Occidental Explores OxyChem Sale

Plus, Solana's spot ETF optimism.

September 29, 2025

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Today is Monday, September 29, 2025.

The Early Bird Index today is 93.89.

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Occidental Explores OxyChem Sale

Investors in Occidental Petroleum $OXY ( ▲ 1.02% ) who are familiar with the energy giant’s debt woes may need to prepare for another divestment.

Details: The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Occidental is in talks to sell its OxyChem unit in a deal valued at roughly $10 billion. Occidental has not commented on the report.

  • The report said the company is expected to announce the deal in the coming weeks.

  • If the deal goes through, it would mark Occidental’s largest divestiture to date.

Background: Occidental has been offloading assets in recent years to trim its massive debt load. As of June, Occidental’s net debt exceeded $20 billion.

Early Bird’s Nest Egg Gains: Occidental Petroleum accumulated a significant portion of its debt primarily through its acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019, a deal largely financed with borrowed funds.

  • The elevated debt resulted in significant interest expenses throughout the years.

Final Thoughts: Occidental’s stock is down 4.7% in 2025.

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Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Carnival (NYSE: CCL), Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS), Jefferies (NYSE: JEF), Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN).

Notable IPOs Today: KNOREX LTD. (NYSE American: KNRX).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Mutiny Island Vodka (StartEngine), Kuleana Spirits (StartEngine), AlphaRose Therapeutics (StartEngine), Elivate (StartEngine), Fowling Franchise (StartEngine), Jay The Cheesecake Queen (Honeycomb), Inner Space KC (Honeycomb).

Notable Economic Events Today: Pending Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET).

Solana's Spot ETF Optimism

The price of the cryptocurrency Solana $SOL.X ( ▲ 7.91% ) jumped about 4% on Sunday due to strong investor interest in the launch of potential spot Solana ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

Details: Multiple asset managers filed updates a few days ago to launch spot Solana ETFs. The list includes Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, CoinShares, Bitwise, Grayscale, Canary Capital, and VanEck.

Powering the Story: Analysts expect that spot Solana ETFs could be approved in the coming weeks, perhaps sometime in October.

Background: While there are Solana ETFs in the U.S., none of them are spot Solana ETFs. A spot Solana ETF would give traditional investors access to funds that actually hold Solana.

Price: Solana’s price is down about 9% over the last week.

Bigger Picture: There’s a lot to be excited about Solana. More institutional investors are showing interest in it, and the Alpenglow protocol upgrade is expected to occur in the next few months.

Final Thoughts: As we’ve seen with other cryptos, the launch of a spot ETF can be a big deal.

Genmab Eyes Merus NV

Bloomberg reported on Sunday that biotech company Genmab $GMAB ( ▲ 0.8% ) is in advanced talks to acquire Merus NV $MRUS ( ▲ 1.16% ) .

Final Thoughts: Genmab’s stock is up 38.43% this year. Shares of Merus NV are up 62.86%.

A Bad Pattern: Breaking the September market curse (CNBC) 

October Surprise: Will the XRP price rally restart in October? (Cointelegraph)

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The contents of Early Bird are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. They do not constitute trade or investment recommendations, and they are not financial or legal advice. Readers are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for personalized guidance regarding their financial or legal situations.