Good Morning! LinkedIn pulled out of China earlier this year, and young job seekers have turned to Tinder for job leads. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, is melting down - they've laid off 1,500 employees this year, and a dozen senior leaders have left.

The FTC is taking on Amazon, alleging monopolistic practices. OpenAI is setting its sights on a $90 billion valuation in a share sale. And since Taylor Swift went to the Chiefs game last Sunday, Travis Kelce's merch sales have skyrocketed by 400%, becoming a top 5 selling jersey in the NFL.

According to yesterday’s poll, 44% of you still have their Covid savings left.

Mark your calendars for October 4th! Our Wall Street Financial Modeling Course is launching soon. Use the code PREORDER to get $100 off.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Ponzi Scheme King

It feels like literally everyone’s been trying to start a podcast after the pandemic. And some podcasts have begun offering highly questionable financial advice.

Take The Cash Flow King podcast - founded by an Ohio man named Matt Motil. Motil says he wants to turn The Cash Flow King listeners into "real estate investing badasses” - providing tips on how to take in some sweet, passive income.

But there’s one problem - the podcast was all smoke and mirrors. Earlier this week, the SEC charged Motil with running an $11 million Ponzi scheme.

The Cash Flow King squeezed millions of dollars by selling promissory notes in single-family homes in Ohio. In one instance, he apparently sold the same promissory note to 20 different listeners. He had bought that property for just $47k yet raised $1.3 million for it.

And instead of investing the money, he used funds to pay “returns” to other investors - and lived an extravagant lifestyle renting lakeside mansions and buying courtside NBA tickets.

He tried getting out of paying back investors by filing for bankruptcy. But Uncle Sam wasn't having any of it - and now Motil faces serious time behind bars.

Takeaway: Seems like regulators are finally cracking down on these "get-rich-quick" schemers. And who would have thought - the self-proclaimed “real estate badass” from Ohio, who wanted to help listeners “fire their bosses” and quit their 9-to-5 - would be full of sh*t.

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks had their worst day since March as economic worries returned.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Fisker ($FSR) +10% after Bank of America initiated coverage on the EV maker with a buy.

• (+) DraftKings ($DKNG) +2% after the sports betting company was upgraded by JPMorgan.

• (–) Amazon ($AMZN) -4% after getting sued by the FTC.

Private Dealmaking

• ATS bought Avidity Science, an automated water purification solutions maker, for $195 million 

• Alto Pharmacy, an online pharmacy, raised $120 million

• Kneron, a chipmaker for autonomous vehicles, raised $49 million

• Adela, a blood testing platform, raised $48 million 

• Lepaya, an upskilling platform, raised $38 million

• AIRNA, a developer of RNA editing therapeutics, raised $30 million

Get access to private deal flow here.

_{AI FOR PRIVATE EQUITY}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Vista Equity tops $100B in AUM as tech deals reignite (Axios)

• Short sellers mount attack on ESG stocks (BB)

• High oil prices are manageable for now but precarious (YF)

• Private debt fundraising on pace to exceed $200B this year (Axios)

• Hedge funds cut stock leverage at fastest pace since 2020 (BB)

• Jamie Dimon says India optimism is completely justified (CNBC)

• This resilient part of the housing market is cracking (YF)

• Inside Manhattan’s newest 100k members-only club (CNBC)

• SBF reportedly caused 90% drop in Bitcoin price with a fat finger (TS)

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Wise Men

A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces six close friends who shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II.

They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos and leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day.

The Wise Men shares the stories of Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall.

George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.

“Must be read if we are to understand the postwar world.”

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The Action Button is the most significant new iPhone feature in years

• 18 ways to effectively communicate financial data

• 9 mental models that will level up your thinking

• 6 unconscious micro-behaviors that undermine your chance at leading

• How to achieve more and stress less

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Consumer Confidence Hits 4-Month Low

100 indexed to 1985

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Productivity

Ready to unlock "productivity ninja" status? Start by decluttering the mental attic! Ask: "Is this thing I'm doing pivotal or just trivial pursuit?"

Spoiler: Being ruthless might save 20-40% of your day.

Think of tasks as apps; too many running, and you're just draining the battery. Avoid the "busy bee" syndrome; buzzing everywhere but not making honey.

Craving a productivity hack? Here's one: Drop the unnecessary baggage! Remember, productivity isn't a marathon; it's a sprint in the right direction.

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day