Simon Case to Lead the UK Civil Service

Simon Case, holder of the Royal Victorian Order, which recognises service to the monarch, the monarch's family or any senior representative to the monarch, is to become head of the UK's Civil Service.  He studied History at Cambridge graduating in 2002 and has a PhD in political history from QMUL where his advisor was Professor Peter Hennessy (Baron Hennessy).

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Plans $2bn Tech Fund

Goldman Sachs is planning a $2bn tech fund. 

This is the culmination of efforts that led to the formation of GS Growth, the dedicated Growth Equity team (and part of Merchant Banking) at Goldman Sachs. 

GS Growth currently targets investments of between $20m-$250m into high growth companies identifying a "compelling market opportunity" and "sustainable competitive advantage through technology, product or process", "referenceable client base", "solid unit economics","product/market fit" and "proven management team".

Other areas of Merchant Banking, include (for reference), infrastructure investing (with investments ranging from $100m to $500m), Specialty Lending and Alternative Energy Investing.

Apple Becomes A $2trillion Company

This follows a $1tr market cap in 2018, doubling in two years. It is 42 years since Apple was founded and the $2tr milestone is a first on Wall Street. Saudi Aramco was briefly valued at this level following its stock market debut. 59 year old Tim Cook presides over Apple as CEO.

Saudi Aramco Looks to Grow Refining Capacity through Stake in India's Reliance Industries

 Saudi Aramco is working to acquire a $15bn stake in RIL's refining and chemicals business. There is existing "cross-trade" - Aramco sells crude to India, India sells back product, including gasoline, to Saudi Arabia. Aramco's Q2 2020 net income saw a 75% drop driven by the 33% drop in oil prices.

Carlyle Group Q2 2020 Results Shows AuM Stable and Strong Returns in "Corporate Private Equity"

Carlyle's AuM was stable at $221bn for Q2 2020.  The bulk of these assets (which includes assets both managed and advised on) are in the Corporate Private Equity segment ($84bn, roughly two-fifths of AuM). Real assets consisted of less than half this amount. Global Credit (renamed from Global Markets) was $50bn with Investment Solutions at $46.9bn (one fifth of AuM). 

Turnover at CALPERS as Ben Meng Steps Down

America's largest pension fund ($409bn), CalPERS (the California Public Employees Retirement System) has lost its investment chief Ben Meng, after around one and a half years in the job.  Its Deputy CIO, Dan Bienvenue, has stepped in as interim head. Ben was formerly Deputy CIO of SAFE (China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange). CalPERS delivered a 4.7% return for the year ended 30 June (exceeding the median return for public pension funds of 3.2% in the same period).

Reset of "Long-term price assumptions" and Impairment Leads BP to Q2 Loss of $6.7bn

The loss compares with $2.8bn profit for the same period last year. Lower oil and gas prices and weak refining margins contributed substantially to the result. Oil trading did well. A dividend of 5.25 cents per share was announced for the quarter.