Good Morning! Taylor Swift officially vaulted into billionaire status, thanks to her blockbuster Eras tour. Travis Kelce could not be reached for comment - sources say he's hiding his mom from Zach Wilson.

Half a million people moved out of NYC last year. But if you think the Big Apple is the most rat-infested city, a new study found Chicago has snatched the crown. The U.S. GDP defied slowdown fears last quarter. And Amazon tripled its profit, thanks to the triple threat of cloud computing, advertising, and retail domination.

If you haven’t already, make sure you are subscribed to Buysiders, our PE & VC newsletter, covering the juiciest deals on Wall Street.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Sound Investments

If you’re thinking about alternative investments in 2023 - music royalties are becoming a player. A few startups allow retail investors to trade music royalties. And with streaming services that have pumped up the value of music rights, more people can easily access songs, which translates to more money for the artists.

Royalty investing isn't exactly a new concept, but before new innovative platforms, it was really the institutional investors like hedge funds and private equity firms that were players. They were the ones shelling out six figures or more to own entire song catalogs.

One platform called Public allows retail investors to invest directly in music royalties. They buy up catalogs and market them, allowing ordinary Americans to bet on arts.

And for hungry musicians just starting out, partnering or even selling their catalogs to platforms like Public is a way to make some extra cash.

Takeaway: Retail investment in music royalties is still in its infancy, but it's quickly evolving into a lucrative industry. This year, Katy Perry made a whopping $225 million by selling her catalog, while J Biebs also raked in a cool $200 million. Notable past deals include Bruce Springsteen's 2021 sale of his catalog for a hefty $600 million and Bob Dylan's $400 million deal with Universal for his music.

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Markets Rundown

Stocks closed lower and entered correction territory.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Morningstar ($MORN) +13% after the investment company beat earnings.

• (+) Willis Towers Watson ($WTW) +10% after the insurance broker beat both top and bottom line estimates.

• (–) Duolingo ($DUOL) -7% after the key hedge fund investor sold shares.

Private Dealmaking

• Triveni Bio, an antibodies developer, raised $92 million

• YouTrip, a multi-currency digital wallet startup, raised $50 million

• Oxide Computer, an on-premise cloud computer developer, raised $44 million 

• Husk Power Systems, a solar mini-grid developer, raised $43 million

• Neo, a wealth and asset management startup, raised $35 million

• Blockaid, a web3 security startup, raised $33 million

Get access to private deal flow here.

_{SPONSORED BY PERCENT}

Institutional Investors Have Been Loading Up On This Investment For Years

High yield, income generation, diversification and greater resistance to inflation and volatility — are just some of the factors that have attracted investors to private credit in recent years.

What are they? Private credit are loans which are negotiated privately and are not originated by banks. They can command much higher interest rates and offer largely uncorrelated risk profiles.

Where can you invest? Percent is the only platform exclusively dedicated to private credit, making it available to everyday investors. Accredited investor can get access to:

• APY: Average of 18.76% as of September 30, 2023

• Welcome bonus: Earn up to $500 bonus on your first investment

• Shorter-term investments: Some offering liquidity after just one month

• Income generating: Potential for passive income, often monthly, throughout the lifetime of the deal

Visit Percent to create a free account and see all current offerings available.

Get your $500 welcome bonus.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• New Morgan Stanley CEO is a math whiz among math whizzes (WSJ)

• A Wall Street trade that roiled Covid-era markets is back (Axios)

• Stock investors discount private equity woes (WSJ)

• The top fintech companies in 2023 (CNBC)

• Wall Street’s new guard is ready to take over (YF)

• Microsoft says AI investments already paying off (Axios)

• US mortgage rates soar to highest in 23 years (Reuters)

• Jefferies analyst says Microsoft can take cloud market share away from Amazon (CNBC)

• Private credit lenders giving up protections to win bigger deals (BB)

• A niche real-estate corner goes mainstream in digital age (WSJ)

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Astor

The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story—of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention.

From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society.

The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic, one of many shocking and unexpected twists in the family’s story.

In this unconventional, page-turning historical biography, featuring black-and-white and color photographs, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe chronicle the lives of the Astors and explore what the Astor name has come to mean in America—offering a window onto the making of America itself.

"A rich history about the ways in which the very name of the mega-rich weakens through ubiquity and hubris."

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Short Squeez Picks

• Should you go back to your old job if you regret switching?

• 5 subtle downsides to being rich

• 6 of the best productivity methods

• How humans across the world spend 24 hours in a day

• 5 job interview templates that will wow your interviewer

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Change in the average price Americans paid for new cars

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

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Total Capital Raise vs. First Time Fund Share

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If you work on the buyside or aspiring to work on the buyside or just want access to private deal flow, this newsletter is for you. Subscribe here.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Effort

Effort, the unsung hero of success, right? Wrong! Contrary to what Bill Gates pulling all-nighters might make you think, effort isn't always the star of the show. It turns out that motivation, not sweat, should take center stage.

Effort can be a bit of a conundrum. Is it the cause or the consequence? Does someone work hard because they love their job, or do they love their job because they work hard? It's like a "chicken or the egg" situation, but with more deadlines and less clucking.

So, let's imagine effort as part of a wild loop – effort > performance > pleasure > motivation > effort. It's a bit like those Netflix series you can't stop watching. You start watching because it's fun (effort-as-a-consequence), and then you can't stop (motivation).

Now, what's this got to do with leadership and getting through your to-do list? Well, it's a hint to avoid the "no pain, no gain" mindset. If a task feels like a chore, your brain's going to sprint towards a quick, easy reward elsewhere, like a chocolate bar in a room full of kale.

In the end, it's all about making the effort an enjoyable journey, not a tiresome chore.

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Memes of the Day