Good morning & happy Tuesday! Today's issue is really interesting as we're diving deep into Visa and its deepening moat (how network effect dominance, payment digitization, and value-added services create unstoppable growth engine for the finance giant + bonus deep dives into Visa's & Mastercard's latest financials) and Spanish banking giant BBVA which just secured historic crypto trading license bringing Bitcoin to millions (what it's all about & why it matters + more bonus reads inside). So let's jump straight into the phenomenal stuff '' Following the money ' Finance giant Visa V 0.00%' continues to strengthen its competitive positioning while simultaneously diversifying its revenue streams in ways that enhance its long-term durability. That was the message I got across during the company's 2025 Investor Day, which provides compelling evidence that Visa is not merely maintaining its market leadership but actively expanding its addressable market and enhancing its value proposition....

The DOJ first proposed that Google should sell Chrome last year, under then-President Joe Biden, but it seems to be sticking with that plan under the second Trump administration. The department is, however, no longer calling for the company to divest all its investments in artificial intelligence, including the billions Google has poured into Anthropic. marketplace to ensure that ' no matter what occurs ' Google always wins,' the DOJ said in a filing signed by Omeed Assefi, its current acting attorney general for antitrust. (Trump's nominee to lead antitrust for the DOJ still awaits confirmation.) For that reason, the DOJ said it hasn't changed the 'core components' of its initial proposal, including the divestment of Chrome and a prohibition on search-related payments to distribution partners. On AI, the DOJ said it's no longer calling for 'the mandatory divestiture of Google's AI investments' and will instead be satisfied with 'prior notification for future investments.' It also said that instead of giving Google the option to divest Android now, it will leave a future decision up to the court, depending on whether the market becomes more competitive....

As part of the deal, Barclays will inject '400m into the payments unit to support its return to sustainable growth. Additionally, the bank will provide approximately '250m in regulatory capital to ensure deal approval. The sale follows Barclays' February 2024 announcement that it was exploring strategic options for its payments arm, one of the UK's largest merchant acquiring businesses. Valuations of the division have varied, with estimates ranging from under $1bn to $2.5bn. While both Barclays and Brookfield declined to comment on the transaction, the bank previously stated: 'We are exploring a number of options for investment in our market-leading merchant acquiring business, including strategic partnerships. We will provide any further updates in due course.' Subscribe to our Newsletter to increase your edge. Don't worry about the news anymore, through our newsletter you'll receive weekly access to what is happening. Join 120,000 other PE professionals today....

Amid the chaos of the Trump administration's first few weeks in office, a court case regarding the president's legal right to stop payment of nearly US$2 billion in U.S. Agency for International Development contracts poses an important legal question whose answer may show just how strong the country's separation of powers actually is. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order pausing all foreign aid funding, most of which is administered by USAID. A little more than two weeks later, USAID laid off all but a few hundred of its 10,000 workers. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a temporary order on Feb. 13 for the administration to not end or pause any existing foreign aid contracts ' and again ordered on Feb. 25 that the administration needed to pay the $2 billion owed to various aid organizations for completed work. After the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal of the decision to the Supreme Court, the justices, in a 5-4 ruling on March 5, found that the federal judge's decision can temporarily take effect while the district court considers the merits of the case....