Carlyle's Chinese Affiliate to Takeover Crown Bioscience

Reflective of the current economic boom cited by Trump II, JSR LifeSciences is taking a 50% haircut on a company it bought in 2017 for $400 million.  It will sell Crown Bioscience to a Chinese clinical research organization owned by The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU).   The total price is $204 million spread over a two year period.

JSR Life Sciences LLC ("JSR Life Sciences"), a global leader in life sciences materials and services, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to transfer Crown Bioscience Inc. ("Crown Bioscience") to Adicon Holdings Limited ("Adicon"), a premier independent clinical laboratory provider in China and a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in 2026.

I think they call that an implosion which can also make a kaboom sound.  Crown Biosciences global headquarters is in San Diego, California.  

Acquirer Adicon's website says this about the company:

Adicon has three major service platforms: a research and development center, clinical drug testing, and testing services. The testing services platform includes clinical laboratories, pathology laboratories, reproductive genetics laboratories, gene laboratories, and mass spectrometry laboratories, holding over 200 patents and providing over 4,000 testing items.

Carlyle invested in Adicon in 2018,  Have they written down half the value of their clinical company like JSR did with Crown? 

The greater question is whether Trump II will allow a U.S. headquartered clinical research company to be taken over by a Chinese firm, even one owned by a D.C. based PEU.

Glenn Youngkin was co-CEO of Carlyle in 2018 when they invested in Adicon.  Carlyle's press release stated in October 2018:

As one of the first and most active international private equity investors in China, Carlyle has adopted a local approach towards investments in China for two decades. Carlyle has invested more than US$8 billion of equity in nearly 100 private equity transactions across China through its US dollar and RMB investment vehicles as of June 30, 2018.

Youngkin ran away from his record of exporting U.S. jobs to China as a candidate for Virginia Governor in 2021.  His general un-likability has not worsened from his China moves while a Carlyle top dog (they've remained hidden).

Carlyle had the magic touch in the past in regard to getting controversial deals approved.  Flashback to 2007 when the U.S. had an uproar over Dubai Ports World buying six port operations.  Months later Carlyle sold  Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero with fifty U.S. airport operations to Dubai Aerospace.  That's what happens when you are close with the President.

I'll wager they can do it again.  Remember politicians Red & Blue love PEU....

Another TechGod 401(k) Dangle: 4X Leverage

Noted investor Jim Chanos sniffed out another one.  

Welcome to "the first and only 401(k) platform that allows participants to finance assets and access alternative investments."  

It's called Basic Capital and it's brought to you by TechGods.

In the small print at the bottom of Basic Capital's website it says "Basic Capital is not a bank" and that funds will be advised by Basic Capital Advisors, LLC.

A New York state regulatory filing shows the firm had one employee as of January 2025.  A brochure filing for the same period indicated:

Mr. Al-Asaad is the President, CEO and Chief Compliance Officer for Basic Capital Advisors LLC

One filing also covered three entities: Basic Capital Advisors, StormSafe, Inc. and StormSafe Asset Management.

Basic Capital's website has a FAQ section which contained the information below (as of 11-22-25):

Good news 401(k) holders, Basic Capital will not go after your non-401(k) assets, like your house or your car, should your account value be less than the amount owed..  

Financing long term assets with short term money becomes extremely problematic when the big money boys no longer trust each other to make good on their debts.  Think Fall 2008.

Also, look at the pittance of a gain they are implying is yours, a couple hundred basis points.  Basic Capital takes the lion's share of any gains in a market simply holding its own.  Your 401(k) needs to earn over 7% in perpetuity and the SOFR needs to be stable at 6.5%  for the borrowed money to work on your behalf.

Basic Capital talks about "underlying bond investments" as a floor and "you are earning more than you owe."  

There too much imprecision and sales language for me to understand what is really being offered.  Fintechs have a way of doing that.

If the market is gangbusters and interest rates go down levered 401(k) investing could be a boon.  That's the promise from Trump II's economic team, but their boss lies and forces people below him to lie.

Leverage is a knife that cuts both ways.  When markets are going up it cuts thin slices of roast beef for you to enjoy.  When markets take a beating, leverage can lop off a limb or worse, especially in the alternative asset area.

Avoid leveraged lending in your 401(k) plan unless you are OK with the possibility that the very moment you need your retirement money, it might not be there.  Do not fall for the Basic Capital sales pitch.  You can go underwater in a 401(k) loan just as you can in a mortgage or an auto loan.  

Invest as much as you can comfortably based on your income in your 401(k) and avoid alternatives (private equity, private credit) as well as crypto.  

When fintech Synapse failed, TechGods who'd marketed it as a FDIC bank, walked away from its stinking corpse.  That's the level of commitment TechGods have to their affiliate's customers.  

They have a hurdle rate to hit and if Basic Capital does not make, TechGods can turn off the lights on your retirement party.  Do not give them that power.  

Update:  Blackstone Group added a division focused on defined contribution benefit plans.  PlanSponsor reported: 

... the unit will focus on strategic partnerships, a lineup of perpetual products, investor education and scale strategies across private equity, real estate, private credit and private infrastructure. 

Heather Von Zuben was previously Blackstone Credit & Insurance’s global head of perpetual capital solutions. She joined Blackstone in 2022 after 15 years at Goldman Sachs, where her leadership roles included global head of wealth management alternatives. 

Tom Nides joined Blackstone in 2024 after serving as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2021 through 2023. He also held various roles at Morgan Stanley, including chief operating officer and vice chairman. 

Paul Quinlan was most recently global chief financial officer of Blackstone Real Estate. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2010, he worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.'

Blackstone is a private equity underwriter (PEU) headed by Stephen Schwarzman, who recently attended the Black-Tie White House dinner for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Basic Capital will determine if Blackstone's new 401(k) offerings qualify for leverage finance.  

Federal Government is Watching You Drive

Drivers be aware that the U.S. government has a mass surveillance program running 24/7/365 on American roads.  The AP reported:  

Customs & Border Patrol has in the past had access to data from at least three private sector vendors: Rekor (now Altumint), Vigilant Solutions (bought by Motorola) and Flock Safety.

Flashback to 2013 when courts heard legal challenges regarding the NSA scooping us massive information on phone records.  A judge stated:

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval. Surely, such a program infringes on ‘that degree of privacy’ that the founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment. Indeed, I have little doubt that the author of our Constitution, James Madison… would be aghast.”

Some people consider their car an extension of their house, while an increasing number have to live in their car.

It should be no surprise that the three private sector vendors (cited by the AP) in the mass road surveillance operation are private equity underwriter (PEU owned) or have PEU backgrounds.

Rekor sold its automated traffic safety enforcement division to Alumint, an affiliate of Capital Meridian Partners in December 2022.  Capital Meridian is a D.C. based PEU that specializes in tapping government budgets.  

Corsa Ventures and Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital sold Vigilant Solutions to Motorola.  

Flock Safety recently held its "Series F" capital raise and TechGods once again poured into the round.

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund joined Al Gore's Kleiner Perkins in hopes for huge profits from spying on citizens.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  Together they are facilitating the decimation of U.S. citizens' constitutional rights, the social media harm of children and the deterioration of human intelligence and real relationships via garbage AI.  

You too can have your rights violated by the same TechGods dangling an assortment of addictive digital ventures intended to sell ads or separate you from your hard earned money.  Repeat the TechGod mantra after me, Code is law....Code is law....Code is law....

By the 10th recitation the Bill of Rights is gone, the 27th cancels all Constitutional Amendments...

This is what the government of the PEU/TechGod/CryptoBro, by the PEU/TechGod/CryptoBro and for the PEU/TechGod/Cryptobro has determined.  They have all the power, money and rights.

Update:  Time reported on a lawsuit against Meta (Facebook).  The lawsuit states:

".... Meta was aware that millions of adult strangers were contacting minors on its sites; that its products exacerbated mental health issues in teens; and that content related to eating disorders, suicide, and child sexual abuse was frequently detected, yet rarely removed. According to the brief, the company failed to disclose these harms to the public or to Congress, and refused to implement safety fixes that could have protected young users."

The Guardian ran a story on AI workers telling their family and friends to stay away from AI. 

"...after becoming aware of the way chatbots and image generators function and just how wrong their output can be, they have begun urging their friends and family not to use generative AI at all – or at least trying to educate their loved ones on using it cautiously. These trainers work on a range of AI models – Google’s Gemini, Elon Musk’s Grok, other popular models, and several smaller or lesser-known bots."

The article noted one rater:

"has forbidden her 10-year-old daughter from using chatbots. “She has to learn critical thinking skills first or she won’t be able to tell if the output is any good.”

AI's emphasis on speed over accuracy and quality is a random walk from the confines of earth (with water, food and oxygen) into the void of space.  You'll be somewhere without the tools and resources needed for life.

“We joke that [chatbots] would be great if we could get them to stop lying.”

Made in the image of their TechGod masters...

Update 11-24-25:  Rekor plans to create a new division that detects deepfake AI videos.  The company will use its background in verifying traffice video to develop their new product.

Bessent Usurps PEU Firm e-VAC Magnetics

Two days after Trump II threatened to fire Treasury Chief Scott Bessent for not bullying Fed Chair Jay Powell sufficiently, Bessent waved a small magnet on television.  He bragged about the Trump economy and the number of potential jobs at a Sumter, South Carolina rare earth magnet factory.

Trump II threatened Bessent, a gay man, at the U.S. Saudi Investment Conference where he offered his usual drivel that a year ago "our country was dead", "the economy was dead."  

What happened a year ago under the Biden administration?  That Sumter, South Carolina magnet plant received the "2024 Energy Transition Deal of the Year" from IJ Global.

Ara Partners, a global private equity firm dedicated to decarbonizing the industrial economy, announced that e-VAC Magnetics, LLC (“eVAC”) has been awarded IJ Global’s 2024 Energy Transition Deal of the Year (North America). The award recognizes eVac’s $335 million non-recourse financing for their first-of-its-kind U.S. permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Sumter County, South Carolina.

Investopedia states:

Non-recourse finance involves a loan where repayment comes only from the project's earnings. Such loans are generally secured by collateral. 

Non-recourse loans are commonly used to finance commercial real estate and projects with long lead times. Unlike conventional loans, the repayment depends on the success of the project being funded.

Scott Bessent bragged about a Biden era sweetheart deal for a PEU affiliate that include giant federal grants and tax credits.

This landmark transaction, undertaken by Ara Partners and its portfolio company Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG (“VAC”), strengthens the domestic supply chain for electric vehicles, aerospace and defense, renewable energy, and other critical industries. 

The project has also received strong federal and state support, including a Defense Production Act Title III grant from the Department of Defense and a $111.9 million Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/Cryptobro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one as in the case of Scott Bessent (Key Square Group).

Trump II will usurp anything and anyone.  Bessent is a quick study given he snatched a 2024 PEU sweetheart deal of the year and dragged it into Trump's Rule of 47.  

Threatening to fire the gay guy in front a group of homophobic Saudis?  That's piece of cake for Trump.  

At some point Bessent will tire of eating Trump's verbal defecation and get his soul back.  Until then, I trust our Treasury Secretary will continue to enjoy Trump's special buffet of discounts, derision, backhanded compliments, abuse, insults, snubs, barbs, slurs and punchlines.

PEU Pallet Rollup Implodes

Bloomberg reported creditors are taking over yet another company.  Five years ago private equity underwriters (PEU) bought 48Forty, a maker of shipping pallets.  Audax Private Equity was first in 2020 and Summit Partners entered in 2022.

48Forty bought out other pallet makers, at least twelve in a series of rollups.

Audax monetized their 48Forty stake in 2024.  

Audax just bankrupted Renovo, a rollup of regional home renovation companies.  Another affiliate implosion would have hurt.

Does this portend anything for other PEU rollups, HVAC companies, veterinarian offices, dental practices, hospices....?

Private equity birthed private credit as a means to leverage their greed and leverage.  It looks like they may begin eating each other, once again.

The backdoor takeover returns, where equity holders hand the keys over to debt holders.  They don't show up with a tow truck anymore, just lawyers with paperwork.  

That's two more areas for rollups, law firms and travel breakdown response.  I think you might be getting the picture.  

Note:  An HVAC company helped me yesterday.  At the end of the call the service tech said they'd just instituted a 2.5% charge for the use of a credit/debit card.  He did not seem excited to be sharing this information.  I told him I would call his office and find out how I can pay and avoid the fee.  

I called and learned that I could physically bring a check into their office.  They could not take my checking account number and process a payment.  They did not offer Zelle, Venmo, PayPal or CashApp.  I could not use Bitcoin, which is good as I have none.  

I told them let's make this even more old school.  You mail me the bill and I mail you a check.  When the PEU boys want to charge a fee, they charge a fee.  Avoiding their millage is extremely difficult, irritating and time consuming.

Black-Tie Guest List Chock Full of TechGods, CryptoBros & PEUs

Information about who was invited to the White House black-tie dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman dribbled out slowly and haphazardly.  Business Insider got the guest list but revealed only about a dozen executives.  Later, a more complete list got posted on X.  It did not show the affiliations of Trump II's guests, so I took the liberty of doing so:

One can see the usual clumping of TechGods, Cryptobros and private equity underwriters (PEU).  The once appalled Western business community has made peace with the future Saudi king.  

It happened the way Trump usually makes peace.  He picks a side and then steamrolls the opposition into submission.  Historically, this has generally been a framework for making future war.  

The public can see the same shunning of victims that left the Jeffrey Epstein victims on the outside for decades.  Will the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi ever get her day, when "Just Us" insiders shifts to actual justice for that heinous murder?  

Even the menu had violent overtones: "Squash" soup, "Rack" of lamb....

Shamed & Shameless Insiders: PEU Window

The banquet of consequences may actually be arriving for powerful political insiders who captained government functions for their personal power, prestige, protection and profit over the last several decades.  

Insider Larry Summers declared his "deep shame" after email communications with Jeffrey Epstein were made public.  Summers has a long history of getting access, key government appointments, plum jobs with universities, hedge funds and private equity underwriters (PEU).  Those are the very groups Epstein slithered with and around.  This group provided him funding, connections and protection.

The public has a split screen given major events underway today, the looming House vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and Trump's high ceremonial welcome for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Three Representatives, two Red and one Blue, gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capital with Jeffrey Epstein survivors and family representatives.

How did we allow this to happen?  Larry Summers told us years ago with his coaching on how to become an insider, how to rub shoulders with powerful people such that one day, you too could become one of them.  Stay silent, go along, accept insider rewards,  recognize the rules really don't apply, turn away from anything untoward....but never ever say anything ill about fellow insiders, even to the authorities (which insiders control as the ultimate fail safe).

The other side of this split screen is Trump II's ceremonial excess for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man who U.S. intelligence authorities believe ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Trump bull-horned the very message of Epstein survivors, "powerful people are untouchable."  Survivors are trying hard to get that changed but they are yet to win.  Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée is yet to receive justice.   She stands alone in her pursuit.  The Crown Prince has the most powerful man in the world at his beckon call.

Ghislaine Maxwell has proven her insider worth and value to Trump II and is rewarded with a cushy prison environment and special privileges.  Seven years from now will she receive a ceremonial welcome at Mar-a-Lago?

The White House has been called the People's House.  

Today it honors the man who ordered the murder of a U.S. journalist in the most evil and heinous way.  It used his Saudi nationality and love for his fiancée to lure Khashoggi into a trap.

The public has the opportunity to see the gross excesses of wealth and privilege that funded Epstein's criminal enterprise.  PEU profits garnered Epstein over $170 million from Apollo founder Leon Black.  Every White House from Bill Clinton to today catered to the PEU class.  Most cabinets, Red and Blue, were chock full of PEUs.

Those excesses exist today, albeit at grossly higher amounts.  PEU legends have been joined by TechGods and Cryptobros in mining Uncle Sam's wallet and steering government policy in a billionaire friendly direction.  How many of these insiders have a predilection for underaged girls?  Who is their supplier?  These are important questions for girls of today.  

One way to protect them is have Epstein's abusers named, shamed and detained.  Is the United States up to it?  

We damned well better be....

Update:  Trump castigated a Bloomberg journalist with a "Quiet Piggy" over an Epstein question on Air Force One.  He followed that with attacking an ABC News reporter in the Oval Office after a question regarding the brutal Saudi execution of Jamal Khashoggi.

"You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen."

Trump saved the Crown Prince's backside yet again.  Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward chronicled the first save.

Semafor indicated the Crown Prince is receiving Epstein level protection pre-November 18, 2025:

House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to attend a reception with him on Wednesday, when Trump and the crown prince will also attend an investment conference. 

And even most Democrats focused more on potential conflicts of interest than on the crown prince’s human rights track record, which provoked bipartisan worries a few years ago.

Memories are short.

And their manhood (as in Johnson - the Speaker) is even shorter.  Politicians Red & Blue...

Jesse wrote:

There are levels of lawlessness being tolerated because it benefits a rich and powerful few, the public and the health of the economy be damned. 

And this is why the Congress and White House continue to twist themselves into knots to cover up and hide the sexual, political, and financial corruption of the Epstein scandal.

And how, over time, we have come to tolerate war crimes including genocide, and extra-judicial murder. We are truly exceptional.

Both the House and the Senate passed the bill requiring the release of the Epstein files.  It now heads to Trump II's desk. 

Update 11-19-25:  Epstein "wingman" Larry Summers resigned from the OpenAI board of directors.

Crown Prince Dinner Guest List: MISSING

"The most open and transparent administration in the history of our country" is yet to reveal who has been invited to the Black-Tie dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tomorrow evening at the White House.

Will the public ever be informed of the PEU Legends, TechGods/CryptoBros, Wall Street Titans, corporate chiefs and subservient politicians of both political stripes that get to dine with the future Saudi King?  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  

And their princely sons shall be far richer than their kingly fathers.  Everybody else, not so much...

Update 11-19-25:  Business Insider got the guest list for the dinner.  They highlighted a number of TechGods, CryptoBros and Red Team oriented billionaires.  

The guest list, shared by the White House, included members of the Saudi government and royal family, as well as almost 50 US business executives. Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo also attended.

Notable guest included Elon Musk (X, xAI, SpaceX, Telsa, Boring, Neuralink), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Tim Cook (Apple), Marc Benioff (Salsforce), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), David Sacks (VC & Trump AI Czar), Bill Ackman (Pershing Square), Vlad Tenev (Robinhood), David Ellison (Paramount/Skydance), Lisa Su (AMD), Greg Brockman (OpenAI).  That's 11 out of nearly 50.  Not very comprehensive reporting.

The guest list remains unavailable on the White House website.  Pictures indicate a blurry figure might be Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman.  (That has been confirmed, see below)

X has a guest list:  

Add Jeremy Allaire (Circle), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), Brendan Bechtel (Bechtel), Marc Beckman (DMA United), Albert Bourla (Pfizer), Stefan Brodie (Bro-Tech), Charles Cascarilla (Paxos), Derek Chang (Liberty Media), Larry Culp (GE), Michael Dell (MSD Capital/Revolution), William Clay Ford Jr. (Ford), Mary Barra (GM), Jane Fraser (Citi), Charles Hallab (Barrington Global founder), Josh Harris (Apollo co-founder), Alex Karp (Palantir), Vimal Kapur (Honeywell), Arvind Krishna (IBM), Kris Marszalek (Crypto.com), Dave McCormick (Senator & former CEO Bridgewater Associates), Bill McDermott (ServiceNow), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology), Amin Nasser (Saudi Aramco), Phebe Novakovic (General Dynamics), Scott O'Neil (LIV Golf), Meredith O'Rourke (Trump Fundraiser including Ballroom), Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Ross Perot Jr. (The Perot Group), Chuck Robbins (Cisco Systems), John F.W. Rogers (Goldman Sachs), Charles Schwab (Schwab), Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone),  Jeffrey Sprecher (Intercontinental Exchange), Scott Strazik (GE Vernova), James Taiclet (Lockheed Martin), Jim Umpleby (Caterpillar), Kathy Warden (Northrop Grumman), Mike Wirth (Chevron), Chris Wright (Energy Secretary, former CEO Liberty Energy), Steve Wynn (Wynn Resorts), Eric Yaun (Zoom) and Lee Zeldin (EPA).

The bad news is the Acting Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics Jamieson Greer and his wife were at the Black Tie affair lauding a serial violator of human rights and destroyer of U.S. ethics standards.  Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has at least $2 billion in Saudi PIF funds in his PEU Affinity Partners.  The Trump boys have deals in Saudi Arabia and all around the Middle East.

I've heard Trump say the $1 trillion figure before regarding MBS.  That may have been on November 5th in Miami or at the end of his May 2025 deal making visit.    

Trump-Crown Prince to Headline Investment Forum

For the fourth time in 2025 Trump II will spend quality time working on behalf of the Saudi monarchy. 

From Riyadh to Washington, the partnership that powers progress. Where innovation meets ambition, and every handshake tells a story of shared prosperity.

Trump II is throwing a Black-Tie dinner for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tomorrow night.  Invitees include those doing the handshaking at U.S.-Saudi investment events, legendary private equity underwriters (PEU), TechGods/CryptoBros, Wall Street titans, corporate chiefs and politicians.  They've all made big bank while regular folk garner a smaller and smaller portion of the economic pie.  

On the agenda for Wednesday morning:

DIGITAL BLUEPRINT FOR TOMORROW’S AI WORLD

Rest assured, you are in the blueprint and they have big plans.  

If this does not sit right or you aren't feeling the shared prosperity, you may wish to have your voice heard.  Do so at your own risk as neither Trump or the Crown Prince are interested in feedback, only kowtowing and excessive compliments regarding their manhood, looks and accoutrements of power/wealth.

Both men will eventually exit the political scene.  They arrived by beating and both will leave as beaten men.  They will go down throwing haymakers.

Credit Investors Should Watch Blue Owl

In 2017 Blue Owl Capital launched its first credit fund for retail investors, Blue Owl Capital Corporation II.  It intends to merge this fund with Blue Owl Capital Corporation (OBDC), a larger publicly-traded business development company (BDC) focused on private credit.

FT noted that some Fund II investors could lose in the share exchange.

If the mooted deal were to be approved by shareholders and completed at current prices, Blue Owl Capital Corporation II shareholders would see the value of their investments fall by about 20 per cent.

Blue Owl's merger presentation showed a 98% overlap between Fund II and OBDC.  

How does that turn into a 20% loss of share value?  Essentially, the investing public does not believe in Fund II's marks, given the number of recent private credit implosions.  

Blue Owl's CFO talked to FT about the merger.  He conceded Fund II investors could take a haircut under the deal structure.  The CFO called other options, like a public offering or a wind down, unappealing.  I don't believe making your long term investors angry is a winning strategy either.

FT shared the reality that Fund II investors may never get to tender their shares for early redemption, a right they had prior to the merger announcement and had been increasingly utilizing.

Blue Owl executives don't want to let their Fund II investors go at the price they have valued the assets (redemption cancellation).  It remains to be seen what happens with OBDC's share price between now and the closing date.  

Fund II investors should expect a hard sell, likely very different than the hard sell that got them into OBDC II.  

Retirees weighing what to do with your 401(k), please don't put it into private equity, private credit or anything crypto, straight up currency or a company with a digital treasury strategy.  Also, avoid AI at all costs, investment or use.  Blue Owl just did a big financing for Meta's AI.  

Eight years after launching investment grade private credit for retail investors in OBDC II, Blue Owl has set up a possible 20% haircut.  Eight years from now what might the Blue Owl-Meta joint venture debt ($27 billion) look like?  

Update 11-19-25:  Blue Owl called off the proposed combination.

Another Formal Party for Elite Potentates

Trump II will host a Black-Tie dinner at the White House for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday.  News reports indicate the guest list includes "business executives, lawmakers and governors."

The Crown Prince will host a U.S.-Saudi investment conference during his visit.  Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), is headed by the Crown Prince.  It has been busy lately.  

Trump II's son-in-law Jared Kushner manages over $2 billion in Saudi money via Affinity Partners, a private equity underwriter (PEU).

At prior Saudi-U.S. investment meetings PEUs, Wall Street Giants and TechGods have been front and center.  Executives are invited to the upcoming White House dinner but the list of invitees is yet to be posted on the White House website.

Less than two weeks ago Trump II spoke at the American Business Forum in Miami.  The Saudi PIF was the presenting partner for the event.  

PIF has a Future Investment Institute (FII) and Trump spoke at the FII Priority meeting held from February 19-21, 2025 in Miami.

On May 13. 2025  Trump II might as well as have kissed the toes of the Crown Prince the way he slathered over the man at the U.S.-Saudi investment conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Trump II brought back "trillions" in deals.  Remember, deal makers get deal fees.

Time will reveal if the guest list is made public.  It is still the People's House, although Trump II is determined to make it the PEUples'.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  They will gather Tuesday evening to celebrate murderous tyrants.  

Update:  The Sunday morning news shows interviewed two former PEUs, now in government roles under Trump II.  Affinity Partners' Kevin Hassett was on ABC's This Week and Flex Capital's Dan Driscoll was on CBS' Face the Nation.  Hassett worked for Jared Kushner and PEU founding father Michael Milken, while Driscoll had a number of major TechGods as limited partners at Flex.  I'm sure most watchers had no idea they were being PEU'd.  

Trump II Targets TechGod, PEUs & JP Morgan

Trump II, the digital Caligula, dined with J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, then threw his bank under the Jeffrey Epstein bus the next morning.  Did he give Dimon the courtesy of a warning?  Doubtful.

Several months ago Trump II sought to change the Epstein narrative.  I wrote:

I imagine the Trump "Just Us" Department shopped the list of predators for Blue Team members and any never Trumpers of the Red version.

One of those Blue Team members is TechGod Reid Hoffman.  Bill Clinton is a former private equity underwriter (PEU) with Yucaipa   Larry Summers served as Managing Director for hedge fund D.E. Shaw and Special Advisor to Andreessen Horowitz (more TechGods).  

Jeffrey Epstein levered tax avoidance, money, and power just like the PEU boys and their new TechGod/Cryptobro brethren.  Epstein added illegal, underage sex, which apparently some very powerful men liked.  

Trump II has no truth for the American people, otherwise he would release the Epstein files.  Instead he's on a campaign of diversion, unjust personal enrichment and retribution, most recently to those wanting to force that Epstein release.

As for the Red Team's Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump II may want to watch out.  She's angling for the next Speaker of the House.  There's not a Polymarket for that yet but I expect one in not so distant future.

Trump II is the boiling frog in the Epstein pot.  You can't be boiled in a pot you never jumped in.

Update 11-16-25:  Marjorie Taylor Greene offered:

“I would like to say humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics,” Greene said. “It’s very bad for our country.”

Speaker Greene?

Update 11-21-25:  One cannot be House Speaker if they are not in the House.  Rep. Greene announced she would leave Congress in January 2026.   Thus, no need for a Polymarket...

Update 11-24-25:  Greene did make Polymarket as a top contender for 2028 White House.  I got the position wrong.  

TechGods Offer Another Way to Throw a Fight

Americans will have another sports micro-prediction option to add to their addiction portfolio thanks to Polymarket and TKO, the parent company of UFC and Zuffa Boxing.

TechGods brought us micro-dosing ketamine, micro-betting and now micro-prediction marketing (a fancier name for wagering between two people/entities/AI bots).  CNBC reported:

“What’s exciting about our approach is you can buy and sell and you can trade just like a stock throughout the fight,” Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday. “You can buy and sell as momentum swings we will start with that and we will take from there based on customer feedback.”

Stock is equity in an organization.  Polymarket customers have no equity in the fighter they are wagering on to win or lose.  Most Polymarket wallets are losers, 85%.  

Professional athletes have been caught recently throwing micro-bets, so what better thing to introduce in a sport with a long history of throwing fights.  

To sum up:

Social media - addicting

AI bots - addicting, even deadly

AI porn - coming....

Online Sports Betting - addicting

Micro-dosing opioids - addicting

Micro sports betting - addicting

Generally regulated and taxed -  Casino Betting - addicting....Tobacco use - addicting....Alcohol use- addicting

TechGods have occupied the unregulated and untaxed addiction zones.  Enter those at your own physical, mental and financial risk.  They do not have your best interest at heart.

transforming passive viewership into active participation

Wallet activation countdown:  Five, four, three, two.... one... 

Zero dollars left.  TechGod takeoff complete....  Thank you for your active participation.

Trump Dines with Wall Street & PEU Legends

ZeroHedge reported on a White House dinner with Wall Street executives to be held this evening.  The guest list includes private equity underwriters (PEU):

Invited guests include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman (former CFO for The Carlyle Group), Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon. 

Bankers and investors back Trump’s pro-growth agenda but remain uneasy about his tariffs, trade volatility, and pressure on the Federal Reserve.

Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell also worked for The Carlyle Group before moving on to another PEU.  Trump nominated Powell for the job in his first term as President.

Possible Fed Chair nominee to replace Powell is Kevin Hassett.  Kevin also has a private equity background having worked for Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner's PEU.  Kushner is Trump II's son in law.

Hassett received a $192,040 salary for his work with Affinity Partners.  Simultaneously, Kevin worked for the Milken Institute as Managing Director with a salary of $234,312.  

Founder Michael Milken branded leveraged buyout organizations (LBO), which is the former name for what is now called private equity.  Trump pardoned Milken, absolving the convicted Junk Bond King of his crimes.

Hassett received a salary from six other organizations, according to his financial disclosure form.  Between the eight employers Hassett received $763,045 last year.

This is how the insider money funnel works.  Big sums are thrown at the politically connected by multiple employers, each not expecting full time work production.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  

The current Fed Chair is and the next one may be PEU as well

Update 11-13-25:  When asked about the dinner Trump II's SBA Chief told CNBC "The government is there to support them."  

That's billionaire PEU Legends and Wall Street CEOs.  She avoided the fact that PEUs exported jobs by the tens of thousands under both Red (W. Bush) and Blue (Obama) administrations.  It was clear to some by July 2011.

That was around the time child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein wrote accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell about Trump being "the dog that hadn't barked." (April 2011).  It seems the government is there to support them too.  

Maxwell enjoys extra perks in her country club federal prison as Trump II scrambles to prevent the full release of the government's Epstein files..

I imagine the public is not interested in steering more resources to policy making billionaires of the PEU or TechGod variety and voters are not keen on protecting pedophiles or their accomplices/enablers.  

White House dinner invitee JP Morgan paid $365 million to date in Epstein related settlements for its role in financing Epstein's sexual crimes against children.  PEU Apollo founder Leon Black provided $170 million to Epstein.  This is the weave Trump II wants to hide.

Sonder Implodes, BlackRock Largest Equity Holder

Short term rental provider and Marriott partner Sonder Holdings declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Company auditor Delloite & Touche issued a going concern warning on Sonder in July 2025.  Around the same time an employee posted this on Glassdoor: 

This job started off easy and manageable, even with some clunky internal systems. But since the company was acquired by Marriott (rebranded as a “partnership” to avoid properly compensating employees), everything has gone downhill. The systems we use to do our jobs have become harder and more frustrating. 

But the real problem is the toxic, unaccountable management at both the direct and upper levels. We are now expected to juggle multiple roles — front desk, housekeeping, minor maintenance, billing, emails, live chat, in-person guest interactions, and more — all without proper training or increased pay. Management gaslights you into thinking this is normal and acceptable. When you push back, they deflect responsibility and create new rules on the fly to wear you down. The strategy is clear: overwork and exhaust the team to make us easier to manipulate. They even force you to stand for your entire shift now, as if the emotional labor wasn’t enough. 

Raises? You get a 60¢ “increase” as part of this Marriott shift — a complete slap in the face given how much more they demand from us. If you voice concerns, you’re told to be grateful or start looking elsewhere. 

The CEO “stepped down” to pursue other things, but let’s be real — this was always a sellout move. He cashed in and left the front-line workers to deal with the fallout. If you’re informed, strong-willed, and unwilling to be a pushover — you’ll be targeted. 

Sonder used to be a promising brand. But now, it feels like Marriott is draining it for all it’s worth before phasing it out completely. 

Bottom line: This job is not worth your mental health. Management doesn’t respect that you have a life outside of work. They will treat you as disposable — and expect gratitude in return. 

Advice to Management:   Prepare to be treated by the company the same way you've treated us; everyone's time comes.

Sonder began as Flatbook in 2014.  It changed names in 2016.  Sonder became public via an SPAC in 2021, valued at $2.2 billion.  Prequin reported the following sponsors:

The Gores Group, alongside Atreides Capital, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Moore Capital Management - Private Equity, Principal Global Investors, and Senator Investment Group

Several are private equity underwriters (PEU).  The PEU/TechGod playbook is embedded in that employee review.  Crappy technology, toxic management/executives, poor pay/benefits, excessive hours worked, top execs cashing out (getting all the rewards), no ability to move up and financial sleight of hand given the company never got close to being cash flow positive (even on an adjusted basis).  That's thirteen years of massive operating losses.  

The Real Deal noted:

....the company disclosed financial reporting errors affecting 2022 and 2023 statements

BlackRock took a number of hits on the debt side from recent bankruptcies.  Their Sonder losses are equity related, but I imagine it stings similarly.

Trump Boys' Dominari Holdings "Mining" Money

What fortune for Dominari Holdings, the Trump Tower renter that once was a bit financial player!  Thank the Trump Enrichment Accelerator.

In February the Trump boys joined Dominari's Advisory Board and participated in a private placement.  Since then Dominari has been skyrocketing.  Revenue is up over 700% in just nine months.  

Oddly, the company's website now returns an error message regarding their Board of Advisors.  Here's what it looked like months ago.

Dominari paid a dividend to shareholders in March (.32 per share) and September (.22 per share).    Together the Trump boys received over $1 million.  Each garnered over $530,000 between the two dividends (.55 per share total).

Dominari noted their profit from taking American Bitcoin public.  A SEC filing shows Eric Trump controlling over 68 million shares in ABTC.  At today's price of $5.15 Eric controls over $350 million in ABTC stock.

I'm sure the average citizen is far too busy trying to make ends meet to see the Trump administration minting money for family and friends.  Trump II, the digital Caligula, wants over $200 billion in net worth when he leaves office in January 2029.  

Deal makers get deal fees, directly or indirectly.  Remember that.  The Trump Enrichment Accelerator works 24/7/365.  It has over three more years to voraciously consume an obscene portion of economic resources.  For that many suffer.

Trump II Advancing Indentured Servitude

Fifteen year car loans and fifty year home mortgages are Trump II's answers to unaffordable houses and vehicles.  His advisors want to bring back the aristocracy and colonialism.  Why not add indentured servitude.  

Does the President believe these moves will help him with the general public?  If so, he is further out of touch than I thought and I did not think that possible given Trump II's irreality.  

Financiers win, but they always have.  Serf's up!

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU (private equity underwriters) and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

Catering to NY & LA Billionaire Investors

Concho Valley Homepage reported Doral Renewables is partnering with Bechtel Corporation on the Cold Creek solar and battery farm.  Doral's description indicates they are backed by Apollo, a giant  private equity underwriter (PEU).  Cold Creek is projected to be operational in 2028. 

San Angelo City Council and Tom Green County Commissioners have a new constituency to serve, PEUs with specific hurdle rate requirements.

City Councilman Tom Thompson, Tommy Hiebert and Harry Thomas have been ringing the bell on cutting city services, I take it, to give these and future projects their massive tax abatements.  

Cutting retiree healthcare so billionaire founders can add to their massive net worth?  That has a national political feel to it.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

Update 11-17-25:  Tony Deden wrote:

This essay was born out of revulsion to an accidental summer reading that paraded progress as virtue and private equity as its high priest. Every paragraph spoke the same pious language of “sustainable improvement,” “societal benefit,” and “long-term value creation,” as though leverage, asset-stripping, and balance-sheet cosmetics had become moral acts. I found myself revolted not merely by the hypocrisy, but by the vacuousness of it. In our hyper-financialized society, we have come to mistake valuation for value, and activity for achievement. The word ‘progress’ has been exploited to justify anything that moves—no matter what it destroys. What follows is an act of refusal to bow to the idea that more money is progress. If this essay has a motive, it is contempt for the trivial slogans that pass as thought, and for the hollow theory that confuses financial §engineering with human improvement.

Local politicians and Texas voters would be wise to read his piece.  

First Lady Lauds TechGods & PEUs

Bloomberg reported OpenAI, which will soon enter the pornography market, wants CHIPS act subsidies (tax credits) to be expanded to AI data centers.

....35% chips-focused tax credit to AI data centers, AI server producers and electrical grid components, such as transformers and the specialized steel used to produce them.

It seems TechGods want more subsidy from Uncle Sam (35%) than they are willing to pay in local taxes (generally 10 to 20% under 80-90% tax abatement). 

OpenAI scrambled to not look like a SNAP recipient or an Obamacare insured given what their CFO said.  CNN reported:

OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar raised eyebrows on Wednesday when she suggested that the US government should “backstop” the company’s aggressive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. 

“The backstop, the guarantee, that allows the financing to happen, that can really drop the cost of the financing but also increase the loan-to-value, so the amount of debt that you can take on top of an equity portion,” she said at a Wall Street Journal event.

TechGods need for an "all of government" subsidy.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with their huge capital pools, may soon be equity holders in tech firms.  FHFA Chief Bill Pulte is on it.

They even got the First Lady to equate TechGods, immigrants in many cases, with the greater good.  

Do you see how naturally, beautifully and inevitably the government is mobilizing all of its resources to enrich the PEU/TechGod class?  It's been going on for decades but regular people are beginning to notice.  

Melania's America is a club, the same one colonial powers used to beat "savage" locals into submission, the exclusive one the aristocracy created in their gilded ballrooms/dining halls and today the baton being used to demean the formerly middle class struggling day to day to survive.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren. Increasingly, more are one.

Update 11-17-25:  Tony Deden wrote:

This essay was born out of revulsion to an accidental summer reading that paraded progress as virtue and private equity as its high priest. Every paragraph spoke the same pious language of “sustainable improvement,” “societal benefit,” and “long-term value creation,” as though leverage, asset-stripping, and balance-sheet cosmetics had become moral acts. I found myself revolted not merely by the hypocrisy, but by the vacuousness of it. In our hyper-financialized society, we have come to mistake valuation for value, and activity for achievement. The word ‘progress’ has been exploited to justify anything that moves—no matter what it destroys. What follows is an act of refusal to bow to the idea that more money is progress. If this essay has a motive, it is contempt for the trivial slogans that pass as thought, and for the hollow theory that confuses financial §engineering with human improvement.

The First Lady would be wise to read his piece.