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Good Morning,

Stocks ripped yesterday on AI optimism after *checks notes* Meta's Muse AI agent topped App Store numbers.

The Nasdaq hit an ATH. Markets have shifted focus to the UN General Assembly and XI's White House visit this week, which should both provide clarity on the US-Iran situation and other critical US-China topics.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 9/21/2026 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks rallied yesterday on AI optimism and hopes for diplomacy in the US-Iran war

    • S&P and Nasdaq posted their best day since August

    • Nasdaq closed at a new ATH 

    • 'Magnificent 7' stocks hit their first ATH since May

  • Average G7 10Y yield hit 4.285%, the highest ‌since 2008 and 100 bps higher than before the Iran war

    • US 10Y yield hit its highest since 2007

  • Bitcoin jumped to an eight-month high

    • Crypto tokens tied to trading and tokenization are up 50% in a post-Clarity Act regulatory bet

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Wednesday: General Mills, Cracker Barrel

    • Thursday: Costco, Darden Restaurants

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Don't even have to follow the NFL to closely to know that the 49ers are taking it home this year

  • Deposit $10 and get a $20 bonus with code LIT on signup, only on the Polymarket US app

Headline Roundup

  • BofA's slower AI ramp-up is hitting its trading desk (BBG)

  • US proposes $5B to kickstart fund to rebuild Gulf energy sites (WSJ)

  • Fed steps up scrutiny of bank exposure to quant firms after Jane Street hit (FT)

  • Howard Marks prefers a less activist Fed (BBG)

  • SEC regulatory rollback puts $400M in US audit fees at risk (FT)

  • Hong Kong listing spree brings $1.8B to market in one day (BBG)

  • Silver Lake takes on Icahn in fight against Endeavor merger arbitrage (WSJ)

  • Paramount settled with states to allow for Warner Bros. deal (BBG)

  • Meta's Muse AI tops ChatGPT and Claude in post-launch downloads (CNBC)

  • OpenAI joins call for US-led global AI standards (BBG)

  • Burned out and unemployed youth in China are launching AI startups (WSJ)

  • China slows humanoid robot IPO rush as hype outruns reality (RT)

  • Novo cut 13k jobs in the past year (FT)

  • Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $7B through global banks (FT)

  • McDonald's tests placing ads for other brands on menu screens (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Australia's Telix Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire radiopharma supplier ITM Isotope Technologies Munich in a cash-and-stock deal worth $2.35B

  • Aussie investment firm Perpetual rebuffed a fourth improved $2.6B cash takeover offer from EQT and ended deal talks

  • Management led by chairman/CEO  Thomas Priore will take-private payments and banking solutions provider Priority Technology in a $1.6B cash deal at a 65% premium with backing from Searchlight Capital Partners 

  • Nvidia will buy an additional $1.5B of shares of SoftBank-backed data center firm SB Energy at a 10% discount to its upcoming US IPO 

  • German pain-focused pharma firm Gruenenthal Group agreed to buy rights to cancer drug Stivarga from German pharma giant Bayer in a $430M deal

  • Shamrock Capital and Flexpoint Ford acquired book publisher Podium Entertainment from Presidio Investors for over $400M

  • Colombian power firm Isagen will fully acquire the Puerta de Oro solar project from Patria Investments and Ashmore Colombia in an all-cash deal

  • A county board in North Carolina is set to vote on a merger between WakeMed Health and Hospitals and Atrium Health, one of America's largest hospital operators

VC

  • Emulate, a world-model AI startup of ex-DeepMind researchers, raised a $700M seed round at a $3B pre-money valuation co-led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed

  • Rainmaker Technology, a next-generation cloud seeding company, raised a $100M Series B from NOA VC, Upfront Ventures, DCVC, and others

  • HEO Space, a space imaging startup, raised a $37M Series B led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners

  • Corridor, an AI health benefits brokerage for small businesses, raised a $25M seed round led by Bain Capital Ventures

  • W4 Games, the enterprise partner for the open-source Godot Engine, raised an $18M Series B led by Tencent

  • Mainstay, an intelligent system of record for residential real estate, raised an $18M growth round from Khosla Ventures, Era Ventures, and more

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Swedish smart ring maker Oura is seeking to raise $2.2B at a $15B valuation in its US IPO

  • Commodities giant Trafigura will spin off its Volare Shipping in Norway to raise $500M

  • Carlyle is preparing a $400M India IPO of its India-based auto-parts platform Highway Roop Precision Technologies

  • OrbiMed-backed gene therapies developer Adarx Pharmaceuticals is seeking to raise $372M at a $1.75B valuation in an IPO

Debt 

  • Qatar raises $3B in its first public bond sale this year

  • Gabon plans to raise $2B in international markets next year 

  • Mexican education-focused REIT Fibra Educa is seeking to raise $200M in local debt markets

  • Nuveen, the asset management subsidiary of TIAA, is planning its first pound bond sale, along with three dollar-denominated sales, to fund its $13B buyout of UK asset manager Schroders

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • $18B in loans tied to an Oracle-leased data center is being quoted at 90¢ by syndicate banks including Santander and Jefferies

  • Fraud-accused iron ore trader Radiant World disclosed $870M outstanding to six creditors 

  • Cork firms Guala Closures and Corticeira Amorim offered to acquire struggling Stirling Square Capital Partners-backed Italian bottle cap maker Tapí Group with private lender Tikehau Capital also trying to take control of the firm

  • Dutch officials launched a public auction of Access World ​Group, the logistics and warehousing ‌business previously owned by Glencore

Funds / Secondaries

  • Qatar's SWF QIA and JPMorgan Asset Management launched a $20B strategic partnership across ‌public and private markets in both equities and credit

  • Avila Real Estate Capital raised $400M for a targeted $1B real estate credit fund

  • Malaysian PE secondaries specialist Bee Alternatives raised $150M for its seventh fund

Apptopia's Chart of the Week

  • Amidst prediction market boom, FanDuel (NYSE: FLUT) continues to lose engagement during a prime revenue generating event

  • Power Users represent the top 10% heaviest sportsbook users

Generate alpha from mobile consumer signals with Apptopia.

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • South Africa's new crypto curbs may hit deals worth millions

  • Strategy made its first Bitcoin purchase since August

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

  • NinjaTrader is now offering CME single stock futures on Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Amazon, and more. Into derivatives but not a pro? You can learn to trade them risk-free on the NinjaTrader SIM platform.*

  • Bloomberg published an interesting piece on the growing ubiquity of ultra-rich Americans. It's not just the Silicon Valley and Wall Street figures. Read about it here.

Meme Cleanser

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.