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Trump pressed J Pow on rates in their first meeting since inauguration, Apollo partnered with major banks to trade private credit, US Q1 corporate profits fell by the most since Covid, an appeals court reinstated US reciprocal tariffs, and Clearlake banned 100 lenders from trading a PortCo's distressed debt.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

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Markets

• US stocks rose yesterday as investors digested bellwether Nvidia's earnings and confusing court decisions over US 'reciprocal' tariffs 

• Ghana bonds gained 8.7% MTD to become the best-performing EM dollar-bond in May

• Oil is set for its second weekly decline 

• Cocoa posted its longest losing streak in three years

Earnings

• Dell missed Q1 earnings but beat revenue estimates and raised its FY profit outlook on 'unprecedented demand' for AI systems; the company expects $7B in AI-related shipments in Q2 quarter, driving higher margins (CNBC)

• Costco beat Q3 earnings and revenue estimates on 8% comparable sales growth and 16% e-commerce growth while navigating tariff pressures through rerouted and expedited shipments and local sourcing; the firm declined to give a FY outlook and will not raise prices yet (CNBC)

• Ulta Beauty issued a Q1 beat-and-raise amid strong demand from younger shoppers driven by exclusive and celebrity-backed brands like Beyoncé's and Rihanna's, despite broader consumer spending pullbacks (CNBC)

• Royal Bank of Canada missed Q1 earnings estimates after boosting loan-loss provisions amid macro uncertainty, cautious consumer spending and delayed business investments despite stable income across most business lines (BBG)

• BestBuy beat Q1 earnings but missed revenue estimates and cutting its FY outlook due to tariffs as US comparable sales fell 0.7% as weakness in home theaters and appliances offset gains in computing and mobile (CNBC)

• Kohl's beat Q1 earnings estimates and met on revenue after an only 3.9% drop in comparable sales; the firm fired its CEO amid broad turnaround efforts (BBG)

• Foot Locker missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates with a 2.6% drop in comparable store sales ahead of its $2.4B acquisition by DICK's (BBG)

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• The energy in NYC is just different at this time.

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Headline Roundup

• Appeals court temporarily reinstated US tariffs (CNBC)

• Trump met with J Pow for first time since inauguration (CNBC)

• US Q1 GDP growth was revised up to -0.2% (BBG)

• US Q1 corporate profits fell by most since Covid (BBG)

• High-yield EM bonds may beat investment grade peers as Treasuries fall (BBG)

• Banks increased loans to private credits funds by 145% since Covid (BBG)

• US high-grade bond sales topped $150B in busiest May since Covid (BBG)

• Apollo partnered with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and others to trade private credit and syndicate debt (BBG)

• JPMorgan builds distressed debt niche to rival boutique advisors (BBG)

• Goldman sees 'quite good' deal outlook but uncertain on timing (RT)

• Saudi Arabia seeks new IPOs to attract foreign investors (BBG)

• Japan life insurers cut bullish yen hedges to 14-year low (BBG)

• Wall Street fears foreign tax in budget bill may reduce allure of US assets (RT)

• Chinese banks face liquidity test on deposit exodus and maturities (BBG)

• Nvidia faces bipartisan concern over China facility plans (BBG)

• Chinese tech firms prepare for AI future without Nvidia (FT)

• Trump Media is coming for brokerage accounts with ETF push (BBG)

• Glencore consolidated global coal and iron portfolio under one entity (BBG) 

• Ex-Goldman banker Leissner was sentenced to two years for 1MDB fraud (BBG)

• India bank frauds tripled to $4.2B as credit scams swell (BBG)

• JPMorgan named HSBC's ex-head of M&A as vice chair of M&A (BBG)

• Meta partnered with Anduril to design AI army gear (WSJ) 

• Nike's design chief will retire after three decades (BBG)

• US continuing jobless claims rose to the highest since November 2021 (BBG)

• CFTC awarded a whistleblower $700k for enforcement tip (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Transportation lessor GATX and Brookfield Infrastructure formed a JV to acquire Wells Fargo's $4.4B rail leasing portfolio

• Tech-focused PE firm Thoma Bravo is exploring a $3B+ sale of document software firm Apryse amid takeover interest

• Japanese telecom firm NTT Docomo agreed to acquire online bank SBI Sumishin Net Bank from SBI Holdings for $2.9B, a 49% premium

• Vista Equity Partners agreed to acquire business workflow software firm Acumatica from EQT for ~$2B, including debt

• Shell acquired a 12.5% stake in Nigeria's Bonga oilfield from TotalEnergies for $510M, raising its ownership to 67.5%

• Czech Republic's ANO party will pursue a full state buyout of power utility CEZ to enhance energy security if it wins October elections; CEZ is partially state-owned

• Citigroup made a strategic investment in Vontive, a startup standardizing the business-purpose mortgage

• South African retailer and grocer SPAR Group plans to sell its Swiss and UK retail units after exiting its loss-making Polish operations

• Japan Educational Foundation will acquire NYC-fashion school LIM College

VC

• ClickHouse, a startup providing real-time analytics, data warehousing, and AI/ML, raised a $350M Series C led by Khosla Ventures

• Dojo, a UK payments tech startup, received a $190M growth investment from Vitruvian Partners

• Snorkel AI, a data development platform, raised a $100M Series D at a $1.3B valuation led by Addition

• David, a brand designing tools to increase muscle and decrease fat, raised a $75M Series A led by Greenoaks

• Empathy, a lost support and legacy planning tech company, raised a $72M Series C led by Adams Street Partners

• AI-based construction progress tracker Buildots raised a $45M Series D led by Qumra Capital

• Vivodyne, a startup developing drug testing on lab-grown 3D human tissues, raised a $40M Series A led by Khosla Ventures

• Heron Power, an electrical grid-focused startup, raised a $38M Series A led by Capricorn Investment Group

• Acclaro Medical, a startup developing a fiber laser for aesthetic needs, raised a $23M Series B led by Accelmed Partners

• Outcomes4Me, an AI-driven platform transforming cancer care, raised a $21M round from Salica Investments, Labcorp Venture Fund, and others

• Indian home services startup Snabbit raised a $19M Series B led by Lightspeed

• Stotles, a platform helping private sector suppliers grow public sector revenue, raised a $13M Series A led by Headline and Acton

• Volteras, a startup building software to allow EVs to offer their batteries to support the grid, raised an $11.1M Series A led by Union Square Ventures

• Sequence, a fintech startup for consumers and SMEs to automate management of finances, raised a $7.5M round led by Aleph and Emerge

• AI project Donut raised a $7M pre-seed round led by Hongshan (formerly Sequoia CN), BITKRAFT, and HackVC

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Italian lender UniCredit acquired an additional ~9.7% stake in Greece's Alpha Bank for $677M to raise its stake to 20%

• Saudi Arabia's PIF is exploring an IPO of its wholly-owned tech unit Saudi Information Technology Co.

• Saudi hospital operator Specialized Medical Co. will close books of its IPO after shareholders agreed to return recent dividends

• Swedish defense gear firm Snigel is weighing an IPO on the back of Europe's rearmament effort

Debt

• Indian infrastructure conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group raised $3.4B in private credit in India's largest ever private credit deal to date

• Messaging app Telegram raised $1.7B in convertible bonds to retire existing debt and extend debt maturities

• AI writing productivity platform Grammarly raised $1B in private credit financing from General Catalyst

• Emory University is planning a $1B munis sale to fund operations

• India's Life Insurance Corp. is the sole buyer in Adani Ports' record $585M bond sale, with proceeds earmarked for capex and refinancing dollar debt

• IMF approved a $500M tranche of a $15.5B loan package to Ukraine as peace talks stall

• Vietnamese EV maker VinFast is seeking $200M in loans from local Indian state-owned banks as it expands in India

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Bondholders of Liberty Interactive, a unit of shopping media group QVC, hired Centerview Partners amid debt concerns, with ~$2.5B in bonds trading in distressed levels

• EM special situations investor IG4 Capital is in advanced talks to restructure $260M of debt and invest $60M in Brazil's Rio Alto Energias, which is seeking to avoid bankruptcy

• PE firm Clearlake disqualified ~100 lenders from buying debt of struggling container manufacturer Pretium Packaging

Fundraising

• Chinese state-owned O&G giant Sinopec launched a $690M hydrogen energy-focused VC fund

• UK asset manager Schroders raised a $600M FOF fund to invest in VC funds, startups and secondaries

• Lower MM PE FOF firm RCP Advisors raised $314M for its ninth small buyout FOF

• PE firm Terminus Capital raised $250M for its debut fund

• MFV Partners, a VC firm backed by Chicago's wealthy, launched a $25M fund to invest in early-stage UChicago quantum computing and AI startups

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• SEC dismissed its lawsuit against Binance

• Santander weighs crypto push with early-stage stablecoin plans

• NYPD detective assigned to Eric Adams is linked to crypto kidnaping case

• Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $9B as investors ditch gold holdings

Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

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• Big Tech this, Big Tech that…but what about 'Little Tech?' Y Combinator's dedicated DC lobbyist Luther Lowe sat down with FT to discuss the importance of fighting for Little Tech.

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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.