Connect with us

Published

on

A new “anti-woke” investment fund is eyeing an activist raid on Starbucks — with executives reportedly set to unveil their blueprint for taking on the java giant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday.

The fledgling startup’s fund, named the Azoria Meritocracy ETF, will invest in companies in the S&P 500 with the exception of a few dozen that its managers conclude employ quantitative commitments to diversity when recruiting employees, its CEO James Fishback said in an interview.

Fishback and his Azoria Partners co-founder Asaf Abramovich have drummed up a list of some three dozen companies it will blacklist over their alleged “wokery.”

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that one of Azoria’s targets is Starbucks.

Starbucks has denied that it has “targets or quotas at any stage of the hiring process,” according to the FT.

The company told the FT that a supposed goal to reach racial and ethnic diversity of at least 30% among its staff was merely an aspiration.

Starbucks shares were down less than 1% Thursday, at just under $100.

Fishback, who previously worked for David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital as a trader until an acrimonious split in the summer of 2023, aims to raise $1 billion by the end of 2025.

Americans, whether they voted for President Trump or not, do not want to invest in companies running woke science experiments, Fishback told the Financial Times.

“We are representing shareholders here, and human capital hiring quotas that hurts all shareholders,” he added. Cut that crap out. Hire the best and brightest. Dont apologize for it, make money, give it to shareholders, and do the right thing.

The incoming Trump administration has vowed to crack down on the controversial DEI initiatives across the entire federal government and some companies fear that they too could be targeted.

The event at the president-elect’s private members resort will feature speeches from Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a prominent right-wing think tank, and Cathie Wood, founder of Ark Investment Management.

Starbucks stock has spiked roughly 20% since August after the company appointed ex-Chipotle boss Brian Nicol as its new CEO to turn around the floundering business.

Elliott Management, the activist fund owned by Wall Street titan Paul Singer, built a stake in the coffee giant that eventually led to the ouster of ex-chief executive Laxman Narasimhan.

Self-styled woke capitalists have irked Republicans and their allies on Wall Street in recent years, with former presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy taking aim at so-called ESG policies.

Environmental, social and governance strategies focus on elements such as racial justice and climate change, but conservatives say they harm investments made by ordinary Americans.

Two industry analysts who declined to be named were skeptical of whether it is possible to demonstrate a correlation between any underperformance and a company’s recruiting policies.

Others questioned whether the ETF would gain traction and said ESG-focused funds may not be out of favor.

“Investors may turn further to ESG ETFs because they believe the government will not fully support their personal objectives,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at VettaFi.

He declined to comment on the Azoria ETF.

Bryan Armour, ETF analyst at Morningstar, said a small ETF may struggle to exert leverage on corporate America.

“It will be really hard to gain power and influence,” Armour said.

Continue Reading

Business

Monzo lines up bankers to spearhead blockbuster £6bn float

Published

on

By

Monzo lines up bankers to spearhead blockbuster £6bn float

Monzo, the digital bank which counts one in five British adults among its customers, is closing in on the appointment of investment bankers to spearhead a stock market listing valuing it at more than £6bn.

Sky News has learnt that Monzo is working with Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street giant, on a series of meetings with potential investors ahead of an initial public offering which could take place as early as the first half next year.

People close to the company said this weekend that bankers would be formally hired to work on the listing within months, with Morgan Stanley now expected to be handed a key role on the deal.

The timing, size and location of an IPO are still to be determined and will depend on market conditions in London and New York, both of which have been buffeted by Donald Trump’s introduction of swingeing trade tariffs.

However, London is currently seen as the most likely listing venue for Monzo by board members and investors, according to people close to the situation.

The company, which saw its valuation soar to £4.5bn last year after primary and secondary share sales, is considering a further sale of existing shares to allow early investors and employees to cash in, although a decision to proceed has not yet been taken.

Monzo has more than 11m UK retail customers, making it the seventh-largest British bank by customer numbers, and 600,000 business customers.

More from Money

Founded a decade ago, it has become one of Britain’s most successful, and valuable, fintech companies.

It employs close to 4,000 people.

Last year, it raised more than £500m by selling newly issued shares to a group of investors led by Capital G, a division of Alphabet-owned Google.

That primary share sale valued the business at £4.1bn.

An IPO, including any new capital raised, would be likely to value Monzo at more than £6bn, and potentially in the region of £7bn, according to banking sources.

Last year’s secondary share sale saw existing Monzo investors StepStone Group and GIC, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, buying stock from employees.

The company is now profitable and has diversified into investments and instant access savings accounts.

It has also launched pensions products and accounts aimed at under-16s.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump floats China tariff cut
Money blog: TV chef on ‘ridiculously good’ supermarket dessert

Monzo is among a new generation of banks which have emerged since the last financial crisis and begun to accumulate a significant share of the UK retail banking market.

Rivals include Starling Bank and Revolut, which was valued at $45bn in its last fundraising and was awarded a banking licence by British regulators last year after a protracted process.

Monzo has recovered spectacularly from a difficult period in 2020 when it emerged that the City watchdog was investigating it for potential breaches of anti-money laundering and financial crime rules.

It has revamped its corporate structure as it pursues an international expansion aimed at enticing new investors to its strategy for long-term growth.

The company has been exploring acquisition opportunities in the US and Europe, although a major deal is not thought to be imminent.

Monzo Bank Holding Group was established to avoid the company facing punitive capital treatment by British regulators as it launches in new overseas markets.

Other Monzo investors include the Chinese group Tencent, Passion Capital, Accel, General Catalyst and Hedosophia.

Monzo is run by TS Anil, its chief executive, and chaired by Gary Hoffman, the banker who salvaged Northern Rock after its nationalisation in 2008.

This weekend, a Monzo spokesperson declined to comment.

Continue Reading

Sports

Jets’ Hellebuyck posts 1st playoff shutout since ’21

Published

on

By

Jets' Hellebuyck posts 1st playoff shutout since '21

The sea of white in Winnipeg chanted “M-V-P!” in unison during the Jets‘ Game 2 win over the Dallas Stars on Friday night. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck heard and appreciated those chants.

“It means a whole lot. I love this crowd. I love this city,” said Hellebuyck, who stopped 21 shots in Winnipeg’s 4-0 victory that evened their Western Conference semifinal series at 1-1.

It was Hellebuyck’s first playoff shutout since a 1-0 blanking of the Edmonton Oilers in the first round in 2021, and the fourth postseason shutout of his career. Hellebuyck led the NHL with eight shutouts in the regular season, which helped him become a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP and for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender, an award he won last season and in 2020.

Prior to Friday night, he had not been that same goaltender in the postseason.

Considered by many the best netminder in the world, Hellebuyck was the worst goalie statistically in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs entering Game 2. He was 4-4 with an .836 save percentage, the lowest for any goalie with at least three postseason games played. He was last in the playoffs through eight games with a minus-9.68 goals saved above expected. He had a 3.75 goals-against average as well, after sporting a GAA of 2.00 and a .925 save percentage in the regular season.

Yet the Jets’ faith in their goaltender never wavered.

“We rely on him. Sometimes too much. But he was incredible tonight,” said defenseman Josh Morrissey, who missed Game 1 against Dallas and most of Game 7 against St. Louis with an injury. “That’s what he does every night for us. He’s an incredible goaltender. He makes very difficult saves look very easy, routinely and often. You could tell he was feeling it tonight. When he’s feeling it like that, it gives the players in front of him a lot of confidence.”

Jets coach Scott Arniel said his goalie was “fantastic” in Game 2.

“Sometimes we take him for granted because he makes the hard look easy, but he had some acrobatic ones tonight,” Arniel said.

That was especially true in the second period. The Jets built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Gabriel Vilardi and Nik Ehlers, whose shot deflected off the skate of Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell. Hellebuyck made nine saves in that opening frame.

“We pushed hard in the second to try and climb back in the game,” said Dallas coach Peter DeBoer. “Hellebuyck made some saves. We get one there, maybe the momentum shifts. But that was the game. He was a good. He was really good. We can always make it more difficult on him, but he was really good.”

After the game, Hellebuyck told Sportsnet that he believed he was back on his game after the shutout win.

“Now it’s locked in. We broke it down to build it back together,” he said. “I like where it’s at. I like where the team’s playing. I’m really excited for the series. It’s been fun.”

Whether the fun continues on the road for Sunday’s Game 3 is anyone’s guess.

Hellebuyck was a disaster in the Jets’ three games in St. Louis, giving up 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 save percentage) and getting pulled in each loss. In his past eight postseason road games, Hellebuyck is 1-7 with a .838 save percentage and a 5.19 goals-against average.

“We’re still playing hockey, and it’s May. That’s fun. It’s the best time of year, because you’ve dialed your game in all year long,” Hellebuyck said.

The Jets said they need to be better in front of their goalie on the road.

“It’s going to be a tough building. They grabbed home ice from us by winning Game 1,” Arniel said. “It’s [about] lessons learned. Take some of the things from that series. We know we have to do a lot of what we did tonight.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Ohtani’s blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

Published

on

By

Ohtani's blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a wild 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

The Dodgers trailed 11-8 entering the ninth inning after blowing an early five-run lead.

Andy Pages and Enrique Hernandez hit consecutive run-scoring doubles to open the ninth inning against Kevin Ginkel (0-1). Max Muncy tied it at 11-11 with a run-scoring single and Ryan Thompson replaced Ginkel to face Ohtani.

It didn’t go well for Arizona.

Ohtani, who doubled twice, fell into a 1-2 hole before launching his 12th homer near the pool deck in right to put the Dodgers up 14-11. He finished with four RBIs.

Tanner Scott worked a perfect ninth save in 11 chances.

The Dodgers roughed up Eduardo Rodriguez to take an 8-3 lead through three innings, but couldn’t hold it.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a tying grand slam in the fifth inning, then Ketel Marte and Randal Grichuk hit solo shots off Alex Vesia (1-0) in the eighth to put Arizona up 11-8.

Pages finished with three RBIs and Hernández extended the Dodgers’ homer streak to 13 straight games with a solo shot in the second inning.

Marte homered twice for the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez allowed eight runs on nine hits in 2⅔ innings.

Continue Reading

Trending