Together with

Litquidity 30 Under 30(yea we're sponsoring ourselves)

Good morning,

The S&P 500 hit all-time high number 70 of the year (ruining a perfect year at 69). What else hit an all-time high? US covid cases. Minimum wages are climbing, but employers are raising pay even faster. Justice was served in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. China is trying to shut down democracy in Hong Kong. Turkish Lira can't stop crashing. The 2021 IPO market started off hot, but the sector is now giving up gains everywhere.

The year-end slow down is real. We've got the shortest deal flow section to date.

We're accepting nominations for our second annual Lit 30 under 30. If you know the drill from last year, submit here. If you need more info, see below.

Only two more days in 2021. Let's dive in 🤝

Before The Bell

To see the LitCap Yolo Fund's portfolio holdings, download the Iris Social Stock app here and give Litquidity a follow. 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 US averages closed in the green yesterday, with the S&P 500 hitting its 70th ATH of the year

  • Consumer stocks carried most of the weight during the session, but travel-related stocks still slid amid continued Covid-19 concerns

• With two trading sessions left in 2021, major averages are on track to end the year positive as we enter 2022

Earnings

• FuelCell Energy ended the day in the red after Q4 numbers missed expectations; they reported a YoY increase in losses and decrease in revenue (TS)

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• More than half of US states will raise their minimum wage in 2022, but employers are hiking pay faster (CNBC)

• Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of sex trafficking and four other charges (BBG)

• Bankers weigh what’s next after historic $5T M&A record (BBG)

• IPOs had a record 2021, now they’re selling off like crazy (WSJ)

• Biden, Putin to talk Thursday amid ongoing Ukraine tensions (BBG)

• Riot Games to pay $100M to settle gender discrimination suit (WSJ)

• Hong Kong forces last major pro-democracy news outlet to shut (BBG)

• Turkish lira resumes slide days after government rescue plan (WSJ)

• DoorDash staff making $400k complains about making one delivery a month (BI)

• US covid cases rise to pandemic high as delta and omicron circulate at same time (CNBC)

• Fauci predicts omicron Covid wave will peak in US by end of January (CNBC)

• Streaming wars drive media groups to spend more than $100B on new content (FT)

A Message From Litquidity 30 Under 30

Do you know someone who is absolutely thriving in life? Primarily in finance, personal investments, or entrepreneurship? Someone who should've made Forbes 30 Under 30 but doesn't have a publicist on tap to grease Forbes' pocket books? Are they chill af and are they someone you'd be down to rage with in Ibiza?

If so, they sound like the perfect candidate for our upcoming second Litquidity 30 Under 30 list. Last year's list included Friday Beers, the QB for the LA Rams, Venture Capitalists, startup founders, and other finance professionals who are crushing it. Forbes is on the hot seat.

Nominate someone who deserves to be on the list by clicking the button below:

Deal Flow

M&A

• Samsung is in talks to buy US drugmaker Biogen which could be valued at $42B+ (RT)

• South Korea’s SK Hynix completed the first phase of its acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash memory chip business, paying out $7B of the total $9B (RT)

• Chinese state-owned conglomerate Shanghai Media Group is in talks to buy a 30% stake in Twitter-like social media service Weibo from Alibaba (BBG)

• Caixabank agreed to buy a 51% stake in Bankia’s insurance business in a $645.12M deal (RT)

• T. Rowe Price completed its acquisition of alternative credit manager Oak Hill Advisors (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Victoria’s Secret shares popped as much as 15% before closing up 12% on news that the lingerie chain plans to buy back $250M in stock (WSJ)

• Chinese AI startup SenseTime raised $741M in its Hong Kong IPO which saw the stock gain as much as 23% despite the offering being delayed by fresh sanctions from the US Treasury Department (BBG)

Exec's Picks

• Self care - Want to escape your miserable family at New Years? La Aurora’s got you covered. They offer a variety of cigar sampler packs that combine different blends, strengths, and tasting notes together. Take a smoke break.

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 30+ 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.

If you're looking to hire candidates and want to post a job, all you have to do is hit "+ Hire Talent" on the top right of the job board. If you want the role to be featured on Exec Sum, check out our "Featured" and "Premium" tiers.

Meme Cleanser

👀  If you're an accredited investor or qualified purchaser and want access to proprietary early-stage venture deal flow from the LitCap team, fill out this survey. Got some exciting deals coming up in Q1'22. Preference will be given to those who are most involved with our platform (subscribed to Exec Sum, our Foot Guns newsletter, and actively opening the emails).

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