"In the stock market, facts are important, but emphasis is all-important." — Benjamin Graham

Good Morning! Amazon has had enough of remote work and is mandating a full return to the office starting January. It’s the end of an economic era, with the Fed expected to cut rates tomorrow. Chances of a 50bps cut are now more likely after a group led by Elizabeth Warren pushed for a 75bps cut. Some NYC lawmakers say Citi Bikes are too pricey and want costs to match subway fares. Meanwhile, drugmakers are betting billions on targeted radiation as the next big cancer breakthrough. Plus the TikTok "ban bill" is heading to court, and Trump isn't selling his Truth Social stock.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Lazard CEO: Bankers Love Long Hours

If you're an investment banker, you're probably no stranger to long hours. For students hoping to break into the field, these grueling hours are often seen as the price you pay. Sure, it's not a 9-to-5, but there aren’t many jobs fresh out of college that can have you pulling in close to $200k a year.

In 2024, Wall Street has been figuring out how to respond to the workloads of its junior employees following the deaths of two Bank of America associates.

But Lazard, an elite boutique investment bank known for its long hours, is offering a slightly different perspective.

CEO Peter Orszag suggests junior bankers don’t mind the long hours — as long as the work is interesting. In a recent interview with David Rubenstein, Orszag responded to a question about the 80 to 90-hour weeks, saying, “There are many, many people who would rather work whatever number of hours per week on interesting, important things rather than fewer hours on things that are not that interesting. And that’s what we’re looking for. That’s the trade-off.”

It’s an interesting proposition. While investment bankers certainly handle exciting, high-stakes deals you’ll see in the Wall Street Journal — the analysts putting in the 80 to 90-hour weeks aren’t exactly at the negotiation table. And how interesting and important can aligning logos in PowerPoint really be?

Orszag does offer a crucial point — you can’t escape effort in high finance. But if you watched his interview, you can’t help but feel he’s a little tone-deaf to the poor working conditions plaguing junior bankers. Few junior staffers would choose 100-hour weeks if given a real alternative.

Takeaway: Lazard does offer its employees the chance to work remotely two days a week, which is better than some other banks. But with JPMorgan introducing caps on hours and Bank of America rolling out a new platform to monitor workloads, Orszag might find himself doing a bit of damage control. Sure, some might love those long hours, but others probably just love their six-figure paychecks a little more.

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Amazon tells employees to return to office five days a week (CNBC)

• Boeing freezes hiring in sweeping cost cuts (CNBC)

• Democratic senators call on Fed to cut rates by 75 basis points (YF)

• Bill proposed to cap Citi Bike at cost of subway ride (NY1)

• Drugmakers betting billions that targeted radiation next cancer breakthrough (CNBC)

• KKR, Axel Springer near deal to break up the company (Axios)

• Chipotle’s testing an avocado-peeling robot (Verge)

• Investors see a Harris win as good for bonds, bad for stocks (YF) 

• Private credit fundraising on track to decline for third straight year (WSJ)

• TikTok "ban bill" heads to court (Axios)

• Trump says he won't sell his Truth Social stock (Axios)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

The Dow hit a new record high and the S&P 500 extended its winning streak to six days, while tech stocks lagged.

Investors remain focused on this week's Federal Reserve meeting, with markets split on whether a 25bps or 50bps rate cut will be announced. There’s a 62% chance of a 50bps cut now after Senator Elizabeth Warren called for 75bps rate cut yesterday.

Financials, energy, and utilities led sector gains, with utilities reaching new all-time highs amid expectations of aggressive rate cuts, making dividend-paying stocks more attractive.

Treasury yields continued to fall, with the 10-year yield hitting a 52-week low of 3.62%, while gold prices slipped slightly but remained near record highs. Oil prices rose on concerns over Hurricane Francine's impact on U.S. Gulf of Mexico output.

Economic data showed surprising strength, with the Empire State Manufacturing Index surging in September, reflecting a rebound in business conditions.

Market participants are also eyeing policy decisions from the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan later this week.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Nuvalent ($NUVL) +28% after strong cancer treatment clinical trial data.

• (+) Bausch + Lomb ($BLCO) +14% because the eyecare company is weighing a sale to private equity.

• (–) Apple ($AAPL) -3% after analysts expect lower iPhone 16 demand.

Private Dealmaking

• Alcoa sold a 25.1% stake in its Saudi joint venture to Ma’aden for $1.1 billion

• World Labs, a Silicon Valley startup, raised $230 million

• Akur8, an insurance pricing engine, raised $120 million

• Citigroup sold its global fiduciary services business for $80 million

• Abolis, a beauty products ingredient developer, raised $39 million

• Huma, a payments blockchain network, raised $38 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Third Millennium Thinking

Based on a wildly popular UC Berkeley course, how to use scientists’ tricks of the trade to make the best decisions and solve the hardest problems in age of uncertainty and overwhelming information. 

In our deluge of information, it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish the revelatory from the contradictory. How do we make health decisions in the face of conflicting medical advice? Does the research cited in that article even show what the authors claim? How can we navigate the next Thanksgiving discussion with our in-laws, who follow completely different experts on the topic of climate change?

In Third Millennium Thinking, a physicist, a psychologist, and a philosopher introduce readers to the tools and frameworks that scientists have developed to keep from fooling themselves, to understand the world, and to make decisions. We can all borrow these trust-building techniques to tackle problems both big and small.

“Get better at thinking about how we think.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Construction Slowdown

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Magic of Mistakes

In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist, accidentally discovered penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic.

Fleming had been studying bacteria in his cluttered lab when he noticed a mold contaminating one of his petri dishes.

Instead of discarding it, he curiously examined the mold and found it killed the surrounding bacteria.

What began as an untidy mistake became a medical breakthrough that has saved millions of lives.

Fleming’s story reminds us that mistakes are often the birthplace of innovation.

Sometimes, the best discoveries happen when we dare to look closer at what appears to be a failure, finding magic in the unplanned and the imperfect.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Organize your kitchen like a chef, not an influencer

• The toxic phrase you shouldn’t be using at work

• 9 phrases men use when they lack basic communication skills

• CEO’s favorite books for leadership

• 5 red flags that people notice too late in relationships

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day