BEFORE THE OPEN BEFORE

MARKETS:

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq slump for fourth straight session, worst weeks since March

• Dow down 1.1%, major indexes reverse earlier gains during afternoon trading

• Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) rises above 16, investors add volatility protection

• Amazon jumps 8.3% after strong earnings, Apple dips 4.8% on lower revenue

• Booking Holdings gains 7.9%, Amgen up 5.5% on robust earnings

• Earnings reports continue to surprise, 84% of S&P 500 companies report, 80% beat expectations

• 10-year Treasury yield pulls back from multimonth high to 4.04%

• Later in the week, focus on July consumer and producer price index data

• Inflation indicators closely watched amid Federal Reserve's rate-hiking campaign.

• Readings follow weaker-than-expected job growth data in July

EARNINGS

What we’re watching this week:

• Today: KKR (KKR), Lucid Group (LCID), Palantir (PLTR), Paramount Global (PARA)

• Tuesday: AMC Entertainment (AMC), Duolingo (DUOL), Eli Lily (LLY), Twilio (TWLO), United Parcel Service (UPS)

• Wednesday: Roblox (RBLX), The Trade Desk (TTD), Walt Disney (DIS)

• Thursday: Alibaba (BABA)

• Friday: Spectrum Brands (SPB)

• Full earnings calendar here

NEWS BRIEFING

Wall Street Forecasts Project Profit Recession Ends Next Quarter

Berkshire Hathaway’s Operating Earnings Rise Nearly 7%, Cash Pile Approaches $150 Billion

• Fed’s Bowman says more U.S. rate hikes likely will be needed (more)

• Fired-up traders get burned in ‘everything selloff’ (more)

• Wall Street giants expect $8.9B hit from bank failures (more)

• Dollar hegemony lives on as traders look past Fitch downgrade (more)

  • Dollar tentative as US inflation data looms (more)

• China bonds are obvious winners with more easing, Invesco Says

  (more)

• Saudi wealth fund takes $15.6B hit from SoftBank and tech (more)

• Bain Capital's $551M bid sends Estia Health shares to near 5-year high (more)

• China chipmaker Hua Hong opens sharply up in Shanghai debut after $3 bln offering (more)

• Texas power prices surge 800% yesterday amid searing heat (more)

• Tinseltown troubles torment studios: earnings week ahead (more)

  • Hollywood strike enters month four with no end In sight (more)

• ‘Barbie’ reaches $1 Billion at the box office (more)

• Apple admits there is a smartphone slowdown ahead of iPhone 15 debut (more)

• Meta’s Threads will soon have search and web functions, Zuckerberg says (more)

• Musk says his cage fight with Zuckerberg will be streamed on X (more)

DEALFLOW

• KKR in advanced talks to buy Simon & Schuster for $1.65B (more)

• KKR poised to hand embattled payments firm Unzer to creditors (more)

• Bain Capital edging closer to Chindata take-private deal (more)

• LNG terminal developer Crown to go public via $685M SPAC deal (more)

• Ontario Teachers weighs $100M Xpressbees investment (more)

• Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami gets $75M Ares Investment (more)

• UAE’s $60B firm chases global deals despite Vodafone snag (more)

• Liontrust extends GAM offer for a third time to garner support (more)

• SocGen explores strategic options for asset custodian unit (more)

• Petrobras ready to act if bids for Braskem stake move ahead (more)

• Party City, Creditors in talks to spin off balloon business (more)

• TDR, Sycamore in talks for joint Subway bid (more)

• Blackstone to submit bid for stake in India's Cipla (more)

• O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC, a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment firm that empowers creators, has launched the O’Shaughnessy Grants program (more)

• Jess Hunichen and Emily Ward, the co-founders of global influencer talent management & brand partnerships agency Shine Talent Group, have launched Shine Ventures (more)

• Futureverse Co-Founders, Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald, launched Born Ready, a new $50M venture fund and studio (more)

• Ascendion acquires Nitor Infotech (more)

• Endava acquires TLM (more)

• Waystar, a provider of healthcare payments technology, acquired HealthPay24, an EngageSmart solution and a premier enterprise patient payment platform (more)

• Intellum, an enterprise learning management system (“LMS”) provider, received a $25M minority growth investment from Guidepost Growth Equity (more)

• Ribbit Capital, a fintech focused venture capital firm, raised approx. $800M for its latest fund (more)

• Hybar, a developer of environmentally sustainable scrap metal recycling steel rebar mill, raised $700M in debt and equity financing (more)

• Persist AI, an AI-driven drug formulation company, raised $4M in funding following their completion of YCombinator (more)

• Ozlo Sleep, a science-driven sleep and audio technology company, emerged from stealth after completing a $10M Series A funding (more)

• Polars, a DataFrame library for data scientists and engineers, raised $4M in seed funding (more)

CRYPTO

• Crypto hedge funds are being hit by shutdowns, lagging returns in 2023 (more)

• Tether unveils mining software to boost efficiency and capacity (more)

• NFT rout crushes $1.5 billion windfall for artists as markets slash royalties (more)

• Revolut to halt US crypto activity (more)

• Everything divided by 7 million: Popular Bitcoin price heuristics are missing the mark (more)

• Asia’s crypto regulatory clarity contrasts with disarray in US (more)

BULLISH BITES

🌛 The Moon is Open for Business, and Entrepreneurs Are Racing to Make Billions…
NASA is going back to the moon, and this time it means business. Private companies are helping it build lunar transport, GPS, Wi-Fi, and more. This new market, which is worth over $100 billion, could be game-changing for humanity… (continue reading)

📭 Warren Buffett’s Protégé was Hired After Sending the Billionaire a Letter—But it Wasn’t Just Luck... 
Read any story about Tracy Britt Cool (who Buffett’s nicknamed "the fireman"), and you’re likely to come across the same anecdote. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 2009, she mailed a letter to Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett asking for a job at the legendary firm (…here's what happened next)

🚛 Inside Aurora’s Autonomous Trucking Operation in Texas...
Trucking is an integral part of the economy, representing over 70 of freight moved in the U.S. Yet, it is dogged by driver shortages, safety issues and supply chain challenges. While other autonomous companies have folded, Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation is hoping to solve these problems and more by bringing self-driving technology to trucks… (watch)

DAILY SHARES

Have an awesome day! -mb