Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
SpaceX's long-anticipated IPO is raising eyebrows on the Street this afternoon. The offering is expected to clear eighty billion dollars, making it potentially the largest in history, but the S-one reveals a striking detail: seventy-eight percent of those proceeds are already committed, leaving far less free capital than the headline figure suggests.
Shifting to energy markets, Asia's fuel supply crunch is facing a new threat. A so-called Super El Nino is forecast to hit the region this summer, driving drought conditions and surging power demand at precisely the moment supplies remain constrained following Iran's move to block the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping traffic. Energy traders are watching closely.
And in the corporate suite, BP's ousted chairman Albert Manifold is pushing back hard after the board removed him Tuesday over what it described as serious concerns around governance standards and conduct. Manifold is flatly rejecting what he calls lies about his behavior, setting up a public dispute that adds further uncertainty to a company already navigating significant strategic pressure.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
