Together with

Good Morning,

Do Kwon (the Terra / Luna crypto guy) was arrested in Montenegro, the BOE raised rates by 25 bps, TikTok's CEO testified before Congress, UBS and Credit Suisse are facing a DOJ Russia-sanctions probe, Block's stock dropped 15% after a short-seller report was released by Hindenburg, and New York is still the top financial center.

Are you a non-accredited investor looking to invest some money in venture capital? Check out today's sponsor, Sweater. They're a platform allowing ordinary investors to gain exposure to the VC asset class.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• All three major US indexes closed higher yesterday as investors bet on an end to the Fed's rate hiking cycle

  • S&P Banks index shed 2.5% on continued banking worries

Earnings

• Accenture rose 7.3% after posting record new bookings in Q2 on strong growth in managed services/outsourcing, while announcing major cost cuts in the form of lay offs (FT)

• General Mills beat Q3 EPS and revenue estimates on resilient grocery demand despite rising prices; the firm expects cost increases to stabilize but remain above normal in FY 2024 (WSJ)

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• BoE raised rates by 25 bps to 4.25% (RT)

• Swiss National Bank raised rates by 50 bps and expects further hikes (RT)

• Yellen said US is prepared to take further actions to keep bank deposits safe (RT)

• Banks continue to draw on the Fed for emergency cash (BBG)

• Buyout firms are avoiding leveraging to fund deals since banking crisis (RT)

• TikTok's CEO testified before Congress in a tumultuous hearing (WSJ)

• China ‘firmly opposes’ forced sale of TikTok (FT)

• Citigroup CEO believes 'this is not a credit crisis' (RT)

• Commercial property risks rise up bank investors’ worry list (FT)

• UBS and Credit Suisse are among banks facing DOJ Russia-sanctions probe (BBG)

• US Senate Banking Committee called on Ex-CEOs of SVB and Signature Bank to testify (RT)

• Wall Street eases hiring freeze in grab for Credit Suisse talent (BBG)

• Swiss regulator defended its decision to write off Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds (RT)

• Cash App-parent Block plunged 15% after a short-seller report by Hindenburg (CNBC)

• Apple is considering bidding for Premier League streaming rights (BBG)

• Accenture will cut 19k jobs as IT spending slows (RT)

• Meta sued by its home county over youth social media addiction (BBG)

• Ford is projecting a $3B loss for its EV unit this year (WSJ)

• 445 people lost billionaire status last year, with 51% from China (RT)

• BofA's co-head of global financial sponsors, Kevin Sherlock, will join BMO as head of leveraged finance and private capital (BBG)

• Pay soared for the lowest-wage workers over past three years (AX)

• New York keeps top spot in financial center survey (RT)

• Prosecutors charged an ex-Morgan Stanley adviser among others with defrauding NBA players of $13M (BBG)

• Ex-Barclays banker fired over sexual harassment sued for $700k (RT)

A Message From Sweater

With Venture Capital no longer reserved for only the elite, the power of the future is literally in the palm of your hand.

For the first time, accredited and non-accredited investors alike have the opportunity to support innovative startups through our groundbreaking app.

Sweater Ventures has set out to democratize the venture capital landscape, enabling investors of all backgrounds to invest in the fully managed Cashmere Fund.

Download the Sweater app today and join the community that is shaping their future.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• A consortium led by PE firm Japanese Industrial Partners’ $15B bid for Japanese conglomerate Toshiba has been approved by the firm’s board (FT)

• Indian conglomerate Tata Group is considering injecting another $2B into its super app venture Tata Neu to bolster its digital business (BBG)

• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy a 16.6% stake in the 960 megawatt He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the German North Sea (RT)

• Investment firm Hunter Point Capital agreed to buy a minority stake in PE firm L Catterton (BBG)

• FTX will sell its stake in Web3-focused startup Mysten Labs for $95M to shore up funds (RT)

VC

• Luxury goods reselling marketplace Kream raised a $168M Series C at a $742M valuation led by Altos Ventures (TC)

• Character.AI, a startup allowing people to create personalized AI characters, raised a $150M Series A at a $1B valuation led by a16z (BW)

• Sustainable energy startup Amogy raised a $139M Series B-1 led by Temasek and Aramco Ventures (DSA)

• IntegrityNext, a platform used to audit supply chains for ESG compliance, raised $109M in financing from EQT Growth (TC)

• Swiss spatial biology startup Lunaphore raised a $46.6M Series D-1: $35.7M in equity led by Ernst-Göhner Stiftung Beteiligungen and $10.9M in venture debt from Norgine Ventures (BW)

• GT Medical Technologies, a medical device company focused on improving the lives of patients with brain tumors, raised a $45M Series C led by Gilde Healthcare Partners (PRN)

• Data collaboration platform Hex raised a $28M round led by Sequoia (TC)

• Workera, an upskilling platform for enterprises, raised a $23.5M Series B led by Jump Capital (TC)

• Britive, a cybersecurity and identity platform, raised a $20.5M Series B led by Pelion Venture Partners (TC)

• Vue Storefront, a startup building a Frontend-as-a-Service platform for e-commerce devs, raised a $20M round led by Felix Capital (TC)

• Drug discovery platform Pragma Bio raised a $10M round led by The Venture Collective (BW)

• LatAm subscription payments startup Toku raised a $7.2M seed round led by F-Prime Capital (PRN)

• Beam, a fintech startup helping contractors get paid faster, raised a $4M seed round led by Accel (TC)

• Market intelligence platform Rwazi raised a $4M seed round led by Bonfire Ventures (FN)

• Mogl, an athlete marketplace and NIL operations software provider, raised a $2.6M seed round led by Magarac Venture Partners (PRN)

Debt

• Firms including Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, Sixth Street and HPS Investment Partners are studying SVB’s $74B loan book to prepare possible offers (FT)

• Argentina ordered public sector bodies to sell/exchange holdings of 11 sovereign dollar bonds in bid to reorganize its debt (RT)

Fundraising

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management raised $5.5B for its latest flagship PE secondaries fund, Goldman Sachs Vintage Fund IX (SI)

• PE firm STG Partners raised $4.2B for its STG VII fund to continue investing in software and software-enabled technology services businesses (BW)

• Chile-based 30N Ventures launched a new $50M VC fund to invest in fintech, foodtech and retail startups in late seed/Series A stages in emerging markets (TN)

Crypto Corner

• Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro and charged with fraud by US prosecutors in NY (BBG)

• FTX reached a deal to recover $460M from HF Modulo (RT)

• SEC warned that firms offering crypto asset securities may be violating US law (RT)

• Crypto mining booms in Texas despite bankruptcies and power/energy worries (RT)

Exec's Picks

• Should you cut down on doom scrolling to learn a new language? Babbel has created a platform which streamlines your language learning process. The lessons take 10 minutes. Within 3 weeks, you will be able to start having basic conversations in your new language. Yes, 21 days. Get up to 55% here

• Financial Times gave us a shoutout in their piece on "Credit Suisse merch" yesterday.

• And of course, cop your Debit Suisse hat here.

• The Intercept's Ryan Grim published a wild story about the possible suicide investigation of Peter Thiel's romantic partner.

Litney Partners - Financial Recruiting 💼💼

If you're currently a junior investment banker looking to break into the buy side, considering lateraling to another investment bank, or have recently been impacted by widespread layoffs, it's time you check out Litney Partners, a partnership between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates at leading private equity, hedge fund, venture capital, growth equity, and credit funds, as well as investment banks.

To get started, simply head over to the Litney website and create your profile by dropping your resume / filling out the form:

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Thinking of starting your own newsletter? Beehiiv is the best platform for creators, period. Click here to get started building your own audience.