Exec Sum

Chinese bankers are flocking to the communist party, Salesforce shareholders rejected its CEO’s pay plan, the SOFR hit a YTD high, traders are betting on a Trump re-election, and the S&P and Nasdaq hit fresh milestones heading into the long weekend.

ML will make decisions at Bridgewater’s newest fund, Millennium returned 6.9% in H1 (nice), DEA called Citigroup money launderers’ favorite bank, the Boston Celtics is for sale, and the average S&P stock is up barely 4% this year.

AI continues to carry the entire stock market, Bain is pulling back from work in China, US banks hiked Q3 dividends, Amazon is pivoting into an AI company, and the presidential debate became the meme of the weekend.

UK PE leveraged loan defaults are soaring, US IPOs are having their best start since 2021, Asia M&A fees hit a decade low, SCOTUS stripped SEC of major enforcement powers, and crypto caught M&A fever.

Q1 private credit returns were nearly double of PE, all major US banks passed the Fed’s stress test, the US convertibles market is booming, consultants are reaping big from AI-related work, and an ex-Segantii trader’s pay lawsuit took an embarrassing turn.

a16z is moving into PE, PJT’s founder expects dealmakers to move from big banks to boutiques, machines are taking the helm at AQR, Amazon is working on a ChatGPT rival, and on-cycle PE recruiting kicked off in the most meme-worthy fashion…

HPS raised the largest-ever private credit fund, KKR is eyeing its biggest buyout fund yet, Bobby Jain’s hedge fund is debuting with over $5B, Premier League clubs are projecting record revenues, and Julian Assange is set to walk free.

US credit spreads widened amid political uncertainty, Asian L/S strategies are beating out global peers, emerging market currencies are struggling, Carlyle is betting on a slow energy transition, and American tourists are driving Europe’s economic engine.

Hedge fund talent schools are seeking the perfect trader, Apollo sees no Fed rate cuts this year, Citi is bullish on Europe, Anthropic debuted its ‘industry-beating’ AI model, and Revolut is selling shares at a $40B valuation.

Golden Goose abandoned its IPO at the last-minute, Point72 is readying a new AI L/S fund, Bayview re-ignited a 2008-era CDS trade, UK reclaimed Europe’s stock market crown, an OpenAI co-founder debuted his own startup, and Netflix launched an ambitious retail experience.

M&A-focused strategies are leading the hedge fund pack, Goldman and Evercore are bullish on stocks, Deutsche Bank is going all in on IB, Apple will shut down BNPL, and one crypto came full circle to adopt the gold standard.

Bonjour folks…European markets got rekked last week as political uncertainty rattled traders. But as the French famously say “Après la pluie, le beau temps” so we’ll stay hopeful that things turn around. Reminder, markets are closed Wednesday for Juneteenth so hope y’all enjoy a short week ahead🙏