Good Morning! We’re so back. A bull got loose on the tracks near Newark Penn Station yesterday as Dow hit all time highs. Blackstone dropped its Holiday party video to much critical disdain. Citi will pay bonuses for bankers laid off - and they’re offering partial early bonuses to encourage employee exits. Manhattan median rent fell YoY for the first time since 2021. Plus the habit that makes employees irreplaceable, and how to use the 80/20 rule for more results with less effort. 

Looking to park your capital in 10% bonds and fight crime across the country? Check out Knightscope’s safety bonds.

In case you missed it, you can find our 2023 Holiday Gift guide here.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

How the Grinch Stole Your Bonus

UBS is definitely not feeling the holiday cheer - they’re coming for the hundreds of millions of dollars in cash bonuses that Credit Suisse paid out.

Credit Suisse had a rough end to its 167 year history when it was acquired by its archrival UBS in March. But in the years leading up to its collapse, Credit Suisse was rocked by scandal and hemorrhaged money every quarter.

So, to prevent dealmakers from leaving, they threw around $1.4 billion in bonuses to retain talent. But they came with a stipulation - you couldn’t leave the firm within three years.

Now, UBS is demanding that those who left the firm and received these bonuses return the funds, threatening legal action. UBS aims to recoup approximately $750 million from these bonuses.

Takeaway: UBS pulled off the biggest bank merger since the global financial crisis. And they’re looking to slash $10 billion of costs and will axe 3,000 jobs in Switzerland alone. But don’t expect the former Credit Suisse bankers to hand back their bonuses that easily. Both sides will definitely lawyer up and probably meet somewhere in the middle.

_{SPONSORED BY KNIGHTSCOPE}

The Name’s Bond, 10% Interest Bond

What’s better than a high-interest bond?

How about a bond that fights crime?!

The Knightscope Public Safety Infrastructure Bond pays 10% interest every year for up to 5 years. (Check out their earnings calculator to see how much you’ll earn.)

While you're earning interest, Knightscope will use the funds to help make the country safer. The company’s Autonomous Security Robots (ASRs) are already helping law enforcement fight crime. Your investment will help bring even more of their Autonomous Security Robots where they’re needed most.

But you’ll need to move quickly: Only $10M in bonds are available.

Fight crime with your portfolio. Buy Knightscope bonds and start earning interest today.*

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Regional bank indexes just erased all losses since SVB’s collapse (YF)

• Two global central banks strike contrast with the Fed (Axios)

• Venture capital, private equity firms in China rattled by proposed changes (Reuters)

• Manhattan rents fall for first time in over two years (CNBC)

• The bulls are back on Wall Street (YF)

• Citi will pay bonuses for laid off employees (Reuters)

• Citadel’s Ken Griffin bought air rights from St. Patrick Cathedral for new skyscraper (BB)

• Investors absolutely love the Fed’s soft landing (YF)

• The rise and fall of the IBM way (Atlantic)

• Farfetch in talks with Apollo for rescue deal (Reuters)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher after more positive economic data.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Rivian ($RIVN) +14% after announcing a partnership with AT&T.

• (+) Moderna ($MRNA) +9% after positive results for its skin cancer vaccine.

• (–) Adobe ($ADBE) -6% after issuing a weaker-than-expected 2024 forecast.

Private Dealmaking

• Udaan, an e-commerce software provider, raised $340 million

• Tome Biosciences, a genomic integration startup, raised $213 million

• Urban Sports Club, a fitness club subscription service, raised $104 million

• MaintainX, a business software startup, raised $50 million

• Fantaun, a food delivery startup, raised $40 million

• Leonardo.ai, an AI art production startup, raised $31 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Work Pray Code

Silicon Valley is known for its lavish perks, intense work culture, and spiritual gurus. Work Pray Code explores how tech companies are bringing religion into the workplace in ways that are replacing traditional places of worship, blurring the line between work and religion and transforming the very nature of spiritual experience in modern life.

Over the past forty years, highly skilled workers have been devoting more time and energy to their jobs than ever before. They are also leaving churches, synagogues, and temples in droves―but they have not abandoned religion.

Carolyn Chen spent more than five years in Silicon Valley, conducting a wealth of in-depth interviews and gaining unprecedented access to the best and brightest of the tech world. The result is a penetrating account of how work now satisfies workers’ needs for belonging, identity, purpose, and transcendence that religion once met.

Chen argues that tech firms are offering spiritual care such as Buddhist-inspired mindfulness practices to make their employees more productive, but that our religious traditions, communities, and public sphere are paying the price. 

We all want our jobs to be meaningful and fulfilling. Work Pray Code reveals what can happen when work becomes religion, and when the workplace becomes the institution that shapes our souls.

“How tech giants are reshaping spirituality to serve their religion of peak productivity.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

VC Funding Cools

Venture capital fundraising; 2023 as of Sept 30th

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

How to Become a Smarter Marketer 🧠

Stacked Marketer is the industry insider newsletter that gives marketers an edge on the competition. Covering breaking industry news, tips and tricks for almost every marketing channel including Google, Facebook, Native, SEO, and more.

Sign up to Stacked Marketer for free. This newsletter is for the busy marketer who wants to get smarter.

• It’s a quick 7-minute daily read.

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Delivered from Monday to Friday, without a hitch - so expect it to head your way next weekday!

Join 57k+ marketers who read it daily.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Decide

In the intricate dance of daily decision-making, from choosing chocolate or vanilla to navigating Trello vs. Jira, it's surprising that formal education rarely covers the art of making smart choices. Neuroscience reveals that our brain performs a different routine when granted the freedom to make decisions, with specific areas like the anterior cingulate cortex taking the lead.

However, poor decision-making often steals the spotlight, attributed to the "mental baggage" we bring to the stage. Whether trapped in the intricate steps of analysis paralysis or overconfident twirls, our mental waltz is influenced by fear, overestimation, information overload, and fatigue-induced stumbles.

Enter DECIDE, a structured framework—Define the problem, Establish criteria, Consider alternatives, Identify the best alternative, Develop a plan, and Evaluate the solution—offering a choreography for the mind. 

Amidst this intricate ballet of choices, trial, error, and reflection can transform missteps into graceful leaps toward smarter outcomes. So, at the crossroads of decisions, let the dance guide you, knowing that even in the most complex routine, a thoughtful pirouette can lead to a harmonious conclusion.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Mark Cuban says this habit makes employees irreplaceable

• 4 keys to success in leadership succession

• Slate’s favorite books of 2023 

• Use the 80/20 rule for more results, less effort

• The new rules of executive presence

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day