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The US is further cracking down on China’s access to chip technologies, oil prices continue climbing due to uncertainty in the Middle East, Taylor Swift’s Eras Concert is the highest-grossing domestic concert film ever, Biden might visit Israel, car buyers aren’t falling in love with EVs, and Xi’s crackdown on finance in China hit its two-year mark.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks mostly declined in response to rising oil prices and heightened inflation expectations

  • The Nasdaq led indices down with a 1.23% decline, while the Dow rose 0.12%

• Asian stocks fell due to a wave of negative Chinese economic data

• Oil futures rose ~5% due to fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East

Earnings

• JPMorgan Chase reported a 35% YoY increase in profit and beat Q3 analyst earnings and revenue estimates thanks to higher interest income and lower credit costs (CNBC)

• Wells Fargo shares rose 3% after beating Q3 profit and revenue expectations thanks to higher interest rates, which offset lower lending activity (CNBC)

• BlackRock beat Q3 earnings expectations but reported its first quarterly net long-term outflow since the early days of COVID-19 (FT)

• Citigroup reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue thanks to growth in its institutional clients and personal banking divisions (CNBC)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Monday: Charles Schwab

  • Tuesday: Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, United Airlines, Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson, Prologis

  • Wednesday: Tesla, Netflix, Morgan Stanley, ASML, P&G, Discover, Nasdaq

  • Thursday: TSMC, Blackstone, AT&T, American Airlines

  • Friday: American Express

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US to tighten curbs on China’s access to advanced chip tech (BBG)

• Stocks retreat amid Gaza risks as oil hovers above $90 (RT)

• A recession is no longer the consensus (WSJ)

• Taylor Swift Eras Tour is the highest-grossing domestic concert film ever (CNBC)

• Investors are confident they can roll with global trade’s punches (BBG)

• Time is running out for the ‘year of the bond’ as losses mount (BBG)

• US and Israeli officials discuss possible Biden visit to Israel this week (AX)

• Risk-advisory firms decide Hong Kong isn’t worth it (WSJ)

• Automakers have big hopes for EVs, buyers aren’t cooperating (WSJ)

• EU seeks to ease US tariff, green subsidy threats (RT)

• Xi’s crackdown on finance hits two-year mark with no letup (BBG)

• Bargain hunters dig in to ‘cheap’ European banks (RT)

• Africa ambassador criticizes IMF, World Bank for not giving enough loans (CNBC)

• ‘Informal’ House Speaker talks underway with GOP, Jeffries says (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Microsoft completed its $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard (BBG)

• KKR is preparing its binding bid to buy Telecom Italia’s landline grid; the grid was last valued at $25.3B (RT)

• California is preparing a lawsuit to block Kroger’s $24.6B acquisition of Albertsons on the condition that it hurts consumers and workers (BBG)

• Infrastructure investor Global Infrastructure Partners is considering an up to 51% stake sale in Asian renewable energy company Vena Energy at a ~$15B valuation (BBG)

• The Qatari group led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad J.J. Al Thani withdrew its bid for Premier League team Manchester United after its latest bid of over $6.1B was rejected (BBG)

• Canadian pension funds including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are weighing a potential $3B, 72% sale in Chile’s biggest power-transmission company Transelec (BBG)

• US PE firm TPG will acquire a 9% stake in Tata Technologies from India's Tata Motors in a deal that values the unit at $2B (RT)

• Miami-based infrastructure investor I Squared Capital is aiming to sign a $1.7B deal to acquire Deutsche Bahn's international transport business Arriva as soon as Monday (RT)

• NatWest Group Pension Fund is weighing a $1.5B, 50% stake sale in Irish natural gas distributor Phoenix Energy (BBG)

• PE firms Highview Capital and A&M Capital Partners are exploring a potential sale of meal distributor GS Foods Group at over $1.5B, including debt (RT)

• Indian tycoon Peter Sondakh’s conglomerate PT Rajawali is considering a sale of its controlling interest in gold miner PT Archi Indonesia, which has a market value of $623M (BBG)

• British clothing group Next will buy FatFace in a deal that values the fashion chain at $140M (RT)

• Saudi Aramco is exploring a potential bid for Shell’s Pakistan assets, including Karachi-listed $123M Shell Pakistan (BBG)

• Morgan Stanley and Cerberus Capital Management are among bidders for a quarter of UK pub operator Stonegate Pub’s pubs (BBG) 

• French investment firm Wendel is exploring a potential acquisition of PE firm IK Partners (BBG)

• Chinese investment bank Guotai Junan Securities will buy a 49% stake in CPIC Fund Management from German insurer Allianz (RT)

• PIF-backed Professional Fighters League is in talks to acquire its mixed martial arts competitor Bellator (FT)

VC

• Main Street Health, a value-based healthcare organization, raised $315M in funding from various health plan and provider partners. (FN)

• Fast energy storage startup Skeleton Technologies raised a $114M debt / equity round from Siemens Financial Services, Marubeni Corporation, and others (EU)

• Alltrna, a startup unlocking transfer RNA biology, raised a $109M Series B from the company's founder, Flagship Pioneering, and others (VC)

• Agomab Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on drug development for Crohn’s Disease, raised a $100M Series C led by Fidelity Management & Research Company (EU)

• Swedish fintech startup Invoier received a $61M investment from the European Investment Fund (EU)

• Bobnet, a European startup building retail automation solutions, raised a $50M Series B led by NCH Capital (PRN)

• Stash, an NYC-based investing app, raised a $40M round led by T. Rowe Price (FN)

• myenergi, a British smart home energy technology manufacturer, received a $36M investment from Energy Impact Partners (FN)

• AI-driven drug delivery startup Mana.bio raised a $19.5M seed round led by a16z, Base4 Capital, NFX, and others (FN)

• Bon Vivant, a startup using yeast microorganisms to produce dairy products, raised a $15.8M seed round led by Sofinnova Partners and Sparkfood (FN)

• Canopy Servicing, a loan servicing startup, raised a $15.2M Series A1 at a $35M valuation led by Foundation Capital and Infinity Ventures (FN)

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

• Carbon Equity, a climate VC and PE fund investing platform, raised a $6M Series A led by BlackFin Capital Partners (FN)

• Relay.app, a workflow automation startup, raised $3.1M in funding led by a16z (FN)

• Hook, a music technology platform, raised a $3M seed round led by Point72 Ventures and Waverley Capital (VC)

• Beldex, a Seychelles-based privacy ecosystem hub, raised $3M in funding led by Block Alpha (FN)

• Volteras, a data startup for EVs, raised a $2.9M seed round from Exor, Long Journey Ventures, and more (TC)

• PickNik Robotics, a startup building software for robotics, raised a $2M pre-seed round led by Stellar Ventures and Cypress Growth Capital (PRN)

• Kodex AI, a Berlin-based startup developing AI-powered solutions for the financial industry, raised a $1.8M round led by Signals VC (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• China's biggest ride-hailing company, Didi Global, is aiming to IPO in Hong Kong in 2024; it delisted in 2022 after pushing ahead with a $4.4B NYSE listing without Chinese regulator approval (RT)

• TAB Gida, the operator of Burger King in Turkey, received approval to list on the Borsa Istanbul and is seeking to raise as much as $246M (BBG)

• Russian technology company Astra raised $36M in a Moscow IPO (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Wireless spectrum venture Ligado Networks is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to its inability to repay or refinance $4B debt due in November (WSJ)

• Party goods retailer Party City exited Chapter 11 restructuring and eliminated $1B in debt (WSJ)

• Peach farmer Prima, which is owned by PE firm Paine Schwartz Partners, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has $679M debt (RT)

• Cybersecurity company IronNet, which was founded by former director of the US NSA, filed for bankruptcy (RT)

Fundraising

• Macquarie Asset Management is in talks with investors to raise as much as $11.5B in total for a trio of funds dedicated to Asia Pacific infrastructure, global renewables and energy transition (BBG)

• VC LaPhair Capital Partners launched Alpha Fund I, which is targeting $100M, to invest in high-growth companies focused on social responsibility in underserved communities (FN)

Crypto Corner

• USDT stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings appointed its technology boss Paolo Ardoino as its CEO (BBG)

• Ferrari will accept crypto payments for its cars in the US (RT)

Exec’s Picks

• This Bloomberg piece discusses how Birkenstock mistimed a shaky IPO market.

• The Hustle explained how “space junk” is quickly becoming a problem as we launch more and more satellites into space.

• New York’s Airbnb ban is turning into pure chaos, according to Wired.

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