Islamophobia row at Sequoia Capital

Good morning and welcome again. In right this moment’s publication:

• Islamophobic row at Sequoia Capital

• Bessent faces backlash over Argentina rescue

• Why bubble speak is in every single place

• And are we witnessing the gradual demise of the artwork gallery?

We begin right this moment with a row over Islamophobia at one in every of Silicon Valley’s strongest enterprise capital corporations.

What occurred? Sumaiya Balbale — a practising Muslim who has spoken publicly about how her gender, ethnicity and religion have formed her profession — stepped down after 5 years at Sequoia Capital in August. Her choice to depart was precipitated by feedback made by companion Shaun Maguire, an outspoken and high-profile investor who’s near Elon Musk, in response to three individuals with information of the matter. He wrote on X in July that New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “comes from a tradition that lies about all the things. It’s actually a advantage to lie if it advances his Islamist agenda. The west will be taught this lesson the onerous manner.”

Why it issues: Sequoia’s reluctance to rein in Maguire following inside criticism induced friction between employees and sparked debate throughout the tech sector. Balbale complained to different senior companions on the agency, who declined to take motion towards Maguire, arguing he was simply exercising his proper to free speech, in response to individuals conversant in the scenario. She left quickly after, feeling her place was untenable. The saga has develop into an issue for Roelof Botha, Sequoia’s managing companion, who has tried to maintain peace internally. Maguire is one in every of Sequoia’s most profitable buyers, having cultivated shut ties to Musk. Read more on the scandal.

Right here’s what else we’re holding tabs on right this moment:

• Outcomes: Boston Scientific, Thermo Fisher, AT&T, IBM, CME Group, Southwest Airways and Tesla report third-quarter earnings.

• Fed converse: Federal Reserve board governor Michael Barr speaks at an occasion devoted to monetary inclusion in St Louis.

• Financial information: The Argentina authorities resulting from launch August financial information.

• Brazil: Oil regulator ANP is about to carry an public sale for exploration rights within the nation’s pre-salt reserves within the Santos and Campos basins. 

5 extra prime tales

1. Scott Bessent is dealing with rising stress to justify Washington’s multibillion-dollar rescue of Argentina. The backlash from Republicans and Democrats has been compounded by China’s plans to exchange soyabean orders from the US with large-scale purchases from Argentina. Here’s more on the backlash ahead of Sunday’s crucial election.

2. A summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to finish the warfare in Ukraine has been cancelled, the White Home mentioned final night time. The cancellation of the Budapest summit, 5 days after it was introduced, comes after a flurry of diplomatic exercise looking for to jump-start peace talks. Read more on why the talks were cancelled.

3. Netflix shares fell in after-hours buying and selling after the streaming group revealed a dispute with tax authorities in Brazil lower into its income. The earnings come as Netflix faces a choice over whether or not to make a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery, which yesterday mentioned it had kicked off a evaluation of choices that embody a partial or full sale of the US media group after “receiving curiosity from a number of events”. Here’s more on Netflix’s results.

4. US buyout teams Blackstone and TPG have struck an $18.3bn takeover of healthcare expertise firm Hologic. Hologic, which sells diagnostic providers to check for ailments resembling breast most cancers, is the newest firm to be taken non-public by buyout teams seeking to deploy more than $2tn of unused cash.

5. Starbucks has hit the brakes on new cafés within the face of rising development prices and falling same-store gross sales. The pullback has created unhealthy blood — and led to a minimum of one lawsuit — with the industrial actual property business. “Starbucks is just not a deal or a tenant that I’d ever take into account once more,” said one developer.

The Massive Learn

Starvation for electrical energy from information centres powering the factitious intelligence growth is driving the renaissance of fuel. However Massive Tech’s demand for electrical energy can also be inflicting a provide crunch within the generators required for gas-powered crops. Learn extra on the fallout from the AI-fuelled dash for gas.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Bubble speak: When establishments such because the IMF speak of valuations “effectively” in extra of observable actuality, they’re switching on the fasten-your-seatbelts sign, writes Katie Martin.

• Upside of ‘weight problems gene’: A research has revived the concept a genetic mutation chargeable for weight problems might also protect towards excessive ldl cholesterol and coronary heart illness, writes Anjana Ahuja.

• Inside Oklo: The Silicon Valley nuclear expertise firm has no revenues however its inventory market valuation has rocketed past $20bn, boosted by investor enthusiasm.

Be a part of Sarah O’Connor and John Burn-Murdoch for a dwell Ask an Expert Q&A tomorrow as they sort out your questions on how AI is reshaping the world of labor. The dialog coincides with the launch of ‘The AI Shift’, their new publication, which you’ll be able to signal as much as here.

Chart of the day

In his column this week Martin Wolf concentrates on a latest tutorial paper that appears at the damaging impact of populists — each left and proper — on economies. The dataset covers 60 international locations from 1900 to 2020 and 1,482 leaders. He finishes the column by sharing his considerations about Javier Milei and his makes an attempt to fix the Argentine financial system.

Take a break from the information . . . 

Guests to artwork festivals this month may have witnessed a whole lot of galleries plying their commerce to well-heeled collectors. But the gallery mannequin, within the face of financial pressures and digital competitors, is experiencing a slow death, writes Melanie Gerlis.