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The high-yield bond market has come to a standstill, US froze Harvard funding over DEI, Nvidia will make AI supercomputers entirely in America, Zuckerberg testified in Meta's high-profile antitrust trial, and S&T desks are minting money from stock market volatility, with Goldman Sachs traders posting record revenue.

Specialized AI tools are emerging as the leaders for alternative investments workflows which is why BlueFlame AI is ahead of the curve. Check out their platform and how BlueFlame AI can serve your firm's specific needs!

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 4/14/2025 market close.

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Markets

  • US stocks closed higher as tech shares gained on surprise tariff exemptions

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 rallied 2.7% after posting its third-straight down week 

  • US 10Y Treasuries snapped a five-day slide

    • 10Y term premium climbed to 70 bps to the highest in a decade

    • Average high-yield spreads hit 419 bps, the highest since late-2023

    • Average leveraged loan prices dipped below 95¢ 

  • Japan 30Y and 20Y yields jumped to 2.845% and 2.435% respectively, with the 20Y yield hitting its highest since 2004

    • Japan 30Y-5Y yield spread widened to 193 bps to the steepest since 2002

  • Taiwan 1Y interest rate swaps dropped to a record 16 bps below local money market benchmark as traders bet on rate cuts amid tariffs

  • Asia stocks gained following relief on consumer electronics tariffs 

Earnings

  • Goldman Sachs beat Q1 earnings estimates on record revenue driven by strong equity trading amid trade war-induced volatility (BBG)

  • What we're watching this week:

    • Today: Bank of America, Citigroup, Interactive Brokers, Johnson & Johnson, United, Albertsons

    • Wednesday: ASML, US Bancorp, Progressive

    • Thursday: TSMC, UnitedHealth, Netflix, Blackstone, State Street, American Express

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Tariff policy so erratic, markets are raising odds of a THIRD impeachment…

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Headline Roundup

  • S&T desks are minting money from tariff chaos (WSJ)

  • Bessent attributes bond market selloff to deleveraging (BBG)

  • Yellen says bonds selloff show loss in US confidence, not dysfunction (BBG)

  • US is exploring temporary relief on auto tariffs (BBG)

  • US is probing chips and pharma imports in tariff study (BBG)

  • US high-yield market sees zero bond issuances since Liberation Day (FT)

  • BOJ see no huge short-term liquidity drop in global markets (RT)

  • Money managers are expected to slow new CLO issuances (BBG)

  • Korean firms delay bond sales as tariffs extend Asia deal slump (BBG)

  • China's murky bankruptcies expose hazards for foreign investors (RT)

  • Canada-focused ETFs saw the biggest inflows since 2021 (BBG)

  • Nvidia will make AI supercomputers entirely in US (WSJ)

  • T. Rowe Price will back activist Starboard in Autodesk proxy fight (RT)

  • Zuckerberg testified in high-profile Meta antitrust trial (BBG) 

  • Meta named ex-Trump advisor and Stripe CEO to the board (BBG)

  • Top utilities CEOs made $115M in performance pay (RT)

  • Judge orders Bank of America to pay $540M in FDIC lawsuit (RT)

  • AIMCo asked employees to stop non-essential US business trips (BBG)

  • US froze $2.2B in Harvard grants over DEI (CNBC)

  • Over 60% of Coachella tickets were purchased through BNPL (UW)

  • Katy Perry joined all-female space crew in Blue Origin flight (RT)

A Message from BlueFlame

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • PE firm Silver Lake will acquire a 51% stake in Intel's chip unit Altera at an $8.75B valuation

  • Taiwan's Compal Electronics and Wistron-affiliate Wiwynn, and US-based Jabil are set to submit revised bids for AMD's AI server assembly plants at a potential $3B-$4B valuation

  • ON Semiconductor withdrew its $6.9B bid for semiconductor giant Allegro

  • KKR agreed to acquire CME and S&P's post-trade services JV OSTTRA for $3.1B

  • Canadian power producer Capital Power will acquire two natural-gas fired power plant operators in the PJM market for $2.2B

  • Belgian insurance giant Ageas agreed to acquire UK insurer Esure from Bain Capital for ~$1.7B to form UK's third-largest car and home insurer

  • Home improvement chain Lowe's agreed to acquire interior services provider Artisan Design Group for $1.3B

  • Italian PE firm White Bridge Investments is exploring a sale of food supplements maker Named Group at a potential $907M valuation

  • Financial services firm StoneX will acquire 110-year-old futures broker R.J. O'Brien & Associates for $900M

  • UK landlord LondonMetric increased its cash bid for property investment company Urban Logistics REIT to $888M

  • UK banknote printer De La Rue is close to a sale of its authentication division to cybersecurity firm Crane NXT for $396M

  • Investment firm Atlas Holdings is in advanced talks to acquire $290M-UK listed banknote printer De La Rue

  • UAE-based Sidara submitted an offer to acquire UK engineering firm Wood Group for $317M in cash

  • Colombia's state-owned Ecopetrol signed a deal with AES Colombia to acquire a 49% stake in the Jemeiwaa Ka'I wind farm

  • Warner Bros. Discovery will retain control of its Polish unit TVN after exploring a sale

VC

  • Poolhouse, a UK tech-enabled pool entertainment business, raised a $34M round led by Sharp Alpha and dmg ventures

  • C2FO, an on-demand working capital platform, raised $30M in funding led by IFC

  • On-demand pay startup Tapcheck raised a $25M Series A extension led by PeakSpan Capital

  • BKN301, a global banking-as-a-service fintech, raised an $24.5M Series B from CDP Venture Capital, SIMEST, and more

  • Conifer, an electric hub motor developer, raised a $20M seed round from True Ventures, MaC Ventures, MFV Partners, and more

  • Nigerian cleantech startup Arnergy raised an $18M Series B extension led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers

  • The Ryl Company, a zero-sugar iced tea company, raised a $15M Series B from Feuerstein, Wallen, and others

  • Vinyl Equity, a transfer agent for listed companies, raised an $11.5M seed round led by Index Ventures and Spark Capital

  • 8Flow, an enterprise workflow mapping company, raised a $10M Series A led by Caffeinated Capital

  • Midnite, a UK-based sportsbook and casino platform, raised a $10M Series B led by Discerning Capital, Raine Group, and Play Ventures

  • frontline.io, a startup blending extended reality (XR) and AI, raised a $10M Series A led by FIT Ventures and Click Bond

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • French lender Credit Agricole raised its stake in Italian bank Banco BPM to 19.8% , who faces a hostile takeover bid from peer UniCredit

  • Applied Materials, the largest US producer of chipmaking machinery, acquired a 9% stake in chip-gear partner BE Semiconductor Industries

  • Azadea Group, the operator of Zara in the Middle East, paused IPO plans to prioritize business operations

  • Alibaba and Tencent-backed AI startup Zhipu plans to IPO this year

SPAC

  • Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics will merge with Ares Acquisition Corp. II in a $2.5B deal

  • Trading platform Webull soared 500% after its merger with SK Growth Opportunities

Debt

  • Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan raised a combined $14B in US investment grade bonds 

  • Lenders including Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, RBC, BMO, and KKR lined up a $2B debt package to back PE firm Silver Lake's $4.45B majority stake purchase of Intel's chip unit Altera

  • Agri-commodities giant Olam Group plans to use $2B from the sale of a controlling stake in its agri-business unit to PIF-owned agri investor SALIC to reduce debt

  • Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria's World Bank debts

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Zhongrong, China's largest shadow bank which once oversaw $100B before defaulting on wealth products, is facing liquidation after being found insolvent

  • Bankrupt climate-focused finance firm Aspiration Partners, now CTN Holdings, lined up a lead bidder for a court-supervised auction, with lenders agreeing to trade $20M in debt for ownership of the business

  • Bankrupt Chinese developer Sunac is in talks with major creditors to convert all offshore bonds into shares

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management raised $2.3B for its third PE co-investments fund

  • Manulife Investment Management, the asset management arm of insurance firm Manulife, raised $660M for a third PE fund 

  • PE firm Estancia Capital Partners raised a $200M continuation vehicle for R&T Deposit Solutions led by investment firms Kline Hill Partners and Barings

  • Kline Hill Partners agreed to acquire part of European VC firm Atomico's FOF portfolio which includes LP stakes in VCs Seedcamp, Visionaries Club, Puzzle Ventures, Common Magic and Tiny VC

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • South Korea banned 14 unregistered crypto apps on App Store

  • Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

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Hiring in Investment Banking 💼

  • Analyst 3 or Associate 1, banks coverage and specialty finance coverage, Financial Institutions Group at Anonymous Investment Bank in New York

  • Litney Partners is helping hire for two Analyst 3 / Associate 1 opportunities, one covering banks and one covering specialty finance, for the Financial Institutions Group of a leading middle market investment bank in NYC. If this opportunity sounds like you or someone you know, we'd love to get in touch!

Apply Here 🤝

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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.