Good Morning. This is the Investor Lookout with the daily digest.

Here’s what we got today:

• 🥪 Blackstone Acquires Jersey Mike's Subs In $8 Billion Deal

• 🍏 Apple Boosts Indonesia Investment Tenfold to Lift iPhone Ban

Blackstone Acquires Jersey Mike's Subs In $8 Billion Deal

Blackstone was hungry and bought one of the most expensive subs in history. The private equity firm has struck a deal to buy Jersey Mike's Subs for $8 billion, as announced by the sandwich chain on Tuesday. The transaction is likely to close in early 2025 and contains an earn-out clause that conditions the full payment of the $8 billion to be paid after the fast food chain opens its 4,000th location. Jersey Mike's currently has over 3,000 stores. The deal comes after the sandwich chain's competitor, Subway, was acquired for $9.55 billion last year.

• Peter Cancro, the CEO and founder of Jersey Mike's, will maintain an equity stake and stay in charge of the operation

• Blackstone continues its focus on food franchises after investing in 7 Brew Coffee and Tropical Smoothie Cafe this year

Apple Boosts Indonesia Investment Tenfold to Lift iPhone Ban

Apple's newest update might let them sell iPhones in Indonesia again. The iPhone 16 is currently unavailable for sale in Indonesia after the Indonesian government restricted sales because the series didn't meet the country's 40% domestic content requirements. Apple ($AAPL) plans to invest $100 million in Indonesia, a 10x increase from its previous proposal, to lift the ban. Sources tell that the Cupertino company would invest in a factory producing accessories and components for its hardware.

• Indonesia does not have an official Apple store, and the country experiences between one and two months delay in receiving new Apple products

• Apple currently has a 2% market share in the country, while the market is skewed toward phones under $200, dominated by Chinese smartphones

Markets

Investors reload rate hike bets in Japan. Investors are betting that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) might hike interest rates next month and are shorting bonds as well as buying bank shares. The probability of a December rate hike has surged to 54%. [Read]

IMF warns Asia retaliatory tariffs could undermine growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautions that escalating "tit-for-tat" tariffs in Asia could hamper economic growth. [Read]

Russia-U.S. tensions briefly hit global markets as Putin lowers the threshold for a nuclear strike. Global markets temporarily fell on Tuesday as Vladimir Putin amended Russia's nuclear doctrine, expanding the conditions for a nuclear strike. [Read]

Business

Nvidia analyst predicts ‘jaw dropper’ Q3 earnings—others on Wall Street are not so sure. Investors are nervously awaiting Nvidia's ($NVDA) Q3 earnings as some analysts forecast a massive revenue beat while others are cautious. [Read]

Palantir Director Deletes X Account After ‘ETF Buying’ Post. A Palantir ($PLTR) board member has deleted his X account after posting last week that the company's plan to move its listing from NYSE to Nasdaq was meant to cater to retail investors. [Read]

Fintech unicorns are watching Klarna’s debut for signs of when IPO window will reopen. Fintech unicorns are not in a rush to go public after buy now, pay later company Klarna filed for a U.S. IPO. [Read]

You can’t time the market. "You’re making a terrible mistake if you stay out of a game that you think is going to be very good over time because you think you can pick a better time to enter it." —Warren Buffet

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.