Daily Update — May 27, 2025
Restoring Trust in Carbon Markets; GenAI Roundup; and Pharma Private Equity Deals Down
Today is Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Transition & Sustainability
Listen: Restoring trust and integrity for a new era in carbon markets
In the latest episode of the “Energy Evolution” podcast, host Eklavya Gupte spoke with Daniel Klier, CEO of carbon markets consultancy South Pole. As the industry faces a credibility crisis, Klier shared insights on the initiatives being undertaken by the voluntary carbon market to restore trust and build a more resilient ecosystem.
Klier also discussed the overhaul of South Pole’s senior leadership team and how the company has adapted its strategy to emphasize compliance markets and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI Digest: Robust funding and a focus on rich media generation
In April, generative AI funding increased significantly, with startups raising over $3.7 billion across 127 transactions, led by a new funding round from Safe Superintelligence. This period not only highlights substantial financial investments, it features notable product releases, research updates and regulatory changes.
Among the key developments, OpenAI introduced new model versions while phasing out GPT-4.5 and Meta Platforms faced scrutiny over benchmark score manipulation. These developments reflect a broader trend toward rich media generation, as seen in OpenAI's image generation capabilities and Meta's multimodal approach.
Explore S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Artificial Intelligence Solutions to learn more.
Private Markets
Pharmaceutical private equity deals face regulatory hurdles
Global private equity and venture capital investments in pharmaceutical companies have significantly decreased in the 2025 so far compared to 2024, with deal value totaling $7.9 billion across 53 transactions in the year through May 9. This figure is less than half of the $20.44 billion recorded from 101 deals during the same period in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Regulatory challenges, particularly US tariffs, are hindering further investment in the pharmaceutical sector. According to experts, the US represents the largest drug market, and access barriers complicate foreign firms' ability to sell to American consumers.
In case you missed it
- Active managers had a challenging 2024, as a cross-category, fund-weighted average of 71% of equity funds listed across all regions underperformed their respective benchmarks.
- The US power industry is facing an acute supply backlog of critical grid components, such as foreign-manufactured transformers. Tariffs could increase the already elevated prices of equipment and materials.
- Indonesia is considering its options of increasing US oil and gas imports in response to the latest tariffs imposed by Washington. Critical factors in the final decision include logistics, landed costs and shipping period.
Upcoming events
- Private Credit in Infrastructure: Risk Assessment & Valuation | May 28 (Webinar)
- An integrated view of the auto supply chain: How to make business decisions in chaos | May 28 (Webinar)
- Quantifying the Financial Impact of Physical Climate Risk for Financial Institutions | May 30 (Webinar)