BEFORE THE OPEN

PRE-MARKET:

MARKETS:

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures remain flat; Dow futures up 0.17%.

• Tesla falls 6% in after-hours on Q4 miss and lower growth outlook.

• IBM surges 8% post-earnings, beating expectations.

• Netflix boost drives S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fifth consecutive gains.

• GDP report due, expected to show Q4 growth slowing to 2%.

• Earnings from Humana, Southwest, American Airlines, Intel, T-Mobile, and Western Digital.

EARNINGS

What we’re watching this week:

• Today: Alaska Air (ALK), American Airlines (AAL), Blackstone (BX), McCormick (MKC), Visa (V)

  • Intel (INTC) - expected: $.45 per share. Revenue is forecast to land at $15.2 billion (+7.9% YoY).

• Friday: American Express (AXP)

Full earnings calendar here

HEADLINES

Microsoft Hits $3 Trillion Value, Cementing Strength of AI Rally

FAA Freezes Boeing 737 Production, Allows Max 9 to Fly

• Trump races toward 2024 Biden rematch after New Hampshire win (more)

• SEC approves tougher rules for SPACs (more)

• Fed raises rate on emergency loan program to stop arbitrage (more)

• European Central Bank set to hold rates as market debates cut timeline (more)

• Education Dept’s FAFSA inflation fix will free up $1.8 billion more in aid for students (more)

• World’s largest hedge funds record bumper year of profits (more)

• United Auto Workers union expected to endorse Biden (more)

• Tesla says EV sales growth may be ‘notably lower’ in 2024 (more)

  • Tesla plans to build new electric vehicles in mid-2025 (more)

• Exxon shareholder lawsuit marks end of ESG era (more)

• Klarna to debut $7.99 monthly plan as buy now, pay later firm seeks new revenue sources ahead of IPO (more)

• Google announces new AI-powered features for education (more)

• BeReal, which now has 23M DAUs, is onboarding brands and celebs (more)

• Billionaire Joe Lewis pleads guilty in insider trading case (more)

• Cornell donor demands president’s ouster over diversity policies (more)

DEALFLOW

M & A | INVESTMENTS

• David Ellison’s Skydance Media explores acquiring all of Paramount (more)

• Private equity firm Yellow Wood close to deal to acquire ChapStick (more)

• Thoma Bravo, Permira plan exits as PE firms seek to return cash (more)

• SocGen mulls putting digital bank Shine up for sale (more)

• Walgreens explores $4 Billion-plus sale of Shields Health Solutions (more)

• US fund KPS explored takeover offer for UK's Elementis (more)

• Ackman ramps up Israel support with 5% stake in Tel Aviv bourse (more)

• WaterRower acquires startup rival after pandemic fitness boom (more)

• Fort Point acquires Ice House America (more)

• ADM buys Revela Foods from Heritage (more)

• Carlyle purchases $415M private student loan portfolio and monogram (more)

• Recurrent Energy, secured a $500M equity investment commitment, convertible into common equity, from BlackRock (more)

• BillingPlatform, a provider of an enterprise revenue lifecycle management platform, raised $90M in growth equity funding from FTV Capital (more)

• 38 Degrees North, a provider of a community solar and distributed renewables platform, has closed on a growth equity investment from S2G Ventures (more)

• Bilt Rewards, a loyalty platform specializing in rent and neighborhood rewards, raised $200M in equity funding (more)

• SmithRx, a pharmacy benefits management (PBM) company, raised $60M in Series C funding (more)

• Anomalo, a data quality platform company, raised $33M in growth funding (more)

• Clerk, a developer tools company known for its React-friendly authentication solution, raised $30M in Series B funding (more)

• Capricorn invests in SER Capital Partners (more)

• Falfurrias invests in NPI (more)

• CheckSammy, a bulk waste and sustainability operator, raised $45M in strategic funding (more)

• Beekman-backed Convenient Brands buys Web-Est (more)

VC

• Root Protocol, a venture capital firm, closed $10M across two rounds, bringing the total valuation of the project to $100M (more)

• Sion Power, a technology developer of batteries for electric vehicles (EV), raised $75M in Series A funding (more)

• Ansel Health Inc., an insurance technology company, raised $20M in funding (more)

• Motif Neurotech, a neurotechnology company developing minimally invasive bioelectronics for mental health, raised $18.75M in Series A funding (more)

• Aniai, a robotic company and kitchen solutions provider, raised $12M in Pre-Series A funding (more)

• Better Stack, a company that helps developers ship higher-quality software through observability tools, raised additional $10M in funding (more)

• XGS Energy, an innovator in geothermal energy technology, raised $9.7M in funding (more)

• TARA Mind, a public benefit corporation focused on creating access to safe ketamine-assisted therapy, raised $8M in Seed funding (more)

• UpSmith, a company providing Boost, a software platform for growing skilled trades companies, raised $5M in Seed funding (more)

• Heal Security, a provider of a cognitive cybersecurity intelligence platform for the healthcare sector, raised $4.6M in funding (more)

• EDX Markets, a digital asset marketplace, raised an undisclosed amount in Series B funding (more)

FUNDRAISING

• BSP closes BSP Debt Fund V with $4.7B (more)

IPO

• Oral weight-loss drug developer Kallyope exploring IPO

Was this briefing forwarded to you? Sign Up Here

CRYPTO

• Fidelity and BlackRock are dominating the Bitcoin-ETF flow race (more)

• Crypto whales hunt for bargains as Bitcoin prices slide, data shows (more)

• Bruised by stock market, Chinese rush into banned bitcoin (more)

BULLISH BITES

🍎  Anniversary: The Mac turns 40 — and keeps on moving.

⛷ Over-the-top: 6 ski destinations that stretch the limits of luxury.

🙈 Holy scam: Cryptocurrency scams truly work in mysterious ways.

📍 Steal this: Navigate the GenAI era with this startup map.

🪃 Boomerang: Jon Stewart returns to ‘The Daily Show’ for election season.

DAILY SHARES

Like what you see? Get tomorrow’s briefing here

Keep the curation going! Buy the team a coffee ☕️

Have a comment or suggestion? We’d love to hear it!
💌 Send us a message

ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE