Good Morning! Trump’s hosting a private dinner for the top 220 investors in his meme coin, and yes, the coin pumped 50% on the invite. Meanwhile, Dan Loeb bailed on almost all of his Magnificent 7 bets, and Scott Bessent said U.S. will not unilaterally lower Chinese tariffs, warning a full trade deal could take 2–3 years.

Trump also made a U-turn on his Powell stance, telling reporters yesterday: “I might call him. I haven’t called him, but I believe he’s making a mistake by not lowering interest rates.”

Plus: NYC’s most expensive home just listed for $110 million, KKR launched an empathy experiment with a Stanford psychologist, and Manhattan's first 2D restaurant opens in East Village.

Discover how leading firms are using Hebbia to streamline research, diligence, and reporting.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Investment Banking Paradise Flop

In 2022, Citi launched a splashy experiment: relocate 27 junior analysts to a beachfront office in Málaga, Spain, offering 8-hour days, no weekends, and a chance to build models between sangrias. But just three years later, the sun is setting on the dream. Citi is closing the office.

The Málaga hub was Citi’s response to a post-pandemic talent war and rising burnout among junior bankers. While other banks handed out Peloton stipends, Citi promised work-life balance on the Costa del Sol.

More than 3,000 analysts applied, only 27 made the cut. Citi insisted it wasn’t a gimmick, and hoped it could become a blueprint for other firms.

Fast forward to 2025: dealmaking has dried up, layoffs are back, and vibes don’t pay the bills. Citi now says the closure is part of its broader effort to “simplify the firm.”

Six Málaga analysts are out, while the rest are being relocated to London or Paris.

CEO Jane Fraser has pushed for hybrid work, but even Citi is now tracking office attendance more closely. And a beachside outpost for junior analysts just doesn’t hit the same when M&A is frozen and margins are tight.

Takeaway: A few years ago, Wall Street was throwing perks at junior talent, now, it’s throwing them overboard. Citi’s Málaga experiment showed that better hours and better weather weren’t enough to change the culture of investment banking. In this industry, “balance” is always the first line item to get cut.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Trump offers top meme coin holders dinner with president, coin surges 50% (CNBC)

• Bessent says US and China tariffs need to come down before talks can start (YF)

• Trump renews line of attack on Jerome Powell: ‘I might call him’ (CNN)

• China accuses US of ‘bullying’ the world with tariffs at UN meeting (Fox) 

• Google forces remote workers to come back 3x/week or lose jobs (CNBC)

• Gold keeps getting richer (Axios)

• YouTube turns 20, on track to be the biggest media company by revenue (CNBC)

• NYC's most expensive home lists for $110 million amid market uncertainty (CNBC)

• These companies say they're investing more in U.S. manufacturing (CBS)

• Credit a 'short squeeze' for the stock market's big two-day bounce (CNBC)

• Musk hurt Tesla's brand in a few months but fixing it will take longer (YF)

• OpenAI would buy Chrome if Google forced to sell (Axios)

• KKR spearheads program to train company leaders in empathy (BB)

• Third Point’s Dan Loeb has sold out of nearly all ‘Magnificent 7’ holdings (CNBC)

PRESENTED BY HEBBIA

Delegate Your Diligence

Finance professionals need tools that work as hard as they do. Hebbia’s Matrix delivers powerful solutions to streamline your workflow and give you a competitive edge. Here’s how top firms use Hebbia:

• Summarize 200+ earnings calls annually without breaking a sweat.

• Review offering memorandums 5x faster to keep pace with changing markets.

• Identify red flags, compare risks, and extract critical terms in minutes.

• Turn diligence notes into IC-ready investment memos.

Whether you’re tracking opportunities, managing risk, or drafting IC memos, Hebbia helps finance teams get more done in less time, without sacrificing quality.

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Stocks rose again: S&P 500 up after a 2.5% gain Tuesday, driven by Trump’s comments easing Fed independence fears by confirming Powell’s term through 2026.

• Reports of lower U.S.-China tariffs boosted sentiment; growth sectors like tech and consumer discretionary led, while consumer staples and energy lagged.

• SPY closed at 536.7, up slightly from 536.65 Tuesday, reflecting continued market strength.

• Asia and European markets closed higher; U.S. composite PMI at 51.2 in April, down from 53.5, showing slower but expanding activity.

• Eurozone PMI at 50.1, down from 50.9, signaling stagnation; future output sub-index at 54.3, the lowest since 2022, reflecting trade policy concerns.

• Bond yields dipped; 10-year Treasury yield at 4.38%.

• Tariffs may slow global growth, but potential U.S.-China trade de-escalation could support markets.

• S&P 500 Q1 earnings expected to grow 7%, with tech and health care leading; full-year 2025 growth at 9.6%, though tariffs may pressure margins.

Reported Earnings

• Boeing (BA): Missed expectations due to production delays and trade tensions with China.

• AT&T (T): Slightly missed revenue expectations but grew net income and free cash flow.

• IBM (IBM): Beat expectations with strong cloud and AI performance.

Upcoming Earnings

• Alphabet (GOOGL): Investors watching for ad revenue growth and AI investment impacts.

• PepsiCo (PEP): Focus on pricing power and consumer spending trends.

• Merck (MRK): Expected to show strength in healthcare demand and drug pipelines.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Duolingo ($DUOL) +10% after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with a buy.

• (+) Intel ($INTC) +6% because the semiconductor chip manufacturer will cut 20% of its workforce.

• (–) Enphase Energy ($ENPH) -16% after a Q1 earnings miss; tariff concerns.

Private Dealmaking

• Chainguard, an open source security startup, raised $356 million

• Altruist, a custodian software provider, raised $152 million

• Endor Labs, a supply chain security company, raised $93 million

• Omnidian, a solar energy monitoring startup, raised $87 million

• Nourish, a nutrition counseling provider, raised $70 million

• Sentra, a data security platform, raised $50 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Time Anxiety

In a world obsessed with squeezing the most out of every moment, the fear of falling behind can trap us in a paralyzing stress cycle. Incomplete to-do lists, unanswered emails, and unmet life goals haunt our thoughts, leaving us overstimulated and exhausted.

In Time Anxiety, Chris Guillebeau, author of the popular newsletter A Year of Mental Health, reveals that this pervasive sense of time scarcity stems not from a lack of hours in the day but from unrealistic expectations and misaligned priorities.

Weaving together eye-opening research on time perception, executive functioning challenges, and the psychological roots of avoidance, he offers a bold path for redefining our relationship with the clock.

The first step is to build a tolerance for incomplete to-do lists and the inevitability of disappointing people, abandoning the goal of "catching up.” We have to set our own limits because no one else will.

Ultimately, Time Anxiety is a call to wake up from the trance of busyness and reclaim our most precious resource. By breaking the habits of overstressing, overdoing, and underliving, we can start savoring our limited time on earth.

“A powerful antidote to deadline dread, time guilt, and chronic rushing.”

DAILY VISUAL

Investing Implications of Stagflation

PRESENTED BY BIGDATA.COM

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Bigdata.com just dropped its new AI-powered research agents, designed for 24/7 investment monitoring and pre-market intelligence built specifically for financial professionals.

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• Watchlists – Build and customize watchlists based on your portfolio or investment themes. Get real-time updates, sentiment analysis, and even track holdings of top investors like Warren Buffett.

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• Workflows – Supercharge your research with ready-to-go templates for company deep dives, earnings analysis, sector roundups, and more. Repeatable. Efficient. Smart.

The best part? We’ve also partnered with Bigdata.com to launch our own watchlists, including Short Squeez Alpha, The Street Index, and 2 & 20, now live on the platform. Check them out today.

DAILY ACUMEN

Sleep

Sleep’s getting trickier in our always-on world, with constant information, addictive tech, and screen glow keeping us awake.

Insomnia’s the main culprit, making it hard to drift off or stay asleep, often sparked by life events like stress, and it counts when it disrupts your days for weeks.

Daytime sleepiness is another challenge, frequently tied to sleep apnea—often missed in women—impacting heart and brain health.

Night owls, driven by genetics and a later melatonin surge, struggle in a morning-centric society, but 20 minutes of morning sunlight can help shift their rhythm.

Consistent sleep timing matters most, lowering risks of cancer, heart disease, and dementia, while poor sleep affects your health, mood, and relationships.

It’s a delicate balance worth mastering.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Is killing your old self a good idea?

• Marathoners have lost their minds — literally, new brain study finds

• The East Village is now home to Manhattan's first 2D restaurant

• 5 things smart but lazy people do

• The inner advantage

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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