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Jane Street co-founder said to have been ‘duped’ into funding South Sudan coup. (00:23) Jeff Bezos seeks more contracts for Blue Origin after Trump-Musk feud – report. (01:33) Nvidia (NVDA) touches record high, reclaims most valuable company title. (02:18)
This is an abridged transcript.
The co-founder of Jane Street Capital alleged he was duped into funding a coup to overthrow South Sudan’s government.
Bloomberg News reported this Wednesday, citing a statement from his lawyer.
Robert Granieri, the co-founder of the New York-based hedge fund, said he was deceived into funding $7M for the purchase of AK-47s, Stinger missiles and grenades.
He said the scammers are Peter Ajak, a Harvard Fellow, and Abraham Keech, who are both accused of scheming a South Sudan coup in March 2024.
Granieri’s lawyer said the businessman is “a longtime supporter of human rights causes,” and that “the person Rob thought was a human rights activist defrauded Rob and lied about his intentions.”
The connection to Jane Street came in a recent filing by Ajak’s lawyers, stating that Granieri was “vital to the plan,” transferring $7M in two phases, Bloomberg reported.
According to U.S. prosecutors, a few weeks after Ajak and Keech inspected a supply of weapons inside a Phoenix warehouse, they were soon arrested.
Both Ajak and Keech pleaded not guilty of illegally exporting arms to their home country.
Jane Street is also the former employer of the infamous Sam Bankman-Fried, whose FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed after he was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Blue Origin (BORGN) founder Jeff Bezos has spoken to President Trump at least twice this month, while its CEO, Dave Limp, also made a trip to the White House to meet with Trump’s chief of staff.
The Wall Street Journal reported that these discussions are aimed at capitalizing on the ongoing feud between SpaceX (SPACE) founder Elon Musk and Trump to secure more government contracts for Blue Origin (BORGN).
The report added, citing people familiar with the matter that in at least some of the conversations with Trump and his staff, Bezos and other Blue Origin executives have appealed for more contracts. Trump has previously discussed his desire to see a crewed mission to the moon with Bezos during his term in office, the sources said.
The recent Trump-Musk fallout could potentially create an opening for Blue Origin (BORGN), which has so far lagged SpaceX (SPACE).
Blue Origin (BORGN) successfully launched its New Glenn rocket for the first time in January and targeted a second launch for late spring 2025 but missed that goal. It is now looking to launch New Glenn again in mid-August.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) touched a record high of $154.97 on Wednesday, closing at $154.31 and bagging a gain of ~4.33% during the session.
CEO Jensen Huang’s comments on growth areas for the company at its annual meeting boosted investor confidence.
“We have many growth opportunities across our company, with AI and robotics the two largest, representing a multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity,” Huang commented.
“We’re working towards a day where there will be billions of robots, hundreds of millions of autonomous vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of robotic factories that can be powered by Nvidia technology.”
This rally pushed the chipmaker’s market cap to ~$3.76 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable company—overtaking Microsoft (MSFT), with a market cap close to $3.66 trillion.
What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha:
Meta recruits three OpenAI researchers for superintelligence push – WSJ
Booking .com faces legal action as Dutch consumer groups allege inflated hotel prices
AT&T executives advocate shifting from copper landlines to fiber
Catalyst watch:
Genpact (G) will hold an Investor Day event. The focus will be on Genpact’s AI-driven transformation strategy, data and domain-driven solutions, and future growth roadmap.
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX) will host an in-person and virtual R&D Day in New York. The event will provide an update including data on the company’s early-stage pipeline assets, next steps, and portfolio strategy to drive long-term value.
Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is down 0.3% at $64/barrel. Bitcoin is flat at $107,000. Gold is up 0.2% at $3,341.
The FTSE 100 is flat and the DAX is up 0.8%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) +14% – Shares rallied after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results, overcoming a ~9% Y/Y revenue decline due to lower average selling prices and softer toll volumes.
On today’s economic calendar:
8:00 am Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin will speak on the economy before the New York Association for Business Economics.
8:30 am GDP
8:30 am Jobless Claims
1:15 pm Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr will speak on”Community Development at the Federal Reserve” before the”Building Strong and Sustainable Communities” Policy Summit 2025 hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.