THIS EVENING: EU privacy regulator hands down record USD 1.3 bn fine to Meta

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an extremely rare occurrence when the news cycle is this slow, but it’s just one of those days when we don’t even have a story that we can earnestly tell you is a “big story” so far.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Leading this conversation in the international business press this afternoon: Meta just got slapped with a USD 1.3 bn fine by European privacy regulators over its transfer of personal data on European users to the US. The Irish Data Protection Commission — which has jurisdiction over Meta in Europe because the company is headquartered in Ireland — said Meta storing European users’ data on servers in the US is a violation of a 2020 EU Court of Justice ruling. The story is getting front-page play this afternoon in CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• We have a guarantor for our maiden panda bond sale: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to provide ins. coverage for USD 345 mn of our maiden USD 500 mn CNY-denominated bond issuance.
• Al Taamir Leasing and Factoring Al Oulahas closed a EGP 1.1 bn securitized bond issuance.
• valU to offer Partment users financing solutions:EFG Hermes’ valU has partnered with proptech startup Partment to offer its users flexible payment plans up to 60 months.
  

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Get ready for the heat as our favorite weather app warns us that temperatures will be rising to 36°C and is expected to drop to a breezier 22°C in the evening.