Good Morning! S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh record highs after better-than-expected inflation data. ChatGPT rival Perplexity made an ambitious $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser, nearly double its own $18 billion valuation.

Elon and Altman beef is heating up after both exchanged jabs on X yesterday, and Altman is also reportedly backing a Neuralink rival. Spirit Airlines and Kodak warned they may not survive another year. And Cava plunged 22% after weak earnings.

Plus: iCapital hired former Bloomberg TV lead Wall Street correspondent Sonali Basak as Chief Investment Strategist, China is reviving Hong Kong’s IPO market, and the 50 best colleges for long-term career success.

Modeling errors, unreliable Excel-to-PPT linking, last-min pls fixes. Sound familiar? Macabacus can help.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Trump vs. DJ D-Sol

Trump has found his latest target on Wall Street: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol).

The clash began after Goldman’s chief economist, Jan Hatzius, predicted that U.S. consumers would shoulder most of the cost of Trump’s tariffs, an assessment that contradicts Trump’s claim that foreign countries are paying the bill.

Hatzius’ note estimated consumers have absorbed 22% of tariff costs so far, a figure that could rise to 67% by October.

Trump blasted the bank on Truth Social, calling the forecast “bad” and accusing Goldman of getting tariffs wrong “a long time ago.” 

He claimed Solomon and Goldman “refuse to give credit where credit is due” and “made a bad prediction… on both the Market repercussion and the Tariffs.” His advice for Solomon? Fire his economist or “focus on being a DJ” and let someone else run the firm.

The feud isn’t new. Back in April, Goldman joined other Wall Street forecasters warning that Trump’s tariff plans could risk a recession. Since then, Trump has widened his beef with the Street, recently telling Intel’s CEO to resign over China ties, and accusing Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon of snubbing him as a customer.

July’s tariff revenue hit nearly $28 billion, per the Treasury Department but inflation has remained elevated, and some businesses say they’ve already raised prices to offset costs.

Fun fact: DJ D-Sol has performed in the Hamptons and once opened for The Chainsmokers (whose side hustle is running a $225M AUM VC fund).

Takeaway: David Solomon has gotten ripped for his DJing gig before and probably wasn’t expecting to hear it from the sitting President. But Trump has made no secret that he’ll support firing economists if the data doesn’t fit his story. Here’s to hoping DJ D-Sol spins this feud into a Hamptons diss track.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• S&P 500, Nasdaq both notch record close (CNBC)

• Inflation held steady in July as tariffs ripple through prices (NPR)

• Stocks ride AI bull market to fresh highs (Axios)

• Global markets cheer a 90-day pause in U.S. China tariffs (YF)

• Perplexity AI offers to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion (Axios)

• Musk-Altman battle escalates as Tesla CEO drags Apple into the spat (CNBC)

• Sam Altman will reportedly back a startup that takes on Musk’s Neuralink (TC)

• Sonali Basak Joins iCapital as Chief Investment Strategist (YF)

• Kodak warns it may not stay afloat as its shares plunge 25% (NYP)

• Spirit raises going-concern doubts, months after exiting bankruptcy (Fox)

• Private equity is becoming less exclusive (FT)

• Chickasaw Nation launches Pennington Creek Capital (Axios)

• Anthropic offers Claude to U.S. federal agencies for just $1 (CNBC)

• Booming Hong Kong IPO market fuels “Made in China” recovery (BB)

• U.S. Treasuries rally after inflation report boosts bets on a Fed rate cut (YF)

• Leveraged loan margins fall to “junk-floor” levels this summer (BB)

• China’s biggest shipbuilder becomes flashpoint in Trump–China rivalry (WSJ)

• Harvard ready to pay $500 million for job training in Trump deal (BB)

• The art of the in-person job interview in an AI age (Axios)

• Trump’s jobs chief BLS pick sparks partisan clash (Axios)

• Coller strikes record $3 billion private credit secondaries deal (BB) 

• 50 best colleges for long-term career success (LinkedIn)

PRESENTED BY MACABACUS

Turn Messy Models Into Client-Ready Decks (Fast)

TL;DR: Financial modeling errors and sloppy slides tank credibility. Macabacus gives banking & finance firms an enterprise-grade productivity tool to deliver error-free models & decks with confidence and speed.

Why It Matters

• Missed links and hard codes = delays, rework, and awkward client moments. 

• Formula errors = inaccurate models, incorrect decisions. 

• A tight workflow = tighter timelines and a safer reputation. 

What You Get

• Excel → PowerPoint linking: Seamlessly & reliably update tables, charts, and text as your models change. 

• Model Check + Tracing Tools: Surface hard codes, broken/circular refs, and bad links before they hit leadership or clients. 

• Deck Check: Enforce brand standards automatically (fonts, layouts, logos) across every slide. 

• AI Writing Assistant: Turn analysis into slide narratives that align with your brand guidelines and tone-of-voice. 

• Shared Libraries & Templates: Access firm-approved slides, templates, and a logo library for consistent, on-brand deliverables. 

The Outcome 
Ship error-free, client-ready work and spend your time on high-value analysis instead of clean-up. 

Who’s Using It
80,000+ finance and banking professionals.

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Stocks surged to new highs after a cooler-than-feared July CPI, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record levels

• Small caps outperformed as the Russell 2000 jumped ~3%, now up >5% from early-August lows

• Rate-cut optimism helped risk assets; the 2-year Treasury yield fell ~4 bps, while the 10-year was steady

• The U.S. dollar weakened ~0.5% on a trade-weighted basis

Economic Data Highlights

• Headline CPI rose 0.2% m/m, holding at 2.7% y/y

• Core CPI +0.3% m/m, lifting y/y to ~3.1%

• Tariff pass-through remained muted in July (core goods ~+0.2% m/m), while services inflation picked up (notably airfares ~+4% m/m)

• Market pricing implies >90% odds of a September Fed cut, with at least one additional cut this year

Reported Earnings

• On Holding (ONON) – Beat expectations; strength in direct-to-consumer and North America drove results

• CoreWeave (CRWV) – Strong top-line growth on AI cloud demand; guidance improved despite investment-driven margin pressure

• Circle Internet Group (CRCL) – In-line to better results; USDC adoption rose even as transaction-volume growth moderated slightly

Earnings Today

• Cisco Systems (CSCO) – Focus on AI-driven networking demand, enterprise IT spend, and guidance

• Global-e Online (GLBE) – Watch cross-border volumes, new merchant wins, and margin trajectory

• DLocal (DLO) – Key lines: TPV growth, LatAm expansion, and FX effects on profitability

Movers & Shakers

• (+) On Holding ($ONON) +9% after the athleticwear maker raised its full-year guidance.

• (–) Eastman Kodak ($KODK) -20% after it cautioned there's 'substantial doubt' about its ability to stay in business.

• (–) Spirit Airlines ($FLYY) -41% after the airline warned it may go out of business.

Private Dealmaking

• Cardinal Health agreed to buy Solaris Health for $1.9 billion

• DigitalBridge Investments and Crestview Partners acquired WideOpenWest for $1.5 billion

• Golden Gate Capital sold DMC Power to Hubbell for $825 million

• Aira, a home heat-pump producer, raised $162 million

• SetPoint Medical, an autoimmune disease therapies developer, raised $140 million

• Reveal Technology, a defense-tech imagery and mapping company, raised $30 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Honing The Human Edge

Description:
A human-centered leadership manual rooted in decades of executive experience in luxury hospitality. Edward Mady reveals how leaders can thrive under pressure by leaning into presence, empathy, and trust. Through real-life examples and tactical frameworks, he shows how caring leadership, coaching, and accountability can transform culture, unlock team potential, and turn crises into growth opportunities.

Rating: Amazon 5 / 5

Book Length: 240 pages

Audiobook: 6 hours 54 minutes

Ideal For:
CEOs, executives, team leaders, and professionals in high-stakes or high-empathy environments—especially those seeking to elevate leadership through connection rather than command.

“The best crisis managers are like first responders: they plan, rehearse, and train continually before a crisis occurs… leadership doesn’t elevate you above others; it makes you responsible for others.”

DAILY VISUAL

Harvard Loads Up on Amazon and Nvidia

Want more? Visualize the markets with Carbon Finance

PRESENTED BY BABBEL

Learn a New Language This Summer

You may be fluent in Excel, but can you order pasta in Florence in Italian?

With Babbel, you can start speaking a new language in weeks:

• Expert-crafted lessons

• Just 10 minutes a day

• Real conversations in 3 weeks

Whether you’re hopping across Europe or trying to impress your dinner date, Babbel makes it fun (and fast).

Short Squeez readers get 55% off with our partner offer.

DAILY ACUMEN

Optionality

In markets, optionality is the silent king—owning rights without obligation, leverage without debt. In life, it’s the same.

Every skill you learn, every person you meet, every project you start but don’t yet monetize—these are out-of-the-money calls on your future.

Most expire worthless, but the occasional moonshot pays for them all.

The trick is to keep buying cheap options—learning languages, starting side hustles, taking calls you “don’t have time for.”

Wall Street loves to model cash flows, but some of the biggest returns come from assets you can’t model yet.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• 14th Street could look a lot different

• 10 unique ways to stay productive 

• How to compare yourself with others fairly

• The hidden penalty of using AI at work

• Tips to a good life from Harvard’s Grant study

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

📣 Partner With Us: Get in front of an audience of over 1 million finance professionals, business leaders, and policy influencers. Submit a partnership inquiry.

📈 Grow With Us: Work directly with the Overheard on Wall Street team to scale your finance brand. Schedule your free consult.

🔒 Short Squeez Premium – Insiders: Access exclusive content, including investment analysis, wellness features, career tools, and our full recruiting resource library. Upgrade to Premium. 

🧢 Wall Street Shop: Explore our collection of finance-themed apparel and merchandise. Visit the shop.

📬 Deals Newsletter – Buysiders: A curated roundup of major M&A, private equity, and VC activity. Plus access to private deal flow. Subscribe here.

🏠 Real Estate Newsletter – City Squeez: Latest news and exclusive listings for those looking to buy, rent, or invest in real estate around the world. Sign up here.

📚 Courses: Level up with our excel, modeling, and private equity courses. View offerings.