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Happy Friday,

Netflix is charging $6.99 for a new ad-supported plan, inflation rose 0.4% MoM (0.6% MoM for core), 30-year mortgage rates hit a 20-year high at 6.92%, social security payments will have biggest jump in 40 years, VC firms are buying tech stocks, Apple is partnering with Goldman to offer a savings account, and Merkel has 'no ragrets' about energy policy with Russia. Pretty wild turn of events with the market opening sharply down, only to rebound on *checks notes* not so great economic news and closing sharply up!

If you like betting on sports and trading stocks, you'll like what today's sponsor, Sporttrade, has to offer. More info below.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

• Major US averages surged 2%+ in a dramatic reversal off the morning lows, despite hotter-than-expected inflation data (see chart below)

  • All 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with financials climbing over 4% ahead of major bank earnings today

• The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.9%, while Canada's TSX fell to March 2021 lows

• UK pound jumped on reports that UK may reverse parts of its tax-cut proposals

Earnings

• Delta Air Lines posted record revenue to match Q3 expectations and expects strong demand to hold in Q4; their stock jumped 4% yesterday (YH)

• BlackRock reported a 16% drop in adjusted profits with AUM also falling 16% YoY to under $8T; they nonetheless beat Q3 expectations on strong ETF demand causing shares to rise 6%+ (YH)

• Taiwan Semiconductor beat Q3 profit and revenue estimates with revenue up 43% YoY, but plans to cut capital expenditures by 10% for 2022; their stock closed ~4% higher (BRN)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US inflation rose 0.4% in September and is up 8.2% YoY (AX)

• Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages hit 20-year high at 6.92%: NAR (BBG)

• Weekly jobless claims rose modestly to 228k last week from 219k the week prior (WSJ)

• Social Security payments will increase 8.7% in 2023 in biggest jump in 40 years (AX)

• FCC plans to ban all sales of new Huawei and ZTE telecom devices in the US (AX)

• VC firms are buying up battered public tech stocks as start-up market stalls (WSJ)

• EU and US governments are eye level playing field for EU EVs in US market (RT)

• New Zealand plans to tax emissions from livestock burps and dung (CNBC)

• Apple is partnering with Goldman Sachs to offer an interest-bearing savings account (CNBC)

• Netflix will charge $6.99/month for a new ad-supported plan starting Nov. 3 in the US (CNBC)

• Big tech's hiring freeze is unlocking a rich talent pool for US startups (RT)

• IKEA reported record annual sales despite supply-chain disruptions and high inflation (WSJ)

• Jan. 6 committee unanimously voted to subpoena Trump (RT)

• A Russian official warned of WWIII if Ukraine joins NATO (RT)

• Germany's Angela Merkel has no regrets on energy policy with Russia (RT)

A Message From Sporttrade

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NY Giants to win are currently priced at $32 (32% chance to beat the BAL Ravens). If they take a lead at any point in the game on Sunday, that price will go up and you can trade out. No more waiting until the final score of the game.

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• US grocer Kroger is in talks to potentially merge with rival Albertsons in a ~$25B cash-and-stock deal (BBG)

• Volkswagen's software unit Cariad will invest over $2B and take a 60% stake in a JV with Chinese technology firm Horizon Robotics (RT)

• Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is in advanced talks to buy German general store company Metro AG’s wholesale operations in India in a potential $1-$1.2B deal (BBG)

• Oilfield services company Schlumberger is exploring a sale of part of its US valves business that could be worth $800M+ (BBG)

• PE firm Longreach is considering a sale of its majority stake in medical device maker Quasar at a potential $300-$400M valuation (BBG)

• Playstudios, a maker of free-to-play casino-oriented video games, agreed to buy Spider Solitaire maker Brainium for $70M (BBG)

• Sneaker marketplace Goat agreed to buy streetwear-resale site Grailed (BBG)

• Poland’s Ruling Party leader has revealed a plan to buy Zabka Polska, the country’s biggest grocery chain (BBG)

VC

• Odyssey Therapeutics, a biotech company focussed on immunomodulators and oncology medicines, raised a $168M Series B led by General Catalyst (PRN)

• Uniswap Labs, the parent firm of decentralized trading platform Uniswap, raised a $165M Series B at a $1.66B valuation led by Polychain Capital (TC)

• NorthOne, a digital bank focused on SMBs, raised a $67M Series B led by Battery Ventures, Don Griffith, Drew Brees, and others (TC)

• GoHenry, a fintech firm providing services for kids, raised a $55M round from Edison Partners, Revaia, and Nexi (TC)

• Astra, a startup providing instant card-to-card funding, raised $40M: a $10M Series A led by FPV Ventures and $30M line of credit from CoVenture (BW)

• Katana, an enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) platform for SMB manufacturers, raised a $34M Series B led by Northzone (BW)

• Northstar, a startup partnering with employers to offer financial advisory services for their employees, raised a $24.4M round led by GGV Capital (TC)

• SecuriThings, a platform allowing users to manage a collection of security IoT devices, raised a $21M Series B led by U.S. Venture Partners (TC)

• Zen Educate, an online marketplace matching schools with teachers, raised a $21M Series A extension from Brighteye Ventures, Adjuvo, Ascension Ventures, and angels (TC)

• VUZ, a social app allowing users to stream and experience immersive realism, raised a $20M Series B led by Caruso Ventures, Vision VC Fund, e& capital, and more (TC)

• Pet services startup GoDog received a $20M investment from Level 5 Capital Partners (PRN)

• Crypto investing platform Pillow raised an $18M Series A led by Accel and Quona Capital (TC)

• Assiduus Global, a cross-border and cross-marketplace e-commerce accelerator, raised a $15M Series A led by Pulsar Capital, 9Unicorn, and more (PRN)

• D2C Chinese food brand Xiao Chi Jie raised a $10M Series A led by Imaginary Ventures (PRN)

• Analytics operating system Redbird raised a $7.6M seed round led by B Capital (TC)

• Kenyan home furniture startup MoKo raised a $6.5M debt / equity round led by Talanton and AlphaMundi Group (TC)

• TaTiO, a startup helping under-staffed companies access America’s workforce, raised a $5.3M seed round led by Mensch Capital Partners and Cresson Management (PRN)

• GreenPlaces, a sustainability reporting platform, raised a $4M seed round led by Felicis (PRN)

• In-product research platform Ribbon raised a $3M seed round led by Octopus Ventures (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• ICT firm Perfect Presentation is expected to seek an up to $1B valuation in a Saudi IPO next month (BBG)

• Korean game developer Lionheart Studios withdrew its $400M+ IPO plans amid market volatility (BBG)

SPAC

• Regenerative products manufacturer Direct Biologics agreed to merge with Good Works II Acquisition Corp. in a $1B deal (RT)

• India-based car-sharing platform Zoomcar agreed to merge with Innovative International Acquisition Corp. in a $465M deal (BBG)

• Conx Corp. is in preliminary talks to merge with Dish Network’s retail wireless business, Boost Mobile (BBG)

Fundraising

• Veritas Capital raised $10.65B for their Fund VIII and will continue to focus on companies operating at the intersection of technology and government (BW)

• London-based PE firm Lightrock raised an $834M new fund focused on climate tech (TC)

• Coatue, under pressure from late-stage bets, is raising $500M for its third fund to invest in early-stage startups (TI)

• Minority-owned VC firm Next Play Capital raised $200M for its third flagship fund to invest in a diverse range of high-level funds and venture-backed companies (BW)

• Paris-based VC fund Resonance raised $150M with 100% backing from Otium Capital to make seed and Series A investments in tech (TC)

Crypto Corner

• Crypto exchange Crypto.com will invest ~$145M for a European HQ in Paris (RT)

• World's largest stablecoin Tether eliminated commercial paper from its reserves and replaced those investments with US Treasuries (RT)

• Crypto trading firm NYDIG laid of ~33% of staff (CD)

Exec's Picks

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• The Economist published an article saying that Joe Biden needs to legalize cocaine... and they might not be wrong? Give it a read here.

• The Litquidity Syndicate is looking for accredited investors who want to invest in early stage startups. We currently have Cannabis SaaS company and Consumer Marketplace app opportunities open. If you're accredited and want to take a look, please fill out this form.

The Hiring Block 💼

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you. We aim to curate jobs across IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We'll sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

If you're a company looking to hire candidates and want to list a job opening on our board and feature it on Exec Sum, click the button below:

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