US stocks ripped after US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire

Europe's Stoxx 600 surged 3.9% in its best day in a year

UK's FTSE 100 rallied to a one-month high 

MSCI EM Equity index leaped 5.5% in its best day since Covid to its highest since early March

Europe bonds staged their sharpest rally since 2023 

10Y muni yields dropped 9 bps to 2.9% in their best day in a year 

Oil rebounded after falling by the most since Covid

Dollar retreated to a four-week low 

Delta beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates on steady demand from more affluent customers; the firm will 'meaningfully reduce' short-term capacity growth plans on soaring fuel costs (CNBC)

Constellation Brands beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates on momentum in its beer and wine and spirits units but withdrew FY guidance as consumers navigate a rapidly evolving macro environment (CNBC)

Full calendar here

Now that the situation is being resolved, we can turn our attention to another majors weekend

Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

JD Vance will lead US negotiations with Iran (BBG)

Hedge funds closed equity shorts at the fastest pace since Covid (BBG)

Traders placed ~$1B in oil shorts hours before US-Iran ceasefire (RT)

Hedge fund-favorite dispersion trade has its worst month since 2011 (BBG)

Fed minutes reveal two-sided risk concerns from Iran war (BBG)

Blackstone says easing Mideast tensions could boost PE dealmaking (BBG)

Bankers are already weighing UAE return amid US-Iran ceasefire (BBG)

Goldman embraces 'picks and shovels' of AI with more capex ahead (BBG)

Insurers' $1T buildup in private credit is leaving regulators in the dust (WSJ)

SEC will slash a Wells Fargo whistleblower award from $175M to $50M (FT)

SEC enforcement activity plunged 20% aid agency 'reset' (RT)

SEC named Gibson Dunn's Woodcock as ‌next enforcement director (RT)

Meta unveiled its first AI model under new superintelligence team (BBG)

GoPro will cut 23% of jobs (WSJ)

JPMorgan will build Canary Wharf's tallest tower (FT)

Women's elite sports revenues is projected to hit $3B this year (RT)

Ford asked US for relief as tariffs pummel F-150 (WSJ)

U.S. Bank named Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza as Chief Financial Playmaker (USA)

Telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi shortlisted DigitalBridge, KKR, Brookfield,. and Vauban Infrastructure Partners as bidders for a controlling stake in French fiber optic company XpFibre, which could fetch an over $10B valuation

Canada's CPPIB and OMERS are looking to sell their combined 64% stake in  Associated British Ports for $13.2B, with KKR, BlackRock's GIP, Brookfield, and Dubai-based port operator DP World expressing interest

TowerBrook, Warburg Pincus, and Stonepeak-backed UK roadside recovery business The AA received early interest from suitors including EQT for a potential $6.7B sale

Investment firm General Atlantic closed a deal to buy home-care company Team Services Holding from Alpine Investors for $3B, including debt,

Melisa Acquisition, a unit of telecoms firm OXIO and Newfoundland Capital, will acquire Telefonica's Mexican unit Movistar Mexico in a $450M deal

UK software firm Rezolve AI made an all-stock hostile bid for $225M-listed Commerce.com after an earlier offer was rejected

Nordic Capital is exploring a sale of Danish bakery chain Ole & Steen for several hundred million dollars

Italy's top soccer league Serie ‌A is sounding out PE firms for a 49% minority stake in its international media rights, with Apollo, CVC, Ares, and Sixth Street among potential suitors

UK oil producer ​Capricorn Energy extended a ​deadline ​for Saudi's Cafani Group-affiliated ⁠investment ​vehicle Alamadiyaf ​al-Masiyyah to make a formal ​takeover ​offer to May

Anthropic sold secondary shares at a $350B valuation in a low supply deal as many employees refused to sell

Aura Aero, a French aircraft manufacturer, raised a $400M Series B from Safran Corporate Ventures, EDF, EIC Fund, and others

Indian AI startup Sarvam AI is in talks to raise $300M-$350M at a $1.5B valuation led by Bessemer Venture Partners

Lucky, a consumer credit fintech, raised a $23M Series B 

Korean lender Shinhan Bank is seeking to sell $2.1B of Samsung shares

Arcline-owned aerospace and defense parts supplier Arxis is seeking to raise over $1B at a $11B valuation in an IPO

Advent-backed Indian micro lender Svatantra Microfin is seeking to raise $250M in an India IPO

China's Hesai Group and Taikang Life Insurance will serve as cornerstone investors in Chinese spatial-design software maker Manycore Tech's $100M Hong Kong IPO

Novo-backed respiratory drugmaker Avalyn Pharma filed for an IPO

Finland is preparing to IPO state-owned gambling company Veikkaus 

AI K-pop startup Galaxy plans to IPO in Korea and US

American Ocean Minerals Corp., a deep-sea exploration company led by ex-Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese, will reverse merge with Odyssey Marine Exploration in a $1B all-stock deal

Cement firm Suncrete completed its $226M merger with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. 4

HSBC revived plans to exit Australia with a $26B loan portfolio sale

PIMCO is looking to sell a portion of the $14B of debt financing it's providing for an Oracle data center in Michigan

Hong Kong Mortgage Corp. is considering raising $1.5B in its first digital bond sale

CD&R-backed exterior building products supplier Cornerstone Building Brands hired turnaround specialist AlixPartners to negotiate a restructuring of its $5B balance sheet

Clearlake and Francisco Partners-backed Perforce Software reached a deal with junior lenders to swap 2027 notes with a new $300M note due 2031 in a rare distressed debt swap that puts junior creditors on equal footing with senior lenders

Distressed Chinese developer Vanke is seeking to delay another payment on a $300M yuan bond to avoid default

VC Eclipse raised $1.3B across an early-stage incubation fund and growth fund to focus on physical AI 

French biotech investor Jeito Capital raised $1.2B for its second fund, the largest ever for an independent biotech-focused European fund

India's Motilal Oswal Alternates raised $950M for its fifth investment fund which will focus on buyouts

154 Partners, a sports PE firm backed by Blackstone exec David Blitzer, raised $400M for its debut fund

Mutuactivos, the asset management subsidiary of Spanish insurer Mutua Madrileña, launched its first PE fund focused on real estate

New Bitcoin ETF buys at market close and sells at open

Morgan Stanley debuted a Bitcoin ETF

FDIC lays out guidelines for institutions issuing stablecoins

FT published a highly informative deep dive on how PE became hooked on second-hand deals.

​Round 2 on April 14th is reserved for highly-skilled players to compete in the tournament

Guests are most welcome! Whether you want to watch the games, socialize over drinks, or anything in between