US stocks retreated yesterday as Nvidia's blockbuster earnings failed to impress 

Korea's KOSPI index soared 3.6% to take YTD gains past 46% 

Japan's Nikkei 225 index also hit a fresh ATH

US 10Y yield hit a new YTD low

Colombia peso sunk 4% by the most since Covid on election jitters

CoreWeave beat Q4 revenue estimates as compute demand boosted revenue by 110% and backlogs to $67B (CNBC)

Dell beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and projected $50B in FY AI server revenue on top of a record $43B backlog (BBG)

Warner Bros. Discovery beat Q4 revenue estimates but reported wider-than-expected losses as studio and network revenue continued to decline; the firm is set to be acquired by Paramount (BBG)

TD Bank Group beat Q4 estimates with record earnings across US and domestic retail and markets businesses amid cost-cutting efforts (BBG)

Celsius beat Q4 estimates as sales more than doubled following its acquisition of Alani Nu, reaching ~20% US energy drink market share and allaying distribution concerns (YH)

Vistra beat Q4 earnings estimates on an AI-driven surge in electricity demand from data centers (RT)

Duolingo beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates but forecast slower bookings growth and lower profitability as the company prioritizes AI investment and user growth over monetization (BBG)

Full calendar here

He did it. That crazy son a b*tch he did it.

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

Wall Street traders are pouncing on tariff refund chaos (WSJ)

Trump agenda needs allies to stick by US debt as others flee (BBG)

South Korea passed corporate reform bill in boost to world's best market (FT)

Wall Street says Japan yield curve flattening has gone too far (BBG)

UK government debt sales is set to fall for first time in four years (FT)

Global asset managers are bullish on EM assets (BBG)

Stock investors are hedging for an S&P 500 drop (BBG)

Wall Street turns to complex trades to dodge AI 'implosions' (FT)

Tech firms turn to more chip-backed loans to fund AI race (FT)

Private credit bear vs bull debate hits new divide (BBG)

European insurers see themselves shielded from private credit woes (BBG)

CalPERS is unfazed by software stress in private credit (BBG)

Rare earth shortages worsen in US tech despite US-China trade truce (RT)

Norway's $2.2T SWF is using AI to screen for ESG risks (RT)

Number of women-led VC fund launches hit a 15-year low (VCJ)

Millennium poached Goldman's co-head of global equities (FT)

Anthropic rejected Pentagon's 'best and final offer' (FT)

OpenAI poached ex-Apple models head from Meta (TI)

Jack Dorsey's Block will cut over 4k jobs as AI use expands (RT)

Smartphone market is set for record decline on memory price surge (RT)

Data center exposure is saving grace for construction firms (BBG)

Real estate investors who shunned San Francisco are rushing back (BBG)

US aims to steer Cuba toward greater dependence on US (BBG)

World Economic Forum CEO Børge Brende resigned over Epstein links (NYT)

Amex will set up new a HQ at 2 World Trade Center (AP)

Bland → Switched, got compliant, and unlocked $500k ARR in 7 days

11x → Streamlined audits and moved faster on enterprise deals

micro1 → Scaled compliance without adding headcount

Warner Bros. Discovery said Paramount Skydance's $112B bid is superior to Netflix's; Netflix will walk away

Investment firm Victory Capital submitted a cash-and-stock bid for asset manager Janus Henderson at a $16B valuation, topping hedge fund Trian and General Catalyst's $7.4B offer

Dubai Aerospace will buy aircraft lessor Macquarie AirFinance in a $7B deal

Hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta submitted a takeover offer for $4.2B-listed Caesars Entertainment

Data center firm Equinix and Canada's CPPIB are nearing a deal to acquire Partners Group-backed Nordic data center operator atNorth at a $4B valuation, including debt

Secure logistics provider Brink's will to acquire ATM solutions firm NCR Atleos in a $4B cash-and-stock deal 

HSBC kicked off a $1B sale of its Singapore insurance business 

Activist hedge fund Irenic submitted a $1.2B unsolicited offer for $600M-listed independent music publisher Reservoir Media

Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, UBS, and Wells Fargo acquired a combined $100M strategic minority stake in post-trade services provider OSTTRA from owner KKR

Amazon's $50B investment in OpenAI may depend on an IPO or AGI milestones

SHINE Technologies, a nuclear fusion and medical isotope startup, raised a $240M round led by NantWorks

Unified hardware-test software startup Revel raised a $150M Series B led by Index Ventures

Stay22, a creator-economy content monetization platform, raised a $122M growth investment from Summit Partners

XR hardware startup VITURE raised a $100M round led by Legend Capital

UpGuard, an AI-powered cyber risk posture management startup, raised a $75M Series C led by Springcoast Partners

Encord, a physical-AI data infrastructure startup, raised a $60M Series C led by Wellington Management

STS Digital, a crypto options trading platform, raised a $30M strategic round led by CMT Digital

AI jobsite-intelligence startup Sensera Systems raised a $27M Series B led by 10 Atlantic Group

NODA AI, a defense autonomy orchestration startup, raised a $25M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners

Cyber asset management startup ThreatAware raised a $25M funding round led by One Peak

ElastixAI, an FPGA-focused AI efficiency platform, raised an $18M seed round  

Sophia Space, a maker of passively cooled orbital compute modules, raised a $10M seed round from Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund, and Unlock Venture Partners

Dots, a global payouts infrastructure startup, raised an $8.9M Series A led by DCM

Toyota is planning a large-scale unwinding of strategic shareholdings that would involve banks and insurance firms selling ~$20B in shares

China's Sinochem-owned agro-chemicals giant Syngenta renewed plans to raise $10B in a Hong Kong IPO

$15.7B-listed Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is seeking to raise $1B in a share sale at a 10% discount 

Elliott invited banks to pitch on a London IPO of book retailers Barnes & Noble and Waterstones

Swedish EV self-driving truck startup Einride raised a $113M PIPE financing led by a West Coast asset manager and EQT Ventures to support its $1.35B SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. III.

Indonesia raised $3.2B in its largest global bond sale since 2017

Abu Dhabi sold $3B of dollar bonds in an EM surge 

Affinity Partners, Silver Lake, and Saudi SWF PIF failed to gain bondholder support for a discounted buyback of $1.5B in debt and changes to lending terms as part of Electronic Arts' $55B LBO

Blackstone private credit BDC Blackstone Secured Lending sold a $400M bond at a 200 bps premium one day after disclosing signs of stress in its largest investments

UK mortgage lender MFS collapsed into insolvency amid fraud and double-pledging allegations, exposing Barclays, Apollo's Atlas, Jefferies, Santander, Wells Fargo, and Castlelake to $2.7B in loans

Brazilian state-owned bank BRB is seeking up to $1.7B in capital to cover losses from dealings with failed Banco Master

Ryan Reynolds-backed Welsh soccer club Wrexham is facing a $6.2M loss from collapsed UK FX broker Argentex, with administrators expecting customers to recover only 60%-80% of funds

Peter Brumbergs, an ex-finance exec at bankrupt auto parts retailer First Brands, pleaded guilty to fraud for falsifying financials, inflating invoices, and double-pledging collateral, potentially becoming a key witness against founders Patrick James and Edward James

Mexican conglomerate Grupo Salinas' broadcaster TV Azteca will file for bankruptcy protection in Mexico, adding a new front for bondholders seeking to recover $500M in debt

Optimum Communications said K&E's withdrawal from representing it under pressure from Apollo, Ares, Oaktree, and others proves that creditors were in an illegal cartel

Carlyle aims to raise over $200B of capital by 2028

Specialist PE firm Greenbriar raised $5.4B for its seventh fund

AZ-VC rebranded to Copper Sky Capital and is seeking to raise $200M for a second fund

Ex-Lazard Asset Management exec Arif Joshi joined credit investor Bramshill to launch a $150M hedge fund focused on EM credit

Jane Street faces wrath of crypto natives nursing old wounds

Bitcoin investors are accusing Jane Street for recent price slump

Regulator's GENIUS Act pitch casts dark cloud over stablecoin model

Florida man was arrested over $330M crypto Ponzi scheme

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The $1.6T software stocks meltdown, in charts…

​A properly curated stand-up show (no open mic energy)👀

​A VC + founder crowd that can take a joke😤

​Drinks, good vibes, and an evening of light-hearted jokes🕺🥂