Good Morning! Ray Dalio advocated for Taylor Swift's presidential candidacy in an Instagram selfie. Layoffs surged to the highest level for any February on record since 2009. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk overtook Tesla’s market cap thanks to positive obesity drug data. Private deals are roaring back and powering the U.S. corporate M&A scene. And the details on how Trump’s ex-Treasury chief landed 2024’s highest-profile bank deal. Plus, how to become a super-communicator at work, and how much wealth you need to join the 1% club in your country. 

Optimize your mind and body with the same health coaching used by Navy SEALs and pro athletes. Try Fount Pro for $500 off today.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Pay to Play

This week, Dartmouth’s basketball team just passed a historic vote to unionize. By a score of 13-2, these hoop players are joining forces with the local service employees union. And in an era where college players can monetize their name, image, and likeness, the move could rewrite the college sports scene. 

So, what kicked off this unionization talk? Last month, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that these Dartmouth ballers are actually employees. Dartmouth was quick to retort that they’re just students, and the union talk doesn’t fit the bill. After all, Ivy League schools don’t even offer athletic scholarships. But Dartmouth requires its student athletes to attend fundraising events, which could be considered employment. 

The Dartmouth team’s bold move is just the tip of the iceberg. They're the front-runners in a growing showdown against the NCAA. NCAA’s Charlie Baker says that he’s all for paying players, but employment contracts? That's where they pump the brakes. And the athletes? Most don’t want to be tagged as employees, either.

One of the benefits of being in a union is that workers can threaten to strike. But would these college athletes actually play their strike card when the game's on the line? It’s one thing to talk a big game about rights and benefits, but walking out mid-season? That’s a whole other ballgame.

Takeaway: Before July 2021, college athletes couldn’t even get paid. And the NCAA athlete who’s likely made the most from NIL deals? Livvy Dunne, the gymnast and influencer from LSU. Dartmouth's basketball players might just be tipping off a whole new era in college sports, where the line between student-athlete and employee gets all kinds of blurry. 

_{PRESENTED BY FOUNT}

Boost Performance, Eliminate Jet Lag, and Accelerate Recovery

Want to maximize your mental and physical output? Louder for the people in the back! 

Try Fount Pro, the hyper-personalized health optimization program used by pro athletes, Fortune 500 execs, and special operators.

Whether you’re training for a marathon or looking for the edge in your career, Fount Pro helps you dial in the perfect routine for elite mind and body performance, everyday. 

Forget ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions – Fount Pro combines blood, wearable, and psychological data, weekly 1-on-1 sessions with your coach, and N=1 experiments to identify the tools that work uniquely for your body. 

Schedule a free consultation today, change your life tomorrow. Mention Short Squeez for $500 off.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Layoffs rise to highest for any February since 2009 (CNBC)

• Novo Nordisk surpasses Tesla in early obesity drug data (YF)

• Private deals powering U.S. corporate M&A (Axios)

• How Trump’s ex-Treasury chief landed 2024’s highest-profile bank deal (YF)

• The blacklisted component that’s disrupting the luxury-car market (WSJ)

• Why private equity has been involved in every recent bank deal (CNBC)

• US regulators greenlit NYCB’s rapid growth (YF)

• NYCB lost 7% of deposits in past month, slashes dividend to $0.01 (CNBC)

• US regional banks face big hurdles a year after SVB’s collapse (Reuters)

• Bill Gates-backed startup confident it can unearth more battery metals (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher after optimism about rate hikes coming soon.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Kroger ($KR) +10% after the grocery chain posted a strong Q4 earnings beat.

• (+) Novo Nordisk ($NVO) +9% after the Ozempic maker unveiled a new weight loss pill.

• (–) Victoria Secret ($VSCO) -30% because shrinking demand hit the company’s sales forecast.

Private Dealmaking

• Nationwide Building Society bought Virgin Money UK for $3.7 billion

• Alumis, a precision immune colony company, raised $259 million

• Svatantra Microfin, an Indian microlender, raised $230 million 

• Claroty, a cyber-physical systems protection provider, raised $100 million

• Overjet, a dental provider support startup, raised $53.2 million

• Sweet Security, a cloud security startup, raised $33 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Taxocracy

Did you ever wonder why the costs of health care, housing, and college tuition keep going up? Or how your neighbor could afford that fancy electric car? Or why there are so many hard seltzers on the market?

Your first guess might not be “taxes,” but they play a big role. We live in a world ruled by taxes—a taxocracy.

History is full of misguided tax policies that led to “see-through” buildings, tax-free attics, three-wheeled cars, women in children’s clothing, and baked chips to go along with our hard seltzer.

Written by former Tax Foundation CEO Scott Hodge, Taxocracy: What You Don’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life uses amusing lessons from past tax policies gone wrong to explore how the US tax code caused serious consequences, affecting how we get our health insurance, the price of a college education, what car we buy, where we bank, and, in some cases, even when we die.

Taxocracy outlines economic principles for designing a tax code that doesn’t rule our daily lives—a tax code that promotes economic growth, free-enterprise, and takes the politics out of tax policy.

“Did you ever wonder why the costs of health care, housing, and college tuition keep going up? Or how your neighbor could afford that fancy electric car? Or why there are so many hard seltzers on the market?”

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Kindness

Even when people forget the small things, they'll always remember how kind you were to them. Kindness sticks in our minds long after the details fade away.

It's the way we make others feel that truly lasts and what they'll remember about us. Being kind can light up someone's day or even change their life, and that's what people hold on to.

So, even though we might forget exactly what was said or done, the warmth and care we share stay with us forever.

This shows us how powerful being nice to each other can be—it's the best thing we can be remembered for.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• How to listen to clients and earn their trust

• The most powerful paradoxes of life 

• How tracking your work wins can cure imposter syndrome

• How to become a super communicator at work

• How much wealth do you need to join the 1% club in your country?

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day