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Good Morning,

US consumer credit card debt exceeds $1T, stocks closed in the green, Credit Suisse is cutting 80% of its Hong Kong IB jobs, Berkshire closed at a record high, Tesla’s CFO stepped down, Apple’s iPhone 15 is reportedly set for mid-September launch, US tech groups are backing TikTok’s challenge to Montana’s state ban, and banks want to dump property loans.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks surged yesterday as investors added positions ahead of Thursday's highly awaited US inflation report

  • The S&P and Nasdaq snapped four-day losing streaks

  • The Dow had its best day since mid-June

Earnings

• Tyson Foods stock fell ~4% after it reported a Q3 $417M loss, lower than expected sales, and announced plans to close four chicken plants to cut costs (WSJ)

• KKR stock rose over 3% after it reported better-than-expected Q2 after-tax distributable earnings of $653M, a 23% year-on-year decrease due to a slump in asset sales (RT)

• Lucid Group shares rose over 3% despite missing Q2 earnings, sales, and deliveries estimates; the EV maker is on track for production of over 10K units (B)

• Paramount Global shares were up 4% after it beat Q2 revenue and earnings estimates, partially thanks to a 40% jump in its streaming-TV business (BBG)

• Chegg stock surged 25% after beating Q2 earnings and revenue estimates thanks to the launch of a beta version of a generative AI experience (B)

• Palantir met Q2 earnings and revenue expectations and issued better-than-expected guidance that beat estimates as it continues to seek opportunities to leverage AI (CNBC)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Eli Lilly, UPS, Rivian, Datadog, Restaurant Brands, Coupang

  • Wednesday: Disney, Honda, The Trade Desk, Roblox

  • Thursday: Alibaba, Brookfield, Ralph Lauren

  • Friday: Soho House, Spectrum Brands

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Wall Street closes up, regains ground as US inflation report nears (RT)

• Credit Suisse to cut 80% of Hong Kong IB jobs from this week (RT)

• Berkshire Hathaway stock hits record, lifts major indexes (WSJ)

• US consumer credit card debt exceeds $1T (AX)

• Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn stepped down (CNBC)

• Apple’s iPhone 15 is reportedly set for mid-September launch (CNBC)

• Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max targets MLB playoffs for new streaming sports tier (CNBC)

• Young workers in Asia turn away from factory jobs (AX)

• US tech groups back TikTok in challenge to Montana state ban (RT)

• With Trump a likely no show, DeSantis emerges as top target at 2024 debate (RT)

• US consumers saying “bad time to buy a house” hits 13-year high in July (RT)

• Property loans are so unappealing that banks want to dump them (BBG)

• China deflation threat grows as companies cut prices to survive (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Adobe’s $20B acquisition of Figma will receive an in-depth investigation from the EU due to global competition concerns about software used by designers (BBG)

• A consortium led by investment fund Japan Industrial Partners will begin a long-delayed $15B tender offer to buyout Toshiba on August 8 (BBG)

• The US FTC agreed to drop its lawsuit to block NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange’s $11.7B acquisition of mortgage data vendor Black Knight (RT)

• Campbell Soup will acquire Sovos Brands, the parent company of Rao’s pasta sauces, in a $2.7B deal (WSJ)

• PE buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice will acquire packaging maker Veritiv for ~$2.3B cash (WSJ)

• KKR will buy book publisher Simon & Schuster from media giant Paramount Global for over $1.6B cash (BBG)

• PE firm Advent International is nearing a deal to acquire Australian fashion brand Zimmermann for ~$1B (BBG)

• Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority bought a 2.7% stake in Adani Green Energy for $474M (BBG)

• Authentic Restaurant Brands, a portfolio company of Garnett Station Partners, will acquire Fiesta Restaurant Group, a Pollo Tropical restaurant chain, for $225M (WSJ)

• Italian PE fund FSI will invest $110M to become the top minority investor in Italy’s leading cash card system BANCOMAT (RT)

• KKR will buy a minority stake in German space company OHB, which is also planning to delist for more flexibility in its decision making (RT)

VC

• Resilience, a cyber risk platform provider, raised a $100M Series D led by Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions (FN)

• Bright Health Group raised $60M in financing from New Enterprise Associates (BW)

• AI-centric HR platform One Model raised a $41M round led by Riverwood Capital (TC)

• AI-powered learning and skilling suite Disprz raised a $30M Series C led by Lumos Capital and 360 ONE Asset (BW)

• AI-powered financial crimes and tax evasion platform IVIX raised a $12.5M Series A led by Insight Partners (FN)

• Saudi Arabian fintech personal expense management startup Mthmr raised an ~$8.5M seed round from Waed Ventures, Dahran Trading Group, and more (FN)

• Tromzo, an application security and posture management startup, raised an additional $8M in seed funding led by Venture Guides (FN)

• Dubai-based digital dental health platform Udenz raised a $5M Series A led by Hakeem Capital Holding, Techcelerate Investments, Inspira Management, and Dubai Business Corporation (FN)

• Multiplayer, a collaborative tool for teams working on distributed software, raised a $3M round led by Bowery Capital (FN)

• Satim, a Polish startup using AI to detect and identify objects in satellite imagery, raised a $2M round led by Cultivation Capital (FN)

• AI video editing startup Wisecut raised a $1M seed round led by Draper Associates (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• China’s Hua Hong Semiconductor rose 2% in its debut trading day after raising almost $3B in Asia’s biggest IPO this year (BBG)

• PE giant Apollo Global Management plans to raise $1B through a convertible preferred stock offering, which it will use to grow its retirement services business (RT)

SPAC

• Health services technology and pharmaceutical distribution company Danam Health is merging with Artemis Strategic Investment Corp. in a $200M deal (AW)

Debt

• Goldman Sachs raised $2.75B through a two-part bond sale (BBG)

• Starwood Property Trust is considering a discount sale of a $230M loan on the beleaguered New Jersey American Dream mall and entertainment complex (BBG)

• Engineering/construction services firm Fluor announced a $500M convertible bond offering and plans to redeem all of its 3.500% senior notes due in 2024 (MW)

• Coinbase is offering to buy back up to $150M of its 3.625% junk bonds due October 2031 (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Chinese property developer Yuzhou Group, which defaulted on dollar bond payments last year, offered a debt restructuring plan; it has $6.8B in offshore liabilities (RT)

• Trucking company Yellow filed for bankruptcy with estimated total assets of $2.15B and total liabilities of $2.6B (RT)

• EV parts supplier Proterra, which has assets and liabilities between $500M-$1B, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (RT)

• Cargo airline Western Global Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $500M in assets and over $1B in debt (BBG)

• Struggling UK fashion retailer Superdry raised $32M from restructuring specialist Hilco Capital (RT)

Fundraising

• PE firm Revelstoke Capital Partners raised $1.7B for Revelstoke Capital Partners Fund III and other investment vehicles (FN)

Crypto Corner

• PayPal launched a dollar-backed stablecoin, the first of its kind (RT)

• Brazil's central bank’s digital currency DREX will launch in 2024 (RT)

• Ark’s Cathie Wood believes the SEC will approve multiple spot-Bitcoin ETFs at once (BBG)

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