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Jefferies rises after report of potential takeover from Japan’s SMFG

Jefferies jumped 10% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the Financial Times reported that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumimoto Mitsui Financial Group, is working on plans for a possible takeover of the US investment bank.

While any potential move is not imminent, SMFG has assembled a small team to prepare if a continued drop in Jefferies’ share price creates an opportunity, according to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter. Jefferies’ stock has fallen roughly 40% since the start of the year before today’s move, bringing its market cap to around $8 billion — a fraction of Tokyo-listed SMFG, which is worth ~$124 billion.

SMFG’s banking subsidiary already holds a minority stake in Jefferies after taking a 5% position in 2021, which was then increased to ~20% last September with a $912 million investment. The two banks have also recently launched a joint venture in Japan, which SMFG is “treating as a test case for integration and a form of due diligence,” the FT reported.

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Spectrum owner Charter Communications is on pace for its worst day ever as broadband numbers and Q1 results disappoint

Cable and broadband company Charter Communications is on pace for its worst-ever trading day on Friday, as investors dump the stock following its Q1 results and forward guidance.

Charter, which owns Spectrum, reported adjusted earnings of $9.17 per share, below Wall Street estimates of $9.96 per share from analysts polled by FactSet. On the company’s earnings call, CFO Jessica Fischer appeared to lower its guidance for full-year revenue per user.

“It’ll be close either way in terms of whether we end up with net growth,” Fischer said.

The company lost 120,000 internet subscribers in the quarter, deeper than the expected 94,800 and double its loss from the same period last year. That news comes one day after Comcast’s earnings provided a bit of optimism for broadband as a category: the company reported Q1 losses of 65,000, significantly improving from 183,000 losses in the same quarter last year. Comcast is down more than 10%, on pace for its worst day since January 2025.

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Luke Kawa

Nvidia poised to snap longest run without a record close since the AI boom began

The stock price of the company responsible for the brains of the AI boom is finally showing some brawn again.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, is poised to close at a record high for the first time since October 29, 2025, on Friday (if it ends above $207.04).

The AI chip trade is on fire, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slated to deliver its 18th consecutive gain as Intel’s robust results and outlook juice the entire ecosystem. Hyperscalers report earnings next week, and their capex guidance can be thought of as the earnings guidance for Nvidia and other AI suppliers for the quarters to come.

This would end Nvidia’s longest stretch without a record close since the unofficial start of the AI boom (when the chip designer delivered blowout quarterly results in May 2023).

(Sorry if I jinx this!)

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Lilly slips after prescriptions for its weight-loss pill come in below expectations in second week

Eli Lilly fell on Friday after prescription data for its new weight-loss pill, Foundayo, showed that it’s having a significantly slower rollout than its top competitor.

The pill was prescribed about 3,700 times in its second week, according to IQVIA data cited by Deutsche Bank analysts, compared to the roughly 8,000 they were expecting. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, which came out in January, hit over 18,000 prescriptions in its second week.

The FDA approved Foundayo on April 1 and shipments began on April 9. Deutsche analysts noted that Lilly’s GLP-1 injections, which currently outsell Novo’s, also had a slower start.

Lilly fell more than 4% after the numbers were released. Novo Nordisk rose more than 5%.

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