Good Morning,

Zuck returned to X to promote Meta's latest AI models, Kevin Warsh named Marc Andreessen to his Fed task force, CVC replaced bankers with AI on a sale process, Goldman Sachs banned employees from trading on prediction markets, and Nvidia's valuation is now lower than pre-AI boom levels.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 7/9/2026 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks rose yesterday on a boost in chip stocks as traders looked past renewed US-Iran tensions

  • A US 30Y bond auction priced at 5.06% the highest yield since 2007

  • Taiwan dollar fell to a 14-month low 

Earnings

  • PepsiCo missed Q2 earnings estimates as consumer weakness in its North America segments offset strong international demand (CNBC)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Delta

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • One phone call from Trump and we'll be back in the game

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • CVC replaced bankers with AI on a sale process (WSJ)

  • Iran plotted to assassinate Trump (WSJ)

  • Kevin Warsh named Marc Andreessen to Fed task force (CNBC)

  • Global M&A activity is on track to eclipse 2021 deal boom (RT)

  • Elite boutiques' bets on star bankers is yet to materialize for investors (FT)

  • Private credit activity falls even as fundraising continues (RT)

  • AI chip trade is helping Wall Street shake off latest Iran strikes (WSJ)

  • 'Mag 7' weakness is becoming a problem for Wall Street (BBG)

  • Nvidia valuation is now lower than pre-AI boom levels (BBG)

  • Samsung, SK Hynix and leveraged ETFs drive 70% of Korea trading (BBG)

  • Wall Street banks miss multibillion-dollar AI deals in Hong Kong (BBG)

  • Goldman Sachs banned employees from trading on prediction markets (BBG)

  • Polymarket seeks license to offer margin trading legally in US (BBG)

  • Burry is long gambling stocks on contrarian prediction market view (RT)

  • Zuck announced launch of Muse Spark 1.1 for coding on X (BBG)

  • Zuck says exploring AI cloud business makes sense (BBG)

  • Meta will start manufacturing its AI own chips in September (RT)

  • SpaceX and AI startup wealth fuels demand for private jets (RT)

  • California lawmakers seek to boost reserves ahead of hot AI IPOs (BBG)

  • Jalen Brunson's NBA finals jersey sold for $1M at Sotheby's (BBG)

A Message from Litquidity

The Litquidity strategies on Autopilot

As most of you know, I've been managing five thematic portfolios on Autopilot to offer investors the chance to invest alongside my highest conviction themes. My AI Alpha Fund and Finance Chad Index are doing particularly well by beating the S&P 500 benchmark by a wide margin:

  • The AI Alpha Fund has been investing in companies across the AI value chain – from semiconductor leaders, infrastructure providers enabling scale, and application innovators. This portfolio is designed for investors who want to ride the AI transformational wave and participate in the upside of this global innovation cycle.

  • My Finance Chad Index embodies the typical 'Chad' who works on Wall Street. It captures a mix of assets reflecting the confidence and trends of finance culture. Where does a Chad spend his money? Where does he work? What products and services does a Chad consume? This is one of my favorite portfolios to manage as it draws on Litquidity's deep insider knowledge (no pun intended lmao) and cultural edge.

I'm also actively managing my Litquidity Alpha Fund, my Basic Becky Index, and a Greenland Portfolio.

Check out the strategies and invest alongside me on Autopilot here.*

The Litquidity Strategies

Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Logistics firm Prologis is pushing for talks with UK warehouse landlord Segro as it pursues a $17B takeover

  • $8.7B-listed European molecular testing company Qiagen is drawing early takeover interest from firms including EQT, Advent, and KKR

  • Specialty insurer Amwins Group and Dragoneer Investment reaffirmed their $5.3B takeover proposal for Aussie insurance broker Steadfast 

  • TPG and Blackstone are exploring a $4B sale of medtech giant Hologic's surgical unit

  • EQT will acquire a data center power and infrastructure platform Copia Power from Carlyle for $2.6B

  • Brazilian oil company Origem Energia is seeking to sell a minority or majority stake or IPO at a $2B-$2.5B valuation

  • Hugo Boss recommended shareholders to reject UK retailer Frasers's $2.3B takeover offer

  • German ICE manufacturer Deutz agreed to buy military vehicle maker FFG for $1.8B in cash and stock

  • India's Apollo Micro Systems will acquire a 41.33% stake in defense ​equipment maker Premier Explosives for $162.5M

  • Developers Amarenco Solar and Ampyr Distributed Energy acquired the small solar assets of French energy giant TotalEnergies

VC

  • AI chip startup Positron is in talks to raise $750M across two rounds at a $3.5B and $5B valuation 

  • Kraken Technology, a UK maritime defense startup, raised  a$175m Series B at a $1B valuation led by Digital Transformation Capital Partners

  • Gauntlet, a crypto yield curator, raised a $125M Series C from SBI Holdings 

  • Databento, a market data platform for modern finance, raised a $97M Series B led by NEA

  • Ollama, a developer platform for open models, raised a $65M Series B led by Theory Ventures

  • Auger, a supply chain technology startup, raised $50M in a Series B led by Eclipse

  • Skapion, a defense technology company developing systems to counter coordinated drone attacks, raised a $36M seed round co-led by UP Partners and Khosla Ventures

  • Hippo Harvest, a leafy greens grower using robotics and ML-powered greenhouses, raised a $30M Series C led by Cox Farms

  • Infinia, a digital financial infrastructure layer connecting traditional banking networks and digital asset infrastructure, raised a $13.5M Series A led by Bain Capital and Variant Fund 

  • Marker, a UK AI writing startup, raised a $13M seed round led by Index Ventures

  • Kapture CX, a Indian verticalized full-stack agentic AI platform, raised a $10M pre-Series B led by Bajaj Finserv Ventures 

  • Sprout AI, an insurance-focused AI startup, raised a $9M funding round co-led by Accel

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Korean chip darling SK Hynix priced its US listing to raise $26.5B in the largest ever first-time share sale in US by a foreign company

  • Chinese memory chip giant CXMT will open investor subscriptions for its $5B China IPO next week

  • Chinese AI startup Zhipu surged over 22% in its Hong Kong trading debut after pricing a $4B share sale at the low end of a marketed range

  • MDA Space plans to buy 70% of Collecte Localisation Satellites, a subsidiary of the French space agency, which will be funded by a $820M share sale

  • duPont REGISTRY, a luxury car marketplace and media company, picked banks for aN IPO

SPAC / SPV

  • Asian integrated healthcare conglomerate HCC Healthcare will merge with RF Acquisition Corp III at a $500M pre-money equity valuation

Debt

  • Bitcoin miner TeraWulf is preparing to raise $3.5B in junk debt to build a data center campus for Anthropic

  • Indian conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji has kicked off a planned $2.7B refinancing 

  • Barclays is preparing to sell $875M of debt financing to fund Blackstone and Tinicum's $1.9B takeover of UK aerospace supplier Senior

  • Goldman Sachs-backed UK digital lender Lendable is raising $670M by selling securities backed by a portfolio of personal loans

  • Canada's Well Health Technologies is looking to sell $105M of high-yield bonds

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Turkish electronics manufacturer Vestel Elektronik hired Houlihan Lokey for restructuring talks with bondholders

  • A group of creditors to Aston Martin Lagonda signed a cooperation pact amid mounting losses

Funds / Secondaries

  • Energy-focused Melange Capital Partners raised $430M for a debut secondaries fund

  • Fundamentum Partnership, the Indian VC which billionaire Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani just left, is seeking to raise $200M for its third fund

  • Real estate firm The Ardent Companies raised a multi-asset CVs for eight self-store assets led by StepStone

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • New Hampshire voted down a Bitcoin-backed munis sale

  • Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal will step down

  • Newest version of crypto Clarity Act may drop next week

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

Exec’s Picks

  • Groundbreaker published an incredible long-form piece on how exactly (and when, not if) the AI buildout will come to a halt. This one is extensive.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by 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, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

Get Hired 🤝

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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.