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'Team Transitory' Resurfaces

SBF was charged with eight crimes, US CPI came in lower than expected, Cathie Wood thinks we've been in a recession all year, Apple will allow rival app stores on iPhones in the EU, US lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bid to ban TikTok, Ken Griffin sued the IRS, Argentina beat Croatia in the World Cup semifinals, and college football coaching legend Mike Leach passed away.

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Good Morning,

SBF was charged with eight crimes, US CPI came in lower than expected, Cathie Wood thinks we've been in a recession all year, Apple will allow rival app stores on iPhones in the EU, US lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bid to ban TikTok, Ken Griffin sued the IRS, and Argentina beat Croatia in the World Cup semifinals.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 12/13/2022 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks rose yesterday on reports of cooling inflationĀ 

  • Investors widely expect a smaller 50 bps rate hike today, but remain cautious of an aggressive FedĀ 

  • The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 1.1%Ā 

  • The dollar tumbled across the board, losing ~1% against the pound and euro

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:Ā 

    • Today: Lennar

    • Thursday: Adobe

    • Friday: Accenture

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US CPI rose by a less than expected 0.1% in November and 7.1% YoY (CNBC)

  • UK economy rebounded by more than expected 0.5% in October, but Q3 GDP loss was revised downwards to 0.3% (FT)

  • US existing-home sales expected to slide to 11-year low in 2023 (RT)

  • Cathie Wood believes US has been in recession all year (RT)

  • Small banks warn of having to drop Zelle over scam payment costs (WSJ)

  • China is readying a $143B package for its chip firms to counter US curbs (RT)

  • US to add Chinese chipmaker, YMTC, to trade blacklist (FT)

  • Tesla investors voice concern over Musk's focus on Twitter (WSJ)

  • Danske Bank pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $2B penalty for defrauding US banks (FT)

  • Apple plans to let rival app stores on iPhones in EU (BBG)

  • US lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bid to ban TikTok (RT)

  • Ken Griffin sued the IRS for 'unlawful disclosure' of tax records (CNBC)

  • United Airlines will purchase 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options to buy 100 more (WSJ)

  • Messi guided Argentina to World Cup final with a 3-0 win over Croatia (ESPN)

  • Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach passed away (ESPN)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • German railway company Deutsche Bahn is nearing a decision to explore strategic options for its DB Schenker logistics unit that could fetch $21.3B in a deal (BBG)

  • Indian fintech Paytm agreed to buy back up to $103M of its own shares, following a ~75% plunge in its stock price since 2021 (BBG)

  • Mexican broadcasterĀ Grupo TelevisaĀ offered to merge its TV and broadband operations with that of telecom firmĀ Megacable, positively boosting the shares of both (RT)

VC

  • Shield AI, a startup building AI aircraft pilots, raised a $225M ($150M in equity / $75M in debt) Series E led by the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (PRN)

  • Dataiku, an AI and analytics platform, raised a $200M Series F at a $3.7B valuation led by Wellington Management (TC)

  • AI-based market research platform Zappi raised a $170M round led by Sumeru Equity (TC)

  • Malwarebytes, a cybersecurity company, received a $100M investment from Vector Capital (BW)

  • Vic.ai, an accounting automation startup, raised a $52M Series C led by GGV Capital and ICONIQ Growth (TC)

  • Ngrok, a service helping developers deploy their sites and apps, raised a $50M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (TC)

  • Talent lifecycle management platform Beamery raised a $50M Series D at a $1B+ valuation led by Teachersā€™ Ventures Growth (PRN)

  • Tellus Therapeutics, a neonatal careĀ company, raised a $35M Series A led by the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (BW)

  • AI-based knowledge management and learning platform Sana raised a $34M Series B at a $180M valuation led by Menlo Ventures (TC)

  • Prebiotic soda brand Poppi raised a $25M round led by CAVU (TC)

  • Peroxitech, a startup seeking to develop a peptide treatment for acute lung injury, raised a $25M Series A led by the PerceptiveĀ XontogenyĀ VentureĀ Fund (BW)

  • Partly, a startup aiming to make buying car parts easier, raised a $21M Series A led by Octopus Ventures (TC)

  • Basecamp Research, a startup designing protein products using a proprietary knowledge graph of natural biodiversity, raised a $20M Series A led by Systemiq Ventures (BW)

  • Quantum Space, a startup building a fleet of cislunar space vehicles, raised a $15M Series A from Prime Movers Lab (TC)

  • iNNBeauty Project, aĀ skincareĀ startup, raised a $12M Series B led by Alliance Consumer Growth (BW)

  • SysKit, a UK-based data governance and management startup for Microsoft 365, received $9M in funding from Cade Hill Investments (PRN)

  • Sparrow, an app using AI to analyze golf swings, raised a $5.7M seed round from angels (PRN)

  • Beni, a startup making secondhand shopping easier, raised a $4M seed round led by Buoyant Ventures (PRN)

  • Insurtech startup Oyster raised a $3.6M seed round led by New Stack Ventures (PRN)

  • Green Bioactives, a Scottish startup aiming to scale production of plant-derived natural products, raised a $3.2M seed round led by EosĀ Advisory (PRN)

  • Pack, a headless ecommerce platform, raised a $3M seed round led by NorwestĀ VentureĀ Partners (BW)

  • Toronto-based Insights-as-a-Service startupĀ KeyOpsĀ raised a $2.95M seed round led byĀ Graphite VenturesĀ (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Geely'sĀ premium electric car brand Zeekr filed for a US IPO (RT)

  • Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.Ā has chosenĀ Goldman Sachs,Ā Bank of America, andĀ First Abu Dhabi BankĀ to lead an IPO of its natural gas business in 2023 (BBG)

Debt

  • Ghana expects a $3B IMF loan to be approved in early 2023 (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

  • Quanergy Systems, a maker of high-tech sensors and related software, filed for bankruptcy ~10 months after its SPAC merger (BBG)

  • Mattress manufacturerĀ Serta Simmons BeddingĀ is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as January (BBG)

Fundraising

  • Rokos Capital Management is in talks with potential clients to raise $3B in fresh capital after a record year of gains (BBG)

  • Real estate tech-focused VC firm Fifth Wall raised $866M for its Real Estate Technology Fund III, the largest-ever proptech focused VC fund (WSJ)

  • Austrian VC firm Speedinvest raised $531M to back European tech startups: $319M for its fourth pre-seed and seed stage fund and $212M to invest more in existing portfolio companies (SFT)

  • German VC firmĀ FoundamentalĀ closed an $85M fund aimed at early-stage construction tech startups (TC)

Crypto Corner

  • Federal prosecutors charged SBF with eight counts of fraud, conspiracy, campaign finance law violations and money laundering (AX)

  • CFTC charged SBF, FTX and Alameda Research with violations of the Commodities Exchange Act, alleging FTX commingled customer funds (CNBC)

  • Binance withdrawals hit $1.9B in 24 hour period (RT)

  • Coinbase bonds are trading near 50 cents on the dollar following FTX collapse (CNBC)

  • BinanceĀ launched its payments service Binance Pay for US customers (CD)

Exec's Picks

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  • Forbes published the transcript of the testimony that SBF planned to give to Congress here.

Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas

See below for the last Litquidity merch drop of the season. Collaboration with Smathers & Branson, a country club brand well-known for their fine needle point designs. 2-Day delivery options available for last minute gifting to your fam, MDs, GPs, etc.

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