Together with

Good Morning,

Activist investors are pouncing on Starbucks, Hindenburg is back with more Adani drama, retail investors were unfazed by the dip, UK inflation is forcing couples to stay married, and investors are taking major directional bets amid a volatile market.

Check out BILL's spend management platform and they'll send you a Blackstone Omnivore Griddle.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 08/09/2024 market close.

Markets

  •  US stocks rose on Friday to build on its recent comeback

    • All three major indexes nearly reversed the week's losses

    • Traders are pricing in a 51% chance of a 50 bps rate cut in September 

  • Asia spot LNG is at a seven-month high amid Russian supply concerns

  • Investors are bracing for 1%+ swings ahead of Wednesday's crucial CPI print 

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Tuesday: Home Depot

    • Wednesday: UBS, Cisco

    • Thursday: Walmart, Alibaba, Applied Materials

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Record VIX surge last Monday was likely a head fake (BBG)

  • Nasdaq short interest dropped 2% in late July (RT)

  • Short bets on US 5Y futures are at the highest ever (RT)

  • Hedge funds piled into Japan short bets at the fastest pace in 5 years (RT)

  • Hedge funds net yen shorts shrank to the smallest since February 2023 (RT)

  • US junk bond funds saw their biggest outflows since Covid (FT)

  • Bonds make comeback as hedge as negative correlations return (BBG)

  • Investors pour into money market funds amid market volatility (RT)

  • Big investors snapped up bargains in tech stock carnage (FT)

  • Retail investors continued to buy US stocks through market volatility (RT)

  • BofA CEO sees US consumers getting discouraged without rate cuts (RT)

  • China central bank will increase treasury bond trading (RT)

  • China names and shames buyers of its government bonds (FT)

  • Multinational firms warned of weak demand in China (FT)

  • Saudi Arabia reformed investment law in bid to attract foreigners (BBG)

  • Hindenburg accused India regulator head of investing in offshore Adani funds (FT)

  • Activist Starboard Value joined Elliott with a stake in Starbucks (WSJ)

  • Cisco will lay off thousands more in second job cut this year (RT)

  • Olympic gold medals are worth more than ever (BBG)

  • UK CEO pay hit a record high last year (RT)

  • UK divorce rates fall as inflation bites (BBG)

  • Ex-YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki passed away at 56 (WSJ)

  • Playboy is bringing back print magazines (WSJ)

  • US is offering amnesty to Maduro in exchange for ceding power (WSJ)

  • Kamala is more trusted than Trump on US economy (FT)

A Message From BILL

Take a demo, get a Blackstone Griddle

Financial operations heating up? BILL Spend & Expense can help you take control. 

Automate expense reports, set budgets across teams, and get real-time insights into company spend. 

Take a demo to learn how and we'll give you a 28" Blackstone Omnivore Griddle—so you can take control of your next barbecue, too.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Investment manager Meritage is exploring a sale of tire retailer Les Schwab at an over $7B valuation, including debt (RT) 

  • A consortium of CVC, Nordic Capital and SWF ADIA agreed to acquire UK investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown for $6.9B (FT) 

  • Latam phone carrier Millicom rejected an improved $4.4B takeover offer from billionaire Xavier Niel (BBG) 

  • Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is weighing a minority stake sale in some assets of French data center operator Data4 valued at $3.8B (BBG) 

  • Indian automaker Mahindra and China's Shaanxi Automobile will invest $3B in an India JV (RT)

  • Algonquin Power will sell its renewable energy business to LS Power for $2.5B after activist investor pressure (BBG) 

  • Vista Equity Partners is weighing a sale of financial software firm Finastra's TCM business for potentially $2B (BBG) 

  • PE firm Bridgepoint is exploring a takeover offer for Paris-listed $1.6B software provider Esker (BBG) 

  • Abu Dhabi SWF ADQ will acquire a minority stake in auction house Sotheby's as part of a $1B investment (FT) 

  • An investor consortium will acquire Cellnex Telecom's Austrian business at an $877M EV (BBG) 

  • Mass media company News Corp is considering a sale of its Australian cable TV and streaming unit Foxtel after receiving a takeover approach (RT) 

  • Ares is weighing a buyout of engineering firm Form Technologies (BBG) 

VC

  • DevRev, an AI-native platform unifying customer support and product development, raised a $100.8M Series A at a $1.15B valuation from Khosla Ventures and more (BW)

  • Anysphere, an AI-powered coding assistant, raised a $60M Series A at a $400M valuation led by a16z and Thrive Capital (TC)

  • Miru, a developer of electrochromic windows, raised a $20M Series A led by BDC Capital (FN)

  • AI decisioning startup Rich Data Co raised a $9M Series B extension led by Acorn Capital (FN)

  • Userled, an AI-based no-code interface for marketing campaigns, raised a $5.2M pre-seed round led by LocalGlobe (EU)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Indian EV scooter maker Ola Electric jumped 20% in its trading debut after its $734M India IPO  (RT) 

  • Chinese self-driving company WeRide is seeking to raise $440M in a US IPO and $320M in private placements at a $5B valuation (BBG) 

Debt

  • JetBlue Airways is in talks to sell $1.5B of junk bonds and a $1.3B leveraged loan (BBG) 

  • German engineering firm Thyssenkrupp shut down their steel unit's $1.4B funding request (RT)

  • Global Aircraft Leasing raised $1.1B in junk bonds to refinance debt (BBG) 

  • Credit investor Castlelake will acquire $1B in consumer loans originated by fintech Pagaya (BBG) 

  • Private credit lenders led by Silver Point Capital provided an $862M loan to finance Sweet Oak's LBO of Whole Earth Brands (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • China Evergrande's liquidators invited investors to join a restructuring process (RT)

  • Chinese EV maker HiPhi filed for pre-bankruptcy restructuring (BBG) 

  • iHeartMedia is in confidential restructuring talks with some lenders led by PIMCO (BBG)

Crypto Corner

  • Defunct crypto exchange Celsius sued Tether for $3.5B (CT)

  • Institutional investors bought the 28% Bitcoin dip (CNBC)

Exec’s Picks

  • Looking for a profitable Bitcoin mining investment? The Chicago Atlantic Digital Mining Fund offers monthly distributions and to date, has delivered annualized returns of 36 percent. You can read about it here … Now open to all accredited investors.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're currently a junior banker looking to break into the buy side, lateral to another investment bank, or consider 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

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures // Book a call with Lit // Launch your own newsletter