{"id":72125,"date":"2026-09-23T04:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/nvidia-backed-firmus-targets-10b-for-ai-expansion-european-pmis-beat-estimates\/72125\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T04:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:08:15","slug":"nvidia-backed-firmus-targets-10b-for-ai-expansion-european-pmis-beat-estimates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/nvidia-backed-firmus-targets-10b-for-ai-expansion-european-pmis-beat-estimates\/72125\/","title":{"rendered":"Nvidia-Backed Firmus Targets $10B for AI Expansion; European PMIs Beat Estimates"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Firmus Technologies<\/strong> is reportedly seeking <strong>$10 billion<\/strong> in financing to purchase <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> chips for a massive AI data center expansion in Indonesia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Germany\u2019s Composite PMI<\/strong> surged to an 11-month high of <strong>53.8<\/strong> in September, significantly outperforming the estimated <strong>51.8<\/strong> as services returned to growth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>France\u2019s private sector<\/strong> rebounded to a 25-month high with a Composite PMI of <strong>51.2<\/strong>, driven by a sharp recovery in service sector activity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Switzerland&#39;s Upper House<\/strong> approved a proposal requiring <strong>UBS Group AG (<a href=\"\/stock\/UBS\">UBS<\/a>)<\/strong> to back its foreign units with <strong>90% CET1 capital<\/strong>, a move the bank warns could hurt its global competitiveness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eurozone output growth<\/strong> hit a near three-and-a-half-year high in September, though rising energy costs continue to fuel inflationary pressures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Firmus Technologies Eyes $10 Billion AI Infrastructure Debt<\/h2>\n<p>Australian AI infrastructure startup <strong>Firmus Technologies<\/strong> is in discussions with lenders to secure approximately <strong>$10 billion<\/strong> in financing. The capital is earmarked for the procurement of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> hardware to power its expanding &quot;AI factory&quot; footprint, specifically targeting a major new development in <strong>Indonesia<\/strong>. This move follows a <strong>$2 billion<\/strong> strategic equity round in August that valued the company at over <strong>$10.5 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The financing is expected to support the deployment of up to <strong>170,000 GPUs<\/strong> between 2027 and 2028. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong>, an existing investor in Firmus, stands to benefit from both direct hardware sales and a revenue-sharing model for cloud services. <strong>Blackstone (<a href=\"\/stock\/BX\">BX<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Coatue Management<\/strong> have also been key backers of the firm\u2019s &quot;Project Southgate,&quot; which aims to democratize access to high-end AI compute for smaller developers.<\/p>\n<h2>European Business Activity Rebounds Sharply<\/h2>\n<p>Economic data from the Eurozone provided a significant upside surprise on Wednesday. <strong>Germany\u2019s Flash Composite PMI<\/strong> rose to <strong>53.8<\/strong> in September, up from <strong>51.8<\/strong> in August. This marked the strongest expansion in nearly a year, primarily fueled by the <strong>Services PMI<\/strong> jumping to <strong>52.9<\/strong>, ending a five-month period of contraction. While manufacturing output eased slightly to <strong>53.8<\/strong>, it remained firmly in expansion territory.<\/p>\n<p>In <strong>France<\/strong>, the private sector saw its quickest growth in over two years. The <strong>Flash Composite PMI<\/strong> reached <strong>51.2<\/strong>, beating expectations of <strong>48.7<\/strong>. The recovery was almost entirely service-led, as the <strong>Services PMI<\/strong> hit a 10-month high of <strong>51.4<\/strong>. However, economists cautioned that the durability of this rebound remains uncertain, as new orders showed only marginal improvement and business optimism began to fade amid rising input costs.<\/p>\n<h2>Swiss Lawmakers Tighten Capital Requirements for UBS<\/h2>\n<p>The Swiss Upper House of Parliament voted in favor of a proposal requiring <strong>UBS Group AG (<a href=\"\/stock\/UBS\">UBS<\/a>)<\/strong> to back its foreign subsidiaries with <strong>90% Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital<\/strong>. This decision represents a &quot;middle ground&quot; between the government&#39;s original 100% demand and the bank&#39;s preferred 50% model. The legislation now moves to the lower house, with a final decision likely delayed until <strong>2027<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UBS (<a href=\"\/stock\/UBS\">UBS<\/a>)<\/strong> executives have lobbied aggressively against the move, arguing that such stringent requirements will impose &quot;substantial costs&quot; and create a competitive disadvantage against international peers. The bank claims the rules are an &quot;extreme&quot; reaction to the 2023 collapse of <strong>Credit Suisse<\/strong>. Despite the legislative blow, <strong>UBS (<a href=\"\/stock\/UBS\">UBS<\/a>)<\/strong> shares remained relatively stable as the market had largely priced in the possibility of tougher oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Firmus Technologies is reportedly seeking $10 billion in financing to purchase Nvidia (NVDA) chips for a massive AI 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