Subcutaneously administered systemic therapies are expected to reduce administration times, minimizing the time an individual treatment chair or room is needed while simultaneously giving patients the freedom to choose how to spend more of their time outside the clinic, according to J. Thaddeus Beck, MD, FACP.
The most recent regulatory approval of subcutaneous treatment was announced on September 19, 2025, when the FDA approved pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph (Keytruda Qlex) for subcutaneous injection for use in adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older in all solid tumor indications approved for the intravenous (IV) formulation of pembrolizumab (Keytruda).1,2
The agent was tested in the phase 3 Study MK-3475A-D77 (NCT05722015) in patients with untreated, metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without EGFR, ALK, or ROS1 genomic tumor aberrations. Patients were randomly assigned to receive subcutaneous pembrolizumab (n = 251) or IV pembrolizumab administered every 6 weeks with platinum doublet chemotherapy.
The results showed that the predefined acceptance margin was met for the pharmacokinetic end points with the lower boundary, 96% CI for cycle 1 area under the curve 0 to 6 weeks, and 94% CI for cycle 3 Ctrough, of the geometric mean ratios above the prespecified threshold of 0.8 for comparability. Descriptive analyses of efficacy also indicated that the confirmed objective response rate was 45% (95% CI, 39%-52%) in the subcutaneous arm vs 42% (95% CI, 33%-51%) in the IV arm. Progression-free survival and overall survival outcomes were also similar between arms.
“I think [this approval] is the wave of the future. [I expect that] more of these monoclonal [antibodies] will be given subcutaneously,” J. Thaddeus Beck, MD, FACP, medical oncologist at Highlands Oncology in Rogers, Arkansas, said in an interview with OncLive®.
In the interview, Beck discussed the regulatory agency’s approval of subcutaneous pembrolizumab, its significance for patients and providers, and considerations that should be made before the agent is introduced into clinical practices.
OncLive: What makes this approval of subcutaneous pembrolizumab meaningful?
Beck: The approval of the subcutaneous form of pembrolizumab gives us another option that we can use to tailor treatments for patients’ individual situations. The main benefit is the ease and simplicity of administration [since it allows for a] shortened administration time. It’s a 2.4 mL or 0.5 teaspoon size injection that can be given in seconds instead of [over 30 minutes].
We’ve had very good feedback from patients who are on the trial [about] how it really changed the way they thought about treatment. They liked the fact that it was shorter and quicker, so that they could be in and out. They could have more time to do what they wanted to do before and after their treatment, [providing] much more of a pleasant experience for them.
What will be the immediate effect of the approval?
The patients like it better. It will save chair time, so treatment chairs or rooms will not be occupied as long. You can cut the infusion time down. If it’s being given with another IV chemotherapy, you can drop the last infusion, given that it is subcutaneous, and the patients will have a better experience.
What is important to note about the design of the pivotal trial?
The trial was designed with two arms that compared sequential treatment. The first arm was IV therapy for [X] cycles, followed by subcutaneous therapy. The second arm was subcutaneous therapy, followed by IV therapy. Then patients were allowed to assess how they felt with the treatment and choose which one they’d like to continue with. Most patients chose the subcutaneous version.
There were no unique adverse effects or safety signals. Other than the administration difference, [the subcutaneous formulation] seemed to act in the same form and fashion [as the IV formulation].
What is your advice to those looking to integrate the subcutaneous formulation into their practice?
People have to get partially undressed [to receive the therapy], so you’ll need a private area to [allow for that]. We’re in the process of building a new facility, and we’re taking this change into account. We’re creating a whole separate fast track area where patients can [experience] the faster workflow and have more privacy, so they can take advantage of this program.
8 October 2025 – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB, the Bank) raised EUR 500 million through its latest Green benchmark Sukuk issuance under its enhanced 2025 Sustainable Finance Framework (the Framework).
The Bank, rated Aaa/AAA/AAA by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch (all with Stable Outlook) priced the 5-year Trust Certificates under its US$25 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme.
The Joint Lead Managers (JLMs) for this issuance were Barclays, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC Bank plc, ING and Nomura.
The transaction is the Bank’s first EUR benchmark issuance this year. This followed its two other successful public USD benchmark transactions that raised a total of ~USD 3.5 billion from the global capital markets earlier this year. IsDB has now completed its 2025 funding program.
The latest Green Sukuk issuance, the Bank’s second overall, represents an important milestone for IsDB in the EUR markets, positioning the Bank as a future frequent EUR issuer.
The issuance witnessed a record-breaking orderbook– both in terms of both volume (5 times over subscription) and number of investors – reflecting the Bank’s very active investor outreach with EUR investors over the recent months and the robust market demand for AAA-rated paper in a challenging market environment. The Bank’s active investor engagement over the months culminated in a large increment of new investors participating in this issuance.
The proceeds of the EUR 500 million Green Sukuk issuance will be deployed to finance and re-finance (in whole or in part) eligible projects with environmental benefits under the ‘Green Project categories’ as defined in the Framework.
This is IsDB’s first Green Sukuk under the newly‑launched Framework that was published in July 2025 and supersedes the 2019 Framework. The enhanced Framework aligns with the latest editions of the ICMA Principles and Guidelines, including the 2025 Green Bond Principles, the 2025 Social Bond Principles and the 2021 Sustainability Bond Guidelines.
The Framework introduces more stringent eligibility criteria for green project categories and detailed criteria for social project categories. The Bank also added two new eligible categories in the Framework, namely (a) Climate Change Adaptation and (b) Food Security and Sustainable Food Systems, reinforcing their role in its overall operations strategy and reflecting the increasing project approvals in these sectors in recent years.
The enhanced Framework was reviewed independently by S&P Global, which then published a strong Second Party Opinion (SPO) whereby most of the project categories were assigned Medium Green and Dark Green shading. S&P also noted that there are no weaknesses in the Framework and that it is fully aligned with the ICMA Principles.
Execution Timeline
IsDB formally announced to the market, on Wednesday 24 September 2025, a fixed income mandate for the JLMs to arrange a series of virtual calls and physical meetings in UK, France and The Netherlands, with a potential new 5-year Green EUR Sukuk issuance to follow, subject to market conditions.
Throughout the week of 29September, the Bank met with a diverse range of investors, particularly focusing on ESG dedicated accounts. The Bank was also building upon the investor outreach that it had undertaken across Northern and Southern Europe in early September.
Despite a volatile backdrop, market conditions were supportive for IsDB to announce a EUR 500mn Will Not Grow (WNG) 5-year Green Sukuk transaction on Tuesday, 7 October. After gathering positive interest, the Bank officially opened the orderbook the next morning, on Wednesday, 8 October, with a guidance of EUR SOFR Mid Swap (MS) plus 47 basis (bps) area.
Investor demand quickly exceeded EUR 1.5 billion (bn), enabling the Bank to set the final spread at EUR SOFR MS plus 44 bps, i.e. three bps tighter from guidance. This translates to a profit rate of 2.793% for investors, payable on an annual basis and priced at par.
The momentum continued even with the tighter pricing and final orderbooks closed in excess of EUR 2.6bn (incl. EUR 225mn JLM), resulting in IsDB’s most oversubscribed trade ever as well as its largest EUR book on record.
The final distribution was very well diversified across investor types: Central Banks / Official Institutions / Sovereign Wealth Fund (42%); Asset Managers / Fund Managers (30%); Insurance and Pension Funds (22%); and Banks / Treasury (6%).
From a geographical point of view, Europe turned out with the largest share (53%), followed by MENA (27%), Asia (13%) and the UK (7%).
Dr. Zamir Iqbal, the Vice President (Finance) and CFO of IsDB, said: “The work on the Bank’s enhanced Sustainable Finance Framework reflects the Bank’s commitment to further scale up sustainable development in our Member Countries. The latest AAA-rated EUR Green Sukuk is a landmark achievement that showcases the Bank’s impact and capabilities. The strongest credential for the Bank is very strong interest of investors – we are grateful for their endorsement and confidence in the Bank’s mission and its sustainable finance framework.”
Mr. Mohammed Sharaf, the IsDB Treasurer and Mr. Zakky Bantan, the Manager of the Capital Markets Division added, “The most significant takeaway from this issuance is the influx of new investors. Extensive investor outreach, together with the robust Sustainable Finance Framework, made this possible. We highly appreciate all the support from investors. We look forward to build upon this success for future issuances when we return to the EUR markets next year.”
Jamie Stirling, the Global Head of SSA Debt Capital Markets at BNP Paribas concluded: “An impressive issuance by IsDB that underscores the growing appetite of European investors for high-quality AAA exposure in the region. Partnering with IsDB and the other lead managers, we assembled a broad, diversified investor base – many of them first-time Sukuk participants – demonstrating the confidence placed on IsDB Green Sukuk paper. Congratulations to all the team, a very well-deserved result.”
IsDB is a AAA-rated supranational and multilateral development financial institution with 57 Member Countries (MCs) and a mandate of delivering social and economic development with a focus on sustainability in its Member countries and Muslim communities worldwide. The Bank’s operations span across four continents, touching the lives of nearly 1 in 5 of the global population. Its mission is to equip people to drive their own economic and social progress at scale, putting the infrastructure in place and enabling them to fulfil their potential. The Bank’s targeted efforts across multiple continents foster an environment where the primary focus is on human development and well-being.
Yield levels on deposits in many fintech companies are dramatically higher than yield levels on deposits in the banking sector, see chart below. It is a fundamental imprudence in banking to finance long-horizon assets with short-term liabilities.
Sources: Revolut, Varo Bank, Adelfi, Pibank, Sofi, FitnessBank, AlumniFi, LendingClub, Current, Wealthfront, FDIC, Haver Analytics, Apollo Chief Economist
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The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by IUCN and the Government of Mongolia, will enhance cooperation between the Parties on biodiversity conservation, rangeland restoration, and sustainable land management. The agreement was signed during the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) at the Mongolia Pavilion by IUCN Director General Dr. Grethel Aguilar and H.E. Batbaatar Bat, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia.
This MoU provides a general and guiding framework for cooperation between the Parties, defining areas and forms of collaboration with the aim of strengthening Mongolia’s leadership in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and enhancing IUCN’s contribution to Mongolia’s national and international environmental goals. It achieves this by establishing a foundation for cooperation on restoration opportunities mapping, capacity-building, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and joint advocacy for integrated approaches to land, biodiversity, and climate action.
The MoU comes as Mongolia prepares to assume the Presidency of UNCCD COP17 in 2026, where rangelands, drought resilience, and integrated land management will be at the top of the global agenda. The agreement with IUCN sets a framework for collaboration, while also promoting synergies with IUCN tools as well as biodiversity and climate commitments under the Rio Conventions.
UNCCD COP17 is set to take place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in late 2026. This major global convening will bring together UNCCD’s 197 Parties in a crucial global forum to accelerate action against desertification, land degradation and drought. As one of the most affected countries by desertification, with nearly 77 percent of its land degraded, Mongolia will leverage COP17 to drive solutions for land restoration, sustainable land management and resilience-building across the world.
COP17, set during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) — declared by the United Nations General Assembly and championed by Mongolia — will build on efforts to promote the sustainable management, restoration and conservation of rangelands.
Upon the signing of the MoU, Dr. Grethel Aguilar, the Director General of IUCN, said: “IUCN is proud to strengthen its partnership with Mongolia at this historic moment. Mongolia’s leadership on rangeland restoration, Nature-based Solutions, and sustainable dryland management is exemplary and provides inspiration for the global community. This agreement ensures that IUCN can bring its scientific expertise, policy experience, and broad membership to support Mongolia’s priorities during COP17 and beyond.”
H.E. Batbaatar Bat, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia, similarly reflected on the significance of the signing: “This MoU reflects Mongolia’s deep commitment to safeguarding our rangelands, strengthening community livelihoods, and promoting international cooperation on nature and climate. By working closely with IUCN, we can advance our flagship initiatives and ensure that COP17 delivers bold, practical solutions for the challenges of desertification, drought, and biodiversity loss.”
Mongolia joined IUCN as a State Member in 2015 and has since engaged in joint efforts on protected and conserved areas, ecosystem restoration, drylands management, and global environmental governance. This MoU represents further strengthening of the relationship between IUCN and Mongolia, as well as a deepened commitment by both Parties to advance conservation in East Asia for the benefit of both people and nature.
After Friday’s big selloff as President Trump fired back at China’s tightening of rare earths export curbs with higher tariffs, investors will be watching closely for the latest trade policy developments.
An ongoing federal government shutdown may delay the release of several economic reports, but investors can look forward to a full slate of corporate earnings from big banks and mainstays in the semiconductor industry.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and American Express are on the list of major financial firms set to report this week, while reports from TSMC, Johnson & Johnson, and United Airlines will also be in focus.
Without a resolution to the budget dispute, the government shutdown will enter its third week, likely delaying the release of data on wholesale inflation, retail sales, housing starts, and jobless claims. Homebuilder confidence and small business optimism surveys are still scheduled, and several Federal Reserve speakers are expected to deliver remarks, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The bond market is closed on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday (observed in some places as Indigenous Peoples Day), while major stock exchanges are open. The Federal Reserve system, major financial institutions, and many federal, state, and local government offices will be closed on Monday.
Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.
Big Banks, Chipmaking Stalwarts to Highlight Corporate Earnings This Week
This week is set to bring third-quarter updates from some of the world’s biggest banks and top financial institutions, starting with Tuesday’s release from JPMorgan Chase. The world’s largest bank by market capitalization has reported better-than-expected revenue in the year’s first two quarters, even as sales declined and net interest income came up short in its most recent report amid CEO Jamie Dimon’s warnings about “turbulence” in the economy.
Others expected to release quarterly financials Tuesday include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and CitiGroup. Reports from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are due to follow Wednesday, while Charles Schwab, Bank of New York Mellon, and U.S. Bancorp are scheduled for Thursday. Earnings from American Express, Truist Financial, and State Street are slated for Friday.
The world’s largest chip manufacturer, TSMC, is set to report its results Thursday, after growing its revenue by 40% in the first half of 2025 on strong sales of AI chips. Chipmaking equipment maker ASML looks to report Wednesday after the Dutch firm raised worries about future growth amid tariff pressures.
Also this week, cloud computing giant Oracle will host a three-day AI World conference beginning on Monday, and customer relationship management software firm Salesforce’s Dreamforce event starts Tuesday.
Shutdown Likely to Extend Data Release Blackout
With the federal government shutdown heading into its third week, the blackout on economic data releases is likely to continue. The Thursday reports on U.S. retail sales and initial jobless claims and Friday’s update on housing starts could be delayed by the shutdown. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said last week it plans to release on Oct. 24 the Consumer Price Index inflation report for September that was originally scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Several Federal Reserve officials are also scheduled to speak, coming as the central bank is set to release its Beige Book economic update on Wednesday. Chair Jerome Powell is due to give an economic update on Tuesday, with remarks also expected this week from Fed Governor Stephen Miran, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman and Fed Governor Christopher Waller.
Some data releases are still expected, including a survey of small business optimism on Tuesday and report on homebuilder confidence on Thursday.
Columbus Day holiday: bond markets, banks closed; stock markets open
Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson
Oracle (ORCL) AI World conference begins
Key Earnings: Fastenal (FAST)
Tuesday, Oct. 14
NFIB small business optimism index (September)
Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Boston Fed President Susan Collins
Salesforce (CRM) Dreamforce conference begins
Key Earnings: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), BlackRock (BLK), Citigroup (C), Ericsson (ERIC), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Albertsons (ACI)
Wednesday, Oct. 15
Federal Reserve Beige Book
More Data to Watch: Empire State manufacturing survey (October)
Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Governor Stephen Miran, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic
Key Earnings: ASML (ASML), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Prologis (PLD), PNC Financial (PNC), United Airlines (UAL)
Thursday, Oct. 16
Homebuilder confidence (October)
Data Delayed by the Shutdown: U.S. retail sales (September), Producer Price Index (PPI) (September), Initial jobless claims (Week ending Oct. 11), Business inventories (August)
Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Governor Stephen Miran, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Fed Governor Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman
More Data to Watch: Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey (October)
Key Earnings: TSMC (TSM), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), U.S. Bancorp (USB), CSX Corp (CSX), Travelers (TRV)
Friday, Oct. 17
Industrial production & capacity utilization (September)
Data Delayed by the Shutdown: Housing starts (September), building permits (September), import price index (September)
Key Earnings: American Express (AXP), Truist Financial (TFC), State Street (STT), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), Regions Financial (RF)
One More Thing
Medicare open enrollment begins on Wednesday, Oct. 15, giving those covered by the federal health insurance program an opportunity to change their plans. Investopedia’s Jeanine Skowronski has more information on how to prepare for Medicare’s open enrollment period.
Jay-Z’s gamble on a Caesars Palace in Times Square crapped out. Billionaire Steve Cohen’s bid for a casino in Queens could be a winner. Meet the four high-rolling developers vying for three spots.
Over the last three years, many of the gambling industry’s biggest companies, from Wynn Resorts to Las Vegas Sands to Caesars, have fought to get a license to open a casino in New York City, which has never had one before. Now, there are just four contenders remaining and only three licenses available, each promising billions of revenue over the next decade.
With the New York State Gaming Commission expecting to make its selection by December 1, and grant licenses by the end of the year, the last leg of the race is on. Many political and industry insiders believe the two existing racinos near Manhattan have a tremendous advantage as they have already been operating and adding to the state’s coffers for years. Resorts World New York in Jamaica, Queens, which is accessible from the subway and owned by billionaire Lim Kok Thay’s Resorts World Genting, and MGM’s Empire City racino in Yonkers, operate racetracks and video slot machines, but currently have no live table games such as blackjack or roulette. Not only can these properties flip to full Las Vegas-style casinos quickly, but the businesses would be crushed if they weren’t granted a casino license.
The two other proposed projects include Bally’s Bronx, which would sit next to what was recently a golf course owned by Donald Trump in Ferry Point, called Trump Links. It is now known as Bally Links, after the company bought the lease from the Trump Organization in 2023 for $6o million. Should Bally’s be awarded one of the three licenses Trump would receive an additional $115 million payment. The final active proposal is Metropolitan Park, which is backed by billionaire New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock Casino and would be located next to Citi Field in Flushing, Queens.
New York State Gaming Commission chairman Brian O’Dwyer has said multiple times over the last few years that there are no favorites, and each proposal is being fully considered. During a state gaming commission meeting in late September, O’Dwyer stressed again that no candidates have an advantage.
“Like I said before, this is a tabula rasa. There are no front-runners or favorites, and unfortunately, we’re already seeing things in the media about who’s in favor, who’s not in favor,” said O’Dwyer. “Our decision is to figure out that at the end of this, we as a commission, are satisfied that the people who are licensed have both the operational ability and upmost integrity.”
O’Dwyer also stressed that the commission can issue up to three licenses, but it is not required to issue any licenses at all, especially if the projects are not convincing enough to “serve the public interest.”
Chad Beynon, an analyst at Macquarie who covers gambling and hospitality, says winning one of New York’s licenses will put a lucky casino operator in a market with one of the largest populations with the highest wealth per person ratios in the country—a combination that could create the best performing casino in the country.
“New York is the biggest opportunity for years to come,” Beynon tells Forbes.
Until earlier this year, some of the gambling industry’s biggest players vied for bids in Manhattan, thought to be the golden goose of all casino licenses, but these projects could not pass the first hurdle—community support. Local approval was required for the proposals to move forward before the state gaming commission would even consider the projects.
The casualties included Related Companies, the developer behind Hudson Yards in Manhattan, who teamed up with Wynn Resorts for a proposed casino near the Javits Center along Manhattan’s West Side. Wynn and Related dropped its bid in May after citing it came to terms with “years of persistent opposition” from community leaders and local politicians.
Commercial real estate giant SL Green Realty Corp., Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Caesars Entertainment hoped to bring Caesars Palace to the heart of Times Square, but the state-commissioned community advisory committee rejected the project in September thanks to intractable opposition led by the Broadway League, a trade organization of producers and theater owners.
A project dubbed Freedom Plaza near the United Nations on the east side of Manhattan, was also rejected last month. Stefan Soloviev, son of the late Sheldon Solow, who built a fortune in Manhattan real estate, owns the six-acre tract of undeveloped land that he wanted to turn into a casino with Native American gaming company Mohegan. The $3.5 billion proposed project would have featured a 1,000-room hotel, two residential towers, a Ferris wheel, a soccer field, and a museum dedicated to democracy featuring large slabs of the Berlin Wall from Soloviev’s personal collection.
The only casino proposal in Brooklyn, The Coney, a $3 billion proposal, was rejected by Coney Island community late last month as well. The project was backed by real estate developer Thor Equities, founded by Coney Island native Joe Sitt, Saratoga Casino Holdings, which owns a racino upstate, the Chickasaw Nation, and Legends, a joint venture between the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.
Las Vegas Sands, which currently does not have a presence in the United States after selling its two Las Vegas casinos, the Venetian and Palazzo, to Apollo Management for $6.25 billion in 2021, pitched a American homecoming with a multibillion-dollar development at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. But LVS decided to drop out of the process in April.
With only a few weeks left before the state’s gaming commission makes a decision about the licenses, here are the four monied players still at the table.
Golf of New York: Soo Kim’s bid for Bally’s Bronx includes a golf course formerly owned by Donald Trump.
Ballys Bronx
Bally’s Bronx
Bally’s Corporation is pitching a $4 billion investment to build a casino and integrated resort spanning 16 acres next to Bally’s Golf Links in Ferry Point.
Led by chairman Soo Kim, a Queens native and founder of the New York-based hedge fund Standard General, Bally’s already owns and operates 19 casinos across 11 states, including a new one in Chicago and is in the process of trying to build a baseball stadium for the Athletics on the site of the old Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas. The company’s vision in the Bronx is to build a 250-foot-tall casino spanning three million square feet that can hold 3,500 slots and other gambling machines, 250 table games, and a poker room. The proposal also includes a 500-room luxury hotel, dining and entertainment venues, a 2,000-person event center, and meeting spaces. Bally’s Bronx is projected to generate over $1 billion in revenue from gambling and more than $200 million in taxes to the state annually. If Bally’s wins a license, it has committed to giving $27.5 million a year for community investments.
“It is the biggest prize in gaming, potentially ever,” Kim tells Forbes. “New York, it’s a game changer. It’s a license that every single gaming company, basically, has competed for. And to be the last four is exciting. These will be the largest casinos in the country.”
The media have focused a lot of attention on the fact that the Trump Organization will receive a $115 windfall if Bally’s is granted one of the licenses, but Kim, a shrewd dealmaker himself, says his company already came out on top. “We think that the city and ourselves got the better deal,” says Kim. “He owned it before he became president the first time. It’s not an endorsement. It was purchase of a license that he owned for more than 15 years.”
Raising The Stakes: MGM is hoping to expand its successful racino in Yonkers into a Las Vegas-style casino with table games.
MGM Resorts
MGM Empire City
Empire City is a racino that sits 45 minutes north of Manhattan in Yonkers. With 4,600 slot machines and a horse racetrack, where the famed thoroughbred Seabiscuit once ran, the property generated $604 million in gaming revenue last year.
MGM Resorts International, which owns 31 casinos around the world and generated $17.2 billion in revenue last year, acquired Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in 2019. It is proposing a $2.3 billion project, which includes $1.8 billion investments to revamp the property. With 162,250 square feet of new development, the facility will include a 5,000-seat entertainment venue and 9,300 square feet of meeting space. MGM says that the 863,500 square-foot facility is projected to generate up to $1.39 billion in gaming revenue a year.
“Our speed-to-market and international brand loyalty, as well as our location’s ability to recapture entertainment dollars leaving for neighboring states, are key competitive advantages for our proposal,” says Louis Theros, president of MGM’s northeast group.
Sports Center: Metropolitan Park will connect the Mets’ Citi Field to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the future home of the New York City Football Club.
SHoP Architects Field Operations
Metropolitan Park
Billionaire Steve Cohen, who owns the Mets, teamed up with Hard Rock International to propose an $8.1 billion development project to transform the parking lot next to Citi Field in Flushing, Queens into a casino, hotel, convention center, entertainment venue, and 25 acres of new park space.
If approved, Metropolitan Park, as it is known, will span across 78 acres. The development will connect Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center sits, to Citi Field and Flushing Bay. The proposal also includes the future site of the New York City Football Club stadium, affordable housing, public transit improvements and a $163 million impact fund, totaling $1 billion in benefits for Queens.
With 5,000 slot machines, 375 live dealer tables, 30 poker tables and an 18,000 square foot sportsbook, Metropolitan Park is projecting to generate $3.9 billion in revenue and $850 million in taxes annually by the third year of operations. “We are grateful for the opportunity to move forward in this process and be one step closer to making Metropolitan Park’s community-first vision a reality,” says Karl Rickett, Metropolitan Park spokesperson.
Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and has 19 casinos across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, says it is a “true honor” to have the community advisory committee unanimously approve Metropolitan Park. “We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to move forward together toward the next step,” says Allen.
King of Queens: Backed by hip-hop artist Nas, who grew up in Queens, Resorts World New York City is a $5.6 billion project that includes a 500,000-square-foot casino, 2,000 hotel rooms, and a 7,000-seat entertainment venue.
RWNYC and Perkins Eastman
Resorts World New York City
Resorts World Casino New York City, which is at the storied Aqueduct, the thoroughbred race track in Jamaica, Queens, has historically been one of the best-performing casinos in the U.S. In 2024, Resorts World, which only has video slots and video table games in addition to horse racing, brought in $692 million from its gambling machines and $284 million from Nassau Downs off-track betting terminals.
Resorts World, which is owned by Genting, Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay’s company, is proposing to transform its current facility into a $5.6 billion integrated resort featuring a 500,000-square-foot casino with 6,000 slots, 800 tables, 2,000 hotel rooms, a 7,000-seat entertainment venue, a conference center, restaurants, a spa and more. The company projects that the Vegas-style casino will generate $2.2 billion in annual revenue. The project is also backed by Nas, the hip-hop artist who grew up nearby in Queens.
The Empire State has long been the heart of Genting’s U.S. gambling empire. Resorts World New York City opened in 2011, and the company opened Resorts World Catskills, which is two hours north of the city in Monticello, in 2018 and cost $1.2 billion. Resorts World Las Vegas opened in 2010, at a cost of $4.3 billion, becoming the most expensive resort developed in Sin City.
Now the question is—will this new gamble pay off?
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Little more than 48 hours passed last week between a warning from the IMF chief, Kristalina Georgieva, that “uncertainty is the new normal” and Donald Trump’s latest tariff onslaught – this time aimed at China.
Markets plunged on Friday after Trump threatened to levy punitive additional tariffs of 100% on Chinese goods in retaliation for Beijing’s blocks on exports of rare earth minerals.
The world’s finance ministers and central bankers will meet in Washington this week for the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
In her curtain-raiser speech for the gathering, Georgieva rightly pointed out the global economy has proved more resilient than some feared at the time of the spring meetings in April, when the world’s policymakers were transfixed by the chaos emanating from the White House.
Part of the reason for that has been “front loading”: Trump’s intention to jack up tariffs was no secret, and many companies ran up inventories in advance and started to rejig their supply chains.
Another explanation is that the US’s trading partners have in general preferred to use a combination of flattery and capitulation in the face of Trump’s approach, rather than causing an all-out trade war.
Meanwhile, firms and governments have increasingly been forging new trade connections that bypass the US, creating what Adam Posen, the director of the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, has called a “new economic geography”.
There was evidence of this in the latest update from the UN’s trade and development arm, Unctad, last week.
“Trade growth remained positive in the first half of 2025, despite rising trade policy uncertainty, persistent geopolitical tensions and a challenging global economic environment,” Unctad reported.
Far from grinding to a halt, global trade expanded by more than $500bn (£375bn) in the first half of the year and was expected to continue growing in the third quarter, with much of the momentum coming from developing countries.
Adding to the sense of shifting tectonic plates, Unctad highlighted the continued prevalence of “friendshoring” – the phrase coined by the former Federal Reserve governor Janet Yellen to describe trading with trusted geopolitical allies.
The impact of tariffs on the US economy also appears to have been less dramatic than first feared – though with policy continuing to change by the week, the full effects have likely not yet reached American consumers.
Yet Friday’s furore was a reminder that, as Georgieva argued, there are still reasons to be fearful – or as she put it: “Global resilience has not yet been fully tested. And there are worrying signs the test may come.”
As the new row with China shows, Trump is continuing to wield tariffs as a weapon, creating fresh shocks in financial markets. The impact has been especially tough in developing countries, some of which, as Unctad pointed out, have faced some of the highest tariffs.
Away from trade policy, the White House continues to pursue unfunded tax cuts and trash the economic institutions usually considered the cornerstones of credibility – including the Federal Reserve.
Over time, that must surely undermine market confidence, including in US Treasuries (government bonds) – an important benchmark against which assets in global markets are valued. There is little sign of that yet; but once lost, economic credibility is hard to rebuild.
Part of the reason markets have not responded more skittishly to this and other concerns is that the economic picture is being flattered by another extraordinary and unpredictable phenomenon: the AI boom.
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That amounts to another reason to worry. A wall of funding continues to pour into the tech industry as investors bet on the future of generative AI and battle to build the massive datacentres required to train and run the models.
Data from the World Trade Organization last week showed that a full 20% of the growth in global goods trade in the first half of the year was accounted for by “AI-related goods – including semiconductors, servers, and telecommunications equipment”, much of it flowing from Asia to the US.
As Ben May of Oxford Economics said recently: “The surge in US capital spending to develop AI capability has been masking weakness in other parts of the domestic economy.”
However, a growing number of observers have begun to fret that generative AI may not deliver the extraordinary gains that would justify Wall Street valuations of the tech companies.
And the increasingly complex web of cross-shareholdings between some of the key firms involved has raised eyebrows.
The Bank of England last week became the latest body to warn about the risk of a “sudden correction” in global markets if the AI boom goes into reverse.
“On a number of measures, equity market valuations appear stretched, particularly for technology companies focused on artificial intelligence. This … leaves equity markets particularly exposed should expectations around the impact of AI become less optimistic,” it said.
Georgieva echoed that caution, comparing the AI boom to the dotcom bubble around the turn of the millennium. “Today’s valuations are heading toward levels we saw during the bullishness about the internet 25 years ago,” she warned, raising the spectre of a “sharp correction”.
The dollar and dollar-denominated assets remain the lifeblood of much of global finance, despite efforts since the financial crisis to build up the importance of other currencies – so an AI crash would reverberate worldwide.
Perhaps it is fitting that Trump has unleashed a new round of destabilising threats just as policymakers fly into town to take the temperature of the world economy. It certainly drove home Georgieva’s central message to them: “Buckle up.”
What used to be a last resort is now becoming a power move: high-paying men are outsourcing their love lives.
A growing number of high-net-worth male professionals are ditching dating apps and turning to luxury matchmaking services, spending tens of thousands of dollars to find a serious partner.
Frustrated by ghosting, burnout, and superficial matches, some are opting for curated introductions, even if it means paying $20,000 or more for the right match.
Grant Miller, a 39-year-old VFX executive, gave dating apps another try after a breakup last year — and quickly remembered why he hated them.
“I was on Raya and Tinder, and you’d think the experience would be better on Raya — but it’s not. It’s just the same,” he told Business Insider. “An enormous waste of time and energy.”
Years earlier, he’d met a serious partner through a matchmaking service in Los Angeles.
The relationship lasted over three years and convinced him to try again. After interviewing three firms, Miller chose Maclynn, a luxury matchmaking agency based in London, where he now lives.
Grant Miller in London in May 2025.
Courtesy of Grant Miller
Since signing up in September 2024, he said he has paid about £20,000, or about $26,000, and been introduced to 16 women through the service.
“We took a very ‘open’ approach as I was available and enjoyed meeting new people,” he said, adding that some dates turned into short relationships or friendships.
One connection, he added, has long-term potential — but “our schedules and lifestyles need some alignment, which has been challenging.”
Still, he’s said it’s worth it.
“When you multiply the time you’d spend dating by your hourly rate, the fees suddenly become not so bad,” he said. “I value my time, and I’m serious about finding the right person.”
The data behind the dating shift
While most clients prefer to stay anonymous, four matchmaking firms told BI they’re seeing a clear increase in demand from HNW men.
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Selective Search, a US-based firm, said it’s seen a 35% increase in clients since 2019 and a 65% jump in inquiries. According to marketing specialist Grace Urban, that momentum is accelerating in 2025, with a 23% rise in male clients year-to-date.
“This steady demand has been driven by high-quality men seeking a more intentional and effective way to date,” she said.
Maclynn, the agency Miller chose, reported double-digit year-on-year growth in its HNW male client base every year since 2020.
“This reflects a nearly fivefold increase in just five years,” said Mia Wealthall, the company’s global operations director. By the end of September, 70% of new clients were HNW men, and sign-ups for that group were up 25% year-over-year for the third quarter.
Matchmaking.com also reported a 60% client surge between 2020 and 2021, followed by 25% growth in both 2022 and 2023 and another 20% increase over 2024 to 2025.
“More high-earning men are stepping away from the noise of dating apps,” said Cheryl Maida, the firm’s director of matchmaking. “They’re tired of endless conversations that go nowhere, ghosting, and not knowing who’s actually serious.”
UK-based Ignite Dating said male inquiries are up 42% over the past 18 months.
The industry as a whole is booming. According to Verified Market Research, the premium matchmaking market is projected to nearly double, from $1.27 billion in 2023 to $2.39 billion by 2032.
Who these men are — and why they’re doing this
For Miller, the appeal of matchmaking isn’t just about convenience — it’s about increasing his chances of finding someone exceptional.
“You start doing percentages of percentages of percentages. And you’re down to like one in a hundred thousand women,” he said. “And I’m not going to meet a hundred women on my own.”
What matters most to Miller is ambition and emotional alignment.
“Financial success doesn’t always translate to romantic success,” he said. “It kind of narrows the dating pool if you’re looking for someone who’s not intimidated or overly motivated by wealth.”
Grant Miller in Banff, Alberta, in October 2021.
Courtesy of Grant Miller
Matchmaking helps with that, he said. “I think they’re very good at sniffing out — for lack of a better word — just the kind of ‘gold digger.’ I’m looking for someone who’s additive to my life. And who’s bringing their own value to the equation.”
How matchmaking works
Unlike dating apps, which rely on algorithms and swipes, high-end matchmaking is slow, high-touch, and personalized.
Clients often start with a two-to-three-hour interview, exploring their values, past relationships, and goals.
“They really get into the interview process a ton,” said Miller. “I spent probably an hour or two just chatting through previous relationships, what went well, what went poorly, what I’m working on as a person.”
Matchmakers begin sourcing matches — sometimes via internal networks, sometimes by headhunting. At Maclynn, high-net-worth clients often trigger global searches and discreet outreach.
Matches come with bios, photos, and backgrounds. Miller said the contrast with apps is stark: “You’re kind of meeting, not an actual person, but this hyped-up kind of fake representation of themselves.”
Hinge, Raya, and Tinder didn’t respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
Why the trend is taking off now
Jess Carbino, a former sociologist for Tinder and Bumble, told BI the rise of luxury matchmaking isn’t necessarily about rejecting dating apps — but about control.
“This isn’t necessarily a reflection of dating apps generally, but rather shifts related to how people outsource what used to be a very personal, familial, and institutionally-based process,” she said.
“They outsource their laundry, they outsource their food delivery, they outsource, you know, major parts of their fitness to a coach,” she added. “Why not outsource one other element of their life, which is highly salient?”
Pepper Schwartz, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington and coauthor of “Relationship Rx: Prescriptions for Lasting Love and Deeper Connection,” concurred — but added that many wealthy men believe price equals results.
“The idea that money will buy you a better product, a better treat, a better person,” she said. “Whether that is true or not, that’s the theory that many of them have.”
She warned the matchmaker pool may be smaller than clients realize: “They usually believe there’s more denominator available than is actually there, and they haven’t done the homework to know.”
Even so, she said, the pressure to partner up later in life is real — and high-end matchmaking offers the illusion of control in what can feel like a high-stakes search.
“You may hope that something will just happen for you,” she said, “but if you really want love, you’ve got to get out there and look for it.”
Tom Grogan’s first job paid him just £30 ($40) a day lugging bricks and hauling cement on a Birmingham building site. His latest payday? A £400 million ($532 million) takeover deal for the UK arm of Wingstop—the American fried chicken chain with celebrity fans like Kylie Jenner—that he cofounded with Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin.
And it’s all thanks to a chance encounter that traces back to when he was just 18 and not sure what he really wanted to do with his life. Like many Gen Zers today, the millennial decided to skip university and try his hand at the trade industry when he turned 16 years old.
He had been working as a labourer on a building site for 2 years when he met a property developer. Like Grogan, he hadn’t gone to university either and made his way from the bottom to the top, so he began to mentor the teenager.
“You meet certain people in life that change the direction of it,” Grogan exclusively told Fortune, adding that the mentorship led to an internship at Dragon Den (the UK equivalent of Shark Tank) star James Caan’s private equity firm in central London.
“So I started to understand how deals were put together. I was surrounded by a number of entrepreneurs, and that really quickly drove my fire to do something more with my life.”
“That very quickly led me to wanting to leave the world of employment to start my own business in the world of residential development and property development,” he added. “Along that journey, you have to meet lots of people, pitch for money. So I sort of understood the fundraising process and having worked within the world of private equity, I understood business plans and presentations.”
His real estate career set the stage for everything that followed, including meeting Sahota and Lewin—the men who would eventually help him launch Wingstop UK. They met while working in real estate and property development, but they decided to chance their arm infast food seven years ago.
The trio saw the U.S. cult following and wanted to bring it to London. The problem? Nobody believed in them.
It took one cold email and 50 no’s before a $532 million yes
Grogan first discovered Wingstop through a line in a Rick Ross track—the Grammy-nominated rapper was a franchisee in the U.S. and heavily promoted the brand through his music. Wanting in, he tried his luck sending a cold email to the parent company in Texas.
“That’s really how we discovered Wingstop,” Grogan says. “We Googled it, and back in September 2016, I sent a cold email to Wingstop HQ: ‘Hey, you’ve got no presence in Europe. We’d love to launch the brand in the UK.’ Honestly, my thought process was, I’ll figure it out afterwards. It was a punt.”
To his surprise, the U.S. team replied positively, and Grogan’s cofounders came on board to piece the deal together. “We managed to convince the US parent that one, we could raise the necessary capital, and two, we would assemble a team around us. Yes, we had no experience, but we had identified a market gap. No one in the UK food-and-beverage world was speaking authentically to younger consumers the way brands like Gymshark and Nando’s were,” he explains.
“We didn’t have to worry about product or even food at first. We later learned just how tough operations are in a restaurant business, but being naive allowed us to jump headfirst into the challenge with no preconceptions. That was a gift.”
But getting the go-ahead was just the first hurdle: What followed were months and months of rejection from 50 investors.
“Three young men with no experience in hospitality, ultimately trying to pitch a brand, that no one in Europe had really heard of at that time—that’s a huge red flag,” Grogan continued. “We had a lot of setbacks…We took a lot of no’s and we had a lot of stops and starts, but by the skin of our teeth, we managed to pull it off.”
One of the largest fast-food brand takeovers in Britain
In the end, it took nearly a year to get that yes. “If we’d have stopped a week earlier, we wouldn’t be sat here now,” he said adding that each rejection was a lesson. “Ultimately, by the 50th presentation, a lot of the concerns that early investors had raised had either been figured out or we had an answer for.”
By then, they’d managed to secure what is now the site for their flagship restaurant in London’s West End. “So it made it a bit more real for those later investors that came to speak to us,” Grogan adds. “We say amongst ourselves that the stars have aligned on this journey, and that was probably one of the first stars that did align for us.”
And the stars really did align for Grogan and the team. They built the UK Wingstop brand from scratch; following in the U.S. branches’ targeting of Gen Z and millennial consumers, using social media and the celebrities of the moment. Today, there are 57 Wingstop sites in the UK.
Nearly nine years after sending that first cold email, the trio sold a majority stake of Lemon Pepper Holdings (Wingtop UK’s parent company) to Californian private equity firm Sixth Street just before the New Year. Already, it has plans to expand to 200 UK sites in the next five years. The deal marked one of the largest takeovers of a restaurant brand in Britain.
And Grogan, a 35-year-old Brit with zero prior restaurant cashed in his share of a £400 million ($532 million) windfall.
Reflecting on his meteoric rise from construction sites, Grogan tells the next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs that real-world experience—not lectures—shapes success.
“Unless you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, university is a waste of time. The experiences that you can have within the world of business, or with a mentor, or by becoming street smart are far more valuable than a textbook.”
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