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Good Morning,
Point72's AI fund rose 15% in just three months, CFA Level II pass rate fell to a post-Covid low, Asia hedge funds posted their best returns in 15 years, and David Solomon sees declining incentives for startups to IPO.
Planful's latest eBook dives deep into the best strategies to stay agile and drive better outcomes with continuous planning. If you work in a finance team, it's definitely worth the read.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell

As of 1/16/2025 market close.
Markets
US stock indexes slipped yesterday as a pullback in tech offset optimism from strong bank earnings
S&P snapped a three-day win streak
Europe's Stoxx 600 rose 1% to a five-week high
Germany's DAX index hit a new ATH
France's CAC 40 jumped to a three-month high
Oil is on track for a fourth-straight weekly gain
Earnings
Bank of America Q4 earnings doubled on a 44% surge in IB fees and strong net interest income, though their earnings were an outlier with mediocre trading results and heavy reliance on interest income (CNBC)
Morgan Stanley posted record FY revenue and also saw Q4 earnings double thanks to a 51% jump in equities trading, a 35% jump in fixed income, and a 25% rise in IB fees (CNBC)
UnitedHealth met on Q4 earnings but missed revenue estimates due to weakness in its insurance business and higher-than-expected medical costs (CNBC)
TSMC beat Q4 estimates on record profit as demand for AI chips continues to surge (CNBC)
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Headline Roundup
Fed still sees no imminent need to stop QT process (RT)
Bankers fear cross-border M&A will be hostage to Trump diplomacy (FT)
Mega-merger boom threatens a shareholder bloodbath (RT)
Stock market could get boost from potential $1T in buybacks (RT)
Goldman CEO David Solomon questioned startups' need to IPO (FT)
Bonds that once haunted banks are now juicing profits (WSJ)
Treasury pick Scott Bessent backs Fed independence, dollar dominance and tax cuts (CNBC)
Surprise Asian central bank moves show impact of dollar rampage (BBG)
Saudi listings grab spotlight in Mideast IPO boom (BBG)
Investors shun French markets as political risk still lingers (BBG)
Asia hedge funds posted their best returns in 15 years (RT)
Record $57B outflow hits battered Brazil hedge funds (BBG)
Point72's AI fund gained 15% in three months since launch (RT)
Two Sigma settled SEC charges over investment model vulnerabilities (RT)
UK is scrutinizing investment trusts' battle with US activist fund (FT)
European carmakers call for 'grand bargain' to avoid Trump trade war (FT)
Activist Starboard took an 8% stake in chipmaker Qorvo (WSJ)
Amex will pay $230M to resolve deceptive marketing allegations (FT)
Starbucks board director Hobson will step down after two decades (RT)
Citigroup London HQ renovations topped $1.2B (FT)
BP cut 4.7k jobs (FT)
CFA Level II pass rate fell to 39%, the lowest since Covid (BBG)
A Message from Planful
Continuous Planning: The Secret to Smarter Financial Decisions
Looking for a game-changing strategy for 2025? Our latest eBook reveals how finance teams stay agile and drive better outcomes with continuous planning. Discover the insights you need to streamline your processes and stay ahead of surprises.
💡 What you'll learn:
Why agility is the cornerstone of financial success
How to build a culture of continuous planning
Collaboration strategies for cross-functional alignment
Forecasting tips to navigate uncertainty
Ready to transform your planning game? Download the eBook now.
Deal Flow
M&A / Investments
$100B-listed global miner Rio Tinto and $55B-listed peer Glencore recently held merger talks
Chinese TikTok-rival REDnote's largest shareholders GGV Capital, GSR Ventures and Tiantu Capital are in talks to sell existing shares to Tencent, Hongshan Capital, and Hillhouse Investment at a $20B valuation
Honda is interested in acquiring French auto maker Renault's 35.7% stake in Nissan, which is worth $3.6B
KKR is considering joining Apollo with a $6.4B investment in the proposed family-led take-private of 7-Eleven-owner Seven & i
CC Capital Partners raised its offer for Australian wealth manager Insignia Financial to $1.9B, after Bain Capital matched its previous offer
Medical-apparel maker Figs rejected a $1B takeover offer from PE firm Story3 Capital Partners
Carlyle is exploring a $731M sale of UK funds network and data business Calastone
UK investment group Petershill Partners sold most of its stake in VC General Catalyst for $726M
US credit bureau TransUnion will acquire an additional 68% stake in Mexico credit score provider Trans Union de Mexico from a group of Mexican banks for $560M to increase its stake to 94%
Investment management firm Vertical Theme is considering a sale of its 29% stake in Alliance Bank Malaysia to Singapore's biggest lender DBS that could fetch ~$500M
E-commerce software company Rokt agreed to acquire customer data platform mParticle for $300M
Automation firm Symbotic agreed to acquire Walmart's robotics business for $200M
KKR and Highland Europe agreed to acquire a majority stake in agritech company smaXtec in a $195M deal
Brazilian airline Azul and the principal shareholder of rival Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes began merger talks
VC
E-commerce software company Rokt sold $335M in secondary shares to Tiger Global, Square Peg Capital, Barrenjoey and SecondQuarter Ventures at a $3.5B valuation
NEURA Robotics, a cognitive robotics startup, raised a $124M Series B led by Lingotto Investment Management
Netradyne, a startup providing fleet owners with AI-enabled dash cams, raised a $90M Series D at a $1.25B valuation led by Point72 Private Investments
Eve, an AI platform for plaintiff law firms, raised a $47M Series A led by a16z
Data copilot company Prophecy raised a $47M Series B led by Smith Point Capital
UK-based carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon raised a $32M Series C led by GenZero
Quantifind, an AI-powered financial crime intelligence platform, raised $22M in funding led by Deloitte Ventures and Stephens Group
EV battery repurposing startup Moment Energy raised a $15M Series A led by the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Voyager Ventures
AI-powered video security startup Coram AI raised a $13.8M Series A led by Battery Ventures
Origen, a limestone-based carbon removal provider, raised a $13M Series A led by Barclays Climate Ventures
Workwize, an Dutch platform for global IT hardware asset management, raised a $13M Series A led by Klass Capital
Guidesly, a software platform for outdoor recreation guides, raised a $9.5M Series A led by Aspen Capital Group
Botika, an Israeli AI-generated fashion models company, raised an $8M seed round led by Stardom and Secret Chord Ventures
Alium, a buyer intelligence startup, raised a $7M seed round from Greycroft and Primary
EarnOS, a decentralized consumer discovery and engagement platform, raised a $5M seed round led by EV3
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
$45B Amsterdam-listed Universal Music Group is preparing a US listing
Retail trading platform eToro filed for US IPO at a potential $5B valuation
Brazilian commodities conglomerate Cosan sold a $1.5B stake in mining giant Vale
LG's tech services unit LG CNS is poised to price its Korea IPO at the top of a marketed range to raise $823M
Spanish travel technology firm HBX, which is backed by Cinven, Canada's CPP, and EQT, is seeking to raise $747M in a Spanish IPO
Debt
Aligned Data Centers raised $12B in debt and equity led by Macquarie
Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool launched a $1B dollar bond sale to help finance the Nordstrom family-led take-private of luxury department store Nordstrom
Fundraising
French PE firm Ardian raised $30B for the largest-ever fund to acquire secondary PE LP stakes
Tech investor Insight Partners raised $12.5B for its thirteenth flagship fund
Blackstone's European private credit fund for HNWIs is set to reach $1.5B by EOM
Lower MM focused Ridgewood Infrastructure closed its second fund at $1.2B
PE firm Sky Island Capital raised $300M for its second US manufacturer buyout fund
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Coinbase restarted Bitcoin-backed loans
Pension funds dabble in crypto after massive bitcoin rally
Trump plans to designate cryptocurrency as a national priority
Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!
Exec’s Picks
We all know stock picking is hard, but so is sector picking. Check out what Ben Carlson has to say on the same.
Fritz @ theretirementmanifesto.com wrote an insightful piece on how to plan for future lower market returns.
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!
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