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HSBC is weighing 10% job cuts as part of an AI overhaul, BofA apologized for recommending bets against European private credit, DOJ charged Supermicro execs with smuggling Nvidia chips to China, and Bezos is planning a mega $100B fund to acquire manufacturing companies and optimize them with AI.

Surf Air Mobility and BETA Technologies partner to launch the first commercial EV passenger airline service in US. Learn more about their vision below.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 3/19/2026 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks ended lower yesterday as soaring oil prices diminished hopes for 2026 rate cuts

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 2.4%

  • MSCI EM stock index slumped 2.7% 

    • India's Nifty 50 index crashed 3.3% in its worst day since June 2024

  • US 2Y-10Y yield spread fell 8 bps in just four minutes to its narrowest in a year as hedge funds unwind steepener bets

    • Traders are now pricing in no rate cuts till mid-2027

  • LME Aluminum plunged by the most since 2018 

Earnings

  • Alibaba missed Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as net income fell 66% amid big investments in quick commerce, user experiences, and tech (CNBC)

  • Accenture beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as enterprise AI adoption continued to drive demand (WSJ)

  • FedEx issued a Q4 beat-and-raise as its restructuring plan in its delivery network begins to gain traction (BBG)

  • Darden Restaurants beat Q4 revenue estimates but only met on earnings as higher commodity prices and winter storms weighed (YH)

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Markets slashed odds for any rate cuts this year. Going to be interesting to see who Trump scapegoats for this

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • ECB, BoE, SNB, and BOJ held rates steady following Fed (CNBC)

  • US regulators slashed Wall Street capital rules (WSJ)

  • Big banks are offering hedge funds ways to short private credit (BBG)

  • BofA apologized for recommending bets against European private credit (FT)

  • Software rout has investors questioning paying workers in stock (BBG)

  • Quantum firms defy market rout to move ahead on listings (BBG)

  • Goldman will make performance-based job cuts in April (RT)

  • HSBC is weighing 10% job cuts as part of AI overhaul (BBG)

  • Deutsche Bank promoted two potential successors to CEO Sewing (FT)

  • Texas Stock Exchange is poaching execs from Nasdaq and NYSE (BBG)

  • Bridgewater's chief scientist will join Google's DeepMind AI unit (RT)

  • PwC US boss says partners who resist AI have no place at the firm (FT)

  • SEC will create new team to target 'bad actors' in auditing (BBG)

  • DOJ charged Supermicro execs with smuggling Nvidia chips to China (CNBC)

A Message from Surf Air Mobility

Surf Air Mobility & BETA Technologies Partner to Fly the First Paying Passenger on an Electric Aircraft

Electric aviation has been a promise for years. Surf Air Mobility (NYSE: SRFM) is working to make it a commercial reality. SRFM has announced a strategic partnership with electric aerospace company BETA Technologies (NYSE: BETA) — combining SRFM's operating infrastructure and existing passenger demand with BETA's proven ALIA electric aircraft, which has logged over 100,000 nautical miles.1

SRFM plans to be the first operator to put paying passengers on next-generation electric aircraft, starting in Hawaii where they are already the largest commuter passenger operator today. BETA's aircraft will also serve on-demand and cargo missions — with a roadmap that runs from conventional takeoff aircraft to VTOL.

Visit surfair.com

Surf Air

1Source: BETA Technologies / Surf Air Mobility press release, March 12, 2026. This is a paid advertisement for Surf Air Mobility, Inc.

Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Water treatment giant Ecolab is nearing a deal to acquire data center cooling company CoolIT Systems from KKR for $4.5B-$5B

  • CVC and Nordic Capital are exploring exit options for European vehicle glass repair firm Cary Group at a $3.5B valuation

  • $3B-listed German semiconductor group ​Elmos is exploring a sale

  • Industrials conglomerate 3M and Bain Capital agreed to acquire Madison Fire & Rescue for $2B

  • Uber will invest $1.25B in $20B-listed EV maker Rivian in a robotaxi push

  • Genco Shipping & Trading's board unanimously rejected a revised $1B all-cash takeover offer from rival company Diana Shipping

  • Oaktree-backed UK hospitality group RedCat is seeking fresh funding for expansion

  • Closely-linked Spanish defense firms Indra and EM&E ended merger talks due to conflict of interests in a blow to activist Third Point

VC

  • Jeff Bezos' physical AI startup Project Prometheus is in talks to raise another $6B

  • Prediction market platform Kalshi raised a $1B round at a $22B valuation led by Coatue

  • Fal, a cloud service for AI video models, is in talks to raise $300M-$350M at an ~$8B valuation

  • Wealth management tech platform GeoWealth raised a $42.5M Series C extension from Goldman Sachs

  • Consumer-focused privacy company Cloaked raised a $375M Series B and growth financing led by General Catalyst and Liberty City Ventures

  • Oasis Security, an agentic access management platform securing non-human identities, raised a $120M Series B led by Craft Ventures

  • Social network platform Bluesky raised a $100M Series B led by Bain Capital Crypto 

  • Cape, a privacy-focused mobile carrier and cellular network provider, raised $100M Series C co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and IVP

  • EV boat maker Arc Boats raised a $50M Series C from Eclipse, a16z, Menlo Ventures, and others

  • Deeptune, a developer of hi-fi simulation environments for AI agents, raised a $43M Series A led by a16z

  • Events platform Posh raised a $37M Series B led by FirstMark Capital

  • Claros, a power management solutions company, raised a $30M seed round co-led by General Catalyst and Red Cell Partners 

  • hosted·ai, GPU orchestration software, raised a $19M seed round led by Creandum and Repeat Ventures

  • Allure Security, the AI-native disinformation defense company, raised a $17M Series B led by Riverside Acceleration Capital

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Activist Elliott built a significant stake in $12B-listed Invisalign-maker Align Technology

  • Seniors-focused REIT Janus Living will raise its IPO offering and price its at the top of a marketed range to raise $840M at a ~$5B valuation amid strong investor demand

  • Shareholders of $3B‑listed Hong Kong-based suitcase maker Samsonite approved ‌resolutions to pave the way for a US dual listing

  • Indian hospital operator Paras Healthcare revived plans for a $200M India IPO

  • EQT and Silver Lake-backed European veterinary group IVC Evidensia is in early talks for a London or Europe IPO

  • UK online broker IG Group is considering swapping its London listing for US

Debt

  • Wall Street banks are offloading $18B of debt tied to the historic $55B LBO of video game maker Electronic Arts

  • French lender SocGen is mulling a SRT of some of its exposure to data centers

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Citigroup wrote a $134M ABF credit line to Interbridge Mortgages, backed by MFS founder Paresh Raja, just as his flagship lender was collapsing

  • Bradesco and other Brazilian banks are pushing conglomerate Cosan for better terms in sugar and ethanol JV Raízen's debt restructuring, potentially delaying Cosan's IPO of gas unit Compass, which could be Brazil's first in five years

  • The Cheng family, the billionaire owner of struggling Hong Kong developer New World Development, is mulling options including a public share sale to meet debt obligations as it fights to maintain control 

Funds / Secondaries

  • Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise $100B for a fund to acquire ​manufacturing companies and equip them with AI

  • Blackstone raised over $12B for its third APAC buyout fund

  • Goldman Sachs Asset Management is in talks to raise $10B for its sixth flagship large-cap private credit fund

  • Apollo committed $1B for a JV with REIT Realty Income to acquire single-tenant retail properties with long-term net ⁠leases

  • France's BNP Paribas Asset Management raised $722M for its infrastructure secondaries fund

  • Blackstone's flagship $83B private credit fund plans to sell new CLOs

  • Oak Hill Advisors is launching a new retail fund targeting public and private credit

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Crypto.com cut 12% of jobs in AI push

  • 'Digital credit' is latest code word for leverage among crypto treasury companies

  • Senators eye bank add-ons to crypto bill to ease passage of housing bill in House

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

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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.

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