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đ Goldman's Loyalty Oath
Plus: Bill Ackman's nightmare start to pro tennis, Meta poached Apple exec with over $200M, Nvidia hit $4 trillion club, and Kellogg shares up 50% on $3B Ferrero deal.

Together With
âI shorted sleep last nightâbet it pays off by lunch.â â Michael Burry
Good morning and Happy Friday! Nvidia became the first public company to hit a $4 trillion market cap. Kellogg shares popped 50% after reports of a $3 billion cereal deal with Italian candy maker Ferrero Rocher.
A tech rally powered the Nasdaq to a record high, and Bitcoin also hit a $112,000 all-time high. Linda Yaccarino is out at X a day after the social media siteâs AI bot posted antisemitic comments. And Meta poached Appleâs Pang with a staggering pay package over $200 million.
Plus: OpenAI will take on Chrome with a new AI-powered browser, Bill Ackmanâs nightmare start to pro tennis, and tips on making it to the executive ranks.
One of NYCâs hottest bars is scaling. Here is your opportunity to invest in their future.
SQUEEZ OF THE DAY
Goldmanâs Loyalty Oath

For Goldman Sachs banking analysts grinding out 90-hour weeks, the job isnât meant to last forever. Itâs supposed to be a launchpad to buyside jobs like private equity earned in exchange for two years of financial modeling, PowerPoint decks and anything else your MD wants at any hour of the day.
But Goldman just made that exit strategy a lot trickier. The firm is rolling out a policy requiring junior bankers to certify every three months that they havenât accepted another job. Itâs not quite a blood oath, but itâs close, and it puts would-be PE associates in a delicate spot.
The move is a quiet escalation in an arms race among banks to stop the brain drain. JPMorgan recently threatened to fire junior bankers if they accept a PE offer within 18 months of joining. Goldmanâs method is more passive-aggressive: make you swear youâre not cheating, then leave the door wide open to cut you anyway.
For years, PE firms like Apollo and TPG were locking in second-year analysts nearly two years in advance, and juniors were joining banks with one foot already out the door. From the banksâ perspective, they werenât building talent; they were running a prep school for private equity.
But this year, PE firms started to hit the brakes after JPMorgan made the first move. Apollo, General Atlantic, and TPG all pledged to stop ultra-early recruiting.
The sudden delay in private equity recruiting has frustrated graduates who came to New York expecting to secure multi-year jobs quickly. Now, theyâll have to recruit while working demanding junior banking jobs with little free time. Banks also fear ending up with excess junior analysts as PE, hedge fund, and corporate hiring slows.
A senior Goldman banker warned this shift might disrupt banksâ own hiring models and predicted private equity firms may begin hiring directly from universities instead.
Takeaway: Is on-cycle private equity recruiting dead for now? Only time will tell, it takes just one firm to break ranks and go early, and the rest will pile in. For now, Jamie Dimon seems to have successfully rallied the industry to pause the âunethicalâ practice of locking in PE offers before banking jobs even start.
If the PE on-cycle dies for good, we might finally see a world where bankers get to actually do the job before plotting their escape⊠shocking concept, we know.
HEADLINES
Top Reads
Nvidia briefly touched $4 trillion market cap for first time (CNBC)
Ferrero nears $3B deal for maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes (WSJ)
Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil over Bolsonaro trial, âunfairâ trade (Fox)
ââWall Street is calling Trumpâs bluff (CNN)
X CEO Linda Yaccarino steps down after two years at the job (YF)
OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome (CNBC)
Robinhood CEO downplays OpenAI concerns on tokenized stock structure (CNBC)
Meta poached Appleâs Pang with pay package over $200 million (BB)
Goldman names Maliah Global Chairman of investment banking (BB)
Why Vanguard joined the âprivate marketsâ craze (WSJ)
Trump blasts Brazil with 50% tariff threat (YF)
Trumpâs next Fed chair pick already comes with a credibility problem (CNBC)
Youth sports are $40B business, private equity is taking notice (NYT)
Vanguard, BlackRock drop ETFs that could cushion growth slowdown (CNBC)
Tesla is in deeper trouble than you think (CNN)
Trump sends tariff letters, placing 25% levies on top allies (Axios)
Googleâs unloved stock makes it a big tech bargain (WSJ)
Thereâs more information than ever on ESG investing, but it isnât helping (WSJ)
Bill Ackmanâs quest for pro tennis win falls short in early exit (BB)
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CAPITAL PULSE
Markets Rundown

Market Update
U.S. stocks closed higher, led by utilities and tech, while consumer staples and energy lagged
President Trump announced new tariffs on seven countries, continuing the trade policy shakeup
Asia finished mixed; Chinaâs CPI rose 0.1% annualized in June, above expectations
The U.S. dollar declined against major international currencies
WTI crude oil fell as U.S. supply stocks unexpectedly increased
Economic Data Highlights
Trump has announced tariffs on 21 countries this week, with rates between 20%-40%
August 1 remains the enforcement date for countries without trade deals
Vietnam and the U.K. both secured trade deals at reduced tariff rates
Lower-than-expected tariff levels could ease inflation and growth concerns, in our view
Reported Earnings
No significant earnings reported
Earnings Today
Delta Air Lines (DAL) â Investors watching demand trends and yield growth amid summer travel season
Levi Strauss (LEVI) â Key focus on margins, DTC channel growth, and China performance
Vista Energy (VIST) â Analysts expect solid upstream performance and production updates
Movers & Shakers
(+) AES ($AES) +20% after the renewable energy company is considering a sale.
(+) Bloom Energy ($BE) +18% because the energy stock was upgraded by JPMorgan.
(â) RxSight ($RXST) -38% after the medical device maker slashed its revenue forecast.
Private Dealmaking
Merck acquired Verona Pharma for $10 billion
Telenor bought GlobalConnectâs Norwegian consumer business for $592 million
Actithera, a radioligand therapies developer, raised $75.5 million
Huspy, a proptech for finding homes, raised $59 million
Vytalize Health, an accountable care organization, raised $55 million
Million Victories, a mobile gaming company developer, raised $40 million
For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.
BOOK OF THE DAY
Negotiating the Impossible

Description: Harvard Business School professor Deepak Malhotra presents a newly expanded version of his acclaimed negotiation playbook. Filled with striking real-world case studiesâfrom crafting the U.S. Constitution and NFL/NHL disputes to business crisesâthis edition adds 20% new material, including an interactive discussion guide and strategies for negotiating amid todayâs challenges: polarization, AI, and remote formats.
Rating: Amazon: 4.6âŻ/âŻ5; Audible: 4.2âŻ/âŻ5
Book Length: 300 pages
Audible Length: 7âŻhrsâŻ48âŻmin
Ideal For: Executives, dealmakers, mediators, and anyone facing complex negotiationsâespecially when force or budget isnât leverage. This book is tailor-made for times when ingenuity, emotional acuity, and creative thinking are the only paths forward.
âEasily the best negotiation book I have ever readâŠvaluable nonintuitive ideas.â â Bill Gurley, Benchmark Ventures
DAILY VISUAL
Apple Revenue by Segment

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Result: Day-1 analysts, VP-grade output, and a summer with fewer midnight and weekend âfix my deckâ fire drills.
DAILY ACUMEN
Play Your Game
Every business has a superpower. The mistake is thinking yours works everywhere.
When Hooters launched an airline, they swapped burgers for boarding passesâand lost $40 million.
They had brand, but no edge in aviation.
Bloomberg, by contrast, launched a media business not to win awards, but to sell more terminals.
They stayed close to their strength: data.
Success isnât about chasing whatâs shinyâitâs about knowing where your advantage is, and pressing it hard.
Play your game. Not someone elseâs.
ENLIGHTENMENT
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MEME-A-PALOOZA
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