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Bessent is not concerned about 'irrelevant' countries selling Treasuries, Deutsche's CEO personally called Bessent to distance the bank from an analyst's Greenland report, Trump snubbed BofA's CEO from an invite list for a second time, and US paused tariffs on Europe after reaching a framework deal with Greenland.

We're teaming up with Raylu to host a chill happy hour for growth and PE professionals on Thursday, February 5 in Midtown Manhattan. We know it's a busy start to the year so take some time off to join us for some drinks, bites, and conversation! RSVP here.

Upgrade your dealmaking and investment workflows with Blueflame AI, the only AI solution for dealmakers that integrates directly with VDRs. Learn more below.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 1/21/2026 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks rallied to recover losses from Tuesday's selloff after Trump announced a framework deal with Greenland

    • S&P had its best day since November 

    • Small-caps Russell 2000 hit a fresh ATH

  • US 10Y yield fell from August-highs 

  • India corporate spreads are at their highest in five years

Earnings

  • Johnson & Johnson issued a Q4 beat-and-raise on 10% growth in its Innovative Medicine unit, strong demand for Darzalex and Tremfya, and resilient medical device sales, despite a tariff-related pricing hit (CNBC)

  • Charles Schwab beat Q4 earnings estimates on higher net interest income, strong trading activity, and record net new assets of $164B (RT)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Intel, Capital One, P&G, GE Aerospace

    • Friday: Booz Allen Hamilton

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • The US-Greenland deal framework doesn't completely eliminate the possibility of an acquisition, does it?

  • Track and trade live odds on Polymarket

Headline Roundup

  • US will not impose tariffs after framework deal with Greenland (WSJ)

  • Europe leaders stand firm in Davos as CEOs urge pragmatism (RT)

  • Trump snubbed BofA CEO Moynihan from guest list for second time (FT)

  • Trump is down to one candidate for Fed chair (CNBC)

  • Bessent is not concerned of any Treasuries selloff (CNBC)

  • Deutsche's CEO personally called Bessent to distance bank from an analyst's Greenland report (RT)

  • Jamie Dimon warned of 'economic disaster' from credit card rate cap (RT)

  • Japan bond market liquidity worsened to a record amid a historic selloff (BBG)

  • Quant hedge funds are negative YTD (BBG)

  • Bridgewater is bullish on China stocks after 45% gains (BBG)

  • Thoma Bravo is eying software deals as stocks tank (FT)

  • Netflix co-CEOs are on defensive over $83B Warner Bros deal (RT)

  • JPMorgan and Allen already made $180M in fees from Warner Bros deal (RT)

  • TD poached six bankers from rivals in DCM push (RT)

  • Jensen Huang plans to visit China to reopen market (BBG)

  • Apple will revamp Siri as a built-in chatbot (BBG)

  • SCOTUS signaled reluctance to let Trump fire Fed's Lisa Cook (RT)

  • Bill Hwang requested a pardon for Archegos fraud that cost banks $10B (RT)

  • Renewable energy overtook fossil fuels in EU for the first time (BBG)

  • Palantir CEO says AI will eliminate any need for mass immigration (BBG) 

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Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse agreed to acquire European fund distribution platform Allfunds in a $6.2B cash-and-stock deal

  • South Africa's biggest development-finance institution Industrial Development Corporation resumed talks to acquire steel giant ArcelorMittal's local operations after earlier negotiations collapsed over a $525M proposal

  • Smithfield Foods will acquire hot dog brand Nathan's Famous in a $450M cash deal at a 10% premium 

  • TDR Capital agreed to acquire cybersecurity specialist NCC's escrow unit Escode for $370M

  • Platinum Equity is considering a sale of Hong Kong lingerie and swimwear maker Hop Lun

VC

  • OpenEvidence, an AI medical information startup for doctors, raised a $250M Series D at a $12B valuation co-led by Thrive Capital and DST

  • AI reasoning startup Logical Intelligence is seeking to raise a round at a $1B-$2B valuation 

  • Language-learning marketplace Preply raised a $150M Series D at a $1.2B valuation led by WestCap

  • Upscale AI, an AI networking infrastructure startup, raised a $200M Series A at an over $1B valuation led by Tiger Global, Premji Invest, and Xora Innovation

  • Geothermal startup Zanskar has privately raised $115M Series C led by Spring Lane Capital 

  • Tom holland's non-alcoholic beer brand BERO raised an investment from PE firm Paine Schwartz at an over $100M valuation 

  • Pressure-geothermal startup Sage Geosystems raised a $97M Series B co-led by Ormat Technologies and Carbon Direct Capital

  • Datarails, an AI-native Excel-based financial platform, raised a $70M Series C round led by One Peak  

  • Nasdaq Private Market, a liquidity platform for private-market shares, raised a $38 million Series C led by Cerity Partners 

  • European AI-driven maintenance startup Fracttal raised a $35M round led by Riverwood Capital

  • AheadComputing, a high-performance RISC-V CPU startup, raised a $30M Seed2 round co-led by Eclipse, Toyota Ventures, and Cambium

  • Cloover, a German AI-powered energy-independence OS, raised a $22M Series A led by MMC Ventures and QED Investors

  • Tokenized risk infrastructure startup Cork raised a $5.5M seed round led by a16z and Road Capital

Get real-time updates on any startup, VC, or sector on Fundable.

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • European tank maker KNDS selected Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and SocGen for a dual Germany and France IPO that could fetch a $29B valuation

  • Berkshire Hathaway is seeking to sell its underwhelming 28% stake in $26B-listed foods giant Kraft Heinz

  • French skincare firm L'Occitane is weighing an IPO, the firm was last valued at $7B in 2024

  • Blackstone is considering a $500M India IPO of Indian glass packaging maker PGP Glass

Debt

  • UK PE firm Hg is in talks with Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Blue Owl for a $3B pirate credit loan to help finance its $6.4B LBO of financial software firm OneStream

  • Brookfield is seeking a $1.7B loan backed by Seoul's IFC tower complex

  • State-backed The Arab Energy Fund is seeking to raise $1.4B in yuan‑denominated bonds

  • Banks including Royal Bank of Canada kicked off a $1.8B loan sale tied to European PE firm Investindustrial's $2.9B LBO of US food and beverage producer TreeHouse Foods

  • Benin paused a $1B dollar sukuk bond sale 

  • Adani Power, a unit of Indian conglomerate Adani, plans to raise $820M in its largest bond sale yet

  • China Oil & Gas Group pulled a high-yield dollar bond sale despite $750M in orders

  • Ukrainian agricultural firm MHP raised $450M in Ukraine's first corporate bond sale since Russia's invasion in 2022

  • Retailer Men's Wearhouse is marketing a $400M junk bond at a 10% YTM, the highest this year, to fund a dividend recap to parent company Tailored Brands

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Fashion retailer Next acquired UK footwear brand Russell & Bromley for $3.4M in an insolvency process

Funds / Secondaries

  • Qatar's $600B SWF QIA is considering separating its overseas holdings from its domestic portfolio

  • Swedish pension Alecta divested ~$11B of US Treasuries since early-2025

  • Japan's MUFJ plans to double alternatives AUM to $10B by 2030

  • Credit investor Crescent Capital raised $3.2B for a private credit CV led by Pantheon Ventures and Allianz Global Investors

  • Prudential Financial's asset management arm PGIM is seeking to deploy $1B into private credit secondaries

  • Athvance Capital, a new sports investment firm led by ex-JPMorgan banker Karim Ben Rejeb, is seeking to raise ~$600M to invest in emerging and under-commercialized sports in Europe

  • Auldbrass Partners, the secondaries firm spun out from Citigroup, is seeking to raise $350M for its second fund 

  • Growth equity investor Blueprint Equity raised $333M for its third fund

  • UK fintech Lendable raised $300M across two blended-finance private credit funds

  • Crypto group Galaxy plans to launch a $100M hedge fund

  • KKR raised a CV for biotech Sylvan led by KKR and TPG NewQuest

  • PE firm Lovell Minnick raised a CV for M&A software firm SRS Acquiom led by Carlyle's AlpInvest

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Wall Street is pulling back from the popular Bitcoin cash-and-carry trade

  • Trump's memecoin is down 94% from its peak

  • F/m Investments filed to tokenize US T-bill ETF 

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

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.

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