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The euro is within half a cent of dollar parity, India's population is expected to pass China's next year, the public sector labor force is recovering much slower than the private sector, the DoJ is investigating the PGA Tour for violations of antitrust laws, Klarna's valuation was slashed by almost $40B, and GameStop launched an NFT marketplace.

We're a little more than half way through intern szn 2022. Boy does the time fly when the markets are getting clapped and inflation is rampant. If any of your interns are lacking on their financial market knowledge, have them sign up to our email to help improve their chances of getting a full-time offer!

Quick shoutout to today's sponsor, PolicyGenius. If you're like me and have no idea where to start when looking at different types of insurance (especially life insurance) from all the insurers out there, they make it incredibly simple. Check em out here. More info below.  

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• Stocks fell to start the week as investors await June inflation data and a host of corporate earnings reports 

  • Twitter led the decline in tech stocks, sliding more than 11% following the termination of Elon Musk’s $44B takeover bid

• Chinese stocks dropped in light of the country recording more than 2.3K locally transmitted Covid-19 cases over the past seven days; the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.8%

Earnings

• What we’re watching this week:

  • Today: PepsiCo

  • Wednesday: Delta Air Lines

  • Thursday: JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, TSMC

  • Friday: UnitedHealth Group, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Progressive, BlackRock

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• The euro dropped to a 20-year low against the US dollar and is less than half a cent away from parity (RT)

• India is expected to surpass China as the world's most populous country by 2023 (AX)

• Home-sale deals in June were canceled at a ~15% rate, the highest rate since the start of the pandemic (CNBC)

• Negotiators said the most significant changes to global tax rules in a century will take longer than planned, putting their passing into jeopardy (WSJ)

• The US government has recovered only 54% of its pre-pandemic labor force while the private sector has surpassed its pre-Covid level (AX)

• A survey from the New York Fed found near-term inflation expectations to be at a record high but saw optimistic expectations for long-term inflation (CNBC)

• US TV rights for the UEFA Champions League are expected to double in value and top $2B for six-year contracts (AX)

• The FDA will consider an application for the first ever over-the-counter birth control pill (AX)

• Mercedes-Benz sales fell 16% in Q2 compared to the same period last year (RT) 

• GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics, two of the world’s largest chip makers, are teaming up to build a semiconductor factory in France with help from government subsidies (WSJ)

• The Department of Justice is investigating whether the PGA Tour violated antitrust laws in its battle against the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Circuit (WSJ)

• Morgan Stanley taps two of its veteran dealmakers to run its global investment banking division (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Buyout firm PAI Partners is weighing a sale of personal care packaging company Albea, which they acquired at a $1.6B valuation back in 2018 (BBG)

• Chinese battery-materials giant Ganfeng Lithium will acquire Argentinian lithium producer Lithea for ~$962M (RT)

• Canadian pension fund manager Omers agreed to acquire British utility services provider Network Plus at a ~$718M valuation (BBG)

• Frontier Airlines has declined to further raise its bid for takeover target Spirit Airlines, potentially ending its months-long bidding war with JetBlue Airways (RT)

• Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries submitted non-binding bids for German retailer Metro’s wholesale operations in India, which could be valued at up to $1.2B (BBG)

• Tech-focused buyout firm Joffre Capital is seeking financing to fund a potential bid for majority ownership of mobile game developer Playtika (BBG)

VC

• Klarna, the European fintech valued at $45.6B a year ago, raised an $800M funding round at a $6.7B valuation from Sequoia, Silver Lake, and others (BBG)

• Indian online education provider Byju’s is struggling to close an $800M funding round as investors hesitate due to 'macroeconomic reasons' (BBG)

• Kadmos, a salary payments platform for migrant workers, raised a $29.5M Series A led by Blossom Capital (TC)

• Vegrow, an Indian B2B agritech marketplace for fruits, raised a $25M Series B led by Prosus Ventures (ET)

• String Bio, a biotech startup that transforms environmental outputs into useful products, raised a $20M Series B led by Woodside Energy Group (ET)

• Halo Labs, a life science instrumentation company, raised a $6M Series C led by Agilent Technologies (PRN)

• InternMatch, a platform that connects companies with potential employees, raised a $4M Series A led by ARTIS Ventures and Subtraction Capital (TC)

• Arise, a digital healthcare company focused on eating disorders and mental health, raised a $4M seed funding round led by Greycroft and BBG Ventures (PRN)

• Risk and compliance advisory firm Novatus Advisory raised a $4M seed round from Maven Capital Partners (Novatus)

• Penny, an AI-powered platform that consolidates a person’s pension funds into one place, raised a $4M seed round from Google’s Gradient Ventures (TC)

• Aerem, a solar financing platform, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Blume Ventures (ET)

• Uprise, a financial planning tool for young investors, raised a $1.4M pre-seed round from Contrary Capital, Hustle Fund, On Deck, and others (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Intel postponed a US IPO for their self-driving car unit Mobileye, which was eyeing a potential $50B valuation last December (CT)

• Indian test-prep and education startup Unacademy pledged to IPO in two years, the $3.4B+ business will implement cost cuts to reach profitability before then (TC)

• China’s largest hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao is considering a Hong Kong IPO of its overseas business Super Hi International (BBG)

Debt

• Goldman Sachs agreed to loan $233M to LatAm e-commerce giant MercardoLibre's fintech arm, as the firm plans on expanding its credit offering in Brazil and Mexico (BBG)

SPAC

• Bill Ackman announced that he will be returning the $4B of capital he raised for Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, the largest-ever SPAC, after failing to consummate a merger deal (BBG)

• Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is looking to add another fashion brand to its portfolio next year after it floats luxury brand Lanvin on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC listing this fall (BBG)

• Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the SPAC merging with Trump's Truth Social app, surged as much as 20% after Elon Musk nixed his Twitter deal (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Crypto lending firm Voyager Digital cannot guarantee that all customers will receive their crypto under the company's proposed recovery plan (CT)

• Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital's founders were accused of not cooperating in the firm’s liquidation process and their whereabouts are unknown (BZ)

Fundraising

• PE firm Cinven raised $1.5B for its first dedicated financial-services fund: Strategic Financials Fund (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• GameStop launched its NFT marketplace on Monday, making it open to the public for beta testing (CNBC)

• World's largest crypto exchange Binance continued to process trades by clients in Iran, despite US sanctions (RT)

• Crypto lender Celsius repays $113M of loans as it fights insolvency (BBG)

• Nearly all industrial scale Bitcoin miners in Texas shut off their machines as they brace for a heat wave that is expected to push the state’s power grid to its breaking point (BBG)

• Crypto lender Vauld issues letter to its creditors, disclosing $70M shortfall (TB)

Exec's Picks

• "The first step in avoiding being taken for a ride is to recognize that you are a mark for people trying to get rich off your money." Benn Eifert wrote a piece on BS in investing that everyone should read. Check it out here.

The Hiring Block 💼

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