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US consumer 1-year inflation expectations dropped to a 1.5 year low, 70 SPACs have liquidated this month, global equity funds recorded their biggest weekly outflows since March 2020, Lockheed Martin got a fat government contract, Meta will pay $725M to settle its Cambridge Analytica scandal, Tesla suspended production in Shanghai, and China ditched its Covid-Zero policy.

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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

• US stocks edged higher to close 2022's last full week of trading Friday as investors assessed inflation data against rate hike and recession fears 

  • However, the S&P and Nasdaq fell for a third consecutive week, while the Dow posted its first weekly increase in three weeks 

• Oil prices settled ~$3/bbl higher on Friday for a second straight weekly gain after Russia threatened output cuts in response to G7's price cap

• Korean and Japanese "reopening stocks," such as tourism, hospitality, & consumer goods companies, surged after China announced the end of mandatory quarantine for inbound visitors (BBG)

Earnings

• What we're watching this week: 

  • Not much lol

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• The Fed favorite PCE index dropped to 5.5% YoY in November (AX)

• US consumers' 1-year inflation expectations dropped to a 1.5-year low (RT)

• US new home sales rose for a second straight month in November (RT)

• Around 70 SPACs liquidated this month, more than the total number of prior SPAC liquidations in market history (WSJ)

• Global equity funds last week recorded their biggest weekly outflows since March 2020 (RT)

• Big investors warm to bonds after historic 2022 sell-off boosts yields (FT)

• US ordered Mastercard to stop blocking the use of competing networks (RT)

• US awarded a $1B+ defense contract to Lockheed Martin (RT)

• Meta will pay $725M to settle its Cambridge Analytica scandal case (RT)

• Toyota global output rose 1.5% in November to a record ~833k vehicles (RT)

• Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant (WSJ)

• Southwest Airlines near standstill as over 80% of flights have been scrapped or delayed (BBG)

• China deployed 71 planes and 7 ships to Taiwan in response to US defense bill (AP)

• China to scrap inbound quarantine in dismantling of Covid Zero policy (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Media mogul Michael Bloomberg is interested in acquiring either WSJ parent company Dow Jones or the Washington Post (AX)

• Indian conglomerate Adani Group agreed to buy a 27.26% stake in Indian news broadcaster New Delhi Television from the company’s cofounders (RT)

• Carmaker Stellantis entered exclusive talks to buy a 'substantial' stake in fuel cell system maker Symbio, a JV between France’s Faurecia and Michelin (RT)

VC

• Indian fintech startup Money View raised a $75M Series E at a $900M valuation led by Apis Partners (TC)

• Autonomous drone startup Exyn raised a $35M Series B led by Reliance Industries (TC)

• Mila, a startup building smart air purifiers, raised a $10M Series A led by Cercano Management (TC)

Debt

• The main banking arms of Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings are expected to lend over $7.5B to finance Japan Industrial Partners' acquisition of Toshiba (RT)

• ADNOC-backed fertilizer maker Fertiglobe refinanced a $900M bridge loan: three-year $300M and five-year $600M term facilities at 150 and 175 bps margins respectively (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• FTX asked a US bankruptcy judge to stop crypto lender BlockFi from laying claim to over $440M worth of Robinhood stock purchased by SBF (RT)

Fundraising

• Singapore and New Delhi-based PE firm Quadria Capital is eyeing $1B for its third healthcare-focused fund (CQ)

• Monoful Venture Partners, a Japan-focused VC arm of industrial property giant GLP, raised $96M for its maiden fund (MGT)

• Indian-state Karnataka approved a new start-up policy that provides for a $12M VC fund to support emerging and disruptive technology start-ups in AI, ML, EVs, medtech, robotics, drones and others (IB)

Crypto Corner

• CoinDesk put together a quick explanation of how SBF actually covered his $250M bail (CD)

• Nexo terminated its potential deal with troubled crypto lender Vauld (TB)

• Ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison said SBF and other FTX execs received billions of dollars in secret loans from Alameda (RT)

• SBF is due back in court in early January (NYT)

• Biden administration delayed tax rules for crypto brokers (WSJ)

Exec's Picks

• What’s better than watching the NBA? Trading the NBA. The NY Knicks are taking on the DAL Mavericks tonight and the Knicks are currently trading at $49 on Sporttrade, America’s only regulated sports trading exchange. Which means they have a 49% chance to win. But it doesn't matter which team actually wins. Trade in and out of the game based on the point swings at any point in the game. Because on Sporttrade, you can trade sports like you do stocks. Download on iOS anywhere. If you are in NJ or travel to NJ you can start trading today.

• The Wall Street Journal published its list of 2022's biggest stories here.

• Meanwhile, The Block revisited 11 of the biggest stories in crypto, as told by charts.

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 aim to curate jobs across IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We'll sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

If you're a company looking to hire candidates and want to list a job opening on our board and feature on Exec Sum, click the button below:

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