Together with

Good Morning,

Chinese bankers are flocking to the communist party, Salesforce shareholders rejected its CEO's pay plan, the SOFR hit a YTD high, traders are betting on a Trump re-election, and the S&P and Nasdaq hit fresh milestones heading into the long weekend.

Tap into the productivity of gold to earn interest on gold, paid in gold, on the Gold Yield Marketplace®, Monetary Metals.

Let’s dive in!

Before The Bell

As of 07/02/2024 market close.

Markets

US stocks rose yesterday on comments from J Pow noting progress on inflation
- S&P topped 5,500 and Nasdaq topped 18,000 for the first time ever to notch fresh ATHs at the close
- Rate futures markets are pricing in a 70% chance of a Fed rate cut in September
SOFR hit 5.4%, a YTD high

Earnings

What we're watching this week:
- Today: Constellation Brands (ticker: $STZ)
Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

J Pow says US is on a disinflationary path, but needs more data before rate cuts (RT)
ECB's Wunch says next rate cut is an easy decision, but hard thereafter (RT)
Eurozone inflation rose 2.5% YoY in June (WSJ)
Echoes of dotcom bubble haunt AI-driven US stock market (RT)
High-yield lenders are demanding legal protections from rate-related risks (BBG)
Traders bet on higher yields ahead of potential Trump re-election (BBG)
Bankers remain wary despite jump in US corporate fundraising (FT)
Appeals court reinstated a $10B antitrust lawsuit against ten banks (WSJ)
Chinese bankers are joining the CCP as morale and pay shrink (BBG)
China bonds seen settling into range with yield floor on PBOC (BBG)
Global investment banks cut jobs in China retreat (FT)
China ETF assets register 'explosive' growth (FT)
Hedge fund giants posted strong H1 gains, with Schonfeld leading (FT)
Chicken Soup ex-CEO hired defense lawyers, avoids bankruptcy questioning (RT)
Tesla beat delivery estimates, but posts second-straight QoQ drop (BBG)
New EY CEO leaves strategic questions unresolved (FT)
BlackRock to navigate climate proposals with a new voting policy (FT)
Hindenburg denies Indian regulator's allegations on Adani short bet (RT)
Apple will get an OpenAI board observer role as part of AI partnership (BBG)
Salesforce shareholders rejected pay plan for top execs (RT)
Revolut surged to record profit as it seeks $40B valuation (RT)
Lilly's Alzheimer's drug won FDA approval (BBG)
AI drove Google's emissions 48% higher over five year period (BBG)
Ken Griffin isn't convinced that AI will replace jobs in near future (CNBC)
Biden faces new pressure to quit presidential race (FT)

A Message From Monetary Metals

Earn 5% on gold, paid in gold

Monetary Metals is the Gold Yield Marketplace® – a platform for individuals and institutions to earn a Yield on Gold, Paid in Gold by financing qualified businesses in the precious metals industry.

Our clients have been earning a yield on gold and silver for over 8 years. Now you can too: earn 5% on gold, paid in gold or 12% on silver, paid in silver in our latest offerings. The silver offering is available to accredited investors only.

Click here to learn more.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

Skydance Media reached a preliminary agreement to buy Shari Redstone’s National Amusements for $1.7B and merge with Paramount Global (WSJ)
FTC will sue to block mattress maker Tempur Sealy's $4B merger with retailer Mattress Firm (RT)
Chinese online retailer JD.com is exploring a potential bid for UK parcel delivery firm Evri, which could be valued at $2.5B, including debt (RT)
North Asia-focused PE firm MBK Partners is nearing a deal to acquire Japanese supplement maker Alinamin Pharmaceutical from Blackstone for ~$2.2B (RT)
Buyers including BET CEO Scott Mills and CC Capital founder Chinh Chu are in talks to acquire the BET network from Paramount Global for ~$1.6B (BBG)
Norwegian supply shipping company DOF agreed to acquire offshore marine service provider Maersk Supply Service from Maersk for $1.1B in cash and stock (RT)
Philippine fast food chain Jollibee will acquire a 70% stake in South Korea's Compose Coffee for $238M (RT)
Miner Anglo American is exploring a sale of its coal business (BBG)
Walmart held talks to sell its shuttered medical clinics (RT)

AI coding startup Magic is in talks to raise over $200M at a $1.5B valuation from investors including Jane Street (RT)
Prodia, a distributed network of GPUs for AI inference solutions, raised a $15M seed round led by Dragonfly Capital (PRN)
Pieces, a developer productivity tech startup, raised a $13.5M Series A led by Drive Capital (FN)
Pi Squared, a universal ZK circuit, raised a $12.5M seed round led by Polychain Capital (FN)
Phaidra, an AI-powered control systems for data centers, raised a $12M round led by Index Ventures (TC)
Zedify, a UK-based cargo bike delivery network, raised $5.2M in funding from Mercia Ventures, Green Angel Syndicate, and others (FN)
BoldHue, a face scanning device that dispenses customized foundation formulas, raised a $3.4M round led by Lucas Venture Group (TC)
Senorita, a startup reducing construction waste from the construction industry, raised a $3.3M round led by Brick and Mortar Venture (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

Brazilian water utility Sabesp's privatization plans drew demand for over $5.3B worth of shares (BBG)
Hyundai Motor is seeking to raise up to $3.5B in the India IPO of its Indian unit (BBG)
Firms including Japan's top four insurers will offload $3.1B worth of Honda shares (RT)
Indian whiskey manufacturer Allied Blenders and Distillers' shares rose ~13% in its trading debut after its $180M IPO (RT)
Crypto miner Genesis Digital Assets is considering a US IPO (BBG)

Debt

Bain-owned data center operator Chindata Group secured a $490M syndicated loan (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

Vista Equity Partners is in talks to hand control of software edtech Pluralsight to lenders including Blue Owl, Ares, Oaktree, and others (RT)
Toy company Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to restructure debt (WSJ)

Fundraising

Industry Ventures raised $900M for its seventh hybrid fund to invest in startups and emerging VCs (TC)
Madrid investment firm Seaya raised ~$320M for Southern Europe's first climate-tech fund (EU)
VC The Westly Group closed a $100M seed fund to invest in energy, climate, and industrial startups (AX)

Crypto Corner

Robinhood is considering offering crypto futures in US and Europe (BBG)
Collapsed crypto Silvergate will pay $63M to settle probes (FT)
Crypto industry is taking its fight with SEC directly to Biden and Trump (CNBC)

Exec’s Picks

Bloomberg published an interesting piece explaining why the fried chicken sandwich wars are more cutthroat than ever before.

Litney Partners – Financial Recruiting 💼

If you're currently a junior banker looking to break into the buy side, lateral to another investment bank, or explore new paths amid changing market dynamics, it's time you check out Litney Partners, a partnership between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, debt funds, and investment banking.

To get started, simply head over to Litney Partners and create your profile by dropping your resume / filling out the form:

GET HIRED