Good morning! Lionel Messi officially crossed the billionaire mark, becoming only the second footballer ever after Ronaldo. JPMorgan is rolling out AI tools across its investment banking business globally. And Bolt's CEO fired his entire HR team, saying they created problems that didn't exist.

Hedge fund short bets hit a 10-year high. VC John Doerr called AI the biggest tech tsunami ever. And Zoom is sitting on a 25x return on its Anthropic investment, while SpaceX is set to deliver Washington University a 30x return.

Plus: Goldman's CEO writes an NYT op-ed titled "A.I. Job Apocalypse Is Overblown." And Arsenal's hold on both the streets and the elites.

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SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Great to Be a Banker Again

For the last decade, investment banking was treated like bootcamp for the buy-side. Do your two years, suffer through the pitch decks, then escape to PE, hedge funds, VC, tech, or anything with better hours. But the banks are back, and one Wall Street pay consultant called 2026 "the year of the bank."

Trading revenue is at record highs, deals are ripping, and IPOs are reopening. Bonuses are expected to jump 10-20%. The six biggest U.S. banks pulled in nearly $50 billion in trading revenue in Q1 alone, a record. Volatility from oil, rates, and geopolitics has been good for trading desks. JPMorgan said prime brokerage balances hit an all-time high, meaning hedge funds and wealthy clients are still using the big banks as their financial plumbing.

Deals are coming back too. M&A is running at the second-fastest pace in a decade, helped by a friendlier regulatory environment and corporate boards finally ready to act. IPO bankers are drooling over SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. After years of dead calendars and "wait until the window opens" cope, the window may finally be opening, and every bank wants to be on the cover page.

Junior bankers treated banking as a launchpad, not a destination. "Two and out" was the model: grind for an IB, then bounce to PE before your soul left your body. But PE is dealing with weak exits, slower fundraising, and carry that looks less like guaranteed wealth and more like a lottery ticket with a vesting schedule. Banking, meanwhile, has actual cash comp again. Last year, New York finance workers pulled in a record $49.2 billion bonus pool, with securities employees averaging $246,900.

That doesn't mean banking is risk-free. A big part of the profit boom comes from layoffs, attrition, and AI replacing parts of the assembly line. Goldman's president recently said digital agents could replace more repetitive work. Some of that margin expansion comes from needing fewer humans.

There's also a regulatory angle. Banks spent years in a post-crisis "straitjacket," but Washington is moving toward lighter rules, easier stress tests and lower capital requirements. That could free up billions for lending, trading, private credit, mortgages, and AI data-center projects. It could also mean banks take more risk.

Takeaway: Wall Street's power rankings are shifting again. PE had the prestige trade for years, but sluggish exits and questionable carry have taken some shine off. Banks are printing from trading, M&A, IPOs, wealth management, and a friendlier regulatory backdrop. The old "banking is just a stepping stone" narrative looks less obvious when the bonus pool is rising and PE comp starts looking like a delayed scratch-off ticket.

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HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Messi joins Ronaldo in billionaire football ranks after Inter Miami move (BB)

• SpaceX S-1 deep dive (Buysiders)

• JPMorgan rolls out AI tools in investment banking globally (Yahoo Finance)

• Bolt CEO fired his entire HR team for creating problems that didn't exist (Inc.)

• Hedge fund short bets hit 10-year high, raising risk of short squeeze (WSJ)

• Venture capitalist John Doerr says AI is the biggest tech 'tsunami' ever (WSJ)

• Zoom's Anthropic investment has netted the company $1 billion (BB)

• Washington University in St. Louis is set for a 3,000% return on SpaceX (BB)

• Goldman Sachs CEO says AI is a job creator (NYT)

• Wells Fargo hires three tech investment bankers from rivals (BB)

• The fate of AI depends on physical infrastructure, not just algorithms (BB)

• To AI executives, we’re all just meat computers (NYT)

• Here's the case for 9,000 in the S&P 500 by the middle of next year, according to JPMorgan (CNBC)

• Restaurant chain Wonder wants to buy local favorites (Axios)

• The boutique bank that eschews blockbuster bragging rights (FT)

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• U.S. equities closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a new record high

• Investors continued monitoring developments around U.S.-Iran negotiations and broader energy-market stability

• Bond yields moved modestly higher, with the 10-year Treasury yield closing at 4.56%

• Asian markets finished mostly higher overnight, while European equities also advanced

• WTI crude oil rebounded following its recent pullback as uncertainty around global supply conditions persisted

• The U.S. dollar strengthened against major currencies but remained largely rangebound for the week

Consumer Sentiment Falls to Record Low

• The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for May was revised down to 44.8, its lowest reading on record

• High living costs remained the primary concern, with lower-income households seeing especially sharp declines in sentiment

• Long-term consumer inflation expectations rose to 3.9% from 3.4%, signaling growing concern that inflation pressures may persist

• Despite weak sentiment readings, consumer spending has remained relatively resilient, supported by stable labor-market conditions and healthy household balance sheets

Leading Economic Indicators Improve

• The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.1% in April, in line with expectations

• Strength in equity markets, building permits, and the yield curve helped support the improvement in the index

• While the six-month trend in the LEI remains negative, the pace of deterioration has moderated and is not currently signaling recession risk

• Overall economic data continues to point toward a resilient economy supported by healthy labor markets, housing activity, and financial conditions

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Estée Lauder ($EL) +12% after terminating merger talks with Spanish fragrance company Puig and announcing up to 3,000 additional job cuts.

• (+) Zoom Communications ($ZM) +9% because the company beat Q1 estimates and raised its full-year guidance.

• (–) Reddit ($RDDT) -6% after Meta launched "Forum," a standalone app that targets Reddit's community-based model.

  Prediction Markets

• Word on X is that Vance was rushed back to DC for the Iran deal.

• Trade on real-world events with Kalshi. Use code OWS to get a $10 bonus when you trade $10.

Private Dealmaking

• Authentic Brands Group agreed to acquire denim brand Lee from Kontoor Brands for up to $1 billion 

• Hark, a developer of a universal AI interface, raised $700 million 

• Modal, an AI infrastructure layer, raised $355 million

• Farther, an AI platform for financial advisors, raised $150 million 

• Fresha, a beauty booking marketplace, raised $80 million 

• SignalPlus, a Hong Kong-based crypto trading platform, raised $40 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Mastering Your Mental Game

Description:
A performance-focused guide from Julie Elion drawing on decades of experience working with professional golfers and elite performers. The book explores how mindset, emotional control, focus, and resilience shape performance under pressure, not just in sports but across business and life. Through practical techniques and real-world lessons, it teaches how to manage stress, recover from setbacks, and maintain confidence in high-stakes environments.

Book Length: 288 pages
Release Date: June 2, 2026

Ideal For:
Athletes, professionals, and anyone looking to improve focus, resilience, and performance under pressure in competitive environments.

Your biggest competition is rarely the opponent in front of you it is the voice inside your own mind.

DAILY VISUAL

Higher Rates, More Renovations

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Wall Street’s New Assistant Doesn’t Sleep

For years, breaking into banking meant earning your stripes in PowerPoint. That trade is dying.

Purpose-built AI is quietly reshaping the deal lifecycle. No, your favorite AI alone won’t cut it. Foundation models are table stakes. The real edge is software that automates the 80% every firm does the same way (memos, decks, CIMs) so teams can spend real time on the 20% that actually wins mandates: judgment, relationships, pattern recognition.

For juniors, this means less formatting and more deal reps. For MDs? A Bloomberg-style view of the pipeline instead of prompt babysitting.

Learn more about how Blueflame AI is doing this for Wall Street’s top firms.

DAILY ACUMEN

Risk vs Uncertainty

Risk is when you know the odds. Uncertainty is when you don’t even know what the odds are. The two feel identical in the moment, which is exactly why most people manage both of them badly.

A coin flip is risk. Whether your startup exists in five years is uncertainty. The mistake sophisticated people make is using the tools for the first when they are actually facing the second. They build models, run scenarios, calculate probabilities, and arrive at a precise number for something that was never knowable. The math gives them confidence that does not belong to the situation.

The honest move under real uncertainty is not better forecasting. It is structuring decisions so you survive being wrong. Smaller bets. Reversible moves. Positions that pay off across multiple scenarios instead of the one you have convinced yourself you can predict. Knowing which game you are actually playing might be the most underrated edge there is.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Is walking good exercise?

• Are personalities more nature or nurture?

• Do higher taxes drive the rich away?

• Ex-Goldman CEO on the skill that matters more than intelligence

• How tough does an investment banking boss need to be?

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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