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Investors returned to UK stocks after 3.5 years, Bitcoin surpassed $100k, Trump named Paul Atkins as SEC chair, BlackRock amassed a $1B pot to retain dealmakers, and hedge funds are recruiting doctors and scientists for an edge in biotech.

The Wharton Online-Wall Street Prep Private Equity Certificate Program is back! Level up your PE skills in the globally acclaimed Private Equity Certificate Program and save with early enrollment. Learn more below!

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• All three major US indexes rose to ATHs as investors digested J Pow's comments

  • 'Mag 7' stocks climbed for a fourth-straight day

• Aussie dollar fell to the lowest since April on week GDP numbers

• Bitcoin topped $100k for the first time ever

Earnings

• Dollar Tree beat Q3 EPS and revenue earnings as improving demand led to same-store sales growth (RT) 

• RBC posted a sixth-straight earnings beat fueled by broad revenue gains and a boost from its acquisition of HSBC Canada (BBG) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: TD Bank Group, Kroger, lululemon, Dollar General

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Private payrolls grew by less-than-expected 146k (CNBC)

• Eurozone business activity declined sharply in November (RT)

• J Pow says strong economy will mean slower rate cuts (WSJ)

• Hedge funds turn to doctors and scientists for edge on pharma (RT)

• Trump nominated Paul Atkins as SEC chair (CNBC)

• BlackRock went further 'overweight' on US stocks (RT)

• BlackRock favors global and corporate bonds over US debt (BBG)

• Investors returned to UK stocks after 3.5 years of outflows (FT)

• Muni sales are set to surpass $500B in 2025 (BBG)

• BOJ sold 10Y cash bonds to to improve liquidity (BBG)

• BlackRock has a $1.3B pot to retain new dealmakers (BBG)

• Hedge funds pivoted to short euro–long yen bets (BBG)

• Hedge funds are making MicroStrategy the hottest trade (BBG)

• Global stocks and FX boosted European hedge funds in November (RT)

• Activist Metage Capital is targeting HarbourVest PE's 45% discount (FT) 

• Activist Palliser increased pressure on Rio Tinto to delist from London (FT)

• Citigroup rolled out AI tools for employees in eight countries (RT)

• FDIC will directly monitor fintechs after Synapse collapse (BBG)

• xAI raised $11B in record time (SN)

• xAI is planning a 10x expansion of its AI supercomputer (RT)

• OpenAI and Anthropic are expanding in Switzerland (WSJ)

• PE firm Cerberus must pay Sabadell $420M over soured CRE deal (FT)

• Airbus cut 2k corporate roles (RT)

• EVs made up 25% of UK new car sales (BBG)

• France's parliament collapsed (WSJ)

• Trump tapped fintech billionaire and SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA (BBG)

• Number of Americans wanting to switch jobs hit a 10-year high (WSJ)

• UnitedHealth's CEO was killed in targeted attack in Manhattan (WSJ)

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A Message from Wall Street Prep

Start your journey into the world of Private Equity with Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep!

Our acclaimed Private Equity Certificate Program is back, offering a comprehensive 8-week online journey, designed for those looking to upskill their PE knowledge or those aspiring to break into the industry. 

Beyond learning the technical skills from the top instructors on Wall Street, you’ll hear from top industry executives like David Rubenstein, Co-founder of The Carlyle Group, and Martin Brand, Sr. Managing Director at Blackstone. 

Additional Benefits when enrolling include:

• Exclusive networking and recruitment events

• Invitation to Closing Ceremony in NYC

• Certificate issued by Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep

Don't miss your chance to invest in yourself and secure your spot in the next cohort. Enroll by January 13th and save $500 when you use coupon code LITQUIDITY.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• French asset management giant Amundi is interested in acquiring Allianz's $584B AUM asset manager Allianz Global Investors

• Investors led by TPG acquired a $2B stake in cloud data company Veeam Software from Insight Partners at a $15B valuation

• TotalEnergies agreed to buy German renewable project developer VSB Group from PE firm Partners Group for $1.6B

• Teleflex is in talks to acquire German medtech firm Biotronik's vascular intervention unit for $526M-$1.1B

• Apollo will acquire a 50% stake in a portfolio of solar and battery power projects in Texas from TotalEnergies for $800M cash 

• PE firm Gryphon Investors is in talks to acquire soft drink maker Spindrift Beverage for $650M

• Pharma giant Novo Nordisk will acquire vaccine maker Novavax’s Czech manufacturing facility for $200M

• $4B AUM real estate firm Proprium Capital Partners is exploring a sale

• Shell and Equinor will combine their UK offshore O&G assets into a JV to become North Sea's largest independent producer

VC

• Heirloom, a direct air capture startup, raised a $150M Series B led by Future Positive and Lowercarbon Capital

• Axiado, a cybersecurity chip and app startup, raised a $60M Series C led by Maverick Silicon

• Soda Health, a healthtech improving benefits of dollars spent, raised a $50M Series B led by General Catalyst

• D-Fend Solutions, a cyber-based, non-kinetic, non-jamming, counter-drone - takeover tech firm, raised $31M in a round led by Israel Growth Partners

• Tuskira, a unified threat defense platform, raised a $28.5M round led by Intel Capital and SYN Ventures

• Tuskira, a startup unifying cybersecurity tools, raised a $28.5M round led by Intel Capital and SYN Ventures

• Enterpret, a platform that automatically extracts insights from customer feedback, raised a $20.8M Series A led by Canaan Partners

• HappyRobot, an AI-powered voice solution for logistics, raised a $15.6M Series A led by a16z

• Eagle Electronics, an electronics manufacturing company, raised $14M in funding led by the O.H.I.O Fund

• Food-as-medicine platform ModifyHealth raised a $13.5M Series C led by the Dohmen Company Foundation

• Interlace, a Singaporean global card issuance and digital asset management platform, raised a $10M Series B-1 led by Bitrock Capital

• enSights, an AI and cloud-based clean energy optimization and management platform, raised a $10M Series A led by JAL Ventures and XT VC 

• Provarity, a presales platform delivering real-time data and insights to optimize sales engineering, raised a $7M seed round led by Cheyenne Ventures

• Cybersecurity startup System Two Security raised a $7M round led by Costanoa Ventures

• AI-powered market research startup Bounce Insights raised a $4.4M round led by ACT Venture Capital

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Oman's state energy firm OQ raised $489M in an IPO of its methanol and LPG unit Oman Base Industries

• Saudi healthcare provider Almoosa Health plans to raise up to $443M in a local IPO

• Vodafone is looking to sell its remaining $335M stake in India's Indus Towers

• Pfisterer, a German manufacturer of high-voltage cable insulators, is considering a $158M local IPO

Debt

• MediaForEurope, the TV group controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, is seeking a $3.6B bank loan to cover financing for any deal for German mass media firm ProSiebensat.1

• CVS raised $3B in a hybrid bond sale

• Mozambique's $2B auction of 'tuna bonds' failed to attract a single bid

• Luxury brand-owner Tapestry launched a $1.5B bond sale

• Luxury hotel Fontainebleau Miami Beach plans to raise $1.2B via CMBS and loans to refinance debt

• Laurentian Bank of Canada is in talks with asset managers and private credit firms to fund $1B of assets for equipment finance provider Northpoint Commercial Finance

• Canary Wharf secured bondholder approval for a $775M refinancing 

• Carlyle is seeking to raise $324M of debt to back its LBO of Australia's Waste Services Group from PE firm Livingbridge

• Struggling UK supermarket group Asda received a $196M loan to pay back debt maturing in two years

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Ideanomics, a firm focused on commercial EVs, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after SEC charges

• Cash-strapped Brazilian cement maker InterCement filed for bankruptcy protection in Brazil as CSN takeover talks failed

Crypto Corner

• Crypto trading volume surged to $10T for the first time ever (BBG)

• Robinhood will expand into Asia next year (BBG)

• CFTC relief reached record $17.1B with crypto crackdown (BBG)

• UK uncovered vast crypto laundering scheme for gangsters and Russian spies (FT)

• Trump effect fueled crypto's memecoin boom (FT)

Exec’s Picks

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• CFA Institute published an interesting blog piece on why elite endowments are falling behind.

• Ben Carlson shared some interesting data shining light on the US, which now makes up 70% of the global stock market.

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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