Together with
Good Morning,
US stocks absolutely rocketed on reports of Trump planning a swift end to the Iran war.
Elsewhere, JPMorgan launched an 'American Dream Initiative,' Anthropic accidentally leaked the source code for Claude Code, and global M&A had it's best Q1 ever.
Warmer weather means its time for a wardrobe upgrade…and there's no better way than to start with some fresh pairs of amberjacks. Snag some new pairs and transform your shoe game in time for summer.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 3/31/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks ripped yesterday on reports of an imminent end to the Iran war
All three major indexes posted their best day since May
Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 6.5% in its worst month since 2022
Stoxx 600 Banks index fell 7% in Q1 to end a three-year bull run
MSCI EM index lost 13% in its worst month since Covid to erase all YTD gains
Taiwan stocks outperformed Korea by the most since 2009
TAIEX lost 10% in March while KOSPI plunged 19%
US junk bonds posted their first negative quarter since a 9.8% decline in Q2 2022
US munis fell 2.5% in their worst month in over two years
US average gas prices topped $4/gal for the first time since 2022
Gold fell 11% in its worst month since 2008
Aluminum gained 12% in its biggest monthly gain in eight years
Bitcoin snapped a five-month losing streak
Earnings
Prediction Markets
Traders are rapidly unwinding Fed rate hike bets that spiked due to the Iran war. A lot of pressure on Trump to get oil markets under control…
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
JPMorgan launched the 'American Dream Initiative' (WSJ)
US is willing to end Iran war without reopening Strait of Hormuz (WSJ)
US job openings fell with hiring at the slowest since Covid (WSJ)
Wall Street brokerages are still projecting two Fed rate cuts for 2026 (RT)
Bond traders ditch inflation bets as oil surge threatens growth (BBG)
Foreign central banks have sold US Treasuries in wake of Iran war (FT)
Global M&A volume hit $1.3T in the best Q1 ever (BBG)
PE-backed firms borrowed $94B last year to fund dividend recaps (BBG)
US banks raise borrowing costs for private credit funds amid AI fears (RT)
Private credit delays reckoning with PIK concessions on stressed debt (RT)
Private credit and PE firms face uphill fight for 401(k) access (BBG)
Goldman tells eager clients that loan shorting instrument isn't ready yet (BBG)
Just three firms are driving Europe's $500B stock rout (BBG)
BlackRock is weighing HSBC's Canary Wharf tower for new London HQ (FT)
Mark Cuban regrets selling Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson (BBG)
Musk faces new setback in lawsuits over 2022 Twitter LBO (BBG)
Anthropic accidentally leaked the source code for Claude Code (CNBC)
TikTok is seeking a Brazil fintech license to offer credit (RT)
Meta unveiled Ray-Ban smart glasses for prescription users (RT)
US audit regulator pledged to rewrite oversight rule after backlash (FT)
KPMG faces allegations of blown audit in private credit collapse (BBG)
Argentina poverty fell to the lowest since 2018 under Milei (BBG)
A Message from amberjacks
New season, new shoes
With summer season around the corner, it's time to upgrade your shoes. And what better place to start than with a pair of fresh amberjacks.
amberjack is the modern footwear brand started by execs from Adidas, Cole Haan, and McKinsey. They've created the world's most advanced dress shoes, made with proprietary athletic materials that deliver incredible comfort and A-grade leather vertically sourced from one of the world's leading tanneries.
They've been featured in Forbes, GQ, and Wall Street Journal and Men's Health named them the most comfortable business casual shoe just last year. The only downside is they constantly sell out – get yours today before they're gone!
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Spices and seasonings giant McCormick agreed to acquire the foods business of UK consumer goods giant Unilever in a $45B cash-and-stock deal, including debt
Eli Lilly agreed to acquire sleep-focused biotech Centessa Pharmaceuticals in an up to $7.8B deal
Biogen has agreed to acquire biotech Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6B at a 135% premium
KKR will make a tender offer to buy all shares of Japanese chemical manufacturer Taiyo for $3.3B
Carlyle will acquire a majority stake in wealth management firm MAI Capital Management at a $2.8B valuation
A minority shareholder of beverage giant Diageo's Kenyan subsidiary asked Kenya to compel Japanese beverage group Asahi Group to make a mandatory takeover offer to all investors in the latest headwind to the $2.3B stake sale
Nvidia invested $2B in $86B-listed chip firm Marvell Technology
BlackRock partnered with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to invest $1.3B in NHS real estate
Brookfield acquired Spanish residential portfolio Fidere from Blackstone for $1.1B
China's TCL Electronics agreed to buy a 51% stake in Sony's global home entertainment business for $472M
Critical minerals firm Virtus acquired Chemaf, one of the world's largest cobalt producers not already in China's hands, for $30M and raised $720M for investments
Cordillera Investment Partners acquired a minority stake in UK sports law firm Northridge Law
VC
OpenAI raised a record $122B at an $852B post-money valuation co-led by SoftBank; Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank committed a combined $110B
Saronic, an autonomous maritime systems company, raised a $1.75B Series D at a $9.25B valuation led by Kleiner Perkins
Wearable tech maker WHOOP raised a $575M Series G at a $10.1B valuation led by Collaborative Fund
EnerVenue, a non-lithium metal-hydrogen energy storage startup, raised a $300M Series B extension led by Full Vision Capital
Rivian's micro-mobility spinoff Also raised a $200M Series C led by Greenoaks
9fin, a UK AI-powered analytics platform for credit and DCM, raised a $170M Series C at a $1.3B led by HarbourVest
Keyrock, a Belgian digital-asset market maker and institutional trading platform, raised a $100M open Series C at a $1.1B valuation led by SC Ventures
FX payments startup OpenFX raised a $94M funding round from Accel, Atomico, Lightspeed Faction, M13, Northzone, and Pantera amid a cross-border stablecoin push
depthfirst, an applied AI lab developing security solutions, raised an $80M Series B led by Meritech Capital
Internet intelligence platform Censys raised a $40M Series D from Decibel Partners, Greylock Partners, GV, and Intel Capital
Sycamore Partners, an enterprise AI agent startup, raised a $65M seed round
Monarch Quantum, a developer of integrated photonics hardware for quantum technologies, raised a $55M growth round led by Serendipity Capital
Voltify, a startup decarbonizing the rail industry, raised a $30M seed round co-led by Aleph and Australian miner Fortescue
Antaris, an AI-powered space software company, raised a $28M Series A led by WestWave Capital
ThinkLabs AI, an AI-powered grid intelligence company, raised a $28M Series A led by Energy Impact Partners
Bachatt, an AI-led savings and wealth platform, raised a $12M Series A led by Accel
memQ, a developer of quantum networking solutions, raised a $10M Series A co-led by Quantonation and Ocean Azul Partners
CavilinQ, a quantum hardware startup, raised an $8.8M seed round led by QVT
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
China's Sinochem-owned agro-chemicals giant Syngenta is again planning a Hong Kong IPO at a potential ~$50B valuation
Advent and Cinven-owned TK Elevator is weighing a Europe IPO at a potential $29B valuation, including debt, as sales talks with rival Kone progress
Italian infrastructure operator Mundys is set to unveil a plan to raise its 15% stake in $12B-listed French Channel Tunnel operator Getlink
Franco-German tank maker KNDS is gauging investor interest for a Europe IPO that could raise $5.8B
Activist hedge fund Irenic built a 2.5% stake in $8B-listed Snapchat-owner Snap Inc.
A Singapore-based REIT of China's JD.com, Switzerland-based Partners Group, and Hillhouse-backed EZA Hill Property Management picked banks for a $775M Singapore IPO
Blackstone began talks for an India IPO of healthcare billing firm AGS Health which could raise $500M at a $3B valuation
SPAC / SPV
Used car retailer Carvix will merge with Crown Reserve Acquisition in a $1B deal
Debt
AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave raised $8.5B from a group of banks in the largest chip-backed debt deal ever
Chinese appliance maker Midea Group is considering a $2B convertible bond sale
French AI startup Mistral raised $830M in debt financing to fund data center expansion
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Distressed developer China Vanke posted a record $12.8B FY loss as $14B in short-term debt maturities loom
Senior lenders to Vista-backed software firm Solera including Apollo and PIMCO hired legal advisors ahead of major 2028 debt maturities
Funds / Secondaries
Oaktree-backed UK private credit manager 17Capital raised $7.5B for the biggest-ever NAV lending fund in a secondaries push
UK PE firm BC Partners raised $2.5B for a targeted $5.8B twelfth flagship fund
MM FOF Apogem Capital raised $1.4B for its seventh secondaries fund
Credit firm OIC raised $1.6B for its fourth opportunities fund to continue investing in MM infrastructure
BlackRock will launch a $400M quant fund to trade Singapore and SEA stocks
French PE firm Abenex raised $210M for its second smallcap fund
Japanese firms including Mitsubishi, SMBC, and Toyota Ventures invested in a $147M Africa VC fund of Novastar Ventures
Alceon Private Equity, the PE unit of Australian investment firm Alceon, is seeking to raise $69M for a lower MM PE fund
Sarah Guo's VC Conviction Partners is seeking to raise a third flagship fund and second expansion vehicle
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Tether fired two senior metals traders after just three months
Google warned that crypto quantum risk may arrive earlier than forecasted
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
OFF-MARKET❤️🔥
Over the past few years, I've helped several people in the Litquidity community find love and have also been pressed countless times to launch a dating app.
Decided to try something different. Here's a chance to mingle in-person with a highly-curated group: RSVP here.
Lit's Picks
Ryan Broderick published an interesting piece on why video podcasts have devolved into celebrity chat sessions.
Meme Cleanser
🛒 Merch Store: Visit our merch store to shop our latest apparel, shoes, bags, accessories and more.
💵 Litquidity Ventures: Accredited investors & qualified purchasers within the Litquidity community can gain access to alternative investments such as venture, late-stage growth, and private equity through Litquidity Ventures. Interested? Fill out this form.
☎️ Book a call with Lit: Want to pick Litquidity's brain on business advice, insights, or just chat to say what's up? Buy his time here.
📧 Launch your own newsletter: Have great content ideas and looking to launch your own publication? We highly recommend beehiiv to get started.
*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.