Good Morning and Happy Friday! U.S. economy grew a little slower than we expected last quarter. Fed still thinks inflation is too high but is optimistic it will come down soon. Nelson Peltz finally sold his Disney stake after losing that bitter proxy battle. Salesforce had its worst day since 2004, and Skydance sweetened its offer to buy Paramount. Plus why the Nvidia stock surge doesn’t bode well for markets, and how to deal with paperclipping, a toxic dating trend.

Read by Warren Buffet and other high-flying execs, Dry Powder shines a spotlight on Wall Street’s most consequential stories. Start your 14-week trial here. 

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Elon Back on Top

Elon Musk had a solid week - officially reclaiming his title as the world's richest person. The primary reason? His AI startup, xAI, secured $6 billion in funding at a pre-money valuation of $18 billion.

Elon Musk overtook Bernard Arnault and Jeff Bezos thanks to his xAI stake being worth almost $15 billion. This news also sparked a rally in $NVDA as investors became more optimistic about AI.

Musk has his hands in a lot of different ventures - he owns a 12% stake in Tesla, and a 42% stake in SpaceX, each of which is valued at around $75B. It's incredible because even one of these stakes alone would make Musk one of the richest people in the world.

It’s been a rocky year for Musk - $TSLA has underperformed (-28% YTD), and his Twitter takeover has left much to be desired. But there’s optimism that he can leverage X to train xAI, and we’re not sure we’d bet against Musk.

Takeaway: Love or hate the guy - you have to admit. It’s remarkable that Musk has seemingly built business after business - and he could be well on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. With reports coming this week that Musk could hold an advisory position in the White House, Elon could be cementing his position as one of the most influential public figures of our lifetimes.

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The Newsletter Wall Street Can’t Stop Forwarding

What do Warren Buffet and Dan Loeb have in common?

Besides being wildly-successful billionaire investors, they both read Dry Powder by Puck.

Written by former M&A banker Bill Cohan, Dry Powder is the insider’s guide to the machinations on Wall Street, bringing readers behind closed doors and into private boardroom meetings.

Recent briefings include… 

• David Zaslav’s imagined internal monologue regarding NBA rights and the Paramount Global saga

• An exclusive prison chat with Sam Bankman-Fried, in which he recounts his regrets about the demise of FTX

So, ready to join CEOs and industry execs learning what’s really going on in the finance world?

Read Dry Powder at no cost with a 14-day trial to Puck. 

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Top Reads

• U.S. economy grows at a slower place than initially thought in Q1 (YF)

• Fed says inflation is too high but will start coming down (CNBC)

• Nelson Peltz sold Disney stake after losing proxy battle (Axios)

• Salesforce has its worst day since 2004 (CNBC)

• Bank of America CEO says consumers have turned cautious on spending (CNBC)

• Skydance sweetens its offer to buy Paramount (Axios)

• UBS overhauls wealth management leadership in wider board shakeup (CNBC)

• China’s Luckin Coffee has overcome its fraud scandal (Axios)

• Why Nvidia’s stock surge doesn’t bode well for the market (YF)

• Why Musk is the most important business player in U.S. politics right now (Axios) 

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Markets Rundown

Stocks experienced a broader selloff triggered by Salesforce lowering guidance.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Best Buy ($BBY) +13% because cutting costs boosted profits.

• (–) Salesforce ($CRM) -20% after the software company’s weak guidance sparked a selloff.

• (–) Kohls ($KSS) -23% after the retailer announced a surprise loss, cut guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• Asahi Kasei offered to buy Calliditas Therapeutics for $1.1 billion

• Nordson bought Atrion, a medical infusion developer, for $800 million

• Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in LumApps for $650 million

• GTCR bought Surmodics, a coatings maker, for $627 million

• Aethon Energy Management bought the upstream assets of Tellurian for $260 million 

• Solutions by Text, a startup that lets users pay bills via text, raised $110 million

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

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You Are Here

Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way...

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house.

Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future ... if they can survive the journey.

A hilarious, hopeful, and heartwarming love story—the novel beloved New York Times bestselling author David Nicholls calls “my funniest book yet”—You Are Here is a bittersweet and hopeful story of first encounters, second chances, and finding the way home.

“A romantic, funny, and hopeful story…the characters became my friends in an instant.”

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AI’s Energy Crunch

_{PRESENTED BY LELAND}

Get Ahead in Your MBA Journey

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Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your MBA application. Register for free today!

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Social Fitness

Social fitness, akin to physical fitness, is crucial for overall well-being. According to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, good relationships significantly influence health and happiness.

Social fitness involves maintaining healthy relationships and the capacity to engage effectively in social interactions.

Like physical fitness, it requires intentional effort and regular practice. Social fitness offers freedom from loneliness and mental stress while enabling rich friendships and fulfilling connections.

Regularly exercising your social skills ensures you stay socially agile, confident, and ready for meaningful interactions when they matter most. Time to leave your laptop and go grab a drink!

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Short Squeez Picks

• How to deal with paperclipping, a toxic dating trend

• How to get a runners high

• A 12 minute meditation for embracing your inner mountain

• Is typing or handwriting better for memory?

• Lucky vs. repeatable 

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Memes of the Day

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