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Wrestling. Genetics. Weapons 🧬🤼‍♂️

Wrestling. Genetics. Weapons 🧬🤼‍♂️

M&A and Geopolitics moving markets.

autonomous
April 04, 2023

GM 🌞

We still have oil front of mind but there’s a lot of new developments particularly in M&A despite activity being down.

Let’s fly in 🛬

Focus | Energy/Oil ⛽️

US crude exporters may look at the latest OPEC+ production cut as an opportunity to snap up more market share in Asia.

OPEC has privileged flows to Asia since it started more actively managing supplies. Some 70% of their barrels went to countries like India and China last year, versus 61% in 2017.

American production has meanwhile increased. Domestic producers pumped an average of 12.1 million barrels a day in 2022, up from less than 10 million years earlier, EIA data showed. (via Quartz)

Markets + Economy 💹

Bitcoin and the Nasdaq were among best-performing assets in the first quarter of 2023.
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US M&A activity fell 20% quarter over quarter in Q1
It looks like businesses aren’t buying or merging unless they absolutely have to this year. That said the M&A has been particularly exciting, especially surrounding the A.I. boom.
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Blackstone again blocked withdrawals from its $70B REIT in March
Unacceptable.
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DOJ sued Activision for antitrust violations over its esports leagues
eSports and the video-game ecosystem has been a long-time theme we’ve championed that has been stifled by toxic culture and poor management for the most part. Now government is eyeballing their competitive landscape and making sure there are no monopolies which = extra gravity.
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McDonald’s temporarily shut US offices as its prepares corporate layoffs
Scary.

US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.5B missiles contract

Trends ✨

Entertainment company Endeavor announced plans to combine the WWE with the mixed martial arts league UFC into a $21B powerhouse after purchasing the WWE for $9.3B
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Illumina’s $7 billion acquisition of Grail cannot go ahead after all. The US Federal Trade Commission blocked the deal and ordered the gene sequencing company to divest.
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Fewer tickets are being issued for abandoned dog poop in New York City. Only 18 tickets for “failure to pick up canine waste” were handed out last year, compared to 72 in 2019.

Digital Assets ⚡️

Binance, its executives, and influencers were sued for $1 billion. NBA Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was among the celebrity backers accused of promoting unregistered securities with the crypto exchange.
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BTC is looking more like Gold in how it behaves relative to other assets.