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Good Morning,
Stocks ripped yesterday on AI optimism after *checks notes* Meta's Muse AI agent topped App Store numbers.
The Nasdaq hit an ATH. Markets are looking ahead to the UN General Assembly and Xi's White House visit this week, which should both provide clarity on the US-Iran situation and other critical geo-political topics.
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Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 9/21/2026 market close.
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Markets
US stocks rallied yesterday on AI optimism and hopes for diplomacy in the US-Iran war
S&P and Nasdaq posted their best day since August
Nasdaq closed at a new ATH
'Mag 7' stocks hit their first ATH since May
Average G7 10Y yield hit 4.285%, the highest since 2008, and 100 bps higher than before the Iran war
US 10Y yield hit its highest since 2007
Bitcoin jumped to an eight-month high
Crypto tokens tied to trading and tokenization are up 50% in a post-Clarity Act regulatory bet
Earnings
What we're watching this week:
Wednesday: General Mills, Cracker Barrel
Thursday: Costco, Darden Restaurants
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Don't even have to follow the NFL to closely to know that the 49ers are taking it home this year
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Headline Roundup
BofA's slower AI ramp-up is hitting its trading desk (BBG)
US proposes $5B to kickstart fund to rebuild Gulf energy sites (WSJ)
Fed steps up scrutiny of bank exposure to quant firms after Jane Street hit (FT)
Howard Marks prefers a less activist Fed (BBG)
SEC regulatory rollback puts $400M in US audit fees at risk (FT)
Hong Kong listing spree brings $1.8B to market in one day (BBG)
Silver Lake takes on Icahn in fight against Endeavor merger arbitrage (WSJ)
Paramount settled with states to pave way for Warner Bros. deal (BBG)
Meta's Muse AI tops ChatGPT and Claude in post-launch downloads (CNBC)
OpenAI joins call for US-led global AI standards (BBG)
Burned out and unemployed youth in China are launching AI startups (WSJ)
China slows humanoid robot IPO rush as hype outruns reality (RT)
Novo cut 13k jobs in the past year (FT)
Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $7B through global banks (FT)
McDonald's tests placing ads for other brands on menu screens (BBG)
A Message from Wall Street Prep
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Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Australia's Telix Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire radio pharma supplier ITM Isotope Technologies Munich in a cash-and-stock deal worth $2.35B
Aussie investment firm Perpetual rebuffed a fourth improved $2.6B cash takeover offer from EQT and ended deal talks
A county board in North Carolina is set to vote on a $2B merger between WakeMed Health and Hospitals and Atrium Health, one of America's largest hospital operators
Management led by chairman/CEO Thomas Priore will take-private payments and banking solutions provider Priority Technology in a $1.6B cash deal at a 65% premium with backing from Searchlight Capital Partners
Nvidia will buy an additional $1.5B of shares of SoftBank-backed data center firm SB Energy at a 10% discount to its upcoming US IPO
German pain-focused pharma firm Gruenenthal Group agreed to buy rights to cancer drug Stivarga from German pharma giant Bayer in a $430M deal
Shamrock Capital and Flexpoint Ford acquired book publisher Podium Entertainment from Presidio Investors for over $400M
Singaporean real estate group UOL Group is in talks to acquire Hong Kong's Hyatt Regency hotel from New World Development and Abu Dhabi SWF ADIA for $382M
Colombian power firm Isagen will fully acquire the Puerta de Oro solar project from Patria Investments and Ashmore Colombia in an all-cash deal
VC
Emulate, a world-model AI startup of ex-DeepMind researchers, raised a $700M seed round at a $3B pre-money valuation co-led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed
Rainmaker Technology, a next-gen cloud seeding company, raised a $100M Series B from NOA VC, Upfront Ventures, DCVC, and others
HEO Space, a space imaging startup, raised a $37M Series B led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners
Corridor, an AI health benefits brokerage for small businesses, raised a $25M seed round led by Bain Capital Ventures
Mainstay, an intelligent system of record for residential real estate, raised an $18M growth round from Khosla Ventures, Era Ventures, and more
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Swedish smart ring maker Oura is seeking to raise $2.2B at a $15B valuation in its US IPO
Chinese computing networks maker Ligent Technologies rose 20% in its trading debut after raising $730M at a $4.6B valuation in a Hong Kong IPO
Commodities giant Trafigura will spin off its Volare Shipping supertankers unit in Norway to raise $500M
Carlyle is preparing a $400M India IPO of its India-based auto-parts platform Highway Roop Precision Technologies
OrbiMed-backed gene therapies developer Adarx Pharmaceuticals is seeking to raise $372M at a $1.75B valuation in an IPO
Nvidia-backed drugmaker Iambic Therapeutics filed for an IPO
Debt
Nuveen, the asset management subsidiary of TIAA, is planning a debut pound bond sale, along with three dollar-denominated sales, to fund its $13B buyout of UK asset manager Schroders
Qatar raised $3B in its first public bond sale this year
Gabon plans to raise $2B in international markets next year
Mexican education-focused REIT Fibra Educa is seeking to raise $200M in local debt markets
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
$18B in loans tied to an Oracle-leased data center is being quoted at 90¢ by syndicate banks including Santander and Jefferies
Fraud-accused iron ore trader Radiant World disclosed $870M outstanding to six creditors
Cork firms Guala Closures and Corticeira Amorim offered to acquire struggling Stirling Square Capital Partners-backed Italian bottle cap maker Tapí Group as private lender Tikehau Capital also tries to take control of the firm
Dutch officials launched a public auction of Access World Group, the logistics and warehousing business previously owned by Glencore
Funds / Secondaries
Qatar's SWF QIA and JPMorgan Asset Management launched a $20B strategic partnership across public and private markets in both equities and credit
Avila Real Estate Capital raised $400M for a targeted $1B real estate credit fund
Malaysian PE secondaries specialist Bee Alternatives raised $150M for its seventh fund
Apptopia's Chart of the Week
Amid the prediction market boom, FanDuel (NYSE: FLUT) continues to lose engagement during a prime revenue generating event
Power Users represent the top 10% heaviest Sportsbook users
Generate alpha from mobile consumer signals with Apptopia.
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Strategy made its first Bitcoin purchase since August
Apple & Google are hiring crypto devs as interest in stablecoins and blockchain payments grows
Coinbase launched IPO access for US retail investors
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
NinjaTrader is now offering CME single stock futures on Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Amazon, and more. Into derivatives but not a pro? You can learn to trade them risk-free on the NinjaTrader SIM platform.*
Bloomberg published an interesting piece on the growing ubiquity of ultra-rich Americans. It's not just the Silicon Valley and Wall Street figures. Read about it here.
*Security futures are not suitable for everyone. Leverage amplifies gains and losses. ninjatrader.com/ssf-risk
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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.