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Good Morning,

Google invested $2B in OpenAI competitor Anthropic, the US Treasury is likely boosting auction sizes as the budget deficit worsens, Asian central banks could hike rates more, Ken Griffin flew Citadel’s Asia-based staff to Tokyo Disney, and Two Sigma had a big trading scandal.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks closed mostly lower over renewed fears of a recession

  • The Dow fell 1.12%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.38%, led by a strong post-earnings performance from Amazon

• European stocks fell due to poor earnings and concerns about the global economy

• Asian stocks rebounded on Friday as investors digested fresh inflation data

Earnings

• ExxonMobil missed Q3 analyst earnings expectations but slightly beat on revenue; profit declined drastically compared to last year (CNBC)

• Chevron shares fell 7% after missing Q3 analyst profit expectations by a large margin (RT)

• AbbVie shares declined 4% despite beating Q3 earnings and revenue expectations and lifting its 2023 profit outlook (BRRN)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Monday: McDonald’s, HSBC, Pinterest  

  • Tuesday: Pfizer, AMD, Caterpillar, jetBlue, BP, Amgen

  • Wednesday: PayPal, CVS, Qualcomm, Airbnb, Apollo, Albemarle, Etsy, Kraft Heinz, DoorDash

  • Thursday: Apple, Starbucks, Novo Nordisk, Shopify, Coinbase, Block, Eli Lilly, Moderna, Palantir, ConocoPhillips

  • Friday: Enbridge, Cinemark, Cboe

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US Treasury seen boosting auction sizes as budget deficit worsens (RT)

• Strong dollar keeps rate hikes on the table for Asian central banks (BBG)

• Flights in China to increase 34% above pre-pandemic levels (RT)

• Tesla woes bolster appeal of top China EV maker BYD (BBG)

• Citadel’s Griffin flies Asia-based staff to Tokyo Disney Resort (BBG)

• Australia’s tight rental market forces tenants to make tough choices (RT)

• Hedge fund Two Sigma is hit by trading scandal (WSJ)

• UAW deal with Ford includes $8.1B in investments and $5,000 ratification bonuses (CNBC)

• TikTok gets tougher in performance reviews, and employees are spooked (WSJ)

• Los Angeles area sees power cuts on fire risk from Santa Anas (BBG)

• Israeli ground operation pushes deeper into Gaza (WSJ)

• Plan to hike electric bills 29% sparks fury in Wyoming (BBG)

• Former Vice President Mike Pence quits presidential race (CNBC)

• Matthew Perry, ‘Friends’ actor, dies of apparent drowning at 54 (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Zegona Communications is nearing a deal to acquire a stake of at least 50% in telecom Vodafone Group’s Spanish business at a $5.3B valuation (BBG)

• Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy is exploring a multi-billion dollar asset sale to reduce debt including minority stake sales in the $3B ANR Pipeline, a minority stake sale in its Mexican operation, and stake sales in Portland Natural Gas Transmission System and the Millennium Pipeline (BBG)

• Investor GLIL Infrastructure is in exclusive talks to acquire a stake in Virgin Media O2’s shareholding in Britain's largest mobile tower network, Cornerstone, in a deal that could value the business at $3B (RT)

• Hancock Prospecting, owned by Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, acquired an 18.3% stake in Australian lithium company Azure Minerals in an attempt to block a $1B acquisition by Chilean mining giant Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (RT)

• Rithm Capital will acquire hedge fund Sculptor Management for $720M in a sweetened new deal (RT)

• PE firm Aurelius Group is in talks to buy beauty products chain The Body Shop from Brazilian owner Natura & Co at a valuation lower than the $485M-$607M suggested in some media reports (RT)

• British online fashion retailer ASOS is exploring a sale of its Topshop brand, which it acquired for $321M in 2021 (RT)

VC

• Anthropic, an AI startup seeking to displace OpenAI, received a $2B investment from Google (TC)

• Eavor Technologies, a provider of advanced geothermal energy solutions, raised $182M in funding led by OMV AG (FN)

• Scatec, an Oslo-based renewable energy solutions provider, raised a $102M round led by Climate Fund Managers (FN)

• PopUp Bagels, an NYC-based viral bagel startup, raised an $8M Series A led by Stripes (FN)

• Blox, a financial AI automation company for real estate, raised a $7.5M pre-seed round from Fika Ventures, Navitas Capital, and Clocktower Technology Ventures (BW)

• Nocturne, a protocol enabling on-chain private accounts, raised a $6M seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital (FN)

• Kento Health, a Canadian cardiac rehabilitation and health tech startup, raised a $3M pre-seed round led by Both Boreal Ventures and N49P (FN)

• Node, a startup building an online shopping platform without accounts, raised a $2.8M seed round led by Neotribe Ventures (FN)

• Ryder, a Singapore-based startup building a TapSafe recovery system, raised a $1.2M seed round from Oak Grove Ventures, Muneeb Ali, SBX Capital, and more (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Chinese rural bank and microlender Chongho Bridge Credit Agricultural, which is backed by Ant Group, is considering a Hong Kong IPO that could raise as much as $500M (BBG)

SPAC

• EV maker Thunder Power Holdings will merge with Feutune Light Acquisition Corp. in a $400M deal (BZ)

Debt

• One of China’s largest retailers, Suning Appliance Group, proposed extending $6.1B of unsecured debt by eight years in its latest effort to deal with a liquidity crunch (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Chinese property developer Evergrande faced liquidation in Hong Kong court (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• SBF testified that he asked ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison and Alameda Research to hedge risks (CD)

• US says some crypto firms not doing enough to stop illicit finance (RT)

• Crypto platform Gemini Trust is suing bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global to determine ownership of a ~$1.6B slug of shares Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

• Investor frenzy is overvaluing AI startups, and it’s going to cause some headache and heartbreak, according to Financial Times.

• The Verge investigated how climbing streaming prices will push more and more consumers to ad-supported media.

• The Wall Street Journal covered how digital freight darling Convoy went from $3.8B to bust in 18 months.

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