Good Morning! Today’s the last trading day for stocks in 2023, and the S&P 500 is flirting with its all-time high. Global merger and acquisition activity hit a 10-year low this year. 4.5 million Americans still managed to buy homes in 2023 despite a generationally tough market. Affirm’s stock quintupled this year. Plus how to handle feedback with a cool head, and 5 steps to get promoted in 2024.

Today’s edition is brought to you by MAG Capital Partners, providing you access to industrial real estate investments.

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AI’s Banking Boost

Economists have been predicting that generative AI will be a windfall for business. But a new study is showing just how lucrative AI will become for banks.

McKinsey dropped a study this month and thinks generative AI could boost Wall Street’s annual profits by $340 billion.

The consulting firm thinks banks’ operating profits will increase by 9% to 15% thanks to generative AI. And they think corporate and retail banks have the most to gain. 

ChatGPT is poised to take on a lot of those mind-numbing tasks. But AI isn’t just doing basic tasks - Goldman Sachs is using an AI-based tool for coding, and Citi is using generative AI to analyze more than 1,000 pages of new capital rules. 

Other banks are using AI for derivatives trading, sniffing out fraud, and even handling performance reviews.

Takeaway: 2023 was the year AI went mainstream and it will take some time for AI use cases to get fine tuned. Banks at the forefront of this AI revolution stand to reap substantial rewards. 2024 is poised to be a landmark year for AI, with potential breakthroughs that could redefine banking industry standards and performance.

_{PRESENTED BY MAG CAPITAL PARTNERS}

Investors: Follow This $2.4T Breadcrumb Trail

While most investors toe the line with standard markets, the savvy among us have zeroed in on what some experts call “the backbone of the American economy.”

Welcome to Industrial real estate (IRE). 

The global supply chain disruption of 2020 revealed a clear need for domestic manufacturing solutions, fueling massive demand in the US. 

While inflation riddled other sectors, IRE remained resilient, delivering instant cash flows, inflation protection, and asset appreciation for investors. 

But here’s the kicker: Not all IRE investments are the same. MAG Capital Partners have over 50 year’s experience of accessing off-market investments that deliver consistent yields (while minimizing risk).

Don’t wait–unearth the industrial real estate market with MAG Capital Partners today.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Can Reddit still do an IPO in 2024? (Verge)

• Inflation has created a dark cloud over how Americans view the economy (CNBC)

• How EVs are losing momentum with U.S. buyers (WSJ)

• Affirm’s stock quintupled this year, beating all BNPL peers (CNBC)

• Global mergers and acquisitions hit lowest level in a decade (Axios)

• Startup bubble fueled by Fed’s cheap money policy finally burst in 2023 (CNBC)

• Morgan Stanley's straight-talking new CEO taking charge (YF)

• Jane Fraser’s empathy doesn’t mean Citi is soft (BB)

• Nvidia stock still looks cheap despite 200% surge (YF)

• 4.5 million Americans bought homes in 2023 in generationally tough market (CNN) 

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Markets Rundown

Stocks closed mixed ahead of the final trading day of 2023.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Coherus BioSciences ($CHRS) +20% after the FDA approved its chemotherapy treatment.

• (+) Penn Entertainment ($PENN) +6% after an activist investor pushed to assign members to the casino’s operator board.

• (–) NeoGenomics ($NEO) -18% because the oncology testing company is banned from selling its RaDaR technology in the U.S.

Private Dealmaking

• Atavistik Bio, a therapeutics developer, raised $40 million

• Liquid AI, a liquid neural networks developer, raised $37.5 million

• GFO-X, a crypto derivatives exchange, raised $30 million

• Rhythms, an enterprise productivity startup, raised $26 million

• Cradle, an AI protein designer platform, raised $24 million

• Immensa, a manufacturing and inventory management startup, raised $20 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Power Of Ambition

From America’s leading authority on success comes a book that will help you redefine ambition so that you can use your drive to serve others while creating the fulfilling life you desire.

In The Power of Ambition, Jim Rohn debunks the myths and misconceptions about ambition that cause it to hinder, rather than fuel, personal achievement. Genuine ambition is not a self-serving impulse.

Quite the opposite—it empowers us to better our lives and the lives of those around us. Rohn details six revolutionary strategies for cultivating legitimate ambition and harnessing it to transform what is going on within and around you.

Ambition is as much a mindset as it is a lifestyle. As Rohn defines it: “True ambition is disciplined, eager desire.”

The Power of Ambition will help you live with intention every moment so that you can enjoy the change you envision for your life.

“Motivation can come from anywhere, but ambition is only drawn from within. Access your inner drive to achieve all the things you’ve been working for.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

US Unicorn Count and Aggregate Post-Valuation

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Leverage

“It’s almost impossible to remove a screw with your bare hands, but easy with a screwdriver.

The handle might only add a little torque, but it’s more than enough.

If someone is succeeding at something you find difficult, it might be because they realized they needed a screwdriver.

Looking for the tool is the first step in finding it.”

Source: Seth Godin

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Short Squeez Picks

• 5 steps that will get you promoted in 2024

• 3 key strategies to leading your team right away

• Why great leaders embrace imposter syndrome

• How to handle feedback with a cool head

• An MIT business professor on how to ask good questions

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Memes of the Day