NBC News Top Stories | She paid an insurance company $99,000 to generate retirement income for life. Then it collapsed. by Gretchen Morgenson

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Annie Benjamin paid $99,000 for a retirement annuity from PHL Variable Insurance Co., only to have the private‑equity‑backed insurer collapse in 2024, freezing her account and leaving her and roughly 100,000 other policyholders facing a $2.2 billion shortfall. The failure highlights a broader shift in the life‑insurance industry: companies once content with safe, high‑quality investments are now taking on risky, complex reinsurance deals—often hidden in confidential filings and backed by assets that don’t meet standard accounting rules. State regulators, who are supposed to guard policyholders’ money, have been slow to police these practices, allowing thin capital cushions and “excess‑of‑loss” agreements that can evaporate when needed. As a result, many retirees risk receiving only a fraction of promised payouts, exposing a growing vulnerability in an industry that increasingly underpins retirement income for Americans.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/paid-insurance-company-99000-generate-retirement-income-life-collapsed-rcna331934

#AnnieBenjamin #PHLVariable #NationalAssociation #AmericanEquity #Brookfield

qwant news | Bill Ackman's $5 billion Pershing Square IPO to start trading, testing Berkshire-style vision

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square USA (ticker PSUS) debuted on the NYSE at $42, well below its $50 IPO price, and was trading around $40.90, an 18% decline, while the related asset‑manager stock Pershing Square Inc. (PS) opened at $24 and hovered near $23.50. The $5 billion offering created two separately traded entities—a closed‑end fund (PSUS) and the management company (PS)—designed to attract both institutional and retail investors and to omit performance fees. Investors in PSUS also received bonus shares of PS, linking the two vehicles. Ackman positioned the structure as a step toward a Berkshire‑Hathaway‑style permanent‑capital platform, emphasizing Pershing Square’s 2,600% cumulative net return since 2004, its macro‑hedging record (including a 93‑fold COVID‑era credit‑protection trade), and plans for Berkshire‑inspired shareholder practices such as annual meetings and investor days.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/29/bill-ackmans-5-billion-pershing-square-ipo-to-start-trading-testing-berkshire-style-vision.html

#BillAckman #PershingSquare #BerkshireHathaway #WarrenBuffett #Amazon #Uber #Brookfield

Bloomberg Technology | CDK Debt Prices Splinter After Failed Challenge to Creditor Pact by Reshmi Basu

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

At Brookfield Business Partners‑backed CDK Global, a rare attempt by one group of creditors to challenge another has disrupted the market for the software firm’s roughly $5.5 billion debt. Late last week a faction of CDK’s creditors tried to forge a “cooperation pact” to counter an existing coalition of lenders that includes Pacific Investment Management Co., BlackRock Inc. and Blackstone Inc., according to sources.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-28/cdk-debt-prices-splinter-after-failed-challenge-to-creditor-pact

#ReshmiBasu #Brookfield #CDKGlobal #PacificInvestment #BlackRock

yahoo news | Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 39% of His Hedge Fund's $17.7 Billion Stock...

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square fund now holds just 13 stocks, but almost two‑thirds of its $17.7 billion equity portfolio is concentrated in three “stellar” names. Roughly 39 % of the fund’s assets are split among Brookfield (about 14.5 % of assets), Uber (≈12.3 %) and Alphabet (≈12.2 %). Ackman’s strategy of a highly focused portfolio lets investors see his biggest bets through the fund’s public filings and consider copying those ideas without investing directly with him.

Brookfield (NYSE: BN) is being built as an investment‑led insurance company that, like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, aims to grow insurance float and redeploy it into equity investments. With $120 billion in invested assets at the end of 2025 and a target of $600 billion, the firm also holds a large stake in Brookfield Asset Management, which is expected to generate billions of dollars in carried‑interest earnings over the next decade. Ackman expects about 25 % earnings growth this year, and at under 17 times last year’s distributable earnings the stock appears markedly undervalued.

Uber (NYSE: UBER) is valued for its massive rider network and its push into autonomous‑vehicle partnerships, notably with Waymo and Motional. The company posted 18 % user growth, a 35 % rise in earnings per share and accelerating free‑cash‑flow generation, trading at less than 22 times forward earnings. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG/GOOGL) is the other AI‑centric holding, benefitting from integrated generative‑AI features in Google Search, rapid growth in Google Cloud powered by its Gemini 3 model and custom TPUs, and expanding AI partnerships such as with Apple’s Siri. With a forward‑earnings multiple around 28 times, the stock may still be underpriced given its AI‑driven revenue and margin upside.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/billionaire-bill-ackman-39-hedge-005000635.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

#billackman #pershingsquare #Brookfield #uber #alphabet

OpenAI offers 17.5% on venture deal! How can it do that?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/30/openai-offers-17-5-on-venture-deal-how-can-it-do-that/

It looks like the Mayor of Brookfield's daughter is harassing his opponent, Mike Hallquist.

https://www.therecombobulationarea.news/p/claims-of-harassment-other-concerning

(Disclaimer: I've met Mike, he's a friend of a friend, seems like a good guy, also played in a punk band.)

#brookfield #wisconsin #USPOL

That's good to read.

"Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, South Milwaukee, and Oconomowoc have changed their zoning ordinances and taken other steps in recent years to encourage construction of ADUs. Shorewood and Waukesha are considering zoning changes to allow ADUs, with the topic surfacing as an issue in Brookfield's mayoral race."

https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2026/03/03/milwaukee-area-sees-rise-of-backyard-homes-with-zoning-changes/88723757007/

#Milwaukee #Shorewood #Brookfield #ADUs

Should've invested in Carney's Brookfield money generator...looks like guaranteed petrostate returns.

https://youtu.be/d0SCwJpn8zE?si=n2ubUtNFjnCV7W1w

#Captured #CdnPoli #PetroStateCanada #MarkCarney #Brookfield

The in-depth investigative journalism by Th Hatchet has been refreshing. It's a stark contrast to the world of shorts and fleeting attention spans. And I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to their very well narrated episodes.

Their latest series on Brookfield is actually free and available to all listeners. Great way to get a taste, before you become a subscriber and join 500+ people supporting their impressive journalism endeavor!

https://hatchetmedia.substack.com/t/brookfield

#TheHatchet #Brookfield #Canadian

#Canada's PM and leader of the opposition are such hypocrites! Both are investors in our destruction. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/21/opinion/mark-carney-climate-rhetoric-reality?nih=H_mWrBhoX4gBdwDH0WO7p9ClDBNyOyEQ-yyfKhU7tZ0

#cdnpoli #climateCriminals #Brookfield #BigOil