The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that an active stock market, significant investments in artificial intelligence and a favourable regulatory environment have driven a remarkable six-month boom in deal making. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe says that by the end of June, global deals reached about $3.2-trillion, a 45-per-cent increase from the previous year, marking the highest half-year total in a decade (all figures U.S.). Large companies dominated the frenzy, with 44 deals over $10-billion announced, including significant takeovers and private fundraising. Initial public offerings during the first half of the year were dominated by larger companies bent on powering the race for AI and those in defence technology. Madison Air Solutions, a cooling company that serves data centres, raised $2.23-billion in an IPO, and Cerebras, a Silicon Valley maker of AI chips, raised $5.55-billion. And, of course, SpaceX raised more than $75-billion in the largest-everIPO. The first weeks of trading for SpaceX shares have been volatile. While still above its IPO price of $135 a share, SpaceX's stock on Wednesday closed at $148 a share, under the $150 where it opened in the frenzied first minutes of trading.