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Good Morning,

Stocks ripped (phew), Japan raised rates, shareholders sued CrowdStrike, Bill Ackman canceled IPO plans, KKR is swimming in fees, Oaktree sold a football team to Kylian Mbappé, and Ares smashed HPS' record with a behemoth private credit fund.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 07/31/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks surged after J Pow signaled a September rate cut 

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

    • Rate futures now reflect a 17% chance of a 50 bps rate cut in September and broadly 75 bps of cuts by year-end

  • Canada's TSX index climbed 1.3% to an ATH

  • Australia's ASX 200 climbed 1.7% to an ATH

  • US 10Y yields posted its biggest monthly decline YTD

  • Japan 2Y and 5Y yields hit 0.45% and 0.66% respectively, a 15 year-high

  • Yen rose 1.4% versus the dollar to its highest since March

  • Oil prices surged on Mideast tensions

  • Swaps markets priced in a 65% chance of a BoE rate cut today

Earnings

  • Meta rose 7% after beating Q2 estimates and issuing upbeat guidance on strength in ad revenue and growth in AI (CNBC)

  • Qualcomm rose 8% after beating Q3 estimates and issuing strong guidance thanks to strong growth in phone chip sales (CNBC)  

  • Boeing reporter a larger-than-expected Q2 loss and missed revenue estimates as its airplane and defense businesses continue to struggle (CNBC) 

  • KKR's Q2 net income soared by 49% on record-high fee earnings (RT)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Apple, Amazon, Intel, Coinbase

    • Friday: ExxonMobil, Chevron

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • September rate cut is 'on the table' after Fed held rates at 5.25% (CNBC)

  • BOJ raised interest rates to the highest mark since 2008 (CNBC)

  • Tougher credit conditions may help pave Fed's rate-cut path (RT)

  • US wage inflation slowed to a 3.5-year low (RT)

  • Canadian markets prepare for debt deluge after record issuance (BBG)

  • Bond King Jeff Gundlach warned on US debt spiraling higher (RT)

  • BlackRock execs are benefiting from unusual PE-style bonuses (FT)

  • Shareholders sued CrowdStrike (RT)

  • UBS sued Bank of America for $200M over 2008 MBS costs (RT)

  • Nvidia added $330B in market value in a new stock market record (RT)

  • Boeing named Kelly Ortberg as new CEO (CNBC)

  • US regulators seek to limit asset managers' sway over big banks (FT)

  • London lost its top spot on global mining sector listings (FT)

  • UK's Schroders and Phoenix teamed up for a private markets venture (FT)

  • Microsoft will grant one-time cash awards to junior employees (CNBC).

  • Citi breached a rule meant to keep banks safe (RT)

  • 2024 Olympics ad revenue hit a record high (BBG)

  • High profile assassinations put Mideast on brink of war (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Paramount Global and parent National Amusements received a seemingly hoax $43B bid from Apex Capital Trust (FT) 

  • PE firm Astorg is exploring a sale of its fund services business IQ-EQ at a potential $4.3B valuation (RT)

  • Accounting firm Marcum will acquire US's only listed accountancy CBiz for $2.3B in cash and stock (FT) 

  • Bain, Cinven, Blackstone, and others are considering a $2.2B bid for Carlyle's Italian aerospace components manufacturer Forgital (BBG) 

  • PE firm Eurazeo is considering a sale of supply-chain SaaS firm Elemica for over $1B (BBG)

  • Societe Generale acquired a 75% stake in energy-focused asset manager Reed Management and will invest $270M in the company (RT) 

  • Kylian Mbappe's Interconnected Ventures will acquire a majority stake in Ligue 2 football club Stade Malherbe Caen from Oaktree (BBG)

  • Dolce & Gabbana is expected to seek a minority investor rather than an IPO (RT) 

  • Italian mobile app developer Bending Spoons acquired Dutch file-sharing service WeTransfer (BBG)

VC

  • Boost Insurance, an infrastructure platform for MGAs and digital insurance providers, raised  $40M from BHMS (BW)

  • Spring Health, a mental health platform for employers / health plans, raised a $100M Series E at a $3.3B valuation led by Generation Investment Management (PRN)

  • GenAI startup Ema raised a $36M Series A led by Accel and Section 32 (FN)

  • Graphyte, a leader in the durable carbon removal, raised a $30M Series A led by Prelude Ventures and Carbon Direct Capital (FN)

  • Checkly, a startup for developers to track software dev tasks, raised a $20M Series B led by Balderton Capital (TC)

  • Onepak, a digital supply chain and reverse logistics platform, raised $20M from Nuveen (BW)

  • AI debugger startup Lightrun raised an $18M SAFE round from GTM Capital and Glilot Capital (TC)

  • Sybill, an AI assistant for sales reps, raised an $11M Series A led by Greycroft (TC)

  • Layer2 Financial, a regulated payments infrastructure startup, raised a $10.7M Series A led by Galaxy Ventures (PRN)

  • Tezi, an AI agent for hiring managers, raised a $9M seed round led by 8VC and Audacious Ventures (TC)

  • Golf improvement startup Shot Scope raised an $8.5M Series B led by Guinness Ventures (EU)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Bill Ackman withdrew plans for Pershing Square's US fund IPO (RT) 

  • UK chip parts maker IQE is considering a Taiwan IPO of its Taiwanese unit (RT) 

  • Fidelidade, an insurer controlled by China’s Fosun, is considering a new IPO of its Portuguese hospital operator unit Luz Saude (BBG) 

Debt

  • Netflix received $19B in orders for its $1.8B debut investment-grade bond sale (BBG) 

  • European industrial gasses firm Messer raised $1B in Schuldschein debt to help refinance a $1.6B bridge loan (BBG) 

Fundraising

  • Ares raised $15B for a record $34B third private credit fund (BBG) 

Crypto Corner

  • Tether now holds more US debt than countries including Germany (CD) 

  • Grayscale launched a lower-fee Bitcoin ETF (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

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