Private Equity Bros Weekly

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📊 Weekly Summary

Here’s a summary of this week’s top developments in finance and economics:

The US plans to impose a 93.5% tariff on Chinese battery materials, escalating trade tensions as American firms froze investments in China at record levels. Despite this, US stocks hit new highs on strong retail sales. Trump also denied plans to fire Fed Chair Powell. In the UK, unemployment rose to a four-year high alongside sticky inflation.

In markets, hedge fund shorts on small caps surged, and IPO activity continued to slump, raising concerns over public markets. Banks doubled down on private credit trading, while Senator Warren pushes for tighter oversight. Goldman Sachs launched a PE-track for interns to retain talent amid rising competition.

Let’s break it down.

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📈 Recent Finance News

US plans 93.5% tariff on Chinese battery materials: It aims at countering subsidized Chinese exports, and boost pricing power for regional suppliers (Inv.)

Goldman Sachs is offering interns jobs in private equity: The new program aims to retain junior bankers amid increasing competition from PE firms (TOI)

US stocks end at fresh records as markets shrug off tariff worries: A jump in US retail sales boosted world markets on Thursday (YF)

UK unemployment hit a four-year high and inflation rose: Despite the latest poor data, wage growth remains resilient (Guardian)

American firms froze China investments at a record rate amid tariffs: There is a record low of 49% planning to invest in 2025 (AInvest)

Stocks climb as Trump denies plan to fire Powell: Speculation about the fate of Fed Chair Jerome Powell set off a short-lived tempest in financial markets (SWI)

Public markets are 'under threat' from listings slump: Decline in IPOs raises alarm over long-term viability of public equity markets (FT)

Hedge fund shorts on small caps are at a four-year high: It follows rising concerns about the US economy's resilience amid global trade tensions (Inv.)

Banks play long game in push to trade private credit: Wall Street eyes long-term revenue streams in booming alt-lending sector (AInvest)

Senator Warren’s new Wall Street target is private credit: She wants more scrutiny of the growing market, focusing on agencies that rate its products (BS)

🔍 Newly Released Reports

• Quantum Technologies: Key Strategies and Opportunities (WEF)

• Underperformance in Large Secondary Funds (Columbia)

• Midyear Global Outlook: Sustainable Investing (Invesco)

• Portugal: Economic & Financial Outlook (CaixaBank)

• Brazil: Sustainable Debt Market (Mayer Brown)

• Austrian Economic Outlook for 2025/26 (WIFO)

• Global Analysis of Venture Funding (KPMG)

• Artisan U.S. Mid-Cap Growth Strategy (AP)

• Swiss Venture Capital Market Report (ST)

• UK Technology M&A Snapshot (ICON)

🤝 M&A Activity

China threatens to block BlackRock’s port sale without Cosco stake (Invezz)
Potential Deal Value: $22.8B

Talen Energy to buy two gas-fired power plants from Caithness (NS)
Deal Value: $3.5B

EDF weighs sale of Dalkia district energy business (YF)
Potential Deal Value: $2.3B

Final bids approach for Cellnex’s Swiss towers unit (SWI)
Potential Deal Value: $2.3B

Starwood Property Trust to acquire a net lease RE platform from Brookfield (LW)
Deal Value: $2.2B

Wilmar’s Lence to buy 20% stake in Adani’s AWL Agri Business (YF)
Deal Value: $1.6B

GIP to acquire 50% of Eni’s carbon capture unit (FP)
Potential Deal Value: $1.2B

Union Pacific explores acquisition of Norfolk Southern (YF)
Deal Value: Undisclosed

Teneo buys PwC’s Australian restructuring unit (Teneo)
Deal Value: Undisclosed