Hedge fund co-founder claims $7M coup scam
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Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Good morning. Today is Thursday, June 26th. I'm Julie Morgan. A hedge fund titan claims he was tricked into bankrolling a coup. Bezos makes a lunar pitch to Trump, and NVIDIA is once again on top.

The co-founder of Jane Street Capital alleged he was duped into funding a coup to overthrow the South Sudan government. Bloomberg News reported this on Wednesday, citing a statement from his lawyer. Robert Graneri, the co-founder of the New York-based hedge fund, says he was deceived into funding $7 million

for the purchase of AK-47s, Stinger missiles, and grenades. He said the scammers are Peter Ajak, a Harvard fellow, and Abraham Keach, who are both accused of scheming up a South Sudan coup in March of 2024. Graneri's lawyer said the businessman is a longtime supporter of human rights causes and that the person he thought was a human rights activist defrauded him and lied about his intentions.

The connection to Jane Street came in a recent filing by Ajax lawyers stating that Granary was vital to the plan, transferring $7 million in two phases. According to U.S. prosecutors, a few weeks after Ajax and Keech inspected a supply of weapons inside of a Phoenix warehouse, they were soon arrested. They both pleaded not guilty of illegally exporting arms to their home country.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has spoken to President Trump at least twice this month, while its CEO Dave Lemp has also made a trip to the White House to meet with Trump's chief of staff. The Wall Street Journal reported that these discussions are aimed at capitalizing on the ongoing feud between SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Trump to secure more government contracts for Blue Origin.

The report added, citing people familiar with the matter, that in at least some of the conversations with Trump and his staff, Bezos and other Blue Origin executives have appealed for more contracts. The recent fallout between the president and the world's richest person could potentially create an opening for Blue Origin, which is so far lagged behind SpaceX.

NVIDIA touched a record high on Wednesday, eventually closing at $154.31 and bagging a gain of 4.33% during the session. The CEO's comments on growth areas for the company at its annual meeting boosted investor confidence.

Jensen Wong said that they have many growth opportunities across the company, with AI and robotics the two largest, representing a multi-trillion dollar growth opportunity. He went on to say that they're working towards a day where there will be billions of robots –

hundreds of millions of autonomous vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of robotic factories that can be powered by NVIDIA technology. The rally pushed the chipmaker's market cap to $3.76 trillion, making it the world's most valuable company, overtaking Microsoft.

Now for a few other headlines that are trending on Seeking Alpha. Booking.com faces legal action as Dutch consumer groups allege inflated hotel prices. And AT&T executives advocate for shifting from copper landlines to fiber.

On our Catalyst Watch for the Day, Genpact will hold an Investor Day event. The focus will be on the company's AI-driven transformation strategy, data and domain-driven solutions, and future growth roadmap. And Krinetics Pharmaceuticals will host an in-person and virtual R&D day in New York.

The event will provide an update including data on the company's early-stage pipeline assets, next steps, and portfolio strategy to drive long-term value.

On Wall Street today, ahead of the opening bell, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is down 0.3% at $64 a barrel. Bitcoin is flat at $107,000. Gold is up 0.2% at $3,341. The FTSE 100 is flat and the DAX is up 0.8%.

Worthington Steel is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. WUS is up 14% after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results overcoming a 9% year-over-year revenue decline due to lower average selling prices and softer toll volumes.

On today's economic calendar, at 8 a.m., the Fed's Thomas Barkin will speak on the economy before the New York Association for Business Economics. At 8.30 a.m., GDP. Also at 8.30 a.m., jobless claims. And at 1.15 p.m., the Fed's Michael Barr will speak on community development at the Federal Reserve before a policy summit hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening. To take full advantage of Seeking Alpha with coverage on significant stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Check out seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions. I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.