Ro Khanna Gets Cooked (Again)

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Good Morning,

Ro Khanna got dragged on X for his 'insane' tax proposal, Chinese tech valuations are closing in on US peers, Barclays overhauled its investment bank for the second time in three years, Mark Walter is looking to sell off his Chelsea FC stake too, and Anthropic is set to hit $65B in FY revenue as it prepares to IPO at a historic $2T valuation.

Polymarket recently launched Polymarket Institutional Research, a publication exploring the intersection of prediction markets with the global financial system. It's proprietary research straight from their institutional desk with super valuable insights for public market investors. You can request access here.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

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Markets

• US stocks slipped yesterday on rising tensions in the Middle East

• Singapore stocks have outperformed the world MoM amid a 'Goldilocks' economic backdrop

• US 30Y yield rose 6 bps past 5.3% to the highest since 2007

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Klarna, Home Depot

  • Wednesday: Target, TJX

  • Thursday: Walmart, Alibaba

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• Anthropic is set to generate over $65B in revenue this year. What a Goldilocks story for the AI startup

• Deposit $10 and get a $20 bonus with code LIT on signup, only on the Polymarket US app

Headline Roundup

• Iran threatens to go on offensive in Hormuz if diplomacy fails (RT)

• Billionaires blasted Ro Khanna's 'insane' asset seizure proposal (BBG)

• US high-grade bond sales set a third-straight monthly record (BBG)

• EM march out of 'valley of tears' as investors diversify (RT)

• AI frenzy drives Chinese tech valuations to multiples of US peers (FT)

• Nasdaq is set to launch 23/5 trading in December (INV)

• CitSec says spiking yields reflect Fed policy risk (BBG)

• Barclays shakes up investment bank for second time in three years (FT)

• CD&R lenders toughen stance after Multi-Color bankruptcy (WSJ)

• Anthropic revenue run rate surpassed $65B (BBG)

• Tesla is set to launch its Cybercab this month (RT)

• DOJ is probing a16z for partners serving on boards of rival AI startups (BBG)

• L3Harris fired its CEO after office affair (WSJ)

A Message from Polymarket

Introducing Polymarket Institutional Research

Polymarket puts live odds on risks that touch every corner of financial markets. The latest:

• Carry Trade Unwind: Is the biggest leveraged trade on earth about to reverse?

• The Hormuz Reopening Gap: Why has the Brent-WTI spread not caught up to Polymarket?

• JetBlue Left Tail: Credit markets price 5-year JetBlue CDS near 1,000bps. The same risk on Polymarket: 4%. One of those is wrong.

• Forced Seller: How Polymarket traders monitored the Situational Awareness situation

Onboard to Polymarket Institutional Research for:

• Weekly briefings on the forecasts driving financial markets.

• Deep dives on event-driven dislocations and LP opportunities

• Liquidity & microstructure reports with full-depth data

• Direct access to our research team via a dedicated Slack channel

Request access to Polymarket Institutional Research.

Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

• New Lakers owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger will acquire the remaining 17.8% stake from the Buss family, outing Jeanie Buss as governor

• HVAC giant Madison Air Solutions will buy German fan maker ebm-papst in a $5.4B deal

• Brookfield offered to buy Australian plumbing supplies company Reliance Worldwide for $2.9B at a 32% premium

• Deutsche Telekom agreed to buy a fiber company and a TV provider in Poland from Australia's Macquarie at a $1.2B valuation, including debt

• Canadian miner NexGen Energy is in talks with BHP for $1B in equity for a uranium project

• FTC blocked German consumer goods and chemical maker Henkel's $725M acquisition of peer Liquid Nails

• $300M-listed Fulcrum Therapeutics will merge with privately held Slate Medicines in an all-stock deal

• Canadian gold and copper producer OceanaGold will acquire Australia's ​Ausgold in a $553M deal

• Infrastructure company WhiteWater and JV partners Devon Energy, MPLX, Diamondback Energy, and Western Midstream ​Partners reached a ‌final investment decision to build two natural gas pipelines in Texas

• Baltic asset manager INVL Asset Management will acquire Lithuania-based seafood processors Nordian Group and Norvelita

• TWG Global, the holding company of Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter, and Todd Boehly, the CEO of Eldridge Industries, are exploring selling their stakes in Chelsea FC to majority owner Clearlake Capital amid legal issues

VC

• AI infrastructure startup Groq raised a $350M Series A at a lowered $3.5B valuation as it pivots from chips to cloud following Nvidia's $20B acqui-hire last year

• Swiss construction machinery software firm Gravis Robotics raised a $200M Series A led by SoftBank

• AI dictation startup Wispr Flow raised a $280M Series B at a $2B valuation led by Menlo Ventures

• Lanyon AI, a fundamental research lab developing scientifically guaranteed-correct AI, raised a $10.6M funding round led by Dimension

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Chinese fast fashion giant SHEIN is seeking to raise $2B at just a $27B valuation in its Hong Kong IPO

• HSG and CDH-backed Chinese robotics startup Robotera plans to raise $1B in a Hong Kong IPO

• Singapore state-owned Sembcorp Industries is preparing to file for a $500M India IPO of its Sembcorp Green Infra Indian unit

• Bain Capital-backed Dhoot Transmission surged 37% after raising $320M in an India IPO

• Growth equity firm General Atlantic picked JPMorgan for a revived IPO effort

• Madison Square Garden Sports filed to spinoff NHL team New York Rangers from NBA team New York Knicks

• Mining giant Glencore recently acquired warrants that could give it a 5% stake in fraud-accused iron ore trader Radiant World

SPAC / SPV

• Switzerland's Ascend Sport Technology is in advanced talks to merge with Switzerland-listed shell company EvoNext Holdings at an up to $750M valuation

Debt

• Nvidia will provide a $105B backstop to help OpenAI lease an Ohio data center of SoftBank-owned SB Energy

• Alphabet is preparing a $3.6B debut Aussie bond sale

• Paramount Skydance requested a $1.9B bond from the 12 states that sued to pause the deal on antitrust grounds

• Export-Import Bank of Korea will lend $1B to Glencore in exchange for copper supply to Korean companies

• Private credit funds or Blackstone and Blue Owl sold $750M and $400M of investment grade bonds respectively

• KKR-owned Internet Brands plans to issue a bond to refinance debt

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Keto ice cream Rebel Creamery filed for bankruptcy after a packaging lawsuit sank it

• Ares will take control of struggling UK broadband company Toob and inject fresh equity

• Brazilian retailer Grupo Casas Bahia filed for bankruptcy in Brazil after an out-of-court restructuring with creditors proved insufficient

• A unit of China's state-backed SDIC Commodities was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court

• Casino operator Bally's warned of debt covenant breaches as it struggles to raise new funds

Funds / Secondaries

• QuantumLight, the VC firm of Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, raised $500M for its second fund

• Farmland investor Homestead Capital is raising a debut agriculture private credit fund with a $150M anchor commitment from a large state pension

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• Trump's crypto firm partners with startup offering AI from restricted Chinese firms

• Bitcoin ETFs saw the largest outflows in six weeks

• Binance gave Russia details used to charge a Russian over Ukraine donations

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec's Picks

• ICYMI: F2, the AI-native system of record for private lenders, is a Tearsheet 2026 AI Startup of the Year finalist. They've already helped underwrite 22,532 deals just this year, each one making the next smarter. Book a demo.

• WSJ published a deep dive report on how Big Tech giants are keeping over $3T off balance sheets.

• Also, Bloomberg published a deep dive on how Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter is rushing a makeover after his financial empire after it came under federal investigation.

Financial Services Recruiting

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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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.