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Retail traders are buying dips at record pace, Ashton Kutcher is leaving Sound Ventures, US lifted bans on Anthropic's AI models, SpaceX is in talks to donate stock to fund children's Trump Accounts, and Buffett will not donate to Gates Foundation for the first time in twenty years as he awaits an Epstein review.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/30/2026 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks advanced yesterday as traders digested economic data that boosted odds of a Fed rate hike

    • S&P and Nasdaq posted their best quarter since Covid 

    • Dow posted its best H1 since 2021

    • Small-caps Russell 2000 posted its best H1 in 35 years

    • 'Mag 7' stocks shed over $2.2T in value last month

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 hit a new ATH after posing its best quarter since Covid 

  • Gold lost 14% in its worst quarter in over a decade to hit its lowest since November

  • Oil fell 30% in Q2 from Iran war highs

  • Japanese yen tumbled to a fresh 40-year low 

  • Korean won slid to its weakest since 2009

  • Bitcoin fell to a 21-month low 

Earnings

  • Nike beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates despite another 12% sales drop in its China market as it continues to work through a turnaround (CNBC)

  • What we're watching this week: 

    • Today: General Mills

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • NPR accidentally published a headline stating Alito would retire on a day where SCOTUS issued a range of consequential rulings

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • Buffett skips donation to Gates Foundation as he awaits Epstein review (WSJ)

  • BoE official says 'kill switches' could be needed for AI-powered trading (FT)

  • US job openings rose to a two-year high (RT)

  • For first time, more central banks are set to shrink dollar holdings (RT)

  • Iran war and AI boom drive wild ride on global markets (RT)

  • AI capex, earnings, and Fed outlook will sway US stocks in H2 (RT)

  • CitSec sees retail crowd buying dips at record pace (BBG)

  • PE LPs turn to debt-like deals in downturn (FT)

  • EM international bond sales hit a record $450B in H1 (BBG)

  • Global financial firms pivot from China and India to South Korea (RT)

  • South Korea exports post strongest growth in 50 years on AI chip boom (RT)

  • China loses out on AI Boom as stocks trail by most since 2001 (BBG)

  • 'Big Short' Michael Burry is short Nvidia, Tesla, and semiconductors (CNBC)

  • Mirae Asset apologized to customers for getting no SpaceX IPO stock (BBG)

  • SpaceX is in talks to donate stock to fund children's Trump Accounts (SMF)

  • SEC seeks feedback on 'novel' ETFs amid product explosion (RT)

  • US lifted bans on Anthropic models (FT)

  • Anthropic launched Claude Science (FT)

  • Ashton Kutcher is leaving Sound Ventures to launch a new VC firm (WSJ)

  • Neon will release Sam Altman's biopic Artificial (BBG)

  • 1M people globally became millionaires last year (RT)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Miner Rio Tinto and Mongolia have agreed new financial terms for an $18B copper mine

  • Miner Alcoa Corp. agreed to buy South32's bauxite and aluminum assets in a $5.6B cash and stock deal, including debt

  • Getty Images canceled a $3.7B merger with rival Shutterstock due to a ruling from UK regulators

  • KKR agreed to buy the North America renewables unit of French state-owned utility EDF for $4.2B

  • Schneider Electric agreed to buy AI software business Cognite in a $3.1B all-cash deal 

  • Recreational vehicle materials suppliers Patrick Industries and LCI Industries will merge in a $2.8B all-stock deal

  • Aussie supermarket chain Coles Group is in talks to buy pet store and veterinary business Greencross Pet Wellness Co. from TPG for $2.8B

  • Activist Jana Partners built a stake in $2B-listed fintech Alkami Technology and is pushing for a sale

  • Talos Energy and Ridgewood Energy will acquire Shell's interest in the Na Kika ​platform and associated fields in the Gulf of America for $1.7B

  • Hong Kong-listed drug design tech firm Metis TechBio granted US-based biotech firm ‌Boulevard Bio exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize an experimental autoimmune drug in a $1.6B deal

  • Mediterranean Shipping Co. invested $1.4B in India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone to fund expansion 

  • The retail arm of Abu Dhabi's ADNOC is nearing a $1B deal for Shell's South Africa fuel stations

  • A consortium led by Korean gaming firm NeoPulse is close to a deal for 40% of Korean video game developer Wemade at a $600M valuation

  • Nordic financial planning group Söderberg & Partners is set to acquire financial planning arm Benchmark Capital from UK asset manager Schroders is close to selling its for over $265M

  • India's Kotak Mahindra Bank will acquire the Indian consumer banking and wealth units of Deutsche Bank for $30M

  • UAE lender Emirates NBD is in talks to acquire HSBC's Turkey unit

VC

  • Etched.ai, an AI chip startup, raised $500M at a $5B post-money valuation from VentureTech Alliance, Jane Street, HRT, Two Sigma, and Ribbit Capital 

  • LeapXpert, a Governed Communication Intelligence company, raised a $180M growth investment led by Riverwood Capital

  • Higharc, the homebuilding AI company, raised a $95M Series C led by Insight Partners

  • Stathera, a fabless semiconductor company pioneering silicon timing solutions, raised a $55M oversubscribed Series B led by Maverick Silicon 

  • 1001 AI, a sovereign AI for critical infrastructure, raised a $30M Series A led by Lux Capital 

  • MDOTM, an AI-driven investment solutions provider for asset and wealth management, raised a $27M growth round led by Expedition Growth Capital

  • Taxwire, a sales-tax compliance outcomes company, raised a $25M Series A led by Headlin

  • Pie, an AI-powered growth platform for small businesses, raised a $19.5M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • Queue, a robotic pharmacy startup, raised a $12.6M oversubscribed seed round led by AlleyCorp

  • Build, an AI infrastructure company automating DD for infrastructure projects, raised an $8.5M seed round led by Index Ventures

  • Arcturus, a nano-infused copper and aluminum materials startup, raised an $8M seed round led by Initialized Capital

  • Hypefy AI, an AI influencer marketing automation platform, raised a $7.2M Series A led by AYMO Ventures

  • Acti, an AI agentic keyboard startup, raised a $5.3M seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures 

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • $74B-listed Chinese electronics manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry launched a $3.1B Hong Kong listing 

  • European tank maker KNDS is struggling to convince investors to back its planned stock market listing at an over $13.7B valuation 

  • Italian app investor Bending Spoons raised $1.7B for an $18.4B valuation in a US IPO priced above a marketed range

  • TowerBrook, Warburg Pincus, and Stonepeak-backed UK roadside recovery business The AA may IPO instead of pursuing a $6.7B sale

  • Energy drink and supplements company Nutrabolt picked banks for a potential $1B IPO

  • SoftBank-backed Indian travel platform OYO is seeking to raise $700M in an India IPO

  • Online vitamins and supplements retailer iHerb picked banks for a $500M IPO

  • Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources pulled a $400M US IPO of its CopperTech Metals unit a day before it was set to start trading

  • Oaktree-backed digital infrastructure services firm ITG raised $312M for a $1.95B valuation in an IPO priced below a marketed range

  • Uber-backed EV scooter rental startup Lime raised $167M in its IPO

  • Chinese appliance maker Midea Group is considering listing German robot maker Kuka in China

  • Bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure firm Ionic Digital filed for a ​direct listing

Debt

  • Royal Bank of Canada is weighing SRTs tired to $2B of AI data center loans

  • Singaporean lender DBS Group completed a debut $1B SRT tied to corporate loans

  • Sixth Street Partners and KKR agreed to provide $1B of preferred equity to $15B-listed biotech company BridgeBio Pharma

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Satellite TV group Dish filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure $9B of debt 

Funds / Secondaries

  • Brookfield and Bloom Energy expanded their AI infrastructure power partnership from $5B to $25B

  • Millennium plans to raise $10B in new capital as multi-strat demand soars 

  • Len Tannenbaum, who sold his $5B credit firm to Oaktree a decade ago, is looking to launch a new private credit fund under Tannenbaum Capital Group

  • Ex-Citadel researcher Paul Dou launched Hong Kong-based quant hedge fund Third Epsilon with up to $1B in backing from Millennium

  • French PE firm Ardian is bundling secondary fund stakes into $1B of debt through a collateralized fund obligation

  • Generation Investment Management raised over $1B for its second sustainable PE fund

  • Patria Investments raised $677M for its fifth secondaries fund 

  • MM PE firm Flexpoint Ford raised a $460M CV for SageSure Insurance led by Lexington

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • A consortium of BlackRock, Google, Coinbase, Visa, Stripe, and others are launching a stablecoin

  • Trump made over $1B on crypto deals last year

  • Trump earned $635M in royalties linked to his meme coin

  • Crypto firms have spent $190M so far on 2026 midterms

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

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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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