Good Morning and Happy Friday! Jamie Dimon still thinks a U.S. recession is possible. He also doubled down on his infamous work-from-home rant, saying, “You can't learn working from your basement.”

Coinbase is offering a $20M bounty for data thieves who tried to extort them. Walmart says it’ll pass tariff costs onto consumers, but new data suggests that the economic impact of tariffs may be overblown. UnitedHealth keeps plunging after a federal probe, while retail traders are cashing in on the rally.

Plus: Thoma Bravo sold its remaining $3.4B Nasdaq stake, and why you shouldn’t try to be the best performer in your workplace.

Ring and Nest proved the smart home tech is ripe for breakout success. RYSE might be next. Learn more and invest while it’s still private.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

From BofA to NCAA

The newest banking exit opp just dropped, and it might be the most unusual one yet.

Devon McLane, a former investment banking analyst at Bank of America, stepped away from Wall Street after just six months on the job to return to something even more competitive: college lacrosse.

McLane’s lacrosse résumé was already stacked. He played four years at Brown, where he was team captain, earned All-American honors, and led the Bears offensively. After using his extra year of COVID eligibility, he transferred to Notre Dame in 2023 as a grad student and helped lead the Irish to a 16–1 season and a national championship. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team and earned second-team All-American honors.

With the cleats seemingly hung up for good, McLane started his analyst stint at BofA in July 2024. By December, he realized he still had one year of eligibility left, and Notre Dame still had a spot for him.

So he did what few would dare: paused his banking career, left New York, and re-enrolled at Notre Dame for the spring semester.

This season, McLane’s already racked up 18 goals and 11 assists in 13 games. And while it’s been a tougher season overall for the Irish, McLane played a key role in their 15–6 upset win over No. 4-seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, scoring a goal and an assist.

With that win, Notre Dame has advanced to the quarterfinals, where they'll face No. 5-seed Penn State this weekend. Can Devon pull it off again?

Takeaway: Devon McLane is a rare breed of junior banker, one who decided that moving around logos in PowerPoint can wait. He has his whole life to return to investment banking, but chasing a national title? That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It would be a story for the ages if Devon can help deliver another championship for the Fighting Irish. Let’s hope this works out better for him than it did for Tom Brady.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Jamie Dimon says recession is still on the table for the U.S. (CNBC)

• Jamie Dimon stays firm on work-from-home rant (BB)

• Walmart warns it will raise prices due to tariffs (Axios)

• Coinbase hit with ransom attack (CNBC)

• Mark Cuban and sports insiders to invest in major American teams (BB)

• Hard data suggests concerns over tariffs fallout are overblown (Axios)

• UnitedHealth shares plunge after probe report (Axios)

• Retail traders cash in on stock market rally (Axios)

• Thoma Bravo sells remaining $3.4 billion Nasdaq stake (YF)

• K-Street vs House Republicans on IRA changes (Axios)

• Trump says he has a little problem with Tim Cook (CNN)

• PE-backed Chocolate Works announces more M&A (YF)

• Norway bets $800M on Blackstone’s logistics warehouse fund (BB)

• GTCR seals deal to buy U.K. broker JMG (YF)

PRESENTED BY RYSE

Is This Startup The Next Billion Dollar Buyout?

Imagine investing in Ring before its $1.2B buyout by Amazon

Or Nest, before Google's $3.2B acquisition. 

By the time we hear about industry-changing companies, it’s usually too late. But right now, there’s a smart home startup making their way to homes in America. This tech startup is RYSE, and unlike Ring, you can still invest before their $1.90 round closes. 

Like how Ring disrupted home security, this company is revolutionizing smart blinds & shades— with $10M+ in revenue, 200% YoY growth, and sold in 127 Best Buy stores, they are primed for massive expansion. Don't wait - their round closes in two weeks on May 30. 

Earn up to 25% in free shares.

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Thursday, boosted by cooler-than-expected inflation and softer retail sales for April.

• Utilities and real estate led, while consumer discretionary and communication services underperformed.

• Bond yields dropped, with the 10-year at 4.45% and the 2-year at 3.97%, as rate cut expectations remained intact.

• Asian markets finished lower, while Europe gained on strong U.K. GDP data.

Economic Data Highlights

• PPI (Apr): -0.5% MoM / +2.4% YoY – a sharp downside surprise

• Retail Sales (Apr): +0.1% headline; control group fell -0.2% – signs of slowing discretionary spend

• Initial Jobless Claims: 229,000 – stable, low level

• Tariff impact: Still not evident in inflation data; expected to show up in coming months

• GDP outlook: Slower but still positive growth expected for 2025

Reported Earnings

• Alibaba (BABA) – Slower e-commerce growth and rising competition weighed on results.

• Deere (DE) – Solid profit beat, but guidance lowered due to softer demand and trade uncertainty.

• Applied Materials (AMAT) – Strong quarter with cautious outlook tied to regulatory risks.

Earnings Today

• No major earnings scheduled for release today.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Boot Barn ($BOOT) +17% after strong Q1 sales.

• (+) Cisco ($CSCO) +5% because of better-than-expected earnings.

• (–) Fiserv ($FI) -16% after announcing slower-than-expected demand.

Private Dealmaking

• Harvey, an AI legal startup, raised $250 million

• Entrata, a property management software provider, raised $200 million

• Cohere Health, a clinical automation tools provider, raised $90 million

• Hilo, a blood-pressure intelligence platform, raised $42 million

• Recraft, an AI startup, raised $30 million

• Rainmaker, a drone startup, raised $25 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Inflation

Inflation is back, and its impact can be felt everywhere, from the grocery store to the mortgage market to the results of elections around the world. What's more, tariffs and trade wars threaten to accelerate inflation again.

Yet the conventional wisdom about inflation is stuck in the past. Since the 1970s, there has only really been one playbook for fighting inflation: raise interest rates, thereby creating unemployment and a recession, which will lower prices.

But this simple story hides a multitude of beliefs about why prices go up and how policymakers can wrestle them back down, beliefs that are often wrong, damaging, and have little empirical basis.

Leading political economists Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli reveal why inflation really happens, challenge how we think about it, and argue for fresh approaches to combat it.

With accessible and engaging commentary, and a good dose of humor, Blyth and Fraccaroli bring the complexities of economic policy and inflation indices down to earth.

Policymakers around the world may have pulled off a so-called "soft landing," but Inflation warns they must update their thinking.

Now tariffs, climate shocks, demographic change, geopolitical tensions, and politicians promising to upend the global order are all combining to create a more inflationary future, making a new paradigm for understanding inflation urgently necessary.

Astute, timely, and engaging, Inflation is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the forces shaping our economy and politics.

"An essential dose of clear thinking on one of the most contentious issues in economic policy."

DAILY VISUAL

Google Tops AI Patent Charts

PRESENTED BY BOXABL

The Stick-Built House Officially Outdated

What if building a house could be as simple as building a car? Where a car rolls off the assembly line every few minutes. 

BOXABL is inspired by Ford and Tesla’s manufacturing process. Their mission is to make upscale, low-cost housing available globally by bringing assembly line automation to the housing industry.

BOXABL’s patented technology allows them to create modular, prefabricated homes that are designed to fold up for transport which significantly decreases the cost of shipping & the complexity of installation. 

BOXABL has raised over $170M from over 40,000 investors since 2020. They recently achieved a significant milestone: raising over 50% of their Reg A+ funding limit! BOXABL is now only accepting investment on their website until the Reg A+ is full. 

If you want to join over 40,000 existing investors and be a part of the story, click below to explore investing in BOXABL.

Invest in BOXABL today!

DAILY ACUMEN

Legends Series: Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham didn’t invest in stories—he invested in facts and floors.

Known as the “father of value investing,” Graham taught generations of investors—including Warren Buffett—to buy businesses for less than they’re worth and insist on a “margin of safety.”

His philosophy was born in chaos: the Great Depression. After seeing fortunes evaporate, he resolved never to overpay again.

Graham focused on balance sheets, earnings stability, and investor psychology.

He believed markets were often irrational in the short term—but grounded in reality over time.

His seminal works, Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor, are still required reading nearly a century later.

Graham’s voice would cut through the optimism: are you being compensated for the risk you’re taking? What’s your downside if the narrative breaks?

His core lesson—demand a cushion, not just conviction—reminds us that buying great businesses is only half the game. Buying them at the right price is the other half.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Upgrade your morning investing insights with Opening Bell Daily

• How entrepreneurs differ from executives in making decisions

• 4 surprising ways to find happiness

• Why you shouldn’t try to be the best performer in your workplace

• The number 1 predictor of divorce with 94% accuracy

• Why you need to rethink running slow

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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