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Lazard is on a hiring spree, Trump wants presidents to influence rate policy, Google and Meta struck a secret ads deal, Jeff Bezos is investing exclusively in AI, and Intel reportedly passed on one of the best investments of the decade.

With market volatility and declining portfolios, the last thing you can afford is an underperforming advisor. Check out Rainbook and get a free review of your investment portfolio today.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 08/08/02024 market close.

Markets

US stocks rallied yesterday after positive jobs data eased recession worries
- S&P logged its best day since November 2022
- Nasdaq had its best day since February
- Dow had its best day in three weeks
Oil rose for a third-straight day

Earnings

Eli Lilly surged 9% on a mega Q2 beat-and-raise thanks to soaring demand for its weight loss and diabetes drugs (CNBC)
Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

Trump wants presidents to have say in Fed rate policy (BBG)
IB bonuses may rise up to 35% this year (RT)
Lazard poached its tenth MD this year in FSG push (RT)
Earnings-driven volatility bets slump amid broader market turbulence (RT)
Covered call ETFs failed to deliver in sell-off (FT)
China, India and Malaysia emerge as winners amid market rout (BBG)
Barclays becomes first UK bank to scrap EU bonus cap (FT)
Nasdaq is weighing stricter delisting rules for penny stocks (RT)
UK's biggest private pension dumped ~$100M of Israeli assets (FT)
ETFs smashed inflow records in July (FT)
Allianz CEO warned on sovereign debt risks (RT)
Munich Re CEO expects reinsurance prices to stay high (FT)
Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teens (FT)
Warner Bros. and Paramount wrote down cable TV assets by $15B (WSJ)
Amazon inked a partnership deal with TikTok and Pinterest (BBG)
Bezos' family office is investing exclusively in AI (CNBC)
Zillow named COO Jeremy Wacksman as new CEO (WSJ)
Coutts asset management head Mohammad Kamal Syed resigned (FT)
Pipeline firms want to build direct supply lines to data centers (BBG)
An advertising group dissolved itself down after Musk’s lawsuit (BBG)
US mortgage rates plunged to lowest since May 2023 (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

$7.3B-listed Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro is exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest (RT)
Thoma Bravo is preparing a potential sale of gym software provider ABC Fitness at a $3B valuation, including debt (RT)
India's Vedanta paused a sale of its $2.5B steel business after its $1B share sale (BBG)
Russia rejected Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes' agreed acquisition of AB InBev's stake in a $1.3B Russian JV (FT)
Houlihan Lokey agreed to buy boutique investment bank Waller Helms Advisors (BBG)
SPE Capital will acquire African payments firms OMOA from Adenia Partners (BBG)

Defense tech startup Anduril raised a $1.5B round at a $14B valuation led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital (TC)
CloudPay, a global enterprise payroll solutions, raised a $120M round led by Blue Owl Capital (BW)
SYSO, a market operator for renewable energy and battery storage assets, raised a $14.5M Series B led by Kimmeridge (PRN)
Chariot, a payments platform for DAFs, raised an $11M round led by Maveron (FN)
Eden, a Mexican medical data analysis AI-startup, raised a $10M round led by Sierra Ventures (FN)
Feeling Great, a mental health app, raised an $8M seed round led by Learn Capital and TitleTownTech (TC)
VSParticle, a nanotech startup for the energy industry, raised a $7.1M Series A2 extension led by NordicNinja and Plural (EU)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

Indian baby products retailer FirstCry's $501M India IPO drew $3.4B of orders (RT)
Storm-battered CenterPoint Energy announced a $250M FPO and is also weighing a bond sale (BBG)
Shares of AI chipmaker Black Sesame International closed 27% lower in its trading debut after pricing its $133M Hong Kong IPO near the low end (BBG)
Dutch telecom Veon is preparing to sell 20% in its Pakistani unit Jazz through a local IPO (BBG)

Debt

TikTok-owner Bytedance is preparing to refinance a $5B loan (BBG)
Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda is nearing a $1.4B loan deal to pay pre-IPO investors (BBG)
Coca-Cola will sell $1.1B of new debt to fund potential charges from a $16B US tax dispute (FT)
Walgreens sold $750M in an upsized junk bond dale (BBG)
Tennessee-based Erlanger Health delayed a $316M munis sale on weak demand (BBG)
JPMorgan is brokering sales of software firm Pluralsight's discounted debt (BBG)

Crypto Corner

FTX and Alameda Research were ordered to pay $12.7B to fraud victims (WSJ)
Japan is hesitant on crypto ETF approvals (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

Reuters revealed how Intel once passed on the best investment opportunity of the decade, potentially leading to their generational decline.
Jamie Dimon recently wrote an op-ed outlining the leadership skills he wishes to see in the next US president.

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