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Trump fired Fed governor Lisa Cook, Wall Street hiring has turned bullish, margin debt is at a record high, ETFs now outnumber individual stocks, Abu Dhabi wants to become the 'capital of capital,' and the US government could take stakes in more companies through a sovereign wealth fund.

Technically, all Americans are now levered up on Intel.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

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Markets

• US stocks pulled back from Friday's rally, with investors looking ahead to Nvidia's earnings on clues for AI and tech

• China stock indexes rallied over 2% to take YTD gains to ~20%

  • China developer stocks surged 3% on stimulus hopes 

  • China rare earths stocks surged over 10% amid stricter controls

• US junk yields plunged to the lowest since April 2022 in its best day in three months on rate cut bets

• French 10Y yields rose 9 bps to 3.51% on political uncertainty

  • 10Y France-Germany spread widened to 75 bps to the most since April and up from 65 bps from July

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Wednesday: Nvidia, Kohl's, Crowdstrike, HP, Snowflake

  • Thursday: TD Bank Group, Best Buy, DICK's, Ulta Beauty, Dollar General

  • Friday: Alibaba

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• "You're fired" -Donald J. Trump

• Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

• Trump fired Fed governor Lisa Cook effective immediately (CNBC)

• US could take stakes in more companies through a SWF (CNBC)

• Wall Street hiring turns bullish (RT)

• Top Chinese trade negotiator heads to US for trade talks (WSJ)

• Global central banks fear being caught in Fed's storm (RT)

• US weighs sanctions on officials implementing EU tech regulations (RT)

• Margin debt is at record high (WSJ) 

• Silicon Valley launches pro-AI PACs to defend AI industry in midterms (WSJ)

• VC steps up 'Iron Dome' air defense investments (FT)

• Investors pile billions into New York office market (FT)

• There are now more ETFs than individual stocks (BBG)

• Asian corporate bond sales are set to rise even higher in busy year (BBG)

• Interactive Brokers will replace Walgreens in S&P 500 index (BBG)

• Infra securitizations are expected to top $110B by 2026 (BBG)

• Bubble risks grow as China's bull run defies economy angst (BBG)

• PBOC looks to ease pressure on bond market with cash injections (BBG)

• US appeals court ordered SEC to review short-selling rules (RT)

• Abu Dhabi vies to become the 'capital of capital' (FT)

• X and xAI sued Apple and OpenAI over AI monopoly allegations (WSJ) 

• BCG roiled by internal backlash over Gaza aid work (FT)

• Porsche shelved plans to produce own batteries as EV demand slumps (FT)

• PE-backed Grant Thornton laid off all UK admin staff (FT)

• Wealthy UAE residents look to snap up prime London property (FT)

• NFL enlists retired-players to discourage illegal betting by current players (RT)

• It's a no-hire, no-fire job market (CNBC) 

• Trump wants to meet Kim Jong Un again (FT)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Artémis, the family office linked to fashion conglomerate Kering, is weighing a sale of its 29% stake in $3B-listed German athletic brand Puma

• UK insurer Prudential's stake sale in its Asian asset manager Eastspring Investments stalled on concerns of its $3B valuation

• French dairy giant Lactalis agreed to acquire New Zealand's Fonterra Cooperative's consumer business for $2.5B

• Hong-Kong infrastructure conglomerate CTF Services halted plans to sell a portfolio of roads in China worth $2B

• PE firm TPG is considering a sale of Southeast Asian school operator XCL Education at a $1.5B valuation

• PE firm Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire call center software maker Verint Systems for $1.23B cash at a 13% premium and $2B valuation, including debt

• Pharma giant AbbVie agreed to acquire an experimental treatment from Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals for $1.2B

• Japanese trading house Mitsubishi is nearing a 25% acquisition of Singapore-based hospital operator Fullerton Health, last valued at $1B in 2024

• Crescent Energy agreed to acquire shale oil producer Vital Energy in a $733M all-stock deal at a $3.1B valuation

• Vornado Realty Trust agreed to acquire offices above Saks Fifth Avenue for $218M

• Commodities firm Hartree Partners is in talk to acquire French cocoa trader Touton

• Abu Dhabi's biggest renewables company Masdar is in talk to sell its 50% stake in rooftop solar firm Emerge Energy

VC

• Starian, a Brazilian multi-vertical SaaS provider, raised $115M in funding led by General Atlantic

• Personalized orthopedic technology startup restor3D raised $104M led by Partners Group 

• Graphene-based electronics startup Paragraf raised a $55M Series C

• Pylon, a support platform for B2B businesses, raised a $31M Series B led by a16z and Bain Capital

• Pintarnya, an Indonesian employment platform, raised a $16.7M Series A led by Square Peg

• Nest Health, an in-home care provider for families on Medicaid, raised a $12.5M+ Series A led by 8VC and Blue Venture Fund

• Dirac, an assembly automation company, raised $10.7M in funding from Founders Fund and Coatue

• WizCommerce, an AI-powered sales and e-commerce platform for wholesale distributors, raised an $8M Series A led by Peak XV Partners

• Molecular You, a predictive health platform, raised a $5M Series A led by Voloridge Health

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Norway's $2T SWF NBIM sold its entire $2B stake in construction engineering giant Caterpillar over Gaza human rights violations allegations 

Debt

• Blackstone-backed data center operator AirTrunk raised $10.4B in debt in Asia's largest climate-linked deal

• Spanish lender Santander is leading a $2.7B debt deal to support Thoma Bravo's $2B LBO of Verint Systems

• South Africa's state-owned airport operator Airports Co. South Africa is seeking to raise $570M of debt next year

• Harley Davidson raised $230M in a loan sale to KKR and PIMCO

• Keurig Dr Pepper is considering tapping European bond markets to finance part of its $18.4B acquisition of coffee giant JDE Peet's

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• BlackRock paused fundraising for its third $1B Asian private credit fund amid its merger with HPS Investment Partners, a $350M secondaries exit from LP Arch Capital Group, and an unwinding of its private credit partnership with SWF Mubadala after difficulty sourcing deals

• BlackRock raised $500M for its targeted $1B second APAC private credit fund

• Malaysian family office Iris Capital Partners is seeking to raise $200M from external investors for a new PE and private credit fund

• Slovenia's largest PE firm ALFI PE raised $130M for its third fund 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• US banks lobby to block stablecoin interest over fears of deposit flight

• Webull started offering crypto trading to US customers again

Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the most concise daily breakdown on crypto.

Exec’s Picks

• Callie Cox had some interesting things to say about recent IPO market successes.

• Not just IPOs, but there's also a pickup in startup M&A.

Finance & Startup Recruiting 💼

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Next Play

If you're down bad, realizing finance isn't for you, and want to explore the world of startups (BizOps, chief of staff, strategic finance, etc.), fill out this form. Next Play will reach out to schedule a 1:1 video call if they think they can help as your own, personal startup matchmaker. They've grown their community to over 50k talented professionals and have deep relationships across the tech ecosystem.

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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.