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Good Morning,

PE firms are getting ultra creative in their liquidity tactics, Canada will remove retaliatory tariffs on US, Bitcoin is trading like a blue chip stock, Chili's is back on the menu, J Pow hinted at imminent rate cuts, and US acquired a 10% stake in Intel in a highly unorthodox deal.

A whole new meaning to 'public company' with a range of reactions as you'd imagine…

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

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Markets

• US stocks rallied on Friday after J Pow hinted at a September Fed rate cut 

  • Dow hit an ATH for the first time this year

  • Small-caps Russell 2000 surged to a YTD high

  • S&P snapped a five-day losing streak

  • VIX hit a YTD low

  • Traders again see a 90% chance of September rate cut

• UK's FTSE 100 hit a fourth-straight ATH in its best week since May

• Canada's TSX index hit a fresh ATH

• Australia's ASX hit a fresh ATH

• US yields slid across the board

• Dollar index plunged 1%

• Ether hit a record high for the first time since 2021

• Bitcoin annualized volatility dropped to 38% from 200% over a decade ago

Earnings

• Brinker International, the parent of Chili's, will pay out special bonuses after Chili's posted its highest FY sales and profit since listing 40 years ago (WSJ)

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Wednesday: Nvidia, Kohl's, Crowdstrike, HP, Snowflake

  • Thursday: TD Bank Group, Best Buy, DICK's, Ulta Beauty, Dollar General

  • Friday: Alibaba

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• The US Open in underway and it seems like the fans have a favorite.

• 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

• J Pow hinted at rate cuts and policy shift in Wyoming speech (CNBC)

• Wyoming conference exposes hard road ahead for Fed (BBG)

• US tariffs could reduce US deficit by $4T (RT)

• Canada will remove retaliatory tariffs on US ​​(RT)

• US-India trade negotiations continue as fresh tariffs loom (RT)

• UK banks have closed one in three branches in past five years (FT)

• EU sees bond market developing even without sovereign status (BBG)

• PE keeps inventing new ways to give cash to investors (BBG)

• PE fundraising slides as asset class downturn deepens (FT)

• Tech rally shows signs of losing steam (WSJ)

• Traders favor vanilla options rather than VIX to hedge (BBG)

• Investors expect EM assets to pull ahead of developed peers (BBG)

• Hedge funds cut bullish oil bets to a 17-year low (BBG)

• Hedge funds are shorting Europe automobiles (FT)

• Asia enters busiest earnings week as China rally takes shape (BBG)

• Australia's hot stock market shows no mercy for earnings misses (BBG)

• US banks lobby for national standards to curb state influence (RT)

• Santander signals Wall Street ambition with SPAC mandates (FT)

• China Gen Z stocks surge anew as earnings reignite investor buzz (BBG)

• Musk sought Zuckerberg's help for earlier $97B OpenAI bid (RT)

• BlackRock named Tanya Levy-Odom as head of Americas Stewardship (RT)

• JPMorgan's head of private credit secondaries will depart (BBG)

• US may extend TikTok sale deadline with buyers lined up (RT)

• Visa closed its US open-banking unit as data fight heats up (RT)

• HSBC Swiss unit cut 1k wealthy Arab clients amid scrutiny (FT)

• Apple is exploring using Google's Gemini for Siri revamp (BBG)

• OnlyFans owner made another $700M in dividends ahead of sale (BBG)

• US released transcripts of Ghislaine Maxwell's interview (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• US acquired a 10% stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grants

• Keurig Dr Pepper is nearing a deal to acquire European coffee company JDE Peet's for $18B

• Canada's Cenovus Energy agreed to acquire MEG Energy in a $5.7B cash-and-stock deal

• Coca-Cola is weighing a sale of UK coffee chain Costa after acquiring it for $5B in 2018

• Air Liquide, the world's second largest industrial gases company, agreed to acquire South Korea's DIG Aergas from Australia's Macquarie for $3.3B, including debt and cash

• Tech-focused PE firm Thoma Bravo is nearing a take-private of $1.2B-listed call center software maker Verint Systems at a $2B valuation, including debt

• Abu Dhabi's main power utility TAQA agreed to acquire Spanish eco-friendly wastewater company GS Inima for $1.2B

• Japanese medical device maker Terumo agreed to buy UK organ medtech OrganOx at a $1.5B valuation

• Databricks agreed to acquire Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins-backed ML startup Tecton; the firm was last valued at $900M in 2022

VC

• Vertelo, a platform focused on electrifying fleets in India, raised $405M from Macquarie,  Allianz Global Investors, Green Climate Fund, and others

• Ontic, a software platform for connected security intelligence, raised a $230M Series C led by KKR

• Semiconductor startup EdgeCortix raised a $100M Series B from Yanmar Ventures, Pacific Bays Capital, and others

• AI-based workflow automation startup KnowledgeLake raised a $65M growth round from Edison Partners

• AgendaPro, a LatAm appointment-based service business platform, raised a $35M growth round led by Riverwood Capital

• Wisdom, an AI-powered dental revenue cycle management platform, raised a $21M Series A led by Permanent Capital Ventures

• Oway, a startup building an 'Uber for freight,' raised a $4M seed round

• Relcu, a unified CRM and AI agent co-pilot for financial services, raised an undisclosed round from Menlo Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, and others

IPOs / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Cybersecurity firm Netskope is expected to raise over $500M at a $5B valuation in its IPO

• Philippine casino operator Hann Holdings postponed its $207M IPO due to market conditions

• Warburg Pincus-backed Indian education financing provider Avanse is considering delaying its IPO as loan demand slows amid US visa crackdowns

• Activist investor Cevian Capital acquired a 3% stake in Dulux paints maker AkzoNobel

• Five Point Infrastructure-backed midstream water management company WaterBridge Infrastructure filed for a US IPO

Debt

• Brazil's state development bank BNDES announced a $1.9B credit line for companies affected by US tariffs

• Singer The Weeknd is in talks with PE firm Lyric Capital Group to raise $1B in financing backed by some of his music rights

• Audax Private Equity approached private credit lenders including Blackstone to raise $700M for industrial safety solutions company Jistrite Safety Group after a bank debt deal failed

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Activist investor Elliot and miner Gold Reserve emerged as leading bidders in a stalking horse auction to acquire shares of Citgo Petroleum's parent company for $8.7B and $7.4B respectively

• Spirit Airlines hired PJT Partners to explore a repeat restructuring after recent efforts failed to create a sustainable path

• Struggling Brazilian phone carrier Oi was blocked from declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy by a supplier backed by Brazilian bank Banco BTG

Fundraising / Secondaries

• PE firm TPG is seeking to raise an Asia mid-cap buyout fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• Crypto VC fundraising has plummeted 90% since 2022

• EU speeds up plans for digital euro after US stablecoin law

Subscribe to Crypto Sum for the full stories on everything crypto.

Exec’s Picks

• Be first with Spot.

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• With CEO turnover hitting record highs, Bloomberg published a study on the true costs of firing a CEO.

• Amid a wave of controversial and politically-charged corporate marketing campaigns, it's hard to ignore the face behind one side's sentiment. Check out WSJ's deep dive into how Sydney Sweeney became the most talked-about woman in Hollywood.

• Here's six key takeaways from J Pow's Wyoming speech.

Finance & Startup Recruiting 💼

Litney Partners

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting venture between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm), Litney Partners places talent at leading firms in PE, hedge funds, VC, growth, credit, IB, and fintech and is currently recruiting for some incredible roles. Head over to our website to drop your resume and we'd love to get in touch!

Next Play

If you're down bad, realizing finance isn't for you, and want to explore the world of startups (BizOps, chief of staff, strategic finance, etc.), fill out this form. Next Play will reach out to schedule a 1:1 video call if they think they can help as your own, personal startup matchmaker. They've grown their community to over 50k talented professionals and have deep 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.