Good Morning! Trump floated military action in Greenland, with Rubio calling it leverage to buy the island from Denmark. Meta paused its international rollout of Ray-Ban Display smart glasses to meet surging U.S. demand, and private-equity management fees fell to a record low of 1.61% of AUM.

Morgan Stanley moved to launch Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, marking a major U.S. bank’s first push into crypto ETFs. Vista says its “agentic factory” is already generating AI revenue across 30 portfolio companies, and KKR agreed to buy Arctos in a ~$1B deal.

Trump says Venezuela will send up to 50M barrels of oil to the U.S., McDonald’s faces a McRib lawsuit, and why strength training may extend your lifespan.

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SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Wall Street’s Unhinged Hiring Ritual Is Back

Private equity quietly rebooted on-cycle recruiting this week, and while the calendar was pushed back slightly, the process remains just as brutal.

On Monday, nearly every megafund, including Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, TPG, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, Hellman & Friedman, and Warburg Pincus, pulled first-year investment banking analysts into a compressed, all-day interview sprint.

The interviews were for the Summer 2027 cohort. Some firms extended offers on the day, while others completed final rounds on Tuesday. In total, the process wrapped up within a matter of days.

A process that was supposedly “dead” six months ago came roaring back, just… colder and faster.

If you want to break into private equity, on-cycle recruiting is the single most important choke point in a junior banker’s career. It determines who escapes banking early and who lands a seat at a megafund. (While it is still possible to recruit off-cycle, most megafund seats are typically filled by then, and the remaining processes tend to drag on much longer, often lasting several months)

Last summer, it looked like the system might finally crack. Analysts were interviewing with little to no deal experience, some of whom were asked to accept private equity offers two years before even starting their investment banking gig.

Jamie Dimon publicly threatened to fire analysts who accepted future-dated PE jobs, and Apollo’s Marc Rowan backed him. Firms said they would push hiring later, and for a moment, it seemed like everyone was aligned.

What “pushing it to 2026” ended up meaning, however, was Monday, January 5, basically the first real workday of the year, when all hell broke loose.

One analyst started interviews at 7:30 a.m. and had an offer by 9 p.m. Another left a Park Avenue office mid-round to rush to a competing firm that had just emailed a last-minute interview invite.

Banks are not backing down either. JPMorgan’s 18-month rule is still in place, and analysts who take PE jobs too early still risk getting fired. Goldman and Citi still have loyalty pledges, as well. But that has not stopped recruiting… it’s just pushed it underground.

Everyone is pretending this is more “measured,” but the reality looks the same. Analysts skipping work for “dentist appointments,” shuttling between offices, and comparing offers the next morning like Pokémon cards.

Takeaway: So apparently on-cycle recruiting didn’t die, but it evolved. This year looks like fewer fireworks but the same power dynamics. For young investment bankers, the message is simple: the system still rewards speed, secrecy, and being ready before you think you need to be. Wall Street may pretend it fixed the process, but it just made it quieter.

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HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Rubio tells lawmakers Trump aims to buy Greenland, downplays military action (WSJ)

• Meta delays Ray-Ban Display glasses rollout due to inventory limits, demand (CNBC)

• Private equity management fees hit new low in 2025 (CNBC)

• Morgan Stanley files for crypto ETFs in US banking first (YF)

• Vista Equity says its 'agentic factory' is reinventing the way companies use AI (CNBC)

• KKR to buy sports investor Arctos at $1 billion valuation (BB)

• Trump says Venezuela to give up to 50 million barrels of oil to U.S. (CNBC)

• Lawsuit claims McDonald's deceives customers with McRib (Axios)

• Bubble or $6T? Wall Street clashes on Nvidia's path forward (YF)

• TPG strikes deal with Jackson Financial to manage $12 billion (BB)

• KKR, Warburg Pincus among suits for Southeast Asia school operator (WSJ)

• Manhattan office leasing in the fourth quarter was the strongest in 6 years (CNBC)

• Uber, Lucid unveil robotaxi set for launch in San Francisco (TC)

• Memory chip giants spark global semiconductor rally, shortages hike prices (CNBC)

• Jamie Dimon slips on a new cap for the Trump era (WP)

• Shake Shack CEO regularly visits his restaurants unannounced (CNBC)

• Fund managers prepare for ‘reckoning’ in US tech sector (FT)

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• U.S. equities closed higher, with the S&P 500 +0.6% and Dow +1%

• Leadership was broad-based, with cyclicals and health care outperforming

• Russell 2000 gained 1%+, reflecting strength in growth-sensitive small caps

• Asian and European markets traded higher across the board

• Treasury yields moved modestly higher: 10-year 4.17%, 2-year 3.47%

• Oil reversed early gains to finish lower; gold and silver rose on geopolitical tailwinds

Economic Data Highlights

• Key labor data arrives today with ADP employment and JOLTS job openings

• Friday’s jobs report expected to show 60K payroll gains and unemployment dipping to 4.5%

• 2025 payroll growth averaged ~55K, down from 168K in 2024, but layoffs remained minimal

• Initial jobless claims averaged 226K in 2025, well below the 30-year average (364K)

Sector Trends

• Materials and industrials led cyclicals higher

• Health care performed well as defensive demand remained firm

• Precious metals extended gains amid elevated geopolitical attention

• Energy lagged due to the intraday reversal in oil prices

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Micron Technologies ($MU) +10% after analysts expect strong demand and shortages to lead to price hikes.

• (+) Shake Shack ($SHAK) +8% because Deutsche Bank upgraded the fast casual chain to buy.

• (–) SoFi Technologies ($SOFI) -8% after Bank of America resumed coverage with an underperform.

Prediction Markets

• Is digital gold the gold of 2026?

• Trade on real-world events with Kalshi. Use code OWS to get a $10 bonus when you trade $10.

Private Dealmaking

• Vistra to buy Cogentrix Energy for $4 billion

• DayOne Data Centers, a hyperscale data center operator, raised over $2 billion

• KKR to buy sports investor Arctos for $1 billion 

• Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company, acquired Dark Blue Therapeutics, an oncology biotech focused on targeted cancer therapies, for $840 million

• Bain Capital acquired a 44% stake in Andar, an activewear brand, for $150 million

• Cambium, a developer of advanced materials for defense and aerospace, raised $100 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Capital Evolution

Description: A timely reassessment of American capitalism that argues the old neoliberal model has run its course and must evolve. Levine and MacBride blend economic history, policy insight, and real-world business stories to outline a more resilient and inclusive “dynamic capitalism,” one that balances innovation with stability, broad prosperity, and long-term thinking.

Book Length: 336 pages
Release Date: December 9, 2025

Ideal For: Investors, operators, policy thinkers, and anyone curious about how markets and institutions must adapt to a rapidly shifting economy.

“The future of capitalism isn’t left or right, it’s forward.”

DAILY VISUAL

40% of US Homes Don’t Have a Mortgage

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DAILY ACUMEN

Illusion of Arrival

When Jim Carrey finally became famous, he said, "I wish everyone could experience being rich and famous, so they'd know it's not the answer."

We're obsessed with arrival, when I get the promotion, when I make six figures, when I lose the weight, then I'll be happy. But happiness doesn't work that way.

Psychologists call it the "hedonic treadmill,” we adapt to positive changes quickly and return to our baseline happiness. Lottery winners are no happier a year later. New car excitement fades in weeks. The corner office becomes just another office.

Dan Gilbert's research shows we're terrible at predicting what will make us happy because we focus on arrival, not journey. The goal isn't worthless, but if you're miserable climbing the mountain, you'll be miserable at the summit too.

What if happiness isn't a destination but a way of traveling? What if you stopped waiting to arrive and started enjoying the journey?

Remember, there is no "there" there. This moment, right now, is all you ever get. Stop postponing your happiness.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• How to focus longer*

• How much practice do you need to become the best in the world?

• How to master the treadmill

• 9 habits of emotionally resilient people

• How strength training extends longevity 

• How to live a good enough life

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