Together with
Good Morning,
Celebrities are developing a liking for PE guys, Jake Paul is taking on the UFC with a new merger, college grads are moving back home at peak Covid-era rates, Berkshire became a net buyer of stock for the first time in three years, and even janitors at Bill Ackman's hedge fund own millions in company stock.
By popular demand, Wharton Online and Wall Street are back with their Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program, the best and most-recognized certificate in RX & distressed investing on Wall Street. Enroll by September and save $500 with our LITQUIDITY discount.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 8/7/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks rose on Friday as a soft jobs report eased rate-hike concerns
S&P 500 hit a new ATH
All three major indexes posted their best weeks since April
Europe's Stoxx 600 index rose for a fourth-straight week to new ATHs on strong earnings
German's DAX index hit a new ATH
France's CAC 40 index hit a new ATH
Korean stock volatility fell to a two-month low from record highs as leveraged trades get flushed out
Earnings
Berkshire Hathaway posted a 16% jump in Q2 operating profits as strength in energy, railroad, and manufacturing offset weakness in insurance; the firm became a net buyer of stock for the first time in three years (CNBC)
What we're watching this week:
Tuesday: CoreWeave, Supermicro, CAVA
Wednesday: Cerebras, Nebius, Cisco
Thursday: Applied Materials, JD.com
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Traders slashed odds of a September rate hike plunged after a surprisingly weak jobs report. All the more easier for Kevin Warsh
Deposit $10 and get a $20 bonus with code LIT on signup, only on the Polymarket US app
Headline Roundup
Celebrities have a thing for PE guys (WSJ)
Even janitors own millions in stock in Bill Ackman's hedge fund (YH)
US economy unexpectedly shed jobs in July (CNBC)
US sale of euros for yen intervention blindsided Europe (FT)
PE firms eager for exits pounce on hot IPO market (WSJ)
BofA gauge hits most extreme bullish level since 2021 (BBG)
Leveraged ETF boom amps up intraday momentum plays (BBG)
Europe's hot stock market is creating a buzz among investors (BBG)
Korean 'ants' are plowing in to US stocks following KOSPI rout (RT)
UK IPO slump is hurting PE and VC markets (BBG)
China launched a global tax hunt going back decades (FT)
Impatient yacht owners are giving rise to a hot new asset class (FT)
Norway's $2T SWF opposes US plan to scrap climate reporting (RT)
SK Hynix leads record $83B of share sales by Asian firms (BBG)
SpaceX rallied back to its IPO price (BBG)
Jake Paul vows to take on UFC with new merger (BBG)
Moonshot's AI model broke out of a testing environment (RT)
College grads are moving back home at peak Covid-era rates (NYT)
A Message from Wall Street Prep
The distressed cycle isn't coming. It's here.
Default rates are climbing. Billions in LBO debt are coming due. And most finance professionals have never lived through a real distressed cycle (let alone know how to capitalize on one).
Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep built the Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate Program for exactly this moment.
Work through real case studies in distressed debt, bankruptcy, LBO restructuring, and distressed M&A
Engage with Wharton Business School faculty and your cohort during LIVE office hours
Learn from guest speakers who have led real restructurings at firms like Silver Point, Kirkland & Ellis, and Ropes & Gray
Earn a Wharton Online certificate for your resume and LinkedIn
Use code LITQUIDITY for $300 off. Starts Oct. 5.
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Italian insurer Unipol aims to hold an over 30% stake in any merger of BPER Banca and assets carved out of $40B-listed peer BMPS if Intesa Sanpaolo succeeds in its takeover bid for BMPS
$3.5B-listed chemical maker Ashland is exploring a sale after receiving takeover interest
Korean chip darling SK Hynix is considering a stake sale of a China-based plant that could fetch a $3B valuation
Indonesian SWF Danantara will invest $2.5B to form a JV with Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS
A Delaware judge ordered data analytics firm Verisk to complete its $2.35B acquisition of roofing software maker AccuLynx seven months after Verisk called off the deal
Dream Finders Homes will acquire rival Beazer Homes for $2.2B, including $1.2B in debt
$2B-listed UK engineering firm Goodwin is exploring a stake sale of its mechanical engineering unit, which includes Goodwin Steel Castings and Goodwin International
Canada's PSP is exploring a $1.5B sale of its roads in India
Japanese energy company ENEOS acquired chemical firm TPC Group for $1.3B, including debt
UK land and property regeneration company Harworth Group rejected a $790M takeover bid from infrastructure company and largest shareholder Peel Holdings
Kurdistan-focused Genel Energy rejected Norwegian oil firm DNO's $272M takeover bid
Israeli oil firm Ratio Petroleum raised its offer to buy Egypt-focused Pharos Energy to $197M at a 30% premium in a bidding war with Serica Energy
UK retailer Frasers Group is the frontrunner to buy UK department store chain Harvey Nichols for less than $55M
Blockchain firm PrimeDelta acquired the payments unit of Trump family-linked fintech AI Financial Corp in a $12M cash and stock deal
Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions merged with Professional Fighters League
AMD will acquire Canadian AI chip startup Taalas
Putin cleared way for Russia to sell a 30% stake in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport
VC
Australian data center company Firmus Technologies raised $2B from investors including Jane Street
Live shopping marketplace app WhatNot raised a $545M Series G at a $20B valuation led by ICONIQ, Lightspeed, and Avra
Legal AI startup Harvey is in talks to raise $500M at a $15.5B post-money valuation led by Lightspeed
Situational Awareness invested $400M in Sequoia-backed chip manufacturing startup Source Foundry days after its public equities portfolio blew up
DecadeWealth, a Brazilian AI-native wealth management startup, raised an $85M seed round
Fluxco, an AI-powered procurement platform for electrical grid infrastructure, raised $26M in a seed round co-led by 8VC and Congruent Ventures
Atlas Motion, a motion-systems startup for drones and robots, raised an $11.5M seed led by Greycroft and Also Capital
Dow Protocol, a blockchain financing for e-commerce startup, raised a $10.5M seed round from MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Animoca Brands, and more
Astraeus, an AI-native wealth management infrastructure platform, raised over $10M from Fintech Collective, F-Prime, Plug and Play Ventures, and others
ORCA AI Agent, an AI-powered infrastructure platform for prediction markets, raised a $7M Series A from Alpha Capital, Genesis, and others
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
$42B-listed Chinese AI chipmaker Moore Threads Technology plans to list in Hong Kong after shares surged over 420% since its China IPO last year
SoftBank-backed 3D printer maker Formlabs is in early talks for a $500M IPO
Blue Owl-backed non-opioid pain medicines developer Latigo Biotherapeutics raised $345M for a $1.2B market cap in an upsized IPO
US-based lifestyle accessories maker Fossil Group invited banks to pitch for a $500M India IPO of its India business
Janus Henderson-backed cancer biotech BlossomHill Therapeutics raised $150M for a $490M valuation in an upsized IPO
DigitalBridge-backed data center operator Switch filed confidentially for an IPO
SPAC / SPV
Blackstar Orbital Technologies, a company developing a reusable spacecraft platform, will merge with Pono Capital Four at a $380M valuation
Debt
KKR-backed flexible workspace provider The Executive Centre is seeking a $500M loan
Puerto Rico's capital San Juan saw $2.2B in demand for its $120M munis sale
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
PGA Tour ended merger talks with struggling rival PIF
Collapsed auto parts supplier First Brands urged a bankruptcy judge to approve a restructuring designed to fund civil lawsuits against those responsible for the fraud and collapse
Funds / Secondaries
Energy Capital Partners raised over $8B for its sixth flagship infrastructure fund
Startup accelerator South Park Commons raised $575M for its fourth fund
White Star Capital raised $250M for its fourth fund to double down Series A and B AI startups
AI-powered opportunistic real estate PE firm Alpaca Real Estate raised $223M for its debut fund
Crypto Sum Snapshot
A tough week for crypto has fans downing drinks at a Bitcoin bar
Clarity Act stalls in Senate despite $225M spending push
Trump Media ended deals with Crypto.com
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
Bloomberg published a detailed breakdown of the sports streaming market. Pretty astounding that following your favorite teams can cost up to $2000 per year now.
Simon Edelsten published an insightful piece for the FT exploring how much valuation even matters in today's markets.
You know what certainly does matter in markets? Language.
Financial Services Recruiting 💼
If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).
We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.
We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!
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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.