Together with

Good Morning,

Great weekend in sports (and sports betting) with a wild Kentucky Derby finish and a F1 Miami Grand Prix that lived up to the hype. Speaking of F1, we mightttt have some partnerships / collabs cooking that could be yuge. Stay tuned for more.

Retail traders have given back all of their pandemic gains, tech startup layoffs are mounting, the Saudis cut oil prices, electricity shortage warnings are appearing across the US, hospitals may raise prices, and Meta is opening its first store.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM LITQUIDITY HQ: After market close, we will be facilitating the first-ever public company earnings call on Twitter Spaces for none other than RCI Hospitality Holdings (NASDAQ: $RICK). You can catch Mark Moran (Head of BD & Ops at Litquidity Media), Eric Langan (CEO of RCI), and the rest of the RCI management team here! You won't wanna miss it.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

• All three major indexes close the week in the negative after a red Friday, the Dow has logged six straight negative weeks

  • This has been the longest streak of weekly losses in over a decade

  • Tech stocks have been leading the way down in response to rising rates, as the 10-Yr Treasury yield rose to 3.13% for the first time since 2018

  • Puzzled investors are trying to position themselves for the end of lax monetary policy embraced by the Fed during the first two years of the pandemic

• These losses in equities came despite an April jobs report which showed a gain of 428K jobs (relative to the 400K expected gain)

• Investors will be keeping an eye on moving rates as well as a highly-anticipated April CPI data release on Wednesday

Earnings

• What we’re watching this week:

  • Mon: Palantir, AMC

  • Tues: Peloton, SoFi, Roblox, Coinbase, Norwegian Cruise Line

  • Weds: Disney, Rivian, Beyond Meat, Bumble

  • Thurs: Affirm

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US stocks suffer longest streak of weekly losses in over a decade (FT)

• Day trader army loses all of its meme-stock gains (BBG)

• Saudis cut oil prices from record highs amid China lockdowns (BBG)

• First Quantum approves $1.25B Zambia copper expansion (BBG)

• Electricity shortage warnings grow across the US (WSJ)

• Musk’s new Twitter funding could draw TikTok-like US scrutiny (RT)

• Hospitals look to raise treatment costs as nurses’ salaries increase (WSJ)

• Meta is opening its first store as VR headsets inch closer to mainstream reality (CNBC)

• Max Verstappen cruises to victory in inaugural F1 Miami Grand Prix (BBG)

• Colleges are launching TikTok classes for influencers making $5k a post (BBG)

• Tech companies of all sizes had a big week of layoffs (TC)

A Message From Trends

Tired of daydreaming about building your own company while staring at a cubicle wall?

Trends is what takes your business idea from your grandma’s basement couch and enables you to bring it into reality.

How?

• Access to 1000’s of vetted business ideas ready for launch

• Community of 16,000 entrepreneurs ready to help you make it happen

• Events which aid in developing skills like SEO, marketing, operations, and fundraising

Kick down those cubicle walls like you’re walking off the set of Office Space and embrace new beginnings.

You already have 1,000’s of others ready to help you along the way.

Try Trends for 7 days for just $1!

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Mindtree and Larsen & Toubro Infotech, two software units controlled by Mumbai-based engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, have agreed to merge in an $18B deal (BBG)

• A consortium led by financier & LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital agreed to buy Chelsea FC for $5.25B (BBG)

• Private real-estate funds managed by Brookfield Asset Management agreed to buy Watermark Lodging Trust, whose properties include the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, in a $3.8B deal (BBG)

• Radius Global Infrastructure, which leases cell sites to wireless-tower companies and mobile-network operators, is exploring strategic options including a sale. Their current market cap is ~$1.55B (BBG)

• Real estate groups Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties Properties are in advanced talks to merge in an all-stock deal, which would create a REIT with assets in London hotspots (BBG)

VC

• South Korean startup Bucketplace, which operates a home decorating and interior app OHouse, raised a $182M Series D from a variety of funds including SoftBank Ventures Asia, Vertex Growth, Bond Capital, and more (TC)

• Recruitment software company iCIMS raised an undisclosed amount of funding at a ~$3B valuation from TA Associates (RT)

IPO

• EuroAPI, Sanofi's pharmaceutical-ingredients spinoff, rose on its first day of trading in Paris. The spinoff valued EuroAPI at ~$1.2B (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Meta’s Instagram to support NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Flow (CD)

• Snoop Dogg, Gary Vee latest to buy Ethereum ownership NFTs in Ice Cube’s BIG3 hoops league (DC)

• UST stablecoin struggles to maintain $1 parity amid crypto market turbulence (TBC)

Exec's Picks

• Bloomberg's Sophie Alexander and Liana Baker wrote a wild piece on Elon Musk's right-hand man, Jared Birchall. From digging up dirt on Musk's enemies to helping organize his Twitter acquisition, Birchall has done it all. Check out the article here.

• Hedge is a collaborative trading platform where you can make a hedge fund with your friends by pooling money & investing together. They're launching an investment opportunity available to the public through a Republic campaign. They recently raised an 8x-oversubscribed seed round, with participation from Litquidity himself and a Lit-managed SPV, and are excited to extend this opportunity to the broader Litquidity community. You can make a reservation directly on the Republic platform by visiting their campaign page available here. See important disclosures below.

Testing the Waters Disclosure (for Hedge Republic Campaign)

With regard to communications by an issuer on the Site to gauge interest in a potential securities offering pursuant to the Regulation CF exemption from the registration requirements of theSecurities Act, including opportunities to “reserve” securities as indications of interest in the potential offering, please note that pursuant to Regulation Crowdfunding Rule 206 (i) that no money or other consideration is being solicited thereby, and if sent in response, will not be accepted, (ii) no offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the offering statement is filed and only through a registered intermediary’s platform, (iii) any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time before notice of its acceptance is given after the Form C is filed, and (iv) an indication of interest is non-binding and involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.

The Hiring Block

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you.

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast, presented by CoinFLEX.US, on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube 🤝