BEFORE THE OPEN

MARKETS:

• Flat US S&P 500 futures after four positive days; Salesforce beats earnings

• Futures for S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up 0.02% and 0.04%; Dow futures rise 0.16%

• Salesforce up 6% after earnings beat; aids Dow futures

• S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all gained in Wednesday session, trimming August losses

• Dow and S&P 500 down over 1%, Nasdaq down over 2% in August

• Weaker payrolls, GDP forecast hint at Fed rate pause, boost equities

• Earnings season winding down: Dollar General set to report before the open. Broadcom and Lululemon Athletica after the close

• Awaiting July personal consumption expenditures data, jobless claims

• Economist consensus: 4.2% YoY rise in inflation, slightly up from previous month

EARNINGS

What we’re watching this week:

• Today: Dell Technologies (DELL), Lululemon Athletica (LULU)

• Full earnings calendar here

NEWS BRIEFING

Walmart Ramps Up Efforts to Grow Third-Party Marketplace with Its First Seller Summit event in Las Vegas, New Perks

Updated Tesla Model 3 Dubbed 'Project Highland' Spotted In Germany With Manufacturer Plates (more pics)

• Biden pledges $95 million to shore up Hawaii’s electric grid after deadly wildfires (more)

• Fed quietly demands corrective actions by regional banks (more)

• US FDA warns 3 baby formula makers to correct manufacturing process controls (more)

• HHS calls for easing restrictions on marijuana, sending cannabis stocks higher (more)

• State officials want Shein to prove it doesn’t use forced labor before it goes public (more)

• Baidu gets China’s green light to release its ChatGPT-like Ernie bot to the public (more)

• Country Garden posts $6.7 billion net loss in H1 (more)

• Google announces event for Oct. 4, where new Pixel phone and smartwatch expected (more)

• Tiger Cubs’ wrong-way bets cut flow of fresh cash to a trickle (more)

• Salesforce boss Marc Benioff warns he may pull Dreamforce conference from SF over rampant homelessness and drug use (more)

• American Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize a strike, although a walkout is still unlikely (more)

• OpenAI nears $1 Billion of annual sales as ChatGPT takes off (more)

• X to allow paid political ads, lifting Twitter’s earlier ban (more)

• Lego sales increase while other toy makers struggle (more)

• CNN names former New York Times CEO Mark Thompson to spearhead turnaround (more)

• Venture capitalist Reid Hoffman to scale back investment role at Greylock (more)

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DEALFLOW

• Redwood Materials, a company recycling and refining lithium-ion batteries and remanufacturing anode and cathode components, raised $1B in Series D funding (more)

• Sogo & Seibu sale to go ahead, triggering rare workers' strike in Japan (more)

• Geek Ventures, a NYC-based venture capital firm investing in immigrant founders, closed Geek Ventures Fund I, at $23M (more)

• Rockset, a San Mateo, CA-based search and analytics company, raised $44M in funding (more)

• Mercury Bio, a biotech company working in the area of targeted molecular drug delivery, raised $2M in Seed funding (more)

• Confirm, a provider of a platform for integrating science into performance reviews, raised $6.2M in Series A funding (more)

• PatchRx, a medication management startup, raised $8M in funding (more)

• Voxel AI, an AI startup using computer vision to improve safety and operations in the workplace, raised $12M in funding (more)

• Hyperproof, a SaaS-based risk and compliance management company, raised $40M in Growth funding (more)

• Seez, an automotive tech startup, raised a funding round of undisclosed amount (more)

• Kiki (fka EasyRent), a NYC-based invite-only subletting club, raised $6M in seed funding (more)

• Fianu Labs, a provider of a software governance automation solution, raised $2M in Seed funding (more)

• CCM Biosciences, a diversified biotechnology company, raised over $25M in Series A1 and A2 financings at a multi-hundred million dollar valuation (more)

• altafiber (fka Cincinnati Bell), a provider of delivers integrated communications solutions, raised $600M in funding (more)

• Mediafly, a revenue enablement company, raised $80M in funding (more)

• ControlRooms.ai, an AI-assisted troubleshooting company, raised $10M in Series A funding (more)

• Gitai (GITAI USA Inc.) a space robotics startup, raised additional $15M in funding (more)

• Group1, a startup developing Potassium-ion battery (KIB) technology, raised $250K in funding (more)

• CH4 Global, a climate tech company, raised $29M in Series B funding (more)

• Spiral Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on delivering therapies for inner ear disorders, raised an undisclosed amount in new financing (more)

M & A:

• France’s Pinault nears $7 Billion deal for talent agency CAA (more)

• Australia's Orora confirms talks to buy French glass bottles maker Saverglass (more)

• Discovery Education, an education technology company backed by Clearlake Capital Group, acquired DreamBox Learning, a PK-12 education technology provider (more)

• Fluke Reliability, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortive Corporation [NYSE: FTV], which empowers reliability and maintenance teams with the hardware, software, and services they need to optimize asset performance, acquired Azima DLI, a provider of subscription-based remote condition monitoring and AI-powered vibration analytics software (more)

• RQM+, a global leader in MedTech services, acquired CRO Kottmann, a contract research organization (CRO) (more)

• insightsoftware, a provider of reporting, analytics, and performance management solutions, acquired Vizlib, a software company that builds value-added products for Qlik Sense (more)

• Priority Power, a provider of energy management services, acquired the business of energy procurement organization Atlas Retail Energy (more)

• Reveal, a provider of an AI-powered eDiscovery platform, acquired both Logikcull and IPRO, two other eDiscovery players (more)

CRYPTO

• Grayscale’s Bitcoin win is still only half the battle (more)

• MoonPay launches venture arm to invest in web3 infra, gaming and fintech (more)

• Gemini opposes Genesis bankruptcy plan: 'woefully Light on Specifics' (more)

• BlockFi seeks permission to convert trade only assets to stablecoins in latest court petition (more)

BULLISH BITES

🦷 How a Tiny Mexican Border City Built a Budget Dental Empire…
Soon after sunrise, they begin streaming across the border, most on foot. Hundreds in the crowd pull rolling suitcases and wear backpacks, others carry little more than a purse or shopping bag as Medical tourists flock to Molar City for its 350 dental offices and relief from the high costs in the US and Canada.... (continue reading)

😊 Charlie Munger's Less-Than-Optimistic Advice: 'I Think The Best Road Ahead To Human Happiness Is To Expect Less'
Munger cautioned against an influx of young, brilliant minds into wealth management, deeming it a perilous trend for American society. For Munger, "old values" such as honor, trust, hard work and frugality are the cornerstones of... (continue reading)

DAILY SHARES

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