🚀 CATL $4.6B IPO Debut

☀️Good morning. It's Tuesday, May 20, and we're covering, CATL Surges In $4.6B Hong Kong Debut, Largest Global Listing Of 2025, Waymo Gets Green Light To Expand Driverless Ride-Hailing To San Jose, Trump Announces Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Kremlin Pushes Back On Timeline, and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here.

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $3.33 Trillion, a 3.22% increase in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $130.32B, which makes a 9.41% decrease.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $35.03B, 26.88% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $123.46B, which is 94.73% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 62.85%, a decrease of 0.06% over the day.

Bitcoin Rebounds To $105K As ETF Issuer Sees 35% Upside

Bitcoin bounced back to $105,000 on Monday after briefly dipping to $102K following Moody’s downgrade of U.S. government bonds. Crypto market and risk assets recovered, with analysts downplaying the long-term impact of the credit rating cut. (Read Deeper)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

CATL Surges In $4.6B Hong Kong Debut, Largest Global Listing Of 2025

Shares of Chinese EV battery giant CATL jumped 18.4% in their Hong Kong debut on Tuesday, following a $4.6 billion raise, the largest global listing so far in 2025. Already the world’s top EV battery maker with 38% global market share, CATL is using the funds to expand production in Europe to serve automakers like BMW and VW. The deal’s timing was fortuitous: it closed just as the U.S. and China announced a pause in their ongoing trade war, boosting investor sentiment.

Why It Matters: Despite being on a U.S. military-linked blacklist, CATL attracted strong demand from global investors, especially those with offshore access. The listing was wildly popular, the retail portion was oversubscribed 151x, and institutional demand topped 15x. It also show the rising of global appetite for clean energy infrastructure. (Read Deeper)

Asian Markets Rally After China Cuts Interest Rates To Stimulate Economy

Asian stocks rose Tuesday after China’s central bank cut key interest rates for the first time in seven months, aiming to counter deflationary pressures and slowing economic activity from U.S. tariffs. The move pushed markets higher across the region, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.9% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.5%. Electric battery giant CATL jumped 13% in its Hong Kong debut, marking the world’s biggest IPO this year. Economists expect more rate cuts ahead but warn that modest easing may not be enough to boost demand.

Why It Matters: With global investors watching closely, China's rate cuts signal a renewed push to revive its sluggish economy amid weakening retail sales and factory output. The timing also reflects mounting pressure from Trump's trade war, which is rattling global supply chains and markets. But without stronger fiscal or structural support, economists say the central bank's move may offer only temporary relief. It also comes as U.S. markets digest the Moody’s credit downgrade, raising fresh questions about global financial stability. (Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

Waymo Gets Green Light To Expand Driverless Ride-Hailing To San Jose

Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit, Waymo, has received approval to expand its driverless ride-hailing service deeper into the Bay Area, including San Jose. The California Public Utilities Commission gave the go-ahead after reviewing the company’s updated safety plan. While immediate changes to operations are minimal, the expansion sets the stage for wider commercial use in the region long known as the “Capital of Silicon Valley.”

Why It Matters: Waymo is already delivering over 250,000 paid rides per week, and this regulatory win opens access to one of the most populous and tech-savvy cities in the U.S. As the self-driving race heats up, Waymo’s footprint in the Bay Area strengthens its lead over rivals and signals growing regulatory confidence in the tech.(Read Deeper)

Microsoft Unveils GitHub Copilot AI Agent That Codes Like A Teammate

At its Build developer conference, Microsoft’s GitHub launched a new AI coding agent that can take on entire software tasks, from fixing bugs to writing features, and update codebases autonomously. Powered by Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, the agent integrates directly into GitHub workflows, acting like a virtual teammate. Assign it a task, and it produces code, summarizes its changes, and waits for feedback — emoji and all.

Takeaways: Unlike earlier “vibe-coding” tools like Cursor or Windsurf, GitHub’s AI is built to work inside existing repositories and maintain long-term projects. GitHub Copilot now serves 15 million users, 4x more than last year. If successful, this could reshape software engineering by offloading routine dev work to machines, boosting productivity, and changing what roles humans play in coding teams. (Read Deeper)

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Trump Announces Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Kremlin Pushes Back On Timeline

President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine have agreed to begin immediate ceasefire talks following his calls with Vladimir Putin and other global leaders. However, the Kremlin downplayed any urgency, saying negotiations will be complex and without deadlines. Despite European leaders pushing for sanctions to pressure Russia, Trump declined to impose new ones, citing ongoing dialogue. While Ukraine welcomed direct talks, hopes for a breakthrough remain dim as Putin sticks to demands and Kyiv resists major concessions.

Why It Matters: After over three years of war, this marks the first coordinated push for peace talks with direct U.S. involvement since 2022. But with no ceasefire timeline, Putin's territorial demands intact, and Trump hesitant to apply economic pressure, the talks could stall or serve as a tactical pause for Russia. (Read Deeper)

UK, France, And Canada Warn Israel: End Gaza Offensive Or Face Consequences

UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Israel to halt its military assault on Gaza or face “concrete actions.” The leaders called the humanitarian crisis “intolerable” and said the continued denial of aid risks violating international law. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the criticism, claiming it hands Hamas a “huge prize.”

Why It Matters: More than 53,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, and aid groups say the trickle of food and medicine allowed in is woefully inadequate. The three leaders also reaffirmed support for a ceasefire and a two-state solution—setting up a diplomatic clash with Netanyahu, who insists on full control of Gaza and rejects Palestinian statehood. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

Jurgen Klopp Set For Shock Return To Management, Agrees To Take Over At AS Roma

Jurgen Klopp is making a stunning return to football just months after stepping down as Liverpool manager. According to La Stampa, the German coach has agreed to take over at AS Roma, giving the Italian side a huge boost in their quest to return to elite status. Klopp, who was recently linked to Real Madrid and had taken a role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull GmbH, reportedly sealed the Roma deal at 10:57 p.m. local time on May 18. (Read Deeper)

Donald Trump Jr. Mocks Jill Biden Following Joe Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis

Donald Trump Jr. sparked backlash after mocking First Lady Jill Biden in the wake of former President Joe Biden's advanced prostate cancer diagnosis. In a post on X, Trump Jr. reshared a claim that prostate cancer is “easy to diagnose” early and sarcastically questioned how Dr. Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate in education could have missed such a serious illness. “Or is this yet another cover up?” he wrote. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• Arthur Hayes: Money Printing & The Crypto Bet. (Listen)

EXTRA BREVITI

• Google Launches NotebookLM Apps for Android and iOS Ahead of I/O 2025. (Read More)

• Apple approves Spotify update so US users can buy audiobooks within the app. (Read More)

• Dell unveils new AI servers powered by Nvidia chips to boost enterprise adoption. (Read More)