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Good Morning,
Berkshire resumed buybacks, Robinhood launched an actual platinum card, UAE is exploring freezing Iranian assets, Oracle is planning to cut thousands of jobs, Wells Fargo is free of consent orders for the first time in 15 years, and US is weighing all options to tame oil prices despite Trump's priority on Iran.
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Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 3/5/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks continued to tumble yesterday as rising oil prices from a prolonged Iran conflict stoked economic fears
S&P continues to trade flat YTD
Korea's KOSPI index jumped 10% after Korea activated its $68B market stabilization fund
US Treasury yields rose for a fourth day
Oil prices surged to the highest since July 2024
Dollar is up 1.6% on track for its best week in three years
EM FX fell for a fourth day
EM FX volatility surged above DM peers for the first time since May to break a record stretch
Earnings
Costco beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on 6.7% growth in same-store sales as it evaluates potential for tariff refunds, with plans to pass on savings to customers (WSJ)
Kroger beat Q4 earnings estimates but missed on revenue and issued soft guidance due to growing competition and price-conscious shoppers (BBG)
JD.com missed Q4 earnings and revenue estimates on its first loss in four years on weak Chinese spending and stiff e-commerce competition (RT)
Victoria's Secret beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and issued strong guidance on its longest sales growth streak in four years as its turnaround takes shape with shoppers returning to its Pink brand (CNBC)
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Surging oil prices has put inflation back in the spotlight, with traders slashing odds of Fed rate cuts
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
Trump on gas prices: If they rise, they rise (RT)
US eyes all options to tame oil prices (BBG)
US weighs oil futures market action to combat rising energy prices (RT)
UAE is exploring freezing Iranian assets to sever trade (WSJ)
Yuan funding hit record $200B as China's ambitions grow (BBG)
Crowded dispersion trade gets rattled by Iran conflict (BBG)
Investors aren't giving up on EM yet (BBG)
Chinese traders sold a record $3.5B of Hong Kong stocks (BBG)
SRT sales are growing at a record pace (BBG)
Goldman says non-payment in private credit remains low (BBG)
Berkshire resumed buybacks following a two-year hiatus (RT)
Wells Fargo is free of consent orders for the first time in 15 years (BBG)
US weighs requiring permits for all global AI chip exports (BBG)
Nvidia stopped production of chips intended for Chinese market (FT)
Oracle is planning to cut thousands of jobs amid AI cash crunch (BBG)
US labeled Anthropic as a 'supply chain risk' (BBG)
OpenAI released new financial services tool to rival Anthropic (BBG)
Robinhood released 'actual' platinum card to rival Amex (BBG)
Trump fired and replaced DHS secretary Kristi Noem (CNBC)
A Message from F2
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Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
German state-owned lender KfW is exploring taking a stake in Franco-German tank maker KNDS ahead of an IPO that could fetch a $29B valuation
NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to acquire a stake in crypto exchange operator OKX at a $25B valuation
TPG is considering a sale or IPO of Asia OneHealthcare at a $7.6B valuation
Commodities giant Glencore proposed supporting a $1.4B bid by Kazakh construction tycoon Shakhmurat Mutalip to acquire a 40% stake in Eurasian Resources Group
Chinese contact lens maker Shanghai Moody Technology is considering a sale at a $1B valuation
Blackstone and TPG expressed interest in buying $766M-listed shopping center operator Whitestone REIT
EQT agreed to acquire a portfolio of East Coast warehouses from MapleTree Investments for $575M
Saba Capital and Cox Capital launched a tender offer to buy 5% of $8B AUM Starwood REIT at a 20%+ discount to NAV
Entertainment-focused REIT EPR Properties agreed to acquire seven of Six Flags' regional amusement parks for $331M in cash
$14B-UK listed exhibitions group Informa is exploring a sale of its Monaco luxury events portfolio, including the Monaco Yacht Show for $200M
USA Rare Earth is planning to acquire the remaining minority interest of Texas Mineral Resources in a $73M all-stock deal
Netflix acquired Ben Affleck's AI film post-prod business InterPositive
Distressed assets investor Flacks is ready to bid for the steel division of Germany's Thyssenkrupp if current efforts to sell to Jindal fail
KKR, French asset manager Amundi, and Singapore SWF Temasek's Seviora unit are bidding for Singapore's United Overseas Bank's asset management arm
VC
NEURA Robotics, a German cognitive humanoid robotics startup, is reportedly raising $1.2B round at a $.6B valuation from investors including Tether
Aerospace and defense startup Sierra Space raised a $550M Series C led by LuminArx Capital Management
Space-station developer Vast raised a $500M round led by Balerion Space Ventures
Science Corporation, a brain-computer interface and vision-restoration startup, raised a $230M Series C at a $1.5B post-money valuation from Lightspeed, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Quiet Capital, and IQT
Cognito Therapeutics, a neurotechnology startup, raised a $105M Series C led by Morningside Ventures, IAG Capital Partners, and Starbloom Capital
GOLD BOX Pakistan, a mystery-box e-commerce startup, raised a $65M funding round led by Tophatter
ZyG, an AI-powered e-commerce OS, raised a $58M seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners
European agentic data-quality platform Validio raised a $30M Series A led by Plural
AI procurement startup Lio raised a $30M Series A led by a16z
Evervault, a developer-first encryption and payment-data orchestration platform, raised a $25M Series B led by Ribbit Capital
Get real-time updates on any startup, VC, or sector on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Roark Capital is considering a $2B IPO of Inspire Brands, the owner of fast-food chains BWW, Jimmy John's, Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins, Sonic, Arby's, and others
Debt
China plans to sell $44B of special government bonds to boost capital at China's largest banks
JPMorgan is leading a $10.5B US and $4.65B European loan offering to finance Silver Lake, PIF, and Affinity Partners' record $55B LBO of Electronic Arts
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
BlackRock wrote down the value of $25M loan to Amazon aggregator Infinite Commerce to 0¢ three months after marking it at par in its second sudden private credit wipeout
Paresh Raja, the founder/CEO of collapsed UK mortgage lender MFS, is reportedly in Dubai, with creditors alleging $318M missing and a $1.2B collateral shortfall from double-pledged assets
Funds / Secondaries
Credit investor Sound Point Capital raised $1.5B for its third flagship fund
MM software-focused PE firm STG raised over $1.3B for its second Allegro fund
Bahrain-based PE firm Investcorp raised $1.25B for its second GP staking fund
Galvanize, a sustainability-focused CRE investor, raised $1B for its first fund
India's NaBFID plans to raise $500M for its first equity-focused fund
Real estate PE firm HighBrook Investors raised $266M for its debut data center fund
US is committing $150M to a new fund of maritime tech VC Mare Liberum
Crypto Sum Snapshot
FBI arrested John Daghita, son of federal crypto contractor, for $46M crypto theft
Justin Sun settled SEC fraud case for $10M
Crypto bill hit a new impasse in Congress on banks' objections
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
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NYT published a profile on Palmer Luckey, the man who went from reviving the VR industry and falling out with Zuck to becoming Pentagon's favorite defense tech guy.
Interview Magazine published the most cringe profile on 'the finest boys in finance.'
Financial Services Recruiting 💼
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We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.
We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!
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*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.