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Good Morning,

Apple’s Vision Pro is the hottest new consumer tech item on the market, Powell said the Fed is wary of cutting rates too soon, Big Tech stocks are looking pricy, Macy’s CEO is looking to revive the 166-year-old brand, Facebook turned 20, and the World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks closed higher while the S&P notched a fresh record high thanks to strong big tech earnings and a better-than-expected January jobs report

  • The Nasdaq led indices with a 1.74% gain

Earnings

• ExxonMobil reported higher-than-expected Q4 profit but missed on revenue; quarterly profit declined significantly YoY due to lower oil prices (CNBC) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: McDonald’s, Caterpillar, Palantir

  • Tuesday: Eli Lilly, Snap, Spotify, KKR

  • Wednesday: PayPal, Walt Disney, Uber, Alibaba, CVS

  • Thursday: Apollo Global, ConocoPhillips, Affirm, Pinterest, Cloudflare 

  • Friday: PepsiCo 

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Vision Pro debut brings a new shopping experience to Apple (BBG)

• Jobs growth of 353k blasts past expectations as labor market stays hot (WSJ)

• Powell says Fed is wary of cutting rates too soon (BBG)

• Big Tech stocks find little room for error after monster run (WSJ)

• Trump floats Chinese goods tariff of more than 60% if elected (BBG)

• Wall Street gets laser eyes in bid for Bitcoin ETF bucks (WSJ)

• New Macy’s CEO Tony Spring looks to revive a 166-year-old retailer fighting for relevance (CNBC)

• Chinese turn US embassy post into “Wailing Wall’ for stock plunge (RT)

• Growth funds rose 3% to start the year (WSJ)

• Boeing is reworking 50 undelivered 737 MAX jets over fuselage issue (AX)

• Hedge funds’ mega returns set off demand spiral for catastrophe bonds (BBG)

• Music from Africa rising on global charts, with help from TikTok (RT)

• Midair fires and malfunction surge on Russia’s planes as sanctions bite (WSJ)

• RBA set to hold rate at 12-year high as bank overhaul begins (BBG)

• Senators reach deal on Ukraine aid and US border, but hardline Republicans still a threat (BBG)

• Facebook turns 20: from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room to the Metaverse  (WSJ)

• Taylor Swift announces new album after her 13th Grammy win (BBG)

• 2026 World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• French energy company TotalEnergies is exploring a sale of its 50% stake in a portfolio of renewable projects in Europe and the US; the portfolio is worth ~$2.5B (RT)  

• PE firm HIG Capital is exploring a sale of Usalco in a deal that could value the specialty chemicals company at up to $2B, including debt (BBG) 

• A consortium backed by Investindustrial and the Bagnoli family will acquire Italian frozen pastry and bakery products maker Forno d’Asolo from investment firm BC Partners in a $1.2B deal (BBG) 

• Sanlam, South Africa’s biggest insurer, will acquire smaller rival Assupol Life for $349M (BBG) 

• China’s Alibaba Group is looking to sell a number of its consumer sector assets, including grocery business Freshippo and retailer RT-Mart (RT) 

• Italian eyewear manufacturer Marcolin is preparing for a merger or sale as its French PE owners, PAI Partners, looks to exit (RT) 

• UK defense contractor BAE Systems acquired heavy-lift drone manufacturer Malloy Aeronautics (BBG)

VC

• Cohere Health, a Boston-based clinical intelligence startup, raised $50M in funding led by Deerfield Management (FN)

• Interlune, a stealth startup led by Ex-Blue Origin leaders focused on harvesting resources from the moon, has raised $15.5M in new funding (TC)

• AI-driven podcasting platform Podcastle raised a $13.5M Series A led by Mosaic Ventures (TC)

• Velar, a Dubai-based startup developing a decentralized perpetual derivatives exchange, raised a $3.5M seed round from Black Edge Capital, CMS Holdings, Bitcoin Startup Lab, and more (FN)

• Twin Labs, a Paris-based developer of an automation tool to handle repetitive tasks, raised a $3M pre-seed round from Motier Ventures, Betaworks, and more (FN)

• SushiDog, a London-based quick service restaurant chain, raised an $1M round led by Middleton Enterprises (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• PE group EQT is reviving plans for a Swiss IPO of Galderma as soon as the first half of this year; the IPO may value the dermatology company at ~$20B (FT) 

• Rubrik, a cybersecurity software startup that Microsoft invested in at a $4B valuation in 2021, plans to IPO in New York as early as April (RT) 

• Mexico’s BBB Foods is seeking to raise over $400M in its US IPO that could value the discount retailer at up to ~$1.9B (BBG) 

• Shares of Fractyl Health fell 8.3% in its debut day of trading giving the obesity and diabetes drug developer a market cap of $655M (RT) 

• (BBG) 

• Norway’s Public Property Invest is exploring a potential IPO; troubled property group SBB owns 45% of the company is considering transferring parts of its Norwegian portfolio to PPI to raise cash (BBG)

Debt

• UK insurer Ardonagh Group is expected to launch a $2B bond sale as soon as today (BBG) 

• ION Markets, a unit of Andrea Pignataro’s fintech empire, pulled a $1.7B loan deal amid investor concern about the group’s overall debt (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Byju’s Alpha’s, a US shell entity of Indian edtech Byju’s, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with assets of $1B and liabilities of up to $10B (WSJ) 

Fundraising

• Real estate investment manager Town Lane is on pace to raise $1B for its first real estate fund, which will focus on warehouses and multifamily buildings in Sunbelt cities (WSJ) 

Crypto Corner

• US Bitcoin miners are consuming the same amount of electricity as the entire state of Utah (BBG) 

• The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s conversion into an ETF has eliminated its double-digit price to net-asset value discount (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

• A good night’s sleep sets the tone for the rest of your day, and Eight Sleep’s mattress cover, The Pod, will have you sleeping like a baby. The Pod, which fits on your bed like a fitted sheet, includes sensors that track your health while you sleep, and it cools down and warms up each side of your bed throughout the night to improve your sleep quality. You can get yours here, and Exec Sum readers can get $250 off their order.

• Seth Godin explained why Super Bowl ads rarely provide a strong ROI.

• Politico discussed how generative AI is being used across different industries.

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