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Good Morning,
US threatened 100% tariffs on Canada if their China deal goes through, private credit funds are raising billions despite risks, Goldman boosted D-Sol's pay to $47M, TikTok completed its US divestment deal, and odds of a government shutdown surged following major federal law enforcement controversies in Minnesota.
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Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 01/23/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks closed mixed on Friday as traders weighed geopolitical developments
S&P posted its first two-week loss since June
US Treasuries are down -0.5% YTD
CCC debt it up 1.5% YTD, outperforming all other kinds of US debt
Gold topped $5k/oz for the first time ever
Silver topped $100/oz for the first time ever
Earnings
Booz Allen Hamilton beat Q3 earnings estimates but missed on revenue due to the historic government shutdown and a decline in its civil business (YH)
What we're watching this week:
Tuesday: UnitedHealth, Boeing, UPS, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Union Pacific, GM, American Airlines
Wednesday: ASML, Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, GE Vernova, General Dynamics, Starbucks, IBM
Thursday: Apple, Visa, Lockheed Martin, L3 Harris, Honeywell, Southwest Airlines
Friday: American Express, Verizon, Chevron, ExxonMobil
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Domestic policy is back in Trump's focus after some controversial and fatal law enforcement encounters in Minnesota
Trade the Democrats' bargaining power on Polymarket
Headline Roundup
US threatened 100% tariffs on Canada if China deal goes through (BBG)
US control of Venezuela oil risks debt restructuring showdown with China (RT)
Dutch pension ABP cut US Treasuries stake by $12B last year (BBG)
Trump's decision day on Fed pick poses stress test for traders (BBG)
Investors hedge China and tech amid TACO trade drama (BBG)
Emerging Asia lures capital as geopolitics rattle risk appetite (BBG)
European buyers' strike risks emerge on Wall Street (BBG)
Hedge funds are back on top of Wall Street's pecking order (WSJ)
Traders are piling back into the swap spread widener trade (BBG)
Wall Street braces for private credit meltdown as risks rise (CNBC)
Private credit funds raise billions as investors look past warnings (CNBC)
Hedge funds raise bullish wagers on gold to the highest since October (BBG)
Netflix-WBD debt deal leaves M&A-starved banks wanting more (BBG)
Trump's JPMorgan lawsuit underscores growing clash with Wall Street (RT)
Goldman Sachs boosted CEO Solomon's pay by 20% to $47M (BBG)
China told tech firms to prepare Nvidia H200 orders (BBG)
New TikTok US owner named Adam Presser as CEO (BBG)
Data center groups plan lobbying blitz to counter AI energy backlash (FT)
Vanguard non-US AUM hit $1T (FT)
Planet Networks accused a PE firm of doing a $50M private credit deal to access trade secrets for a rival PortCo (BBG)
China accused their top general of giving nuclear secrets to US (WSJ)
Massive winter storm hit Central and Eastern US over the weekend (WSJ)
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Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Pharma giant Merck ended talks to acquire biotech Revolution Medicines on disagreements over its $30B valuation
Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison is exploring a restructured sale of its 43 global ports, including the Panama Canal, in smaller parcels after China's state-owned shipping giant COSCO objected to its $23B deal with BlackRock and MSC
Shell and partners are exploring investing $20B in a new Nigeria oil project
Blackstone and Carlyle are exploring stakes in Indian cricket teams Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals; RCB is valued at $2B
German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is weighing a 30% stake sale in its Rothe Erde bearings business for $1.8B
US will invest $1.6B in USA Rare Earth and take a 10% stake
Dutch PE firm Waterland is exploring a $1.2B sale of AI consulting firm Xebia
Blackstone-backed German camera maker Leica is considering a controlling stake sale for $1.2B
Exxon's XTO Energy subsidiary is exploring a sale of select South Texas shale assets for over $1B
UK PE firms Bridgepoint and Triton Partners are in preliminary talks to acquire $1B-listed UK hospital operator Spire
ETS, the non-profit that owns the GRE and TOEFL exams, is in talks to sell the exams for $500M or find strategic investors
UK fintech Revolut scrapped plans to buy a US lender and will instead apply for an US banking license
NBA will give Blackstone, CVC, RedBird, General Atlantic, BlackRock, BC Partners, Oaktree, and European soccer clubs Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Fenerbahçe, Panathinaikos, and others access to a data room for its proposed NBA Europe league to invite bids to own teams in the new competition
VC
AI inference startup Inferact raised a $150M seed round at an $800M valuation led by a16z and Lightspeed
LiveKit, an open-source agent for AI agents, raised a $100M round at a $1B valuation led by Index Ventures
Crypto social media startup Merkle Manufactory will return investor money to backers after its flagship product was acquired; the firm last raised a $150M round at a $1B valuation led by Paradigm in 2024
Japanese power markets startup Enechain raised a $32M round from Soros and Coreline Ventures
Titan Dynamics, an advanced sUAS platform startup, raised a $9M seed round from Long Journey, Tamarack Global, and others
Get real-time updates on any startup, VC, or sector. Try Fundable.
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
European defense Czechoslovak Group raised $4.5B at a $35B valuation in an Amsterdam IPO in the largest defense listing ever
Equipment rental firm EquipmentShare.com raised $747M at a $6.2B valuation in its IPO
Debt
Ecuador plans to raise $4B in its first bond sale since 2019
Data analytics software platform Databricks lined up $1.8B of new financing from syndicated loan investors and private credit firms ahead of an IPO
Germany is in talks with South Africa over a further $845M in climate-related concessional loans
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Saks OFF 5th Digital, the discount online arm of bankrupt luxury retailer Saks, won court approval to hire a liquidator for its inventory, operating separately from Saks' physical stores while exploring broader alternatives
Distressed Chinese developer Vanke's dollar bondholders are urging debt-to-equity swaps and seeking a bigger role in restructuring talks
Theater chain AMC's bond prices slumped after AMC entered confidential talks with a creditor group holding 15% of notes, raising concerns of a broader debt restructuring
Struggling Brazilian petrochemical maker Braskem plans to present an out-of-court restructuring plan to creditors by March, pending the completion of a deal for IG4 Capital to buy Novonor's stake in the company.
Fundraising / Secondaries
SurgoCap Partners, the largest-ever women-led hedge fund debut, tripled AUM to $6B in just three years
BlackRock slashed the NAV of a private credit fund by 19% and reduced fees
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Afghanistan is emerging as an unlikely source of crypto innovation
SEC will dismiss its crypto lending case against Gemini
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
WSJ published a profile David Sokol, the man who almost replaced Warren Buffett as Berkshire's CEO.
Bloomberg Odd Lots sat down with Blackstone's credit CIO Michael Zawadzki to understand how private credit got so big. Tune in to their conversation here.
Financial Services Recruiting 💼
If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).
We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.
We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!
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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.