Good Morning! Stocks bounced right back yesterday, after taking an inflation hit on Tuesday. Nvidia surpassed Alphabet to become the third most valuable U.S. company, a few days after valuation king Aswath Damodaran called it ‘particularly overpriced.’ Crypto is pumping too; Bitcoin broke through the $1T market cap, and Uber announced a $7B buyback after its first profitable year. KKR acquired a stake in health firm Cotiviti. Plus Tesla’s biggest bulls are turning bearish, the 10 best cities for single young professionals, and how to tell if you’re really a good listener.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Australia Loves WLB

It’s a tale as old as time for investment bankers - managing directors and VPs dumping work on you after hours, or your staffer blowing up your phone over the weekend.

But while ignoring your boss’s after-hour calls might be a no-no in the U.S., Australia is poised to become the first country to ban “unreasonable“ after-hour pings and phone calls.

Australia’s Senate gave the thumbs up to a bill that gives workers the right-to-disconnect. If passed, companies wouldn’t be allowed to punish employees who ghost their late-night emails - if they do retaliate, they’ll get fined.

Across the globe, the pandemic’s work-from-home wave erased the line between personal and professional life. The world is seemingly connected 24/7 now, which means while workers might not be chained to their desks, they still might feel chained to their inbox.

Some, countries like France and Germany also implemented ‘disconnect’ laws. They’re trying to send a signal that work-life balance isn’t just a nice-to-have - it’s a right.

Takeaway: Australia is known to have a stronger work-life balance than the U.S. But not everyone is a fan of the right-to-disconnect law - some opponents say it could make it harder for businesses to get their work done. After all, those in investment banking know what it’s like to have an unresponsive MBA associate on a deal.  

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Investor expectations for interest rate cuts keep slipping into the future (Axios)

• Uber announces $7B buyback after first profitable year (Reuters)

• Why Silicon Valley is fascinated with drugs (Vox)

• Lyft CEO takes blame for extra zero in Q4 earnings release (CNBC)

• Bitcoin’s market cap breaks $1T, taking overall crypto market to $2T (Axios)

• Big Tesla investors turn bearish (YF)

• 10 best cities for single young professionals (CNBC)

• Morgan Stanley laying off several hundred in wealth management (WSJ)

• KKR acquired a stake in health tech firm Cotiviti (YF)

• The small university endowment that is beating the Ivy League (WSJ)

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Markets Rundown

Stocks bounced back after January’s hot inflation report.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Lyft ($LYFT) +35% after the rideshare company’s strong earnings offset typo confusion.

• (+) Uber ($UBER) +15% after the rideshare company announced its first-ever stock buyback.

• (–) MGM ($MGM) -6% after the casino company announced earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• Walmart in talks to buy Vizio, a smart TV maker, for more than $2 billion

• Global Infrastructure Partners bought a 50% stake in two Eversource wind projects for $1.1 billion 

• Global Payments in talks to buy Takepayments for $250 million 

• Lilac Solutions, a lithium tech startup, raised $145 million 

• Latigo, a biotech focused on pain, raised $135 million

• Meter, an internet infrastructure startup, raised $35 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Holy Grail Of Investing

Tony Robbins concludes his financial freedom trilogy with a deep dive into alternative investments, collaborating with Christopher Zook, a notable figure in private equity. Their book takes readers on an exploratory journey through interviews with some of the globe's most successful investors across various sectors like private equity, credit, real estate, and venture capital.

Offering practical advice, the guide shares strategies and insights from these financial experts, aiming to demystify the lucrative world that has long been dominated by "smart money" investments, generating significant returns.

The Holy Grail of Investing is not just a book; it's a roadmap to financial empowerment, revealing secrets on how to partake in the billions invested in alternative assets.

By featuring conversations with industry giants such as Robert F. Smith, Vinod Khosla, and Michael B. Kim, among others, Robbins and Zook lay out opportunities for individual investors to gain from owning shares in asset-managing firms, delve into the profitable world of private credit, and explore unique investment avenues like professional sports teams and the energy sector.

This comprehensive guide aims to equip readers with the knowledge to thrive in both prosperous and challenging economic climates, leveraging the wisdom of the world's investment leaders.

“The inside scoop on how the rich get richer.”

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S&P 7 vs S&P 493

Earnings expectations have been moving sideways for the S&P 7 and down for the S&P 493

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Urgency

Sam Altman on the power of urgency:

“Focus is a force multiplier on work.

Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on.

It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work many hours. Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter.

Once you have figured out what to do, be unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly.

I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful.”

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• What it really costs to live and work in Bali

• 8 techniques for evaluating character

• Why your happiness increases with age

• 12 of Mark Cuban’s mantras for success

• 10 life-changing cooking hacks for 2024

• How to tell if you’re a good listener

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day