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Trump is in the Epstein Files

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Litquidity Capital
July 24, 2025

Together with

Good Morning,

Goldman will forgo job cuts after a recovery in IB, Bessent called the Fed's forecasts politically biased, Chinese bankers are charging fees as low as $100, McKinsey banned its China business from consulting on GenAI, and Donald Trump is in the Epstein files.

A team of Zillow execs founded Pacaso to democratize co-ownership of second homes. While they've already raised over $200M from notable VCs, they're inviting individuals to invests in their new growth round. Check out the opportunity.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 7/23/2025 market close.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks rallied yesterday as investors digested US-EU and US-Japan trade talks 

    • S&P and Nasdaq hit fresh ATHs

  • UK's FTSE 100 hit a fresh ATH 

  • Japan's Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes surged to new ATHs 

  • Korea's KOSPI index rose to a fresh four-year high inches away from a record

  • Chinese stocks in Hong Kong rose to a four-year high

  • EM-US investment grade spreads fell to ~110 bps to the lowest since 2007

Earnings

  • Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates amid strong and growing demand in cloud products and services and growth in search and advertising despite AI competition; the firm raised its CapEx forecast to continue to expand on its AI strategy (CNBC)

  • Tesla missed Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on a second-straight quarterly revenue drop amid political backlash against Musk, higher tariff costs, and expiration of federal EV tax credits; the firm forecast a 'rough' few quarters ahead (CNBC)

  • AT&T beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on strong growth in wireless phone subscribers driven by perks and incentives, though the firm reiterated a FY profit forecast that fell short of estimates (BBG)

  • IBM beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates despite a miss in software sales as clients reprioritized their spend to the hardware; the firm is also optimistic about M&A and sees few concerns from the trade war and DOGE (CNBC)

  • Chipotle met Q2 earnings estimates but missed on revenue and cut its FY same-store sales growth forecast to flat amid a 4.9% drop in traffic and 4% drop in same-store sales (CNBC)

  • General Dynamics beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on strong results in its marine and aerospace segments, though contract cancellations weighed on combat systems revenue (RT)

  • Deutsche Bank beat Q2 earnings estimates despite mixed results in IB amid an M&A slump and a hit from a rising euro, as falling litigation costs boosted profits to its highest since 2007 (RT)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: American Airlines, Intel, Blackstone, Honeywell

    • Friday: Booz Allen Hamilton

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • At this point, nothing about the Epstein Files should surprise anyone.

  • Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

  • Goldman will forgo second round of job cuts as outlook improves (FT)

  • Trump is in the Epstein files (WSJ)

  • Bessent called Fed forecasts 'politically biased' (RT)

  • US will impose broad reciprocal tariffs from 15%-50% (BBG)

  • US and EU are close to a trade deal that would set a 15% tariff (BBG)

  • China price wars hit IB as underwriters charge $100 fees (FT)

  • JPMorgan's global head of M&A sees more mega deals in the offing (RT)

  • PE continuation fund exits shattered records in H1 (FT) 

  • Brookfield is missing out on PE secondaries boom it once predicted (BBG)

  • Meme stock revival stretched into a second day (BBG)

  • Bright spots emerge in earnings as tariff uncertainty lingers (RT)

  • US upstream O&G M&A tumbles as volatility rattles investors (RT)

  • New analysis finds PE funds are more volatile than suspected (II)

  • FTSE 100 has outperformed over half of S&P 500 stocks over two years (TN)

  • China long bonds join global drop as US trade tensions ease (BBG)

  • Green bond issuance fell by one-third amid ESG pullbacks (RT)

  • Japan 40Y bond auction saw the weakest demand since 2011 (BBG)

  • China 30Y bond auction drew its highest yield since March (BBG)

  • McKinsey banned its China unit from consulting on GenAI (FT)

  • Congress subpoenaed JPMorgan and BofA execs over CATL IPO (BBG)

  • Macquarie shareholders challenge exec pay as regulatory, earnings stress mount (RT)

  • UK regulators are investigating Deloitte's audits of Glencore (BBG)

  • Neuralink is targeting $1B revenue by 2031 (BBG)

  • TD Bank Group ordered staff back to office four days a week (BBG)

  • Starbucks will open free study rooms in China to lure customers (BBG)

  • US is investigating Harvard's foreign scholars program (BBG)

  • US blocks AI groups with 'ideological bias' from government work (FT)

A Message from Pacaso

The Stock Popping Up in Big-Name Portfolios

Maveron. Greycroft. Fifth Wall. These aren't just notable venture capital firms. They've all invested in Pacaso (Nasdaq ticker reserved: PCSO).

Now everyday investors like you have the opportunity to join them.

Pacaso created the vacation home co-ownership category in 2020. Today, over 2,000 people have owned a home through their platform, helping Pacaso generate $110M+ in gross profits to date (including 41% YoY growth last year).

And they have no plans to slow down – they have their eyes on expanding to locations like Italy and the Caribbean.

You can share in that growth potential as they scale in this $1.3T market. This is your chance to invest like a venture capitalist. Become a Pacaso shareholder here. 

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • One Rock Capital remains a leading bidder for BP's lubricants business Castrol, which could be valued at $6B-$8B

  • Payments firm Corpay agreed to acquire UK-based peer Alpha in a $2.2B cash deal

  • 5C, an AI infrastructure and data center solutions provider, raised $835M in funding led by Brookfield

  • NFL played Bobby Wagner acquired a minority stake in the WNBA team Seattle Storm at a $325M valuation

  • Sony is exploring a sale of its cellular chipset unit Sony Semiconductor Israel

  • Botswana wants a controlling stake in De Beers, casting another shadow over the sale of Anglo American's diamond producer

VC

  • Gupshup, a global conversational AI platform, raised a $60M round led by Globespan Capital Partners

  • Bitfount, a federated AI platform transforming clinical research collaboration, raised an $8M Series A from Parkwalk Advisors, Ahren Innovation Capital, and more

  • AI-powered trust management platform Vanta raised a $150M Series D at a $4.15B valuation led by Wellington Management

  • Embedded tax platform April raised a $38M Series B led by QED Investors

  • ValGenesis, a startup providing AI-powered digital validation solutions to the life sciences industry, raised a $16M round led by Bridge Bank

  • Kadence, a workplace operations platform, raised a $20M Series A led by High Alpha

IPOs / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola raised $5.9B in Europe's largest share sale YTD

  • IndusInd Bank, the private Indian lender of Indian conglomerate Hinduja, is seeking to raise $3.5B in a share sale as it seeks to navigate fallout from a suspected fraud and spate of exec departures

  • Tata Capital, the financial services unit of Indian conglomerate Tata, is aiming to raise ~$2.2B at an $18B-$20B valuation in its India IPO

  • Uzbekistan's SWF UzNIF is exploring a potential dual listing in London and Tashkent

  • Advent and KKR-backed consumer intelligence data firm NIQ raised ~$1.05B at a $6.35B valuation in its IPO

  • Insurance data analytics platform Accelerant is expected to price its IPO above a marketed range to raise ~$608M

  • Platinum Equity-backed education publisher and software firm McGraw Hill raised $415M at a $3.25B valuation in its IPO

  • Mexican REIT Fibra Next raised $431M in Mexico's largest IPO in seven years

  • Temu's parent PDD switched to a Hong Kong-based auditor signaling a likely Hong Kong dual listing

SPAC

  • Reusable rocket developer Innovative Rocket Technologies agreed to merge with BPGC Acquisition Corp. in a $400M deal

Debt 

  • Walgreens Boots Alliance launched a $6.1B multi-currency bond tender after  banks offloaded a $4.5B debt package used to finance Sycamore Partners' buyout of Boots

  • Caribbean mobile network operator Digicel began a $2.7B junk debt sale to refinance upcoming maturities

  • India's largest natural gas importer Petronet is seeking a ~$1.4B local loan to fund a new petrochemical plant and LNG terminal

  • Mara Holdings, one of the largest publicly traded crypto mining firms, plans to raise $1B in convertible senior notes to fund Bitcoin purchases

  • India's second-largest private airport operator GMR Airports is considering a $579M local-currency bond sale

  • Hong Kong developer Lai Sun Development is seeking additional bank support for a $446M loan refinancing

  • Wholesale grocer C&S is seeking to raise $400M in a leveraged loan sale to help finance its ~$1.8B acquisition of food distributor SpartanNash

  • UK fashion retailer Boohoo is close to securing a $237M refinancing from investment firm TPG, which once took the firm private over twenty years ago

  • Tata Power Renewable Energy and Tata Communications, two unit of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, are planning to raise ~$230M each via bond sales

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Creditors of packaging firm Ardagh Group are set to pay billionaire owner Paul Coulson ~$300M as part of a deal to hand over the keys to the company

  • Austrian packaging firm Adapa is in talks to restructure debt just three years after being acquired by credit firms led by Apollo

  • Distressed energy firm New Fortress Energy tapped Houlihan Lokey in anticipation of creditor talks amid a bond rout  

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Blackstone raised ~$5B for its latest infrastructure secondaries fund

  • KR Capital, the equity L/S fund of ex-Marshall Wace PM Ravi Naresh, raised $3B from hedge fund giant Millennium 

  • Optimas Capital Management, the Asian equity L/S fund of Thomas Wong, raised $1.2B from Millennium

  • Great Rock Capital raised a $1.1B senior secured leverage facility led by Capital One

  • Portuguese PE fund Fortitude Capital raised ~$585M to invest in Portugal's soccer stadium infrastructure

  • Activist hedge fund Third Point raised $400M for its first dedicated structured private credit fund for insurance companies

  • Italian PE firm Progressio raised $364M for its fourth fund

  • Life sciences investor RA Capital raised $120M for a 'Planetary Health' fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Goldman Sachs and BNY partnered to tokenize money market funds

  • SEC halted approval of Bitwise's ETF just hours after signing off

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

Exec’s Picks

  • Still spending more time cleaning data than using it? BMLL delivers clean, ready-to-use historical market data for trading and research.

    Download their free guide to learn what matters when choosing a data provider.

  • Hedge fund legend and Baupost CEO Seth Klarman sat down with Goldman Sachs president John Waldron to discuss his investing philosophy in the current market environment and how his approach to leading Baupost has evolved in his long hedge fund career. An insightful conversation with one of the best value investors in the game…

Finance & Startup Recruiting 💼

Litney Partners

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out our recruiting firm, Litney Partners. Established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm), Litney Partners has placed strong candidates across leading firms spanning private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, private credit, investment banking, and fintech. Head over to our website to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

We are able to move faster than most firms due to our paralleled reach, decades of industry expertise, and ability to attract top caliber candidates.

Next Play

If you're down bad, realizing finance isn't for you, and/or are curious to explore the world of startups (BizOps, chief of staff, strategic finance, etc.), fill out this form. Next Play reviews every submission and will reach out to schedule a 1:1 video call if they think they can be helpful as your own, personal startup matchmaker. They’ve grown their community to over 50k talented individuals and have strong relationships across the tech ecosystem.

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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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