Seems Kinda Fungible

Musk trolled the NFT community by screenshotting a Bored Apes JPEG, stocks ripped green into the close after J Pow's comments, US trade deficit hits record, and Moderna blew past earnings estimates.

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Good Morning,

Musk trolled the NFT community by screenshotting a Bored Apes JPEG, stocks ripped green into the close after J Pow's comments, US trade deficit hits record, and Moderna blew past earnings estimates.

ICYMI: Big Swinging Decks was back yesterday with a new episode! 

This week Lit & Mark are joined by Christina Melas-Kyriazi, a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast, presented by CoinFLEX.US, on SpotifyApple Music, and YouTube 🤝 

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 5/4/2022 market close.

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

Markets

  • In reaction to Fed Chair Powell’s news conference, US stocks ripped into the green to log sizeable gains yesterday, with the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq closing up 2.81%, 2.99%, and 3.19% respectively

    • The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, but investor sentiment flipped after JPow announced that the Fed is ‘not actively considering’ a larger rate hike

  • Investors will continue to keep an eye on earnings reports that are coming out today as well as the jobless claims data which will be released at 8:30 a.m.

Earnings

  • Moderna blew past EPS and revenue expectations with vaccine sales more than tripling YoY (CNBC)

  • CVS beat EPS and revenue expectations and raised its FY guidance as it saw demand for prescriptions and other things increase, but demand for Covid vaccines and testing declined (CNBC) 

  • Marriott posted better-than-expected Q1 results and said they expect a key metric for the US and Canada, revenue available per room, to hit pre-pandemic levels for the rest of the year as leisure travel rebounds (YHOO)

  • Uber’s Q1 revenue more than doubled YoY as demand for rides rebounded from the Covid-19 downturn and the company’s food delivery grew despite restaurant reopenings (WSJ

  • What we’re watching today: Shopify, Shell, Block, Zillow, Lucid, DoorDash

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US companies added 247K jobs in April, ADP data shows (BBG)

  • US trade deficit swells to record as goods imports surge (BBG)

  • Canada’s trade surplus unexpectedly narrows as imports surge (BBG)

  • Elon Musk plans to take Twitter public a few years after buyout (WSJ)

  • Dave Chapelle attacked on stage by an audience member in Los Angeles, police say (CNBC)

  • Fed hikes rates half-point as Powell signals similar moves ahead (BBG)

  • Carl Icahn pushes McDonald’s to expand meatless options (BBG)

  • Telehealth startup Cerebral to stop prescribing Adderall for new patients (WSJ)

  • TurboTax owner Intuit to pay $141M to customers ‘unfairly charged’ (CNBC)

  • FAA to increase Florida air traffic controllers, work with airlines to avoid more flight disruptions in state (CNBC)

A Message From Mizzen+Main

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Mizzen+Main is already worn by tour pros, which means they’re more than good enough for any guy who claims to be scratch, as well as the rest of us trying to break triple digits this weekend.

If you’re wondering where to start, check out the Versa Polo. This lightweight, moisture-wicking fabric is the perfect fit for the golf course and the most comfortable feeling since a tap-in par putt. Get yours and go low. Get yours and go anywhere.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the NYSE, agreed to buy mortgage software provider Black Knight in a $13.1B deal (BBG)

  • German software firm SAP is working with Moelis to sell its corporate learning software business Litmos, which could fetch $1B+ (RT)

  • Stellantis agreed to buy the Share Now car-sharing business from BMW and Mercedes as the German groups focus on the software part of their mobility alliance (RT

  • South African IT firm EOH is considering a sale after returning to profitability (BBG)

  • Luxury real estate firm The Agency, best known for its regular appearance on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing LA,” agreed to buy NYC brokerage Triplement (BBG)

  • South Korean chemicals giant LG Chem is scouting overseas acquisitions to expand its batteries business ( BBG)

VC

  • Group14, a startup producing a silicon-carbon powder that can either replace or augment graphite anodes, raised a $400M Series C led by Porsche (TC)

  • Apple device management platform Mosyle raised a $196M Series B led by Insight Partners (TC)

  • TailScale, a startup building software to help transform enterprise VPNs into a mesh network, raised a $100M Series B at a $1B+ valuation co-led by CRV and Insight Partners (TC)

  • Developer-first application monitoring startup Sentry raised a $90M Series E at a $3B+ valuation led by BOND and Accel (BW)

  • VitroLabs, a biotech startup aiming to scale production of cellular cultured leather, raised a $46M Series A led by Agronomics (PRN)

  • Mint House, a tech-enabled residential hospitality company, raised a $35M Series B led by Mohari Hospitality (PRN)

  • Institutionally focused digital asset data provider Amberdata raised a $30M Series B at a $330M valuation led by Knollwood Investment Advisory (TC)

  • Robotics startup SLAMcore raised a $16M Series A led by ROBO Global Ventures and Presidio Ventures (TC)

  • Allocate, a digital investment platform providing investors access to top tier VC funds and co-investments, raised a $15.3M Series A led by M13 (PRN)

  • Climate risk tech startup Sensible Weather raised a $12M Series A led by Infinity Ventures (PRN)

  • Hubble Technology, an agentless technology asset visibility platform, raised a $9M seed round led by Paladin Capital Group (PRN)

  • BundlrNetwork, a decentralized platform for people to store data on Web3, raised a $5.2M seed round led by Framework Ventures, Hypersphere Ventures, and Permanent Ventures (PRN)

  • FlyGuys, a drone services company, raised a $4M Series A from Advantage Capital (PRN)

  • Masa Finance, a decentralized credit protocol, raised a $3.5M pre-seed round led by Unshackled Ventures, Lateral Capital, Flori Ventures, and more (TC)

  • Ready-to-drink lemonade and canned margarita brand MARGS raised $3M in funding from Lab Capital Advisors (PRN)

  • Contactile, a startup developing tactile sensors for robots, raised a $2.5M seed round led by True Ventures (PRN)

  • Norebase, a startup helping companies start, scale, and operate in any African country, raised a $1M pre-seed round led by Samurai Incubate and Consonance Investment (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • India’s Life Insurance Corp. IPO will take subscriptions until Saturday, May 9, in a move aimed at attracting investors, including retail buyers (BBG)

Debt

  • Goldman Sachs is providing an $865M second-lien loan to help fund Brookfield Asset Management’s acquisition of auto-dealership software company CDK Global (BBG)

Fundraising

  • Magnify Ventures, a VC firm focused on digital transformation of the care economy, raised a $52M fund (PRN)

Crypto Corner

  • Elon Musk Twitter profile change briefly sends token of Bored Ape NFT project soaring (CNBC)

  • Shanghai residents vent lockdown frustrations into NFT collections (DC)

  • Bitcoin and Ethereum follow stock market upward after Fed interest rate increase (DC)

  • France gives Binance go-ahead to run crypto exchange (DC)

Exec's Picks

  • Yesterday, Lawrence Yeo wrote a fantastic essay on what it's like to transition from a "normal" job to a creative endeavor working for yourself. Check out "The Arc of the Practical Creator" here.

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. We've got 40+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

Meme Cleanser

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

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