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Good Morning,

Election sentiment continued to dominate markets through the end of last week, with stocks and cryptocurrencies surging to new highs and gold's historic rally fading on expectations of a strong dollar. Elsewhere, Ivy League endowments are reeling from PE illiquidity and Bill Ackman wants to go full activist mode on the US government.

A recent BlueFlame AI poll reveals 51% of asset managers are just beginning to explore AI capabilities. Stay ahead of the curve – discover how leading firms are already transforming their operations and adding efficiencies with the BlueFlame AI platform.

US bond markets will remain closed today in observance of Veterans Day. Thank you to all the brave men and women who’ve served our country and fought to protect our freedom. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks continued to rally on Friday as markets digested US elections and a Fed rate cut

  • All three major indexes rose to fresh ATHs

  • S&P and Dow notched their best weeks since November 2023

  • Nasdaq had its best week in two months and second-best week YTD 

  • Small caps Russell 2000 had its best week since April 2020

  • S&P topped 6,000 and Dow topped 44,000 for the first time ever

• US 2Y break-even rose to 2.6%

• US investment-grade credit spreads dropped to 78 bps, the lowest since 1998

• Gold fell in its worst week in five months

• US renewable fuel credits rallied to multi-month highs despite Trump's victory

• Bitcoin hit $80k for the first time ever

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Live Nation 

  • Tuesday: Home Depot, Shopify, Cava, Spotify, Hertz

  • Wednesday: Cisco

  • Thursday: Walt Disney, Applied Materials

  • Friday: Alibaba

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• China unveiled a $1.4T local debt package but no direct stimulus (RT)

• China urged funds to better serve investment and financing demand (BBG)

• Ivy League endowments are struggling with private markets downturn (FT)

• Money funds saw the largest inflow YTD on election caution (RT)

• EM bond funds saw the largest weekly outflow in two years (RT)

• Traders turn to EM junk dollar debt as hedge against Trump FX swings (BBG)

• Bill Ackman plans to delist Pershing Square from Amsterdam after antisemitic terrorism (WSJ)

• Tesla hit $1T market cap (CNBC)

• JP Morgan braces for “impactful” first two years of Trump (BBG)

• Hedge funds burned over $5B on failed Tesla shorts (BBG)

• TSMC will halt advanced AI chip production to China (FT)

• Tech firms are rushing to redesign AI model testing and benchmarking (FT)

• Salesforce will hire 1k workers in AI product sales push (BBG)

• Qatar suspended its mediation of Israel-Hamas talks (FT)

A Message From BlueFlame

Generative AI for Private Equity – Experts Weigh In 

BlueFlame AI hosted a webinar in October with experts from Bain & Company, Apax Partners, and Anthropic. The panel explored generative AI's transformative potential in private equity.  

Our poll of 500+ alternative asset managers showed:  

• 51% are in the discovery phase 

• 24% have working groups in place 

• 17% have partially implemented AI with some teams 

• 8% feel they have fully implemented AI at their firm 

The panel offered actionable insights on integrating AI into operations and discussed current and future applications. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Knowledge Management: AI unlocks insights from deal documentation, enhancing decision-making. 

• Due Diligence & Deal Analysis: AI accelerates initial company analysis from days to hours. 

• Implementation: Success requires cross-functional teams, platform selection, data integration, and training. 

• Agentic AI: Autonomous systems could revolutionize PE operations. 

• Process Redesign: AI may allow firms to reimagine processes. 

Explore more insights in our detailed blog recap.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Shareholders including Glendon Capital and Cerberus demanded a 30% price increase to Verizon's planned $9.6B acquisition of Frontier Communications  

• Boeing is exploring a sale of its $6B Jeppesen navigation unit

• PE firm Partners Group is exploring a stake sale in UK private school group International Schools Partnership at an over $5.4B valuation

• SWFs Temasek, GIC, and Mubadala are interested in acquiring a minority stake in Chinese household appliance maker Haier's India unit which could fetch a $4B-$5B valuation

• New Zealand dairy co-op Fonterra will divest its $1.8B global consumer unit in a sale or IPO

• PE firm First Reserve is exploring a sale of convenience-store operator Refuel at an over $1.5B, including debt

• Asian PE firm Affinity Equity Partners is nearing a deal to acquire Southeast Asia's largest gummy maker Yupi Indo Jelly Gum for $1.2B

• CVC Capital Partners is looking to sell its majority stake in Italian pharmaceutical outsourcer Genetic Group at a $750M valuation 

• Bain Capital is nearing a deal to acquire Blackstone's Singapore worker housing firm Avery Lodge for $566M-$589M

• Deutsche Bank's asset management unit DWS is selling three shopping centers in Portugal

• Russia plans to merge oil giants Rosneft Oil, Gazprom Neft, and Lukoil 

VC

• AI startup Anthropic is in talks to raise another multi-billion dollar round from Amazon

• Tiger-backed French fintech Qonto is in talks to sell $215M secondary shares at a $5.3B valuation 

• Performance lifestyle brand Vuori raised an $825M investment round led by General Atlantic and Stripes 

• ZAP Surgical Systems, a non-invasive robotic brain surgery firm, raised a $78M Series E led by Qingdao Baheal Medical

• ZE Energy, a French startup building renewable energy battery storage systems, raised a $57M round led by Amundi Transition Energetique 

• AI-powered app integration platform UnifyApp raised a $20M Series A from ICONIQ Growth 

• E-commerce financial platform Parker raised a $20M Series B led by Valar Ventures 

• AI-based video dubbing tool Panjaya raised a $9.5M round from Viola Ventures, R-Squared Ventures, and more

• Pharos, a full-stack parallel layer-1 blockchain network, raised an $8M seed round led by Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC 

• German sustainable banking startup Tomorrow raised a $4.4M round led by Abacon Capital, ETF Partners, and Kopa Ventures 

• Craftt, a decentralized infrastructure platform for the modern workforce, raised a $2M seed round led by Superscrypt 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• German food delivery firm Delivery Hero plans to raise $1B at a $12B valuation in an IPO of its Middle Eastern unit Talabat 

Debt 

• Chinese automaker Geely is in talks with banks for a $2.2B syndicated loan to refinance debt 

• Car parts maker Standard Profil is seeking to refinance a $295M bond 

Fundraising

• Ex-Two Sigma Ventures partner Villi Iltchev is seeking a debut $156M fund for his new VC firm Category Ventures

Crypto Corner

• Crypto's $135M campaign is undefeated in 48 election races so far (BBG)

• The founder of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison for money laundering (BBG)

• Binance CEO hails crypto 'golden age' as Trump win fires up industry (FT)

• FTX sued hedge fund SkyBridge to claw back money for creditors (BBG)

• Bitcoin ETFs saw a record $1.4B daily inflow on Thursday (BBG)

• Bitcoin tops $80k and Dogecoin flips USDC (CD)

For a daily roundup exclusively focused on crypto, sign up to our Crypto Sum newsletter.

Exec’s Picks

Jack Raines wrote a great piece on the importance of asking good questions, especially at a time where data can be construed to fit any narrative.

WSJ published an interesting piece exploring how ChatGPT brought down an online education giant…one that many of us once relied on.

My go to holiday drink!

The holidays can bring delicious indulgences, but they often lead to digestive discomfort. That’s where Pique’s Nandaka comes in! This blend of Pu’er Black and Green Teas, adaptogenic mushrooms, and ceremonial-grade Peruvian cacao offers gentle, sustained energy without the crash. With just 82mg of slow-release caffeine, it’s perfect hot or cold.

As the holiday season approaches, consider gifting Nandaka to loved ones seeking a healthier coffee alternative. Plus, enjoy 20% off on Pique’s best sellers! Don’t miss this chance to gift wellness!

Get 20% off Pique's best sellers + a free starter kit!

Litquidity Padel Night (NYC Nov 19th) 🎾

The 2024 Pro Padel League Championship - The City’s Cup is coming to New York November 19th - 23rd.

Litquidity is partnering with the Pro Padel League for an exclusive, invite-only event on Tuesday evening featuring special access, free drinks, player meet and greets, and a front-row seat for the first day of group stages.

Anyone who purchases a 5-day GA pass here using code “PPL10LIT” will receive a 10% discount and an invite to the Tuesday night event.

VIP and corporate packages are also available while supplies last, reach out to [email protected]

Follow @propadelleague on Instagram for more updates.

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