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Biotech IPOs are leaving AI in the dust, Korean traders slashed margin loans to the lowest since April, SpaceX's share lock up period will end in two weeks, IRS' chief spied on colleagues when he was JPMorgan's COO, and UK's equity market has been stripped of $60B this year amid a foreign takeover raid.
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Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 7/21/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks climbed yesterday on a rebound in chip stocks
Nasdaq-100 posted its best day in three weeks
US 10Y and 30Y yields hit two-month highs
Earnings
GM issued a Q1 beat-and-raise on strength in its North America operations amid 'resilient' consumers and pricing (CNBC)
3M issued a Q2 beat-and-raise as safety and electronics boosted sales (WSJ)
What we're watching this week:
Today: Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, AT&T
Thursday: Intel, American Airlines
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Renewed Iran tensions have bond markets again pricing in a rate hike this year
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
US will bomb Iran's nuclear site (AX)
US and China will hold AI talks in September (RT)
US is set to impose new tariffs by Friday with stopgap to expire (BBG)
US and Mexico will resume USMCA trade talks amid new Canada tariffs (RT)
Biotech IPOs are crushing AI with standout 55% gains (BBG)
Korean traders slashed margin loans to the lowest since April (BBG)
UK stock market is losing over $2B per week to takeovers (BBG)
US Treasury sends warning to hedge funds over 'tax alpha' strategies (FT)
Wall Street talks up carry trade as returns soar most in decades (BBG)
JPMorgan, Goldman to see $100M fees from SoftBank's OpenAI loan (BBG)
Goldman launched a private markets platform for wealthy clients (RT)
SpaceX share lock up period ends with debut earnings on August 4 (CNBC)
OpenAI will add two independent board members ahead of IPO (WSJ)
Microsoft will fund Mistral's Europe AI expansion (RT)
Apple will launch an 'upgrade' leasing program to boost sales (BBG)
Revolut will take on Australia's banking industry (FT)
IRS chief spied on colleagues when he was JPMorgan's COO (WSJ)
Gates Foundation engaged with Epstein, review finds (RT)
London Stock Exchange will introduce 24/7 trading next year (BBG)
Developed market debt is set to hit a record $76T (RT)
US and Iraq signed $200B worth of energy deals (RT)
US war in Iran has cost $38B so far, Pentagon says (RT)
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Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
A consortium including BlackRock's GIP and Abu Dhabi’s MGX plans to invest $5B more in Aligned Data Centers following their $40B acquisition
Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, is in talks to acquire a minority stake in UK soccer club Liverpool FC from Fenway Sports Group at a $6B valuation
CD&R-backed UK facilities management firm OCS Group International agreed to acquire rival Mitie Group for $4.2B at a 47% premium
German food company Intersnack will acquire American snack firm Utz Brands in a $2.9B deal at a 90% premium
UK's Metro Bank is exploring a $2.7B merger with rival lender Aldermore, which was put up for sale by South Africa's FirstRand
Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola will buy an 80% stake in Finland's main electricity distributor Caruna Group for $2.3B
Norway's Vaar Energi will buy smaller rival BlueNord in a $1.33B deal
Arlington Capital Partners will LBO UK specialist manufacturer Gooch & Housego for $462M at a 40% premium
Cardinal Health agreed to buy AdaptHealth's diabetes health business and medical supply provider Strive Medical for a combined $360M
FountainVest Partners is considering selling its Chinese logistics business Rokin
Spanish lender BCC-Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar expressed interest in a merger with the banking unit of Portuguese postal service operator CTT–Correios de Portugal
Indian conglomerate JSW Group is in advanced talks to take a majority stake in Volkswagen's India unit Skoda Auto Volkswagen India
A proposed merger of crypto firms Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy was scrapped after Jack Mallers stepped down as Twenty One's CEO
VC
Ant International, a Chinese cross-border payments and agentic commerce fintech, raised a $1.2B Series A from Ant Group, Alibaba, and others
Meshy, an AI-powered 3D foundation models company, raised a $400M Series B at a $1.5B valuation
Battery materials startup Sila raised $300M in a financing led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures
Augustus, a modern clearing bank building the Global Dollar Bank, raised a $180M Series B at a $1B valuation led by Tiger Global
Humanoid, a UK-based AI and robotics company, raised a $152M Series A at a $1.35B post-money valuation led by Prime Movers Lab
Gritt, a physical AI and construction robotics startup, raised a $32.4M pre-seed and Series A round led by Obvious Ventures
SkyPilot, an AI compute platform for frontier AI teams, raised a $20M seed round led by Lux Capital
Bluecore Energy, a maritime floating nuclear power startup, raised a $10M round led by Slauson & Co.
Cordant, a command center for financial infrastructure, raised an $8M seed round co-led by Motive Partners and Oak HC/FT
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
SoftBank-backed Indian mobile advertising company InMobi picks banks for an India IPO that could raise $1B at a $6B valuation
US-based Axiom Biosciences is considering a Hong Kong IPO
UK retailer Frasers raised its stake in Hugo Boss to 30.3%
Debt
US banks including JPMorgan are in talks to fund a portion of Japan's $550B investment package in US
A group of banks wrapped up a loan offering backing SoftBank's $5.4B robotics bet
Indonesia SWF Danantara hired banks for a second dollar bond sale
Pakistan picked banks for its global bond and sukuk programs
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
A JV between KPC Group and Lendlease Americas was cleared to acquire the bankrupt 'Graffiti Towers' Oceanwide Plaza project in LA for $517M and complete it at a cost of $800M
UK carpet maker Victoria's bid to restructure $400M of debt is facing resistance from HSBC Holdings
Carlyle is in talks to hand the keys of sustainability consultancy Anthesis to its private credit lender Bridgepoint
Investment firm Attestor plans to acquire the remaining 49% of German leisure airline Condor from Germany in Q3
Funds / Secondaries
Secondaries specialist Clipway raised $6.4B for its debut fund
VC Dimension Capital raised $800M for its third fund to invest at the intersection of science and compute
Japan’s sovereign pension GPIF will commit $123M to a domestic PE fund of Japanese PE firm Advantage Partners
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Scott Bessent says Clarity Act is at the '1-yard line'
Crypto lobby group TDC sued Illinois over 0.2% crypto tax law
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
Bloomberg Odd Lots sat down with Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code, to hear about his journey on building the hottest piece of software in the world. Tune in here.
Also, what's with tech companies going all in on loss-making smart glasses? Kyla Scanlon might have a good answer. Read her piece here.
Financial Services Recruiting 💼
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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.