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Good Morning,

Stocks had a rough week despite Friday's relief rally, US consumer sentiment fell to a two-year low, Goldman's top execs got a 30% pay bump, Asia hedge funds are outperforming US peers, and workdays have gotten significantly sharper in a sign of efficiency and balance.

Streamline virtually all your investment processes with BlueFlame AI, a bespoke enterprise AI for alternative investments.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 3/14/2025 market close. Litquidity portfolios as of 3/13.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks bounced back for a relief rally on Friday following a volatile week

    • S&P and Nasdaq had their best day since November

    • Nonetheless, S&P and Nasdaq fell for a fourth-straight week

    • Dow had its worst week since March 2023

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 also rallied over 1% 

    • The index fell for a second-straight week in its worst week since December

  • China's CSI 300 closed at a three-month high

  • MSCI World index posted its biggest weekly loss since December

  • Green energy stocks are down 16% YoY to the lowest since Covid 

  • US 2Y yield jumped back above 4% for the first time MTD

  • France 30Y yield rose to 4.17% to the highest since 2011 

  • Gold topped $3k for the first time ever

  • Traders expect the Fed to hold rates steady at 4.25%-4.5% in their meeting on Wednesday

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Wednesday: General Mills, Williams Sonoma

    • Thursday: Micron, FedEx, Nike, Accenture, Darden Restaurants, Lennar

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US consumer sentiment fell to a two-year low (BBG)

  • US may engage in new trade deals after tariffs imposed (RT)

  • Scott Bessent is not worried about markets (BBG)

  • China focused on 'right timing and strength' for monetary easing (RT)

  • Stocks suffered the biggest weekly outflow YTD (RT)

  • Asia hedge funds are outperforming US peers MTD amid selloff (RT)

  • Volatility breaks years of EM junk debt outperformance (BBG)

  • Big bank M&A stalled by volatility even as officials signal deregulation (RT)

  • Japan firms pitch reforms as buybacks fail to placate investors (FT)

  • Goldman raised top execs pay by 30% for 2024 (FT)

  • China mulls 50% pay cuts for underperforming fund managers (BBG)

  • Berkshire's board opposed seven shareholder proposals, including on DEI (RT)

  • US companies are dropping DEI from annual reports amid US backlash (FT)

  • Jane Street seeks to double London office footprint (FT)

  • UBS paid CEO Ermotti $17M last year (BBG)

  • ​​Intel's new CEO will receive a $1M base salary (RT)

  • JD Vance expects framework for TikTok deal by April 5 (RT)

  • OpenAI and Musk agreed to fast tracked trial over for-profit shift (RT)

  • JPMorgan software engineers' efficiency jumps 20% from AI (RT)

  • US shoppers cut spending as economic outlook concerns mount (FT)

  • Trump and Putin will speak over call this week (FT)

  • Workdays are ending earlier amid rising worker efficiency (BBG)

A Message from BlueFlame AI

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  • Earnings Transcript Analysis: Extract key themes from thousands of earnings calls

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Abu dhabi's state-owned ADNOC is in talks to buy energy assets from SWF Mubadala for potentially ~$10B

  • European telecom firm Liberty Global approached Vodafone to acquire its stake in their Dutch JV VodafoneZiggo, valued at over $2.2B

  • PepsiCo is in advanced talks to acquire soda brand Poppi for over $1.5B

  • Australian gold miner Ramelius buy smaller peer Spartan Resources for $1.5B

  • Grocery supplier Bakkavor rejected PE firm Greencore's $1.5B cash and stock take-private bid

  • Swiss software firm SoftwareOne's ~$1.1B bid for Norwegian peer Crayon faces opposition from minority shareholders

  • French PE firm Ardian is nearing a $1.1B deal to acquire French renewable firm Akuo Energy at an up to ~$2.5B valuation, including debt

  • Investment firm Comvest is exploring a stake sale, potentially involving Affiliated Managers Group selling its minority stake, at an over $700M valuation

  • Bahrain-based PE firm Investcorp is seeking to acquire a majority stake in German supply chain consultancy Miebach Logistik at a ~$163M valuation, including debt

  • The Porsche and Piech families are considering a partial sale of their Volkswagen shares, reducing their voting stake from 53% to 45-50%

  • PE firms Adient, American Industrial Partners, and FountainVest Partners are interested in acquiring German auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen's airbags and seat belt unit ZF Lifetec

  • French video game publisher Ubisoft is seeking minority investors, including shareholder Tencent, for a new entity to hold core IP

  • Gym franchise CrossFit is seeking a sale for the second time since 2020

VC

  • Lumafield, a developer of industrial X-ray CT technology, raised a $75M Series C led by IVP

  • Cartesia, an AI-powered voice generation platform, raised a $64M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins

  • UK fintech Curve raised a $48M round led by Hanaco Ventures

  • Digital entertainment platform Fixated raised a $12.8M round led by Eldridge Industries

  • nunu.ai, a startup building AI agents capable of testing and playing games, raised a $6M seed round led by Tirta Ventures and a16z

  • Nimblemind.ai, an AI-based data infrastructure platform helping healthcare providers structure and leverage clinical data, raised a $2.5M round led by Bread & Butter Ventures

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Philippine water utility Maynilad Water Services plans to raise $633M at a $3B valuation in an IPO as soon as this year

  • Malaysian shipping company MTT Shipping revived plans for a Malaysia IPO aiming to raise $200M at a $900M valuation, potentially listing by 2026

  • Swedish fintech giant Klarna filed for a US IPO, seeking to raise $1B at a $15B valuation in what could be this year's largest financial listings

Debt

  • Fintech SoFi agreed to a $5B loan platform business agreement for personal loans with Blue Owl Capital

  • Singapore banking giant DBS raised $2B is a dollar bond sale

  • German mass media firm ProSiebenSat.1 is nearing a deal to give PE firm General Atlantic an up to a 10% stake through a convertible bond in exchange for General Atlantic's minority shareholdings in NuCom and ParshipMeet

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • The US-based operator of retailer Forever 21 is weighing a liquidation in a potential bankruptcy filing 

Fundraising

  • Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners raised over $13B for its latest green power fund, the largest ever fund dedicated to renewable energy

  • Bain Capital raised $1B for its fourth private credit fund to focus on middle markets

  • Blue Owl filed to launch a retail private credit fund 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Russia is using crypto in oil trade with China and India to skirt sanctions

  • David Sacks sold $200M in crypto holdings before taking White House job

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

Exec’s Picks

  • RacquetX is organizing the largest conference for all things racquet sports – tennis, padel, pickleball – literally any sport with a racquet. Clubs, tech startups, and players in the ecosystem are uniting in Miami Beach from March 22-24 to listen to panels, meet others in the space, and watch top players compete. I'm a judge for the startup competition they're hosting and would love for you to join!

    RSVP here and use code litquidityrx25 for 25% off!

  • Commercial aviation startup Boom Supersonic recently made history by breaking the sound barrier without creating a sonic boom. Check out Brian Potter's long-form piece exploring whether Boom will succeed.

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!

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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.