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AMC’s CEO Adam Aron got blackmailed, the US denied Iran access to the $6B it was receiving as part of a prisoner swap, Scalise dropped out of the US House race, Americans failed to pay a record $668B in taxes, theaters are showing Taylor Swift’s concert, and Europe gave TikTok’s CEO 24 hours to respond about Israel - Hamas misinformation.

Ever wonder if your financial advisor is worth the money? Today’s sponsor, Rainbook, can evaluate them and help you find a replacement, free of charge.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks declined as investors reacted to September’s CPI report that showed more persistent inflation

  • The Nasdaq led indices with a 0.63% decline

• Asian stocks rose, continuing their winning streak, on hopes of Chinese government stimulus and news that Beijing increased its ownership stake in the country’s largest banks

Earnings

• Delta Airlines reported a 60% increase in profit that beat analyst expectations thanks to a strong summer, especially for international flights, but Delta lowered its full-year profit forecast due to a jump in fuel prices (CNBC)

• Walgreens stock rose 7% despite missing adjusted Q4 profit expectations and forecasting soft profit guidance; the company also reported narrower losses and is progressing in its cost-cutting plans (CNBC)

• Domino’s Pizza beat Q3 analyst revenue and profit estimates, though international earnings growth came in below expectations largely due to the disaggregation of the pizza company’s Russian stores (MS)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, UnitedHealth Group

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US to hold off on disbursing $6B in Iran oil revenue unfrozen in prisoner deal (WSJ)

• Dreams of big treasury gains backfire with $10B ETF loss (BBG)

• Scalise drops out of US House speaker race, adding more chaos (BBG)

• Americans failed to pay a record $688b in taxes. The IRS says that will change (WSJ)

• Ford says it’s ‘at the limit’ of what it can offer UAW as strikes escalate (CNBC)

• Theaters prep for Taylor Swift concert movie mayhem (WSJ)

• Qualcomm to cut roughly 1,258 jobs in California (CNBC)

• Africa’s exports could soar close to $1T under trade deal (BBG)

• AMC CEO Adam Aron says he was victim of blackmail plot (WSJ)

• Chile finance minister downplays inflation currency slump (BBG)

• Apollo CEO Marc Rowan demands UPenn leaders to quit over antisemitism (BBG)

• Europe gives TikTok CEO 24 hours to respond about Israel-Hamas war misinformation (CNBC)

• Bank of Korea warns of potential oil impact from conflict (BBG)

• Clothing prices drop most since 2020 ahead of holiday season (BBG)

A Message From Rainbook

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If you aren’t satisfied with your advisor’s performance, Rainbook can also pair you with a new advisor more aligned with your investing goals, to ensure your financial health is taken care of.

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Comcast and Disney hired investment banks to appraise Hulu as part of a five-year process to put the streaming platform under one owner; Hulu has a minimum valuation of $27.5B (CNBC)

• EU regulators ordered genetic testing company Illumina to sell cancer test maker Grail, which it acquired for $7.1B, for completing the deal before securing EU approval (RT)

• British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is emerging as the frontrunner to buy into Premier League team Manchester United, which has a $3.2B market cap, thanks to his recently revised offer (BBG)

• AccorInvest Group, one of the world’s largest hotel owners, is looking to sell $2.1B worth of hotel assets in Latin America and Europe to reduce debt (BBG)

• Australian collaboration software company Atlassian will buy privately held video messaging platform Loom for ~$975M (RT)

• Industrial and automotive supplier Stabilus will acquire Dover’s DESTACO business, which is an industrial automation component supplier, at a $680M EV (RT)

• Apollo Global Management will buy The Restaurant Group, the owner of Wagamama, for $623M (BBG)

• Hong Kong PE firm Templewater is nearing a deal to buy a controlling stake in Luye Medical Group’s oncology and cardiology businesses in Singapore at a ~$337M valuation, including debt (BBG)

• Brooks Macdonald, a UK wealth manager worth ~$325M that oversees $20.7B in client assets, is working with a defense advisor on strategy amid takeover interest (RT)

• German insurance heavyweight Allianz will acquire financial services company Generali’s TUA Assicurazioni for $295M cash (RT)

• Filipino power retailer Manila Electric’s MGen Renewable Energy unit will invest $280M to buy shares in solar energy company SP New Energy (BBG)

• US investment firm Live Ventures offered to acquire hardwood flooring retailer LL Flooring Holdings for ~$180M cash (RT)

• PGA Tour began a formal process to review outside investments separate from its negotiations over a deal with Saudi Arabia’s PIF (FT)

• Lender Antares Capital is weighing an acquisition of European private credit rival Hayfin Capital Management to create a private credit behemoth (BBG)

• PE firm Platinum Equity emerged as the lead bidder for Jacobs Solutions’ federal consulting unit Critical Mission Solutions (BBG)

VC

• Charging infrastructure startup EVPassport raised a $200M round from Northleaf Capital Partners (TC)

• Augmented reality startup Mojo Vision raised a $43.5M Series A co-led by Khosla Ventures and NEA (TC)

• Employee experience platform Harri raised a $43M growth equity round led by Atalaya Capital Management (VC)

• Embedded insurtech platform provider Matic raised a $20M Series B extension led by IA Capital Group and Cultivation Capital (FN)

• Collaborative sustainability platform Scope3 raised a $20M Series B led by GV (BW)

• AOA Dx, a startup developing an ovarian cancer detection test, raised a $17M round led by Good Growth Capital (FN)

• Wearable monitoring startup RDS raised a $13.7M seed round from Capital Grand Est (EU)

• Lakera, a startup aiming to protect large language models from malicious prompts, raised a $10M round led by Redalpine (TC)

• Intento, a machine translation and multilingual generative AI platform, raised an $8M Series A led by Somersault Ventures (PRN)

• Lanch, a startup creating food delivery brands for influencers, raised a $6.9M Series A from Felix Capital and HV Capital (TC)

• Efabless, a startup helping non-hardware experts create integrated circuits, raised a $6.3M Series A-1 extension from GlobalFoundries, Synopsys, New North Ventures, and more (VC)

• Bangladeshi edtech startup 10 Minute School raised a $5.5M pre-Series A led by Conjunction Capital (TC)

• Aclid, a security and compliance automation platform for the biotech industry, raised a $3.3M seed round led by 2048 Ventures and IA Ventures (PRN)

• Jam & Tea Studios, a multiplayer roleplaying video game studio, raised a $3.2M seed round led by London Venture Partners (BW)

• Workflow automation platform Relay raised $3.1M in funding led by a16z (TC)

• London-based AI startup TitanML raised a $2.8M pre-seed round led by Octopus Ventures (EU)

• Goodhood, a subscription-based tech company for the auto maintenance and repair industry, raised a $2.6M seed round led by Bullish (FN)

• Prevounce Health, a provider of remote care management software and devices, raised a $2.5M Series A led by Cloud Hill Partners (PRN)

• CNaught, the first science-based and trust-centered seller of carbon credits, announced a $2.3M pre-seed round led by Greycroft (VC)

• Fave, the app for superfans, raised a $2M round led by Warner Music, Sony Music, and the Female Founders Fund (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Omani state energy firm OQ raised $749M in the IPO of a 49% stake in its gas pipelines business, marking Oman’s biggest listing on record; the IPO drew $10B in orders (BBG)

Debt

• Sri Lanka and China agreed to restructure $4.2B of debt (BBG)

• Budget carrier AirAsia, which is part of the Capital A Berhad group, is seeking a $400M loan in the form of a revenue bond to refinance debt (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Several of RVL Pharmaceuticals’ operating subsidiaries are filing for bankruptcy in a prepackaged deal with lender Athyrium Capital and other key stakeholders (WSJ)

Fundraising

• Hillhouse, an investment firm backed by Yale’s endowment fund, is preparing to pitch a new Asia-focused credit fund to international investors; the fund may reach $900M-$1.1B (BBG)

• US VC Ankona Capital closed its second fund at $129M to invest in early growth-stage B2B software companies (FN)

• SYN Ventures announced the first close of its dedicated cybersecurity seed fund at over $75M (FN)

• US VC Alethia Venture Partners launched its $50M inaugural fund, Alethia Opportunity Fund I, to invest in the beverage industry (FN)

• Boston PE firm BV Investment Partners raised a continuation fund that will allow it to maintain control of tax and accounting software provider Right Networks, which its $487M BVIP Fund VIII acquired in 2016 (WSJ)

Crypto Corner

• SBF approved the use of customer funds according to a recording of Caroline Ellison speaking to Alameda Research employees (RT)

• US regulators sued the CEO of collapsed crypto lender Voyager Digital Holdings, Stephen Ehrlich, of fraud (RT)

Exec’s Picks

• Two researchers independently discovered the first verifiable words in the Herculaneum papyri, ancient scrolls from Pompeii that were buried and carbonized by the Vesuvius eruption.

• Retail investors love treasury bills, according to The Economist.

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