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Good Morning,

Wall Street made bank in fees from NYC pensions, the US cut its quarterly borrowing target to $776B, Meta paused ads for users under 18 in Europe, Google’s CEO defended their Apple search partnership, Biden is looking to cut AI risks with an executive order, and X claims that it’s worth $19B one year after Musk’s acquisition.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks rallied as traders brace for a series of potential market-moving events this week

  • The biggest events of the week include the Fed’s interest rate decision, Apple’s earnings, and the latest jobs report

  • The Dow led indices with a 1.58% gain

Earnings

• McDonald’s beat Q3 earnings and revenue expectations thanks to price hikes offsetting falling traffic (CNBC)

• Pinterest shares rose 14% after beating Q3 earnings, revenue, and global monthly active user expectations (CNBC)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Pfizer, AMD, Caterpillar, jetBlue, BP, Amgen

  • Wednesday: PayPal, CVS, Qualcomm, Airbnb, Apollo, Albemarle, Etsy, Kraft Heinz, DoorDash

  • Thursday: Apple, Starbucks, Novo Nordisk, Shopify, Coinbase, Block, Eli Lilly, Moderna, Palantir, ConocoPhillips

  • Friday: Enbridge, Cinemark, Cboe

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US cuts quarterly borrowing target to $776B, still record (BBG)

• Meta pauses ads for users under 18 in Europe as it rolls out subscriptions (WSJ)

• Wall Street raked in $1.7B in fees from NYC pensions last year (BBG)

• Walmart to upgrade 1,400 stores with $9B investment (CNBC)

• Google CEO defends Apple search partnership in historic antitrust trial (WSJ)

• Pentagon awards $1.3B in contracts to Northrop Grumman and York Space for 100 satellites (CNBC)

• Biden administration aims to cut AI risks with executive order (RT)

• UAW reaches deal with GM, ending strike against Detroit automakers (RT)

• Samsung sees memory recovery next year after profit beat (BBG)

• Sales pitch for an 8% mortgage: buy now, refinance later- for free (WSJ)

• Apple unveils new laptops, iMac and trio of more powerful chips (BBG)

• Elon Musk’s X says it is worth $19B one year after acquisition (FT)

• Shipping industry could lose $10B/year battling climate change by 2050 (CNBC)

• Crumbling train bridges are everywhere. Railroads and cities are sparring over when to fix them (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Heatlhcare REIT Healthpeak Properties will acquire hospital REIT Physicians Realty Trust in a $21B all-stock deal (WSJ)

• REIT Realty Income will acquire net-lease REIT Spirit Realty Capital in a $9.3B all-stock deal (RT)

• EU regulators approved Hitachi's $1.8B bid for Thales' GTS railway signalling business on the condition the Japanese company sells assets in France and Germany (RT)

• London consulting firm Ascential is selling its digital commerce business to US advertising firm Omnicom Group and its consumer trend-spotting business to buyout firm Apax Partners for a combined $1.5B cash (BBG)

• Dutch multinational retailer Ahold Delhaize will acquire Romanian grocery retailer Profi from PE firm MidEuropa for $1.4B (RT)

• Blackstone will buy a greater than 75% stake in India’s Care Hospitals from TPG for $1B (RT)

• Singapore PE firm Everstone Capital is preparing a sale of Everlife Holdings that could value the healthcare services company at up to $1B (RT)

• $150B asset manager Blue Owl Capital will acquire ~$1B in funds managed by Cowen Investment Management (WSJ)

• Pipe and fittings distributor MRC Global, which has an $890M market cap, is exploring a potential sale (BBG)

• Switzerland-based Clariant will buy Canada's Lucas Meyer Cosmetics from International Flavors & Fragrances in an $810M cash deal (RT)

• Optical and photonics product producer Lumentum Holdings will acquire Cloud Light Technology, which makes fiber optic equipment and automotive sensors, for ~$750M (RT) 

• Power company Engie Brasil Energia will purchase five operating photovoltaic power stations in Brazil from Atlas Renewable Energy in a $646M deal (RT)

• India's AU Small Finance Bank is buying IPO-bound peer Fincare Small Finance Bank in a $530M all-stock deal (RT)

• Carlyle Group is preparing to explore a sale of men’s personal care brand Every Man Jack, which could be worth ~$400M (RT)

• $310M market cap medical devices manufacturer Zynex is reviewing potential strategic options, including a sale (BBG)

• Jack Cooper Transport, one of the largest privately owned auto transport companies in the US, is quietly mounting a long-shot bid to save bankrupt trucker Yellow from bankruptcy liquidation (RT)

• Shein acquired British online brand Missguided from Frasers Group (BBG)

• Italian lender Intesa Sanpaolo acquired Romania’s First Bank from US PE fund JC Flowers (RT)

VC

• MapLight Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on brain disorders, raised a $225M Series C led by Novo Holdings, 5AM Ventures, and Cowen Healthcare Investments (FN)

• 3D metal printing startup Seurat Technologies raised a $99M Series C led by NVentures and Capricorn (PRN)

• Honasa Consumer, the parent company of skin and personal care brand Mamaearth, raised $92M from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Norges and others (TC)

• Cloud computer startup Oxide Computer raised a $44M Series A led by Eclipse (FN)

• Renter management platform Funnel Leasing raised a $32M Series B-2 led by RET Ventures (BW)

• Ambient.ai, an AI-powered computer vision intelligence company, received a $20M investment from Allegion Ventures (PRN)

• Triplebar, a startup developing a ‘microprocessor for biology’, raised a $20M round led by Synthesis Capital (BW)

• Shakers, a Barcelona-based online platform enabling companies to connect with digital specialists, raised a $6.4M seed round from Adevinta Ventures, BrightEye Ventures, Athos Capital, and more (FN)

• Venture builder Talino Venture Studios received a $5M investment from software company Chemonics (PRN)

• zeroRISC, a startup building a cloud security service for silicon, raised a $5M seed round led by Cambridge Angels (BW)

• African mobile video network StarNews Mobile raised a $3M pre-Series A led by Janngo (TC)

• Boxbollen, a Stockholm, Sweden-based playtech startup, raised $2.7M in funding from Juni (FN)

• Inclusivity Solutions, an insurtech startup that delivers embedded insurance solutions, raised a $1.5M extension round led by Goodwell Investments (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Dubai Taxi Corp, a unit of the emirate’s transport authority, is seeking to raise ~$300M from a share sale next month (BBG)

• Shenzhen Shouhui Technology Group, a Chinese online insurance platform, is considering a Hong Kong IPO as soon as next year (BBG)

• Chinese hot-and-sour noodle chain Maliuji selected banks for a Hong Kong IPO as soon as next year (BBG)

Debt

• Chicken fast-food restaurant Raising Cane’s Restaurants plans to raise $500M from the junk-bond market to refinance its debt (BBG)

• Citigroup led a $260M asset-backed financing round for WeLab, Hong Kong’s biggest online lending platform (BBG)

Fundraising

• Ares Management raised $6.6B for its second asset-based credit fund Pathfinder Fund II, which will invest in portfolios of assets with steady cash flows (BBG)

• Global life sciences investment firm Abingworth closed its new Clinical Co-Development Co-Investment Fund at $356M (FN)

Crypto Corner

• SBF testified that he believed his Alameda Research hedge fund could cover its $8B debt to FTX (RT)

• Crypto exchange-traded products saw their largest weekly inflows in over a year (CT)

Exec’s Picks

• Redpoint Ventures’ Meera Clark published a series of charts showing the most important trends in consumer sentiment and market momentum from Q3 2023.

• Byrne Hobart wrote about the long, long trends in declining interest rates, going back to the 1300s.

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