Together with

Good Morning,

Tesla stock got wrecked this year, Russia banned oil exports to countries implementing G7 price cap, New York raised limits of how much state and city pensions can invest in alternative assets, the DOT is investigating Southwest's mass flight cancellations, and AMC's CEO requested a salary freeze.

If you are looking to diversify your portfolio, have you considered fine art as an asset? Check out today's sponsor, Masterworks, to learn more. 

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks ended Tuesday's session mixed as China effectively announced an end to its zero-Covid policy 

• The Hang Seng index rose 2%+ on news of further relaxation of pandemic measures in China

• US dollar index closed flat on news of China's loosening of Covid rules

• Russian rouble dropped ~3% against the dollar after Russia imposed an oil ban on buyers complying with a new price cap set by G7 nations

  • Context: The price cap, imposed in early December, bars Western companies from insuring, financing, or shipping Russian crude at prices above $60 a barrel as a way to limit funding the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine

Headline Roundup

• US home prices fell for a fourth straight month in October (WSJ)

• Russia banned oil exports to countries that abide by the G7 price cap (CNBC)

• New York raised cap on how much state and NYC pension funds can allocate to alternative assets (BBG)

• German businesses expect a mild recession next year (RT)

• LatAm M&A deal volume fell 35% in 2022 (RT)

• JPMorgan is trying to poach Morgan Stanley’s tax fund clients (FT)

• Tesla fell out of top 10 biggest US public companies after dropping ~73% YTD (BRN)

• Billionaires globally lost ~$2T total in 2022, with America's losing $660B (CNBC)

• Vietnam's central bank will buy dollars to shore up reserves (RT)

• Laid off tech workers are finding new jobs with ease (WSJ)

• Chip inventories are swelling as consumer demand for electronics decline (WSJ)

• Apple's Japan unit was charged $98M in back taxes (RT)

• Department of Transport will review Southwest's mass flight cancellations (AX)

• Peloton will offer refurbished bikes at discounted prices (RT)

• AMC's CEO requested a salary freeze for 2023 (RT)

A Message From Masterworks

$17.7 Billion Year Highlights Safe Haven Asset

For 2023, investors have one New Year's resolution: Stop. Losing. Money. From “transitory” inflation, to millennial Bernie Madoff 2.0, 2022 was a wildddd ride in the markets. That is, except for one market.

The blue-chip art market. In fact, art auctions hauled in over $18 billion in 2022. The best year ever in a 277-year old market – all while financial markets tanked. 

Now you’re probably wondering: “That's great,  but how can someone like me (if your last name is Bezos pls ignore) get in on the action?” 

There’s one company that I’ve been talking about for over 2 years, that I personally invest with, called Masterworks. They securitize artworks by qualifying offerings with the SEC, allowing YOU to invest in shares of multi-million dollar paintings by names like Banksy. 

Masterworks has also built a solid track record with all 9 of their exits netting a profit, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +17.8%, and +21.5% net returns each. As a trusted partner, ExecSum readers can skip the waitlist to join here. 

See important Regulation A disclosures.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• PE firm Advent International agreed to buy a 50.1% stake in India's Suven Pharmaceuticals for $761M and is considering a merger with a portfolio peer (RT)

• Clean energy company Altus Power agreed to buy $293M of construction solar assets from funds managed by True Green Capital Management (SA)

• Insurance company Arthur J. Gallagher agreed to buy Chicago-based communication agency ROC Group (SA)

VC

• Jakarta-based fintech startup Akulaku raised $200M from MUFG (TC)

SPAC

• SPAC Lakeview Acquisition Corp. withdrew its IPO plans (MW)

Crypto Corner

• Federal prosecutors are investigating how $372M vanished in a hack after FTX bankruptcy (BBG) 

• SBF's criminal case was assigned to judge who oversaw Trump and Prince Andrew cases (RT)

• Lawyers are making bank in face of crypto bankruptcies (FT)

• Gemini and the Winklevoss twins were sued by investors for fraud over Gemini's interest accounts (BBG)

• Crypto exchange Kraken will close in Japan after global cuts (BBG)

Exec's Picks

• Forbes published a piece on crypto moguls who lost a collective $116B in 2022.

• The New York Post published a piece about how Long Island Representative-elect George Santos lied about... well, pretty much everything on his resume, including his employment at Goldman Sachs / Citi and his religion

• Looking for a way to help recession-proof your life? Try fine wine. Vinovest makes it simple to invest in wine. Just fund your account, and they’ll use master sommeliers and AI algorithms to build a diversified wine portfolio based on your investing preferences. Protect your future with Vinovest today.

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:

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Thinking of starting your own newsletter? Beehiiv is the best platform for creators, period. Click here to get started building your own audience.