé le 18 mars un combat d’exhibition de kick-boxing au Plaza Athénée, réunissant le champion Cyril Benzaquen et Karim Ghajji. L’événement visait à promouvoir le championnat du monde du 30 avril au Grand Palais. Dubreuil étend son modèle de gestion de patrimoine au sport via sa structure Impulse Sport & Advisory, conseillant déjà 700 rugbymen professionnels et l’ex-pilote F1 Isack Hadjar. Parmi les invités : Miss France 2022 Diane Leyre, l’avocate Jade Dousselin (conseil de La France insoumise), le promoteur immobilier Christophe Barillé, et Victor Simonnet de la Banque Richelieu. Optélios conseille également les Forces françaises stationnées à Djibouti.
EN — Wealth manager Cyril Dubreuil (Optélios Groupe) staged a kick-boxing exhibition at the Plaza Athénée on March 18, bringing together champion Cyril Benzaquen and Karim Ghajji to build buzz ahead of a world championship at the Grand Palais on April 30. Dubreuil is expanding his wealth management model into sports via Impulse Sport & Advisory, already advising 700 professional rugby players and former F1 driver Isack Hadjar. Guests included Miss France 2022 Diane Leyre, attorney Jade Dousselin (counsel for La France insoumise), real estate developer Christophe Barillé, and Banque Richelieu’s Victor Simonnet. Optélios also advises French forces stationed in Djibouti.

⚛️ Politique / Exécutif | La DGEC pousse à une coalition SMR : Stellaria, Thorizon, Orano, CEA
FR — Face à un nombre excessif de projets SMR dans le plan France 2030, la Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat (DGEC), sous Mayeul Phélip, organise un workshop le 16 avril pour rationaliser la filière des réacteurs à sels fondus. La priorité va à Stellaria (spin-off du CEA) et à la start-up franco-néerlandaise Thorizon, avec le soutien d’Orano et du CEA. En parallèle, les Pays-Bas — dont la coalition de Rob Jetten affiche un soutien marqué aux SMR — ont reçu Bruno Bonnell à l’ambassade à Paris. Jimmy, Calogena et Nuward (EDF), lauréats de la phase 2 de France 2030, toucheront des subventions supplémentaires de 40 M€ et 48 M€ respectivement.
EN — Faced with an overabundance of SMR projects under the France 2030 investment plan, France’s energy regulator DGEC (led by Mayeul Phélip) is organizing an April 16 workshop to consolidate the molten-salt reactor sector around Stellaria (a CEA spin-off) and Franco-Dutch startup Thorizon, backed by Orano and the CEA. The Netherlands — whose Rob Jetten-led coalition strongly backs SMR deployment — hosted Bruno Bonnell at the Paris embassy. France 2030 Phase 2 winners Jimmy, Calogena, and Nuward (EDF) will receive additional grants of €40M and €48M respectively.

🗳️ Politique | Rachida Dati : une défaite qui menace deux sièges LR au Sénat
FR — La lourde défaite de Rachida Dati aux municipales de Paris affaiblit les chances de la droite pour les sénatoriales de 2029. LR ne compte plus que 28 conseillers de Paris (contre ~50 auparavant), bien en-deçà du seuil nécessaire pour faire élire un sénateur. Faute d’accord avec le centre (Modem, Renaissance, Horizons), deux des quatre sièges LR au Sénat, présidé par Gérard Larcher, pourraient être perdus. Francis Szpiner, Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée et Catherine Dumas sont les plus exposés.
EN — Rachida Dati’s heavy defeat in the Paris municipal elections weakens the right’s prospects for the 2029 Senate elections. LR now holds only 28 Paris councillors (vs. ~50 previously), well below the threshold needed to elect a senator. Without a deal with centrist parties (Modem, Renaissance, Horizons), two of LR’s four Senate seats — in a chamber chaired by Gérard Larcher — could be lost. Senators Francis Szpiner, Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée and Catherine Dumas face the greatest risk.

💊 Biotech | J&J envisage une prise de contrôle de Nanobiotix
FR — Johnson & Johnson, qui détient déjà ~12 % du capital de Nanobiotix, étudierait une montée au capital de la biotech française spécialisée en radio-oncologie (NBTXR3). L’opération permettrait à J&J d’internaliser les royalties dues dans le cadre de leur accord de licence global signé en 2023, et de garder le contrôle des nanothérapies. Les résultats de phase III, attendus mi-2026, seront déterminants. Le précédent de Gilead/Arcellx (7,8 Md$) illustre la tendance des Big Pharma à racheter leurs partenaires. L’actionnariat fragmenté de Nanobiotix (Artal Group et Invus : 12,07 % chacun ; Qatar Holding : 8,88 %) faciliterait une OPA.
EN — Johnson & Johnson, already holding ~12% of Nanobiotix, is reportedly studying a capital increase in the French radio-oncology biotech (NBTXR3). The move would allow J&J to internalize royalty payments under their 2023 global license agreement and retain control over nanotherapy development. Pivotal Phase III results due mid-2026 will be key. The Gilead/Arcellx deal ($7.8bn) illustrates the Big Pharma trend of acquiring partners. Nanobiotix’s fragmented shareholder base (Artal Group and Invus each at 12.07%; Qatar Holding at 8.88%) would facilitate a takeover.

⚖️ Social | L’Unédic intensifie sa pression judiciaire contre Houria Aouimeur
FR — L’Unédic (présidée par Patricia Ferrand, DG Christophe Valentie) maintient sa pression judiciaire contre son ancienne directrice de l’AGS, Houria Aouimeur, licenciée pour faute lourde en février 2023. Une plainte pour abus de confiance, favoritisme et travail dissimulé a été déposée en janvier 2024. L’Unédic a également fait pression sur Arte avant la diffusion du documentaire Qui veut la peau de la lanceuse d’alerte ?, en envoyant une mise en garde juridique à son président Bruno Patino. La Cour des comptes a par ailleurs pointé la fragilité financière du régime AGS dans un rapport du 16 mars.
EN — Unédic (chaired by Patricia Ferrand, CEO Christophe Valentie) is maintaining judicial pressure against its former AGS director Houria Aouimeur, dismissed for serious misconduct in February 2023. A complaint for breach of trust, favoritism, and undeclared work was filed in January 2024. Unédic also pressured Arte ahead of the broadcast of the documentary Who Wants the Whistleblower’s Skin?, sending a legal warning to Arte president Bruno Patino. A March 16 Cour des comptes report separately flagged the financial fragility of the AGS wage guarantee scheme.

📚 Culture | Jack Lang renonce à ses mémoires, devient personnage de roman
FR — Après l’affaire Epstein, Jack Lang a renoncé à ses projets éditoriaux (dont Ma vie avec François Mitterrand chez Gallimard). Il sera désormais le personnage d’un roman de Simon Liberati, commandé par l’éditeur Jean Le Gall (Le Cherche midi / Editis), potentiellement programmé fin 2027. Le projet, inspiré de la décennie Mitterrand, a été initié avec la complicité du producteur Julien Civange.
EN — Following the Epstein affair, Jack Lang has abandoned his memoir projects (including Ma vie avec François Mitterrand at Gallimard). He will instead become the protagonist of a novel by Simon Liberati, commissioned by publisher Jean Le Gall (Le Cherche midi / Editis), potentially slated for late 2027. The project, inspired by the Mitterrand era, was initiated with the involvement of music producer Julien Civange.

📰 Presse | Les Échos-Le Parisien : Michèle Benbunan prépare ses premières coupes
FR — Deux mois après son arrivée à la tête du Groupe Les Échos-Le Parisien (LVMH), Michèle Benbunan s’attaque à sa restructuration. Dans le viseur : 2050Now, la newsletter écolo de Vincent Giret (~16 000 abonnés, lancée pour moins de 5 M€), et la société de production StudioFact. Le Parisien, le titre le plus déficitaire du groupe (30 M€ de pertes en 2024), reste la priorité.
EN — Two months into her tenure at Les Échos-Le Parisien Group (LVMH), CEO Michèle Benbunan is moving toward her first restructuring actions. In her sights: 2050Now, Vincent Giret’s eco-focused newsletter (~16,000 subscribers, launched for under €5M), and production company StudioFact. Le Parisien, the group’s biggest loss-maker (€30M deficit in 2024 and recapitalized for €150M in November), remains the top priority.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

>>> What to look at today - 25th of March 2026

Oil fell and equities rallied as US diplomatic efforts fueled cautious optimism that the Middle East conflict, now approaching a month, may begin to ease, tempering concerns over prolonged disruption. Brent crude slid 4.7% to $99.55 a barrel, underpinning a 1.9% advance in Asian equities and gains in sovereign bonds, as the prospect of easing tensions in Iran tempered inflation risks and damped expectations for policy tightening. Stock futures for the US and Europe pointed to gains extending beyond the region. The dollar edged lower. Fueling the optimism was a 15-point US plan intended to help bring the war with Iran to a close. Earlier, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Washington was seeking a one-month ceasefire. Even so, attention stayed fixed on the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for Middle East oil flows — that remains effectively closed for ships. Financial markets have whipsawed since the conflict erupted in late February, with headline-driven swings leaving traders “stopped out” of positions. Rising volatility in crude is clouding risk assessment, as surging commodities heighten inflation concerns and raise the prospect that policymakers may keep borrowing costs elevated or even tighten further. The US plans highlight the intensifying urgency within the Trump administration to resolve the conflict as the economic toll mounts. President Donald Trump has been pushing talks with Iran in a bid to halt the fighting, yet those efforts have been clouded by uncertainty over the structure of negotiations, the Iranian participants and how any deal would be structured.  The details of the 15-point proposal remain unclear, though Trump has publicly mused that any agreement would have to include a prohibition on Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon or enriching radioactive material for civilian purposes. Investors such as Qian Su, head of investment management for Asia at Indosuez Wealth Management, said it’s hard to take Trump at his word.  “We’re defensive, we’re not chasing headlines, we’re waiting for more prominent signs of real resolution on the ground before buying in at a better timing,” she said. In other corners of the market, gold rose for a second day to trade around $4,575 an ounce, and Bitcoin advanced to just under $71,000.
Attention was also on the bond markets with Federal Reserve officials Michael Barr and Austan Goolsbee signaling that inflation continues to be a key concern for policymakers. The drop in crude oil, however, eased concern about prices and damped the case for the Fed to pivot to a rate hike. Yields on policy-sensitive two-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 3.86%. Even as reports suggested a possible de-escalation, the conflict continued to rage. Kuwaiti authorities said on Wednesday they were dealing with a fire after drones targeted a fuel tank at the airport, according to the country’s aviation regulator. Israel said it carried out a wave of strikes at targets across Tehran.
Also, the Trump administration ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy about 2,000 soldiers to the region, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the White House weighed options to ease Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran started charging transit fees on some commercial vessels passing through the waterway, people familiar with the matter said. Yet Tehran said non-hostile foreign ships are allowed to cross the waterway on its terms. US After Hours Oil lower, gold & silver higher on NYT report about US presenting Iran with proposal to bring war to an end; KBH -4.8%, WOR -2.6% lower on earnings; ARM +6.5% as it sees CPU business reaching $15 bln in revs in FY31.

Nikkei +2.95% Hang Seng +0.25% CSI +1.35% Shanghai +1.20% Shenzen +2.03%

Eur$ 1.1596 CNH 6.8968 CNY 6.8930 JPY 158.95 GBP 1.3385 CHF 0.7897 RUB 80.7377 TRY 44.3466 WTI$ 88.93 -3.71% Gold 4,567 +3.99% BTC 71,198 +1.57% ETH 2,172 +1.12%

S&P +0.65% Nasdaq +0.68% EuroStoxx +0.96% FTSE +0.73% Dax +0.95% SMI +0.79%

Macro :
- US Forms 15-Point Plan to End Iran War as Trump Pushes Talks
- Barclays Strategists Raise S&P 500 Target Despite Macro Risks
- Brevan Erases 2026 Gains, Taula Drops 7.5% in Three Weeks of War
- Ares, Apollo Cap Credit Fund Withdrawals
- Tether’s Landmark Fundraise on Hold as Crypto Giant Seeks Audit
- Europe’s Tech Exodus Drained $1.4 Trillion in Value, Study Shows

Keep an eye on :
- ADMA US : Culper Says It’s Short ADMA Biologics; Shares Fall
- AI FP : Airgas Curtails Helium Orders After Qatar LNG Field Damaged
- AMZN US : Billionaire Qatari Sheikh, Amazon Back Robotics Startup Neura
- AMZN US : Amazon Acquires Fauna Robotics, Entering Consumer Humanoid Field
- Anthropic : Anthropic Introduces Auto Mode for Claude Code
- BING GY : Boehringer Ingelheim CEO Says Drugmaker Has Role to Play in Obesity Market -- Interview
- BX US : Blackstone to Invest $15b in Japan Over Three Years: Nikkei
- BNP FP : BNP Paribas muscles in on the Japanese buyout market
- CA FP : German Fund Aurelius Is Interested in Carrefour Belgium: L’Echo
- CAST SS : Castellum Starts New Share Buyback Program of Up to SEK1.7b
- CRCL US : Circle Shares Fall Most Ever On Latest Stablecoin Rewards Moveq -20%
- CDRO US : Codere Holders Tap Advisers for Gambling Firm Sale: Expansion
- BN FP : Danone, Arcor Form JV for Argentina Dairy Market
- DOCM SW : DocMorris Holder CEPD Proposes Chair Oberhänsli Isn’t Re-Elected
- EDF FP : EDF to Open Capital of Hydrogen Unit Hynamics to New Investors
- ELE SM : Endesa to Name Armani as New CEO Replacing Bogas: Confidencial
- EL FP : Meta Glasses Withheld From EU Over Battery Rules, Supply Snags
- EL FP : EssilorLuxottica Heir in Talks for €10B Loan: Repubblica
- FACC AV : FACC FY Revenue EU984.4M
- GRF SM : Grifols Prepares IPO For Minority Stake in US Biopharma Business
- HAL NA : HAL Sells Stake in Atlas NextWave for €89m Proceeds Cash
- HBH GY : Hornbach Holding FY Sales Meet Estimates
- IDR SM : Spanish Union Says Indra-Hanwha Deal Undermines Defense Sector
- IDR SM : Spain Not Planning to Oust Indra Chairman at Wednesday Meeting
- JHG US : Victory Capital Pulls Janus Henderson Offer, Ending Bidding War
- JEN GY : Jenoptik Sees 2026 Ebitda Margin 19% to 21%, Est. 20%
- LMT US : Anduril, Palantir Are Developing Golden Dome Missile Shield's Software -- WSJ
- MDT US : Medtronic Cuts FY Adjusted EPS Forecast, Misses Estimates
- TIGO US : Millicom to Invest $450M in Ecuador Over Coming Four Years: Govt
- MRK GY : Merck Is Said to Near a Deal to Acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals
- EGL PL : Mexico’s CFE Weighs Projects With Mota-Engil, Cox, Ica: EL CEO
- BMPS IM ; Monte Paschi Board Indicates Palermo For CEO Role
- NANO FP : Acc to La Lettre, J&J is reportedly studying a potential takeover of its partner NANO, of which it already owns close to 12% of the capital.
- NOVOB DC : Novo Says UBT251 Showed Mean HbA1c Reduction of Up to 2.16%
- Open AI : OpenAI Set to Raise About $10 Billion From MGX, Coatue, Thrive
- OVH FP : OVHcloud Agrees to Buy AI Model Generator Dragon; No Terms
- 9992 HK : Pop Mart Shares Plunge 15% After Some Non Labubu IP Sales Miss
- PUUILO FH : Puuilo 4Q Adjusted Ebita EU16.5M Vs. EU14.3M Y/y
- RYA ID : Ryanair CEO Says Won’t Hedge Jet Fuel for Next Three Months: FT
- OOO660 KS : SK Hynix to Float US Shares This Year to Feed AI Memory Boom
- 9984 JP : SoftBank Shares Gain as UK Unit Moves to Sell Its Own Chips
- Space X IPO : SpaceX to File for US IPO Soon as This Week, Information Says
- TERN US : Merck Is Said to Near a Deal to Acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals
- VOW GY : Volkswagen, Rafael Advanced Defence in Talks to Make Parts: FT

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 25th of March 2026

>>> Up
* BP Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
* BP ADRs Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT $49.40
* Croda Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 3,350 pence
* Diageo Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas; PT 1,450 pence
* Equinor Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 388 kroner
* Equinor ADRs Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Evli Raised to Buy at Inderes; PT 25 euros
* Kosmos Energy Raised to Buy at Johnson Rice; PT $4.25
* Lanxess Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 18 euros
* Novonesis Raised to Buy at Citi; PT 415 kroner
* Prosus Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 51 euros
* Repsol Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
* Roche Raised to Buy at Intron Health
* SIG Group Raised to Buy at UBS; PT 15 Swiss francs
* Stadler Rail Raised to Neutral at UBS; PT 20 Swiss francs

>>> Down
* ALK-Abello Cut to Hold at Nordea
* Galp Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Mondelez Cut to Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn; PT $55
* Shell Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Shell ADRs Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT $95.50

>>> Initiation
* AT&T Rated New Buy at William O'Neil
* Galderma Reinstated Buy at Citi; PT 165 Swiss francs
* Kingspan Rated New Outperform at RBC; PT 97 euros
* ProCredit Holding Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 15.50 euros
* Prosus ADRs Rated New Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT $12
* Rocket Cos. Rated New Market Perform at Citizens
* Rockwool Rated New Sector Perform at RBC; PT 196 kroner
* Talanx Rated New Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 125 euros
* Vicore Pharma Rated New Buy at Guggenheim; PT 38 kronor
* WaterBridge Infrastructure Rated New Buy at William O'Neil

>>> Call
* Barclays Strategists Raise S&P 500 Target Despite Macro Risks
* Croda Upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley on Pricing Power
* Lanxess Double-Upgrade at JPMorgan, See Short-Term Sector Upside
* Novonesis Double-Upgraded at Citi, Good Entry Point After Reset
* Roche Selloff Now Overdone, Upgraded to Buy at Intron Health

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • Fresnillo (FNL TH) +5.4%
  • Novonesis (NZM2 TH) +4.7%
    • Novonesis Double-Upgraded at Citi, Good Entry Point After Reset
  • Talanx (TLX TH) +2.9%
  • Persimmon (OHP TH) +2.8%
  • TUI (TUI1 TH) +2.7%
  • Prosus (1TY TH) +2.6%
  • Ryanair (RY4C TH) +2.2%
    • Ryanair CEO Says Won’t Hedge Jet Fuel for Next Three Months: FT
  • Wienerberger (WIB TH) +2.1%
    • EQS-AFR: Wienerberger AG: Release of a Financial report
  • Legal & General (LGI TH) +2.1%
  • Lufthansa (LHA TH) +2%
  • Var Energi (J4V TH) -0.7%
  • Repsol (REP TH) -1.4%
  • Equinor (DNQ TH) -1.8%
  • Shell (R6C0 TH) -2.4%
  • OMV (OMV TH) -2.5%
  • Eni (ENI TH) -2.6%
  • TotalEnergies (TOTB TH) -2.7%
  • BP (BPE5 TH) -2.8%
  • Aker BP (ARC TH) -3%

>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +2.3%
  • Vonovia (VNA TH) +2.1%
  • Heidelberg Materials (HEI TH) +1.8%
  • Commerzbank (CBK TH) +1.6%
  • Adidas (ADS TH) +1.6%
MDAX:
  • Lanxess (LXS TH) +5.5%
    • Lanxess Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 18 euros
  • TUI (TUI1 TH) +3.2%
  • Aroundtown (AT1 TH) +3.2%
  • Lufthansa (LHA TH) +2.9%
  • Schaeffler (SHA0 TH) +2.2%
  • Evonik (EVK TH) +1.4%
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) +1.3%
  • Hensoldt (HAG TH) +1%
SDAX:
  • Hamborner REIT (HABA TH) +2.6%
  • HelloFresh (HFG TH) +2.5%
  • Ottobock SE & Co KGaA (OBCK TH) +2.2%
  • Nagarro SE (NA9 TH) +1.8%
  • SUSS MicroTec (SMHN TH) +1.8%
  • PVA TePla (TPE TH) -1.3%
  • Verbio SE (VBK TH) -2.1%

FT : EU countries and the European parliament will face off in a complicated vot

Territorial

EU countries and the European parliament will face off in a complicated vote today to decide the location of the EU’s new customs authority, writes Paola Tamma.

Context: Nine countries have bid to host the new body, which will centralise customs data and strengthen enforcement as part of wider reforms, as the EU tries to curb the flood of small packages coming from China.

The candidate cities are Liège, Zagreb, Lille, Rome, The Hague, Warsaw, Porto, Bucharest and Málaga.

Warsaw and Málaga are seen as the frontrunners. They are backed by the centre-right European People’s Party in parliament. But Lille, backed by France, the liberal Renew group and the European Conservatives and Reformists, is also in contention. Other dark horse candidates could still emerge.

The process to select the host city has been the subject of lengthy negotiations. The European Court of Justice had previously ruled that parliament should have a say, after Italy challenged the opaque relocation of the European Medicines Agency from the UK to the Netherlands.

The institutions devised a complex system whereby they will separately vote on two preferred cities, then reveal their shortlist to each other. If there is a match between the parliament’s and the member states’ preferences, that city will be selected. If there is a double match, the city with the most votes wins.

But if there is no overlap, the four shortlisted cities would undergo successive rounds of voting with different rules. This is meant to avoid “gaming” of the system, said Dirk Gotink, a Dutch centre-right MEP.

“For decades [member states] have controlled all sorts of decisions [on agency allocations] and the ECJ had ruled that the parliament needed to co-decide. This procedure tries to do that. Already that they agreed to it is quite revolutionary,” Gotink said.

FT : Germany’s finance minister faces ‘Schröder moment’ amid regional election f

Germany’s finance minister faces ‘Schröder moment’ amid regional election fallout

Klingbeil on the brink
All eyes will be on Germany’s embattled finance minister Lars Klingbeil today to see whether he can confound critics by unveiling a bold package of reforms, writes Anne-Sylvaine Chassany.

Context: Klingbeil and labour minister Bärbel Bas are fighting calls to step down as Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-chairs, after the party lost a western regional stronghold to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives last weekend. The defeat in Rhineland-Palatinate has triggered a bitter debate over the party’s leadership and its stance on welfare reforms, which are expected to involve painful cuts.

At stake is Merz’s ability to overhaul Germany’s expensive healthcare and pensions systems with a junior coalition partner in disarray. Klingbeil’s long-planned speech at the Bertelsmann Foundation — and the reaction to it — will offer the first real test. 

SPD insiders say the speech could prove Klingbeil’s “Schröder moment”, a reference to the former chancellor’s controversial Agenda 2010 reforms that reshaped Germany’s labour market and boosted growth, but divided the SPD.

The party’s pragmatic, centrist wing would welcome such a move; the left would view it with alarm, having long blamed the 2003 overhaul for eroding the party’s working-class base. “My fear is that the left wing of the party requests a return to class warfare,” one centrist SPD reformist said.

After its worst postwar result in last year’s federal elections, the SPD has tried to revive its fortunes by joining Merz’s coalition and steering public spending to modernise Germany’s neglected infrastructure. But Klingbeil, who as finance minister has tried to cast himself as “Mr Investment”, has failed to capitalise on it.

The party continues to lose voters to Alternative for Germany in its traditional western industrial heartland in the Ruhr, as well as in Baden-Württemberg two weeks ago, where it only won 5.5 per cent. A Forsa poll last week put the SPD as low as 12 per cent nationally. 

“The leadership may not change,” one party insider said. “But there is disquiet and it will be more difficult to drive through reforms.”

WSJ : They’re Rich but Not Famous—and They’re Suddenly Everywhere

They’re Rich but Not Famous—and They’re Suddenly Everywhere
The number of Americans worth eight or even nine figures is up markedly. It’s transforming the U.S. economy.

They’re not billionaires, but they’re still very, very rich.

The number of Americans worth tens of millions and hundreds of millions of dollars has boomed in the past few decades, thanks to a rising stock market, lucrative private investments and swelling valuations for small and midsize businesses. This growing class is now a huge force in the economy, driving the demand for everything from lavish hotel rooms to private jet travel.

“The ultrawealthy have grown really substantially,” said Owen Zidar, a Princeton economics professor who studies wealth. While some of these people made their money in technology or finance and live on the coasts, many others live outside of the highest-cost areas and own small businesses like car dealerships, he said.

Here is data on the rise of this group. Wealth measures a household’s assets, like stocks, bank accounts and home equity, minus liabilities like mortgages, car loans and credit-card debt.

More ultrawealthy people
There are about 430,000 U.S. households worth $30 million or more, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by Zidar. Within that, there are about 74,000 worth $100 million or more. Over the past few decades, the growth in the number of very rich households has surpassed general population growth.


The Fed’s data runs through 2022 and shows a small dip in some categories of the ultrawealthy in 2019. Many well-off households have further benefited from the big stock market gains of the past few years.

Get rich quick(er)
There are more very rich people in large part because their wealth has grown much faster than everyone else’s. Even adjusted for inflation, the wealth of the top 0.1% of households has grown more than 13-fold over the past 50 years, according to Realtime Inequality, a tracker developed by economists Emmanuel Saez, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Gabriel Zucman, a professor at the Paris School of Economics. In this analysis, American families with a net worth of $43 million and higher in 2024 are in the top 0.1%.

The bottom 50% have long struggled to build any wealth at all, but they have made some progress.

Average inflation-adjusted wealth turned negative for this group starting in the mid-1990s and then sank further during the 2008-09 financial crisis and housing collapse. It was only after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought stimulus checks and rising home values, that average wealth turned positive for the bottom 50% of households again.


Stocks and businesses
The typical American family leans heavily on homeownership to build their net worth, and homeowners of all wealth levels have benefited from the recent rise in home prices.

Over time, though, the very wealthy have amassed more wealth, in part because they own the kinds of assets that have risen particularly dramatically. They have a lot of stocks, in some cases because they are top employees of publicly traded companies paid partially in shares. Many also own stakes in private businesses.

For the top 0.1%, nearly 72% of their wealth is made up of corporate equities, mutual fund shares and private businesses, according to the Fed. The S&P 500 has more than tripled in the past decade. And many private businesses have seen valuations rise, too.


Boomer wealth boom
Baby boomers collectively have far more wealth than any other living generation. That is largely because they bought homes and stocks decades ago and are benefiting from the long run-up in the values of those assets.

About two-thirds of households worth $30 million and up are headed by boomers, according to an analysis of Fed data by Zidar.


Spending it
Because there are so many more multimillionaires, products and services that cater to this group are also booming. Hermès, Brunello Cucinelli and Ferrari all recently reported strong sales from the richest customers, while some companies that target the merely well-off are facing flagging demand. Since the start of the pandemic, demand has picked up for the most expensive homes and the highest-end travel.

Overall flights on business jets and turboprops are flat from a few years ago, but flights taken on these kinds of planes with fractional ownership, like NetJets, that appeal to the multimillionaire class are up markedly.

WSJ : Meta Targets $9 Trillion Valuation With New Executive Incentive Program

Meta Targets $9 Trillion Valuation With New Executive Incentive Program
New stock option program could pay some executives hundreds of millions of dollars if they reach aggressive growth targets

Meta Platforms launched a new stock option program for top executives, requiring a $9 trillion market capitalization by 2031 for full value.
The program requires a 500% increase from Meta’s current $1.5 trillion market capitalization; Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg isn't included.
The AI race caused Meta’s stock-based compensation costs to balloon, consuming 96% of its free cash flow in 2025.

Meta META -1.84%decrease; red down pointing triangle Platforms is seeking to incentivize its top executives to grow the company at an extremely aggressive pace with a new stock option program that could pay some of them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Under the program, executives would only realize the full value of their options if the company hits a market capitalization of more than $9 trillion by 2031—an increase of 500% from its current $1.5 trillion, according to the company and new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The program includes Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, Chief Operation Officer Javier Olivan, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li, Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg isn’t part of the program, the company confirmed.

“This is a big bet. These pay packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders,” a Meta spokesman said. “As with all stock options, there is only value if the share price meaningfully exceeds the exercise price, and in this case, it must be on an exceedingly aggressive 5-year timeline.”

Meta is also increasing RSU grants for some executive officers, the company said.

The AI race has caused Meta’s stock-based compensation costs to balloon. The company embarked on an expensive campaign of recruiting top AI researchers last summer, offering individual pay packages that in some cases could be worth more than $1 billion.

Cash costs tied directly to employee stock awards consumed 96% of Meta’s free cash flow, or $42 billion, in 2025, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. The company reported $18.4 billion of cash withholding taxes related to vested shares and spent an estimated $23.6 billion on share buybacks to offset dilution. Of the 40 million shares Meta repurchased last year, 90% were necessary to counter the dilution from employee stock awards.

The idea of using outsize financial incentives to ensure leaders’ loyalty in a competitive landscape transformed by AI was at the heart of the pitch made by Tesla’s board of directors to the company’s shareholders last fall. Shareholders ended up approving a pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could be worth as much as $1 trillion over 10 years.

To unlock the richest rewards, Musk must grow Tesla from its current market capitalization of $1.2 trillion to $8.5 trillion. Meta’s plan requires a nearly equivalent level of growth in half the amount of time.