5 Big News Stories Overnight - Thursday, June 4, 2026

Real-Estate Giant Compass Under Antitrust Investigation in New York

WSJ reports: 

Real-estate brokerage Compass, which became an industry giant after acquiring rival Anywhere Real Estate earlier this year, is under investigation by the antitrust bureau of the New York attorney general’s office.

New York-based Compass grew from about 40,000 U.S. agents to more than 200,000 when the $1.6 billion deal closed. Compass was already the country’s biggest real-estate brokerage by volume. Anywhere, which owned well-known brokerage brands such as Century 21, Sotheby’s and Coldwell Banker, was the second-biggest.

If the attorney general’s office finds that the merger violated antitrust law, it could pursue legal action against Compass and seek potential penalties including fines or even selling off parts of the company.

Compass’s stock fell 12% to $7.61 Wednesday.

The merger increased Compass’s market share, especially in luxury markets like New York where both Compass and Anywhere had a large presence.

Zelensky confirms drone strike on oil depot hours before Russia’s economic forum

The Telegraph reports:

Ukrainian drones have blown up parts of St Petersburg’s oil terminal as the city hosts an annual conference known as “Vladimir Putin’s Davos”.

Plumes of black smoke were seen above Russia’s second city, which is also Putin’s hometown, hours before the opening of the St Petersburg Economic Forum.

Russians published videos on Telegram and other social media showing loud explosions, flashes and fires raging around the depot.

The oil terminal, one of the largest fuel storage and export facilities in the country, handles around 90 million barrels of oil a year. It is located just over 10 miles from where the convention is set to take place.

Iran vote caps Trump’s congressional losing streak

Politico reports:

House Republicans for the first time failed to block an effort to halt the Iran war, the latest sign that members of the president’s own party are willing to buck him on key aspects of his agenda.

The vote further stymies the White House’s political priorities in recent weeks after the GOP scuttled several Trump goals. Senate Republicans, who already helped push back against Trump on the Iran war in an initial vote, have also rejected the president’s billion-dollar proposal to aid his ballroom project and a Justice Department fund to compensate presidential allies he claims have been unfairly prosecuted.

These moves — as Democrats use surging gas prices and the war to make headway in the run-up to the midterms — indicate a growing tension between the White House and Hill Republicans.

SpaceX Sets Price for the World’s Largest I.P.O.

The New York Times:

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket maker and artificial intelligence company, set a price for its initial public offering on Wednesday of $135, which would value it at $1.77 trillion and crown it the largest I.P.O. ever.

At that price, SpaceX would raise $74.4 billion from the offering, and its valuation would be more than 40 percent higher than the $1.25 trillion that it valued itself at in February. The current I.P.O. record is held by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, which was valued at $1.7 trillion and raised more than $29 billion when it went public in 2019.

Most companies that go public set a preliminary price range for their stock offering before settling on a final number in case investor demand for their shares changes. But Mr. Musk and SpaceX sidestepped that and simply declared one price for investors. SpaceX could still change that price but is not expected to do so. It is likely to begin trading on the Nasdaq next week under the ticker symbol SPCX.

At $74.4 billion raised, SpaceX’s I.P.O. would be just about “more than every U.S. I.P.O. combined in the last two years,” said Matthew Kennedy, a senior I.P.O. market strategist at Renaissance Capital.

Fifa bans fans from taking reusable water bottles into World Cup stadiums after U-turn

The Guardian reports:

Spectators will not be allowed to carry reusable water bottles into World Cup venues owing to safety concerns, Fifa has said, after a last-minute change to its stadium code of conduct.

The governing body had earlier permitted empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles inside stadiums but said the updated code prohibited that. Other items such as bottles, cups, jars and cans are also banned to prevent the risk of injury if thrown.

“Fifa is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, fans, volunteers, and staff,” it said. “Fifa made the decision to prohibit bottles to prevent risk and injury to players and attendees.

“Outside bottles are already prohibited at several of these venues for safety considerations and Fifa is applying this consideration across its tournament stadiums.”

The move has raised concerns among supporters about coping with heat, with temperatures at a few venues expected to range between 26C and 28C, and access to drinking water inside stadiums.