Good Morning! Goldman is re-entering the SPAC market after a self-imposed ban. Barclays brought in McKinsey to restructure its investment bank and slash costs.

Amazon’s CEO says AI will shrink its workforce. xAI is burning through $1B a month. JPMorgan is raising the Sapphire Reserve card fee to $795 (up from $550). And Switzerland’s chocolate billionaire family is doubling down on private equity.

Plus: Canva acquired MagicBrief, BlackRock says the super rich want private credit exposure, and the rise of the 'infinite workday.'

Don’t let small branding mistakes erode client trust; take control of your firm’s image today. Ensure every detail reflects your professionalism with Macabacus.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

$100 Million for a Stock Picker

You might think $100 million paydays are only for athletes and rockstars, but it turns out that some of Wall Street’s best stock pickers can command those sort of paydays. 

Steve Cohen, who has been shelling out massive contracts as the owner of the New York Mets, has been making big signings at his hedge fund Point72 as well. Cohen recently signed Kevin Liu, a 31-year-old trader who was previously an equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley. 

And Cohen reportedly got into a bidding war with Citadel, Millennium, Balyasny, basically the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox of hedge funds. He sealed the deal with a $50 million offer and a personal dinner where he promised to mentor Liu himself. (Not a bad pay day for a guy who, for all intents and purposes, analyzes earnings reports)

Across pod shops, portfolio managers are now getting five-year deals worth $100–150 million, including guaranteed pay, performance bonuses, and multi-million-dollar team budgets. (One top PM reportedly used vape data and podcast transcripts to beat the market)

But the pressure is brutal. PMs are expected to deliver consistent returns on multi-billion-dollar books. Draw down 7.5%, and you’re gone. At Millennium, turnover runs 15–20% annually.

All of this is paid for by the clients. Hedge funds are going beyond the 2-and-20 model and are instead charging 8% in pass-through fees, plus a 20-25% cut of profits. Endowments and pensions have been fine with it so far, with some of the top performers like Citadel putting up 22% annualized returns. 

Takeaway: PM signing bonuses are hitting NBA numbers in 2025. But it’s not a career for the faint of heart. The average PM tenure at top pod shops is often under 3 years. And firms run 1,000s of interviews a year looking for your replacement before you even screw up. But for those who think they can print alpha, it might be your shot at generational wealth.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Goldman ditches ban on SPACs as blank check firms stage comeback (BB)

• Barclays hires McKinsey to identify savings in investment bank (BB)

• AI will shrink Amazon’s workforce in the coming years, CEO says (CNBC)

• Musk’s xAI in talks to raise $4.3B in equity funding (BB)

• xAI burning $1B a month (BB)

• Swiss chocolate billionaire family boosts its private equity bet (BB)

• JPMorgan’s European chief to run business from New York (FT)

• Canva expands from design into analytics with acquisition of MagicBrief (CNBC)

• BlackRock says super rich want private credit as PE returns lag (BB)

• Private equity outpaces banks in scramble for graduate talent (FT)

• US Senate passes stablecoin bill in milestone for crypto industry (YF)

• Investors brace for Fed signal on 2025 rate cuts (YF)

• It's a bad time to launch first-time funds, but that isn't stopping investors (Axios)

• Dimon: CEOs can't expect "everything to be constantly easy" (Axios)

• Private equity has peaked, and it’s about time (BB)

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CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Stocks closed lower on Tuesday as rising tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment. Bond yields declined while the U.S. dollar advanced, signaling a move toward safe-haven assets.

• Oil prices jumped ~4%, reflecting concerns over potential supply disruptions.

• Retail sales for May fell 0.9%, missing forecasts, but control‑group sales rose 0.4%, highlighting resilient core consumer spending.

• Asian markets were mixed following the BOJ’s decision to hold rates; European markets trended lower.

Economic Data Highlights

• Retail Sales (May): Headline -0.9% vs. -0.7% expected; Control‑group +0.4%, matching expectations.

• April Revision: Initial +0.1% was revised to -0.1%, indicating slower prior momentum.

• Fed Meeting June 17–18: Expected to hold rates at 4.25%–4.50%, with updated economic forecasts and a press conference from Chair Powell

Reported Earnings (Tuesday, June 17)

• JBL (JBL): Delivered results following market close—investors focused on consumer audio demand and product margin trends.

Earnings Today (Wednesday, June 18)

• No significant earnings scheduled.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Reddit ($RDDT) +6% after the social media company announced 2 AI tools.

• (–) JetBlue ($JBLU) -8% because the CEO says airline will cut costs.

• (–) Solaredge Technologies ($SEDG) -33% after a report the Senate will end solar tax credits.

Private Dealmaking

• Ascension Health acquired AmSurg for $3.9 billion

• Eli Lilly acquired Verve Therapeutics for $1.3 billion

• Helsing, a defense tech startup, raised $689 million

• Applied Intuition, a platform for self-driving cars, raised $600 million

• Nominal, an industrial software startup, raised $75 million

• Aspora, a fintech, raised $50 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Little Bosses Everywhere

Description: A riveting, deeply reported exposé of the rise and reach of multilevel marketing in America—from post‑Depression vitamin schemes to modern cult‑like conventions—revealing how MLMs exploit the entrepreneurial dream, influence politics, and leave countless lives wrecked in their wake.

Rating: 4.8 / 5 on Amazon

Book Length: 368 pages (hardcover)
Audible Length: ~11 hrs (662 minutes)

Ideal For: Investigative non‑fiction readers, critics of Silicon Valley & Big Business, sociologists of capitalism, and anyone curious about the mechanics behind get‑rich‑quick schemes and their political sway.

“A deeply reported thrill‑ride–slash‑horror story… fascinating and scary as hell.”

DAILY VISUAL

Want more? Visualize the markets with Carbon Finance

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• Income-producing, hands-off assets

• Generating 3–4% revenue per month

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This is the first offering of its kind. Until now, only Big Tech and hyperscalers had access to opportunities like this.

With the AI industry expected to hit $1.8 trillion by 2030, this is your chance to own the infrastructure behind the boom.

DAILY ACUMEN

Mindfulness

We often think of accidents as bad luck—random missteps or unfortunate timing.

But many mishaps, whether slicing a thumb while distracted in the kitchen or veering off course in a conversation, stem from one root cause: inattention.

Mindfulness offers a powerful antidote. It isn’t just about being calm—it’s about being present on purpose.

By setting clear intentions, staying focused on the task at hand, and fully experiencing each moment, we reduce the likelihood of both physical and emotional “accidents.”

Living mindfully means trading reactivity for awareness and choosing to participate in life rather than drift through it.

As Donald Altman reminds us, a life shaped by intention is one lived with purpose—not by accident.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Welcome to the "infinite workday"

• Here’s the country Americans want to leave the U.S. for the most

• How to learn to live in the moment

• Why we think relationships require hard work

• Exec’s advice for surviving the AI boom

• Employee stress is a business risk, not an AI problem

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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