Good morning NYC. Key highlights for 2026-05-18:
- The Trump administration established a $1.776 billion settlement fund called the Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate individuals who claim federal legal weaponization targeting them, administered through a commission appointed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche until December 2028.
- U.S prosecutors are investigating valuation practices at BlackRock’s private credit fund amid rising scrutiny over private credit markets, highlighting growing regulatory concerns surrounding asset pricing transparency.
- Anthropic and OpenAI now dominate AI startup revenue capture with 89%, reflecting consolidation trends amid heightened competition and investor focus within the AI sector dominated by major players.
- SpaceX plans to file publicly for an IPO valued around $80 billion soon ahead of its twelfth Starship test flight scheduled shortly thereafter amid rising anticipation surrounding Elon Musk’s ambitions for Mars colonization and AI satellite networks.
- U.S stocks faced downward pressure amid renewed inflation fears triggered by geopolitical tensions involving Iran, with global yields surging significantly impacting equity markets globally including Europe’s Stoxx dropping sharply amid heightened uncertainty surrounding energy prices and economic stability forecasts.