In partnership with
Good Morning,
Bond markets are getting hammered, Carlyle and KKR are building data centers for the US Army, CEOs are citing AI in their decisions to step down, triple-layered SPV bros are facing a moment of reckoning ahead of SpaceX's IPO, and US extended a pause on Iran energy strikes amid efforts to secure a ceasefire.
Also some interesting developments in the adult-content sector if that's something you follow. We're just here to summarize everything finance and tech for you 🤝
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 3/26/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stock indexes had their worst day since the Iran war began as ceasefire optimism faded
S&P fell to its lowest since September
S&P is set for a fifth-straight weekly loss and its worst month in a year
Nasdaq entered a correction, down 10% from its September ATH
Japan posted its longest streak of first-day IPO flops since Covid
US yields are spiking
10Y yield spiked to an 8-month high
10Y yield is up 40 bps MTD
2Y yield soared 12 bps past 4% to an 8-month high
2Y yield is up 62 bps MTD on track for its worst month since September
Europe bond markets are getting crushed
Germany 10Y yield is up 40 bps MTD to 3.07%,
Germany 2Y yield soared 70 bps MTD to 2.7%
UK yields are even worse
Earnings
What we're watching this week:
Today: Carnival
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
The Iran situation is having some traders hedge for rate hikes. So much for a 2026 rate-cut cycle🤦
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, XVIDEOS were charged with breaching EU tech rules (RT)
OpenAI shelved plans for an erotic chatbot (TV)
OnlyFans owner's death complicates sale to investment firm (NYP)
US extends pause on Iran energy strikes by 10 days (CNBC)
Wall Street bonuses jumped 6% to record $49B for 2025 (BBG)
Carlyle and KKR will build $4B data centers for US Army (FT)
PE funds stay upbeat on UAE despite Mideast conflict (ET)
$5B of private credit is trapped behind withdrawal restrictions (BBG)
Investors are dashing to cash like it's 2022 (BBG)
Foreigners have pulled a record $52B from EM Asia stocks (BBG)
Two S&P 500 CEOs cited AI in decisions to step down (CNBC)
Fund with stakes in SpaceX and Anthropic plunged after short report (BBG)
SpaceX IPO leaves some investors unsure of what they own (RT)
Musk restructured X ahead of SpaceX's IPO (WSJ)
US Q4 current account deficit narrowed sharply to the lowest since 2021 (RT)
A Message from Cheers
How Much Is Your Credit Worth?
Guess how much good credit can save you?
Up to $200,000 over your lifetime, according to Time Magazine.
Better credit means lower rates on mortgages, auto loans, and more. Cheers Credit Builder is an affordable, AI-powered way to start building credit — even from scratch. No credit score required and no hard credit check — just a quick ID verification.
Choose a plan that fits your budget, link your bank account, and make simple monthly payments. We report to all three major credit bureaus with accelerated reporting to help you build credit faster.
Many users see their credit scores increase by 20+ points within a few months, helping them prepare for goals like buying a home, leasing a car, or qualifying for better rates.
Your funds are FDIC-insured through Sunrise Banks, N.A., and returned at the end of your plan (minus interest). Cancel anytime with no penalties.
Start building smarter today — your future self could thank you six figures later.
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
French spirits giant Pernod Ricard and American rival Brown‑Forman held talks about a merger that would create a $30B company
Financial services firms Corebridge and Equitable agreed to merge in an all-stock deal to create a combined $22B enterprise
Mastercard is exploring a sale of its real-time payments unit that it acquired from Denmark's Nets Group in 2019 for $3.2B
French infrastructure firm Vinci agreed to buy a toll highway portfolio in India from Australia's Macquarie in a $1.6B deal
German consumer-goods and chemical maker Henkel agreed to acquire hair care brand OLAPLEX for $1.4B
Blackstone invested $250M in UAE-based payments and data technology platform Advanced Digital Gaming Technology
Krispy Kreme is selling company-owned locations to franchise partners worth $160M in efforts to pay down debt
US DFC will swap a $31M loan made to Aussie graphite producer Syrah Resources for a 20% stake
VC
Defense tech startup Shield AI raised a $2B Series G at a $12.7B valuation led by Advent and JPMorgan's Strategic Investment Group
Employee telehealth startup eMed raised a $200M Series A at a $2B valuation led by AON Consulting
Korea chip startup Rebellions raised $166M from South Korea ahead of an IP
Xona Space Systems, a commercial navigation infrastructure company, raised a $170M Series C led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital
Cents, a laundry software, hardware and payments platform, raised a $140M Series C led by Sumeru Equity Partners
DOSS, an AI-native operations cloud for inventory-based businesses, raised a $55M Series B co-led by Madrona and Premji Invest
Steno, a tech-enabled court and litigation support services company, raised a $49M Series C led by Savano Capital Partners
Tazapay, a regulated cross-border payment infrastructure provider, raised a $36M Series B extension led by Circle Ventures
Blossom Health, an AI OS for psychiatry, raised a $20M Series A and seed round led by Headline
FX startup XFX raised a $17M Series A led by Castle Island Ventures
Conntour, an AI search engine for security video systems, raised a $7M seed round from General Catalyst, Y Combinator, SV Angel, and Liquid 2 Ventures
Payy Network, a stablecoin blockchain with private-by-default transactions, raised a $6M seed round led by FirstMark Capital
zypl.ai, a UAE-based synthetic data and credit-scoring AI company, raised a $5.5M bridge round at an $80M valuation led by Carbide Ventures
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Musk is discussing allocating ~30% of SpaceX's $75B IPO to individual investors
UK car and home insurer First Central hired banks for a London IPO that could fetch a $1.3B valuation
Canadian energy producer and Bitcoin miner New West Data is exploring raising several hundred million dollars in a US IPO
Chinese AI startup Moonshot is considering a Hong Kong IPO
Debt
Aligned Data Centers raised a $2.6B revolving credit facility to fund expansion
Bottler Coca-Cola HBC raised $2.4B of debt to help fund a $2.6B acquisition of an African peer from Coca-Cola and South African family office Gutsche Family Investments
NYC raised $2.3B in a downsized munis sale amid recent negative rating revisions
Apollo's $25B retail-focused private credit fund secured a $500M credit line
Bain Capital secured a $300M leveraged loan to back its $350M acquisition of the wealth management unit of Australia's Perpetual
Ghana plans to sell its first local-FX bond for the first time since its 2022 default
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
A judge will let label-maker Multi-Color Corp. draw the rest of its $250M Chapter 11 DIP loan, but won't approve a contested feature that would push some existing debt to the top of the repayment line
Funds / Secondaries
The European Investment Fund is launching a new $17.5B VC FOF to back growth-stage VC
Ontario, Canada will seed a new private-markets fund with $3B to encourage pensions and other LPs to allocate to the fund's AI, defense, and manufacturing mandate; the GP is not yet confirmed
Healthcare-focused PE firm Linden Capital Partners is mulling a secondaries strategy
Abu Dhabi-based Nahda Capital Partners filed to launch its debut PE fund
Asian PE firm Gaw Capital Partners launched a new Mideast-focused growth equity fund
JPMorgan is planning a new private credit fund that allows 7.5% redemptions
Engineers Gate will wind down its hedge fund partnership with Millennium and return $1.5B-$3.6B of capital
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Fannie Mae will begin to accept crypto-backed mortgages
David Sacks' term as White House crypto and AI czar ended
Anchorage Digital will add Justin Sun's Tron blockchain to its network
Retail investors own 80% of Strategy's high yield securities
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
If AI is killing software, it can kill some of your late-night grinds as well. F2's AI platform for private markets helps automate key due diligence tasks including complex financial modeling to cut work by 75%. Leading deal teams on Wall Street are already saving hours with F2. See it in action.
WSJ analyzed 1.7k companies to identify the best place to work in America.
Financial Services Recruiting 💼
If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).
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!
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.