Traders Sell the Trade War

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Good Morning,

US slapped tariffs on key trading partners, Delaware is facing an exodus of public companies, CVC overhauled its US unit after underperforming deals, and Texas Stock Exchange plans to start listing companies next year.

Boxabl is on a mission to revolutionize home construction and they're inviting retail investors to help them expand. Check out the offering.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 1/31/2025 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks fell on Friday as investors digested US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

  • UK's FTSE 100 hit a new ATH

    • The index has its best month is over two years

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 hit a new ATH

    • The index rose for a sixth-straight week for its best streak in ten months

  • US 2Y yield jumped 7 bp to 4.27%, the most in two weeks

  • Metals fell as much as 1.5%

  • Dollar rose over 1% and sent FX markets tumbling

    • Dollar hit a record high against Chinese yuan

    • Dollar hit its highest versus Canadian dollar since 2003

    • Dollar hit its highest versus Mexican peso since 2022

    • Euro dropped to an over two-year low 

    • Swiss franc slid to its weakest since May

    • Indian rupee became Asia's second worst-performing FX YTD, after beating most peers in Q4

  • Crypto markets were hit the hardest. Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the best daily update on what's hot (and not) in everything crypto!

Earnings

  • ExxonMobil beat Q4 earnings estimates as higher oil and gas production offset lower prices and weaker refining margins (RT

  • Chevron fell 5% after missing Q4 earnings estimates as its refining business posted its first loss since 2020 amid weak margins (RT) 

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Palantir, Tyson Foods

    • Tuesday: Alphabet, AMD, Spotify, PayPal, Snap, Chipotle, Apollo

    • Wednesday: Qualcomm, Disney, Uber, Arm, Ford

    • Thursday: Amazon, Eli Lilly 

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China (BBG

  • PCE inflation index rose 2.6% (CNBC)

  • Texas Stock Exchange filed to start listing companies next year (WSJ)

  • Ex-Fed official was accused of passing secrets to China (FT)

  • Trafigura and ex-COO were convicted of bribery with prison time (BBG)

  • Ex-Goldman analyst was ordered to pay $720k in UK for insider dealing (FT)

  • Equity funds drew its first weekly inflow in four weeks (RT)

  • Wall Street is booming, but banks are in a lending rut (WSJ)

  • SEC will require permission to launch investigations (RT)

  • PE firm CVC overhauled its US unit after underperforming deals (FT)

  • Meta, DropBox, others become latest to exit Delaware incorporation (WSJ

  • BlackRock and Vanguard pulled diversity language for company boards (RT)

  • India is set for blockbuster IPO year despite slowing economic growth (FT)

  • Vitol expects oil demand to remain at current levels until 2040 (FT)

  • Hong Kong will allow for single-stock leveraged ETFs in Asia (FT)

  • China's property sector retreats into state hands (WSJ)

  • Bankruptcy adviser Jay Alix ends lobbying crusade against McKinsey (FT)

  • JPMorgan named Pranav Thakur as head of global markets (RT)

  • Santander US named Christiana Riley as new CEO (RT)

  • HarbourVest investment trust agrees shake-up after activist's complaints (FT)

  • Jensen Huang met with Trump to discuss DeepSeek, AI chip exports (FT)

  • Google offers 'voluntary' buyouts to employees ahead of cuts (CNBC)

  • Porsche started talks to end CFO and CRO contracts (RT)

  • Berkshire Hathaway has cut over 4k jobs (RT)

  • European chip maker STMicroelectronics may cut ~3k jobs (RT)

  • Costco will raise US store workers pay to over $30 / hour (RT)

A Message from Boxabl

BOXABL Announces New $20,000 House

When the biggest names in your industry take an interest, you know you're onto something.

That's the story with BOXABL. They've rethought housing by bringing assembly lines to new home construction. Not to mention, the company has gained the attention of investors like D.R. Horton. Where traditional homes take over 7 months to build, BOXABL factories can produce their signature Casita home in nearly four hours.

And they're just getting started. BOXABL just announced a new $20,000 house called Baby Box. It's a turnkey home designed for affordability, flexibility, and versatility. Perfect for disaster relief, workforce accommodations, community projects, or you just need extra space, the Baby Box is another great solution added to their product line.

Now, everyday investors can join them too. When BOXABL last opened a Reg A investment opportunity, they maxed out the $75M regulatory limit, and they believe their new $20,000 house is the key to unlocking even greater potential.

*This is a paid advertisement for Boxabl's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular here. Reservations represents a non-binding indication of interest to purchase as Casita. A reservation does not require purchase of a Casita and there is no assurance of how many will result in actual purchases. This is a message from Boxabl.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Abu Dhabi's ADNOC and Austrian energy producer OMV are considering buying Canada's Nova Chemicals and merging it with two other PortCos to create a $30B chemical producer

  • A US judge approved Tempur Sealy International’s $4B acquisition of Mattress Firm, in a blow to the FTC

  • Brazil's billionaire Moreira Salles family is exploring a potential take-private of $3.9B-listed French packaging firm Verallia

  • Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil plans to raise $2B through a sale of a Bulgarian oil refinery

  • UK music publisher Cutting Edge Group and Deutsche Bank's asset manager DWS will acquire a significant stake in Warner Bro Discovery's film and TV music catalog in a deal creating a $1B JV

  • Spanish defense company Indra agreed to buy an 89.7% stake in satellite operator Hispasat from state-owned grid operator Redeia for $752M

  • French PE firm Ardian is considering a sale of French quality management and consulting services firm Trigo Group for $625M

  • Italy's Tamburi Investment Partners is considering a merger or listing for $578M tour operator Alpitour after raising its stake to 95.7%

  • Gary Wojtaszek's RecNation is seeking to raise $500M in equity to acquire facilities to store RVs

  • Japan's Nippon Steel will launch a $456M offer to acquire the remaining stake of Sanyo Special Steel it doesn't already own

  • Insurance broker Howden is in talks to acquire peer Risk Strategies, which is owned by PE firm Kelso & Co

  • Russia approved Balchug Capital's acquisition of Goldman Sachs' Russia unit 

VC

  • Texas Stock Exchange raised $161M in its initial fundraising round from backers including include BlackRock and Citadel Securities 

  • Phantom, a multichain wallet startup, raised a $150M Series C at a $3B valuation led by Sequoia and Paradigm

  • Fundment, a tech platform for financial advisers, raised a $55M Series C led by Highland Europe

  • South African insurtech Naked raised a $38M Series B-2 led by BlueOrchard

  • Genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics raised a $14M Series A led by Seven, Founders Fund, and more

  • Unwrap, an AI-powered customer intelligence platform, raised a $12M Series A led by Scale Venture Partners

  • TeamSec, a UAE SaaS based, AI-powered securitization platform for structured finance, raised $7.6M in funding from Deniz Ventures and Rasmal Ventures

  • Perspective AI, a customer conversations startup, raised a $4M seed round led by Village Global, Array Ventures, Honeystone VC, and others

  • Franzy, an AI-powered platform streamlining the process of buying a business, raised a $1M pre-seed round

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • PE firm Lone Star will seek to IPO a 25-30% stake in Portuguese lender Novo Banco at a potential $5.2B valuation

  • Spanish travel tech firm BOX's $778M IPO sold out within hours

  • MicroStrategy raised $563M in a preferred stock sale

  • Swedish investment firm Nalka Invest is considering a $519M Swedish IPO of its medical unit Asker Healthcare at a $2.1B valuation

  • Saudi online brokerage Derayah Financial's $400M local IPO sold out within minutes

  • O&G firm Infinity Natural Resources raised $265M at a $1.17B valuation in a US IPO

  • PIF-backed Saudi developer Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction is planning a local IPO

  • WeWork's Indian franchisee filed for a Mumbai IPO 

Debt

  • Fiber network firm Zayo raised $1.4B in its debut fiber-backed bond sale

  • Digital identity wallet ID.me raised $275M in private credit from Ares

Fundraising

  • Goldman Sachs Asset Management is seeking to raise $3B for a new climate credit fund

  • Blackstone raised $1.6B for a targeted $5B life sciences fund

  • Sarah Guo's AI-focused VC Conviction Partners raised $230M for its second fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • USDT stablecoin issuer Tether made $13B in profits in 2024

  • Crypto liquidations hit $1.8B in one day on Trump tariffs 

  • FTX settles with with ex-Clinton aide's investment firm K5 Global 

  • Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

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  • Jefferies CEO Rich Handler shared a public note expressing his condolences and thoughts over the recent passing of young banker Carter McIntosh.

  • Ben Carlson shared an interesting perspective on how technology revolutions are often accompanied by a market bubble.

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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