US stocks slipped yesterday as investors digested major earnings 

UK's FTSE 100 hit a record on soaring commodity prices

Saudi's Tadawul index is up 9% YTD on track for its best month since Covid

EM stocks and FX broke a five-day win streak 

Siemens overtook SAP as Germany's biggest firm my market cap

Brent crude hit $70 bbl for the first time since September

Apple crushed Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as iPhone demand drove a 16% sales surge led by a 38% jump in Greater China, though Mac, wearables, and services revenue came in slightly below expectations (CNBC)

Blackstone beat Q4 earnings as dealmaking hit 'escape velocity' with distributable earnings jumping on a 60% surge in exit realizations and carried interest rising 15%; the firm has lined up 'one of largest IPO pipelines in history' (BBG)

Visa beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates on resilient consumer spending as payment volumes rose 8% on strong holiday demand and continued strength in value-added services (BBG)

Mastercard beat Q4 earnings as consumer and business spending remained resilient amid a favorable macro backdrop and continued adoption of card-based payments (BBG)

Lockheed Martin missed Q4 earnings estimates but beat on revenue and raised guidance as its missiles unit led growth amid elevated geopolitical demand (BBG)

L3Harris beat Q4 earnings estimates but missed on revenue as a prolonged US government shutdown delayed contracts and pressured procurement (RT)

Honeywell topped Q4 earnings and raised FY guidance on robust demand in its Aerospace Technologies and Energy and Sustainability Solutions segments ahead of its earlier-than-planned aerospace spinoff (BBG)

Southwest Airlines missed on Q4 revenue estimates but beat on earnings and forecast a 4x surge in FY profits as new seat assignments, bag fees, and capacity growth takes hold (CNBC)

Royal Caribbean missed Q4 earnings and revenue estimates but raised FY guidance on record bookings and strong demand (BBG)

What we're watching this week:  

Full calendar here

Trump is set to announce Kevin Warsh as his nomination for Fed chair today. At least according to the the reports…

Trade your prediction on the Fed chair succession on Polymarket.

Trump will announce his Fed chair pick today (CNBC)

US trade deficit widened from 2009 lows (BBG)

Rick Rieder's Fed chair candidacy exposes BlackRock's 'key man risk' (BBG)

Blackstone has lined up 'one of largest IPO pipelines in history' (FT)

Central banks unexpectedly reined in gold purchases last year (FT)

AI hyperscalers are piling into the busiest bond markets ever (BBG)

US high-grade bond sales topped $200B in a record yearly start (BBG)

Banks borrowed a record $140B from BoE short-term repo facility (BBG)

Bank CEOs vow to step up SRTs in accelerating EU market (BBG)

PIMCO says private credit buyers are 'blind' to risks (BBG)

Private markets have raised $230B for energy-transition funds (BBG)

US may tap Robinhood to lead 'Trump Accounts' for children (BBG)

Wells Fargo boosted CEO Scharf's pay by 28% to $40M (RT)

BNY won dismissal of all claims in Epstein victims' lawsuit (BBG)

CFTC is writing new rules for prediction markets (BBG)

Half of Americans are at risk of power outages amid AI boom (BBG)

Big US firms are still slashing jobs to reverse Covid hiring boom (WSJ)

Palantir, Deloitte, and others have made $22B from immigration contracts (FT)

lululemon blamed customers for not wearing botched leggings correctly (BBG)

Super Bowl ad rates hit $10M for a 30-second spot (BBG)

Hands-on AI workflows for deal analysis, diligence, and investment decisions

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Live office hours with Columbia Exec Ed faculty and industry practitioners

Musk's SpaceX is in talks with Musk's $1.3T-listed EV giant Tesla and Musk's $230B-valued AI company xAI about a potential merger ahead of its historic $50B IPO that could fetch a $1.5T valuation

O&G giants Coterra Energy and Devon Energy are in advanced merger talks to create a $47B entity

PE firm Carlyle will acquire Russian oil firm Lukoil's ~$22B sanctioned global assets

Aftermarket aviation parts and services provider VSE agreed to acquire rival Precision Aviation from PE firm GenNx360 in a $2B cash-and-stock deal

Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao agreed to merge its self-driving unit with Chinese robovan company Zelos to form an entity valued at $2B

Apple agreed to acquire Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai in an estimated $2B deal

Bain Capital, Blackstone, EQT, and TPG are vying to acquire UK vitamin company Vitabiotics at a potential $1.2B valuation

BDT & MSD Partners is nearing a $1B deal to acquire two Four Seasons resorts from Host Hotels, including a rare property on Disney World in Orlando

Aluminum Corp. of China and Rio Tinto will buy a majority stake in Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio from Brazilian holding company Votorantim for $900M

Cannabis company Vireo Growth will acquire agri-products firm Scotts Miracle-Gro's cannabis-supply unit

Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon is in talk to invest up to $50B in OpenAI as part of OpenAI's $100B round

Upwind Security, a runtime cloud security startup, raised a $250M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners

RobCo, an industrial physical-AI robotics startup, raised a $100M Series C co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lingotto Innovation

On-chain launch protocol Doppler raised a $9M seed round led by Pantera Capital

European tech-ecosystem data platform Dealroom raised a $7M round led by Índico Capital Partners

OpenAI is preparing to IPO in Q4; the startup is valued at $500B-$850B

Thoma Bravo-backed software ​maker Anaplan is preparing to confidentially file ‌for an IPO; Thoma Bravo took ‌the firm private for $10.4B in 2022

Air taxi firm Joby Aviation is raising $1B in a share and convertible bond sale

Blackstone-backed mobile application platform Liftoff Mobile is seeking to raise $762M at a $5.2B valuation in an IPO

Malaysian convenience store chain KK Super Mart is planning to IPO at a $750M valuation

Brazilian fintech Agibank is seeking to raise $785M at a ​$3.3B valuation in a US IPO 

Brazilian fintech PicPay raised $434M at a $2.6B valuation in a US IPO in the first listing by a Brazilian firm in four years 

Crohn's disease-focused biotech Agomab Therapeutics is seeking to raise $212M at an $830M valuation in an IPO

Insurance platform Ethos Technologies raised ~$200M at a $1.2B valuation in its IPO

International Paper will split into two publicly-traded companies by spinning ​off its European packaging business

Spanish lender BBVA plans to issue two SRTs linked to $8.4B of assets

IBM is marketing over $7.5B in dollar and euro bonds

Nigeria is seeking to raise $2.9B in a domestic bond sale

Ares led a $1.6B private credit deal to support the merger of Yellow Wood Partners-backed Suave Brands Company and Elida Beauty

Chinese miner Zijin Mining is seeking to raise $1.5B in a convertible bond sale

Indian conglomerate Adani Group is seeking to raise $1.5B in yen-denominated debt

Indonesian SWF Danantara secured a $1B loan

Gabon is in negotiations with the World Bank for a $500M loan

Real estate technology company Propy raised a $100M private credit loan led by Metropolitan Partners Group

Korea's National Pension Service is weighing a foreign-currency bond sale

Brazilian state-run bank BRB will set aside $970M to cover losses from failed lender Banco Master

Blackstone is in advanced talks to become the single largest shareholder of distressed $3.6B-listed Hong Kong developer New World Development

Saks will close ~40 OFF 5th and Last Call discount stores as it cuts costs in bankruptcy

First Brands founder Patrick James and his brother Edward James were indicted for defrauding lenders through fake invoices, double-pledged collateral, and falsified financials

AMC Entertainment reached a deal with a group of creditors to change terms on one of its notes, making it easier for the cinema chain to refinance debt

South Africa is nearing the start of a $6.3B state-linked fund to promote Black-economic empowerment

Oaktree is seeking to attract investors to its first $4B evergreen private credit fund by offering fee discounts to early participants

Tree Line Capital Partners raised $1.1B for its fourth flagship private credit fund 

Spanish lender Banco Santander is seeking to raise a $240M fund to invest in property development in Iberia

Women-led Voyager Ventures raised $275M for its second fund to focus on national security and energy independence 

Senate panel passed crypto CFTC regulation bill

US regulators are ready to lay out crypto rules to foster growth

Ro CEO Zachariah Reitano broke down the economics of a Super Bowl commercial, explaining the metrics that determine ROI, why they're so expensive, what makes these ads so unique, and more. It's an insightful read.

Yale's famed 'Endowment Model' of investing is faltering. Read Bloomberg's deep dive on the Ivy Leagues' investing woes here.

We're teaming up with Raylu to host a chill happy hour for growth and PE professionals on Thursday, February 5 in Midtown Manhattan. We know it's a busy start to the year so take some time off to join us for some drinks, bites, and conversation! RSVP here.