Good morning and Happy Friday! Walgreens WBA ( ▼ 0.09% ) was worth $100+ billion a decade ago… yesterday, it was taken private by Sycamore for just $10 billion. Gaming platform Discord is in early IPO talks, while TikTok hasn’t engaged with any potential buyers despite a looming April 5 ban.

Wall Street is turning its back on Musk. Dealmakers are content sitting on the sidelines, and expect M&A to come back to life later in 2025. Meanwhile, Trump paused tariffs on most Mexican and Canadian goods.

Plus: Bridgewater launched an ETF, Citadel Securities pulled in $9.7 billion in annual trading revenue, surpassing Barclays and several other major banks, and Tucker Carlson dropped an in-prison interview with SBF.

The Fintech landscape is shifting fast—here’s where it’s headed.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Trump Ignoring Stock Market

Wall Street is having a rough week—but Trump claims he’s not even paying attention, too busy signing executive orders and declaring victory—regardless of what the S&P 500 thought about it.

Yesterday, Trump brushed off concerns about a sliding stock market and insisted that his latest round of tariffs and trade moves aren't about appeasing the stock market in the short term—but could lead to prosperity down the road.

"I'm not even looking at the market," Trump said from the Oval Office. "Long term the United States will be very strong with what's happening here." So, in short, hope you’re ready to buy the dip.

The U.S. recently delayed tariffs for certain Canadian and Mexican products, but Trump swore it had nothing to do with calming the markets. Instead, he framed the whole strategy as a crackdown on countries and companies that have been "ripping off" the U.S. for years.

And if you ask him who’s really to blame for the stock market sell-off? It’s not the tariffs, it’s the "globalists."

“A lot of them are globalist countries and companies that won’t be doing as well,” Trump said when asked if his trade policies were rattling investors. “Because we’re taking back things that have been taken from us many years ago.”

The Nasdaq slid into correction territory yesterday and is down more than 10% from recent highs, but Trump said his mission is making America rich—even if Wall Street has to suffer a little along the way.

For years traders joked about the "Trump put," the idea that Trump is so obsessed with the stock market that he’d prop up equities anytime they got wobbly. But with tariffs here and markets tumbling, the Trump put is looking shaky. 

Takeaway: Yesterday, Howard Lutnick told CNBC that growth is coming and the stock market is about to "explode." For now, though, Trump is focused on the America First doctrine, and Wall Street is just collateral damage.

In the long run? Maybe it works. But one thing’s for sure—Trump’s constant stock market Tweets from his first term might be a relic of the past. 

_{PRESENTED BY PLAID}

6 Fintech Predictions From Plaid

FinTech winter? AI takeover? Big banks focusing on fraud?

If you want to stay ahead in 2025, see the six bold predictions that Plaid’s Co-founder and CEO Zach Perret makes for fintech.

From stablecoins taking center stage to AI rewriting the rules of banking and financial services, these insights break down what’s next—and how to make the most of it.

Don’t just watch the trends. Be ahead of them.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• ​​Walgreens to go private in $10B deal with Sycamore Partners (CNBC)

• Wall Street is turning its back on Elon Musk (CNN)

• Discord in early talks with bankers for potential IPO (NYT)

• Trump pauses tariffs on most Mexican and Canadian goods (CNN)

• Dealmakers in wait-and-see mode, expect M&A pace to pick up later in 2025 (YF)

• TikTok hasn’t negotiated with potential buyers as deadline looms (Axios)

• Bridgewater’s famous ‘all weather’ strategy arrives in ETF form (YF)

• Trump and Musk are trying to take America private (CNN)

• Citadel Securities’ $9.7 billion trading revenue passes Barclays (YF)

• Wealth creation is booming as U.S. multimillionaire population jumps 5.2% (CNBC)

• Trump trades are falling across markets (Axios)

• Family offices rattled by market swings and tariffs (CNBC)

• Private credit eases off mega loan deals as banks regain ground (WSJ)

• What a 'dream house' could look like for Americans if Trump gets his way (Fox)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Tech Stumbles, Diversification Shines

On Thursday, U.S. stocks took a hit, with tech dragging the pack down—Marvell’s shares tanked nearly 20% despite solid earnings, as weak forward guidance spooked investors banking on AI hype, pulling the Nasdaq down over 2.5%.

Policy-wise, Trump tossed a one-month tariff exemption to Canada and Mexico for USMCA goods, easing some trade jitters.

Globally, Asia perked up after Alibaba’s new AI model matched DeepSeek’s buzz, while Europe dipped as the ECB cut its rate to 2.5%.

Bond yields stayed mixed—10-year Treasury at 4.29%, 2-year slipping to 3.96%.

Volatility’s the 2025 vibe: the S&P 500’s down slightly year-to-date, but international stocks (up 10%+) and emerging markets (up 4%) outpace it.

Tech and consumer discretionary are off 8%+, while healthcare, staples, and financials shine.

Jobless claims dropped to 221,000 (beating 236,000 forecasts), but 172,000 job cuts—mostly federal—hit a 2020 peak, offset by 35,000 new hires.

Diversification’s the name of the game—volatility’s here, but the bull market holds, with labor still propping up consumers.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) BJ’s Wholesale Club ($BJ) +12% after the retail chain raised its outlook; announced a planned expansion.

• (–) Marvel Technology ($MRVL) -20% because analysts cut the semiconductor company’s stock price target.

• (–) MongoDB ($MDB) -27% after the database software maker missed earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• Onsemi offered to buy Allegro Microsystems for $6.9 billion

• T-Mobile acquired Blis for $175 million

• Turing, an AI engineer HR platform, raised $111 million

• PetScreening, a pet policy management software, raised $80 million

• Specter ops, a cybersecurity startup, raised $75 million

• Swap, an e-commerce tools provider, raised $40 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Sludge

We’ve all had to fight our way through administrative sludge—filling out complicated online forms, mailing in paperwork, standing in line at the motor vehicle registry. This kind of red tape is a nuisance, but, as Cass Sunstein shows in Sludge, it can also impair health, reduce growth, entrench poverty, and exacerbate inequality.

Confronted by sludge, people just give up—and lose a promised outcome: a visa, a job, a permit, an educational opportunity, necessary medical help. In this lively and entertaining look at the terribleness of sludge, Sunstein explains what we can do to reduce it.

Because of sludge, Sunstein, explains, too many people don't receive benefits to which they are entitled. Sludge even prevents many people from exercising their constitutional rights—when, for example, barriers to voting in an election are too high.

Sunstein takes readers on a tour of the not-so-wonderful world of sludge, describes justifications for certain kinds of sludge, and proposes “Sludge Audits” as a way to measure the effects of sludge. On balance, Sunstein argues, sludge infringes on human dignity, making people feel that their time and even their lives don't matter. We must do better.

“The New York Times–bestselling author of Nudge examines the prevelance and burden of ‘sludge’—red tape and unnecessary paperwork—and why we must do better.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

The World's Trump Adjustment

_{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 investment memos that impress.

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

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Emotions Shape Your Wallet

Feeling down could be costing you more than just a good mood—your money mindset might be quietly draining your finances.

Research shows positive emotions like contentment, love, and joy can boost income and net worth by sparking smarter choices, stronger relationships, and bold risks that pay off, creating a wealth-building loop.

Flip that, and anxiety or sadness tank your finances with short-term thinking and avoidance, locking you in a loss spiral—though anger or loneliness might oddly fuel gains if they push you to act.

Want to cash in? Tame financial stress with a solid plan and lean on relationships for support.

It’s not just about numbers—how you feel could be your richest asset or your priciest liability.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The cough remedy that works ASAP

• One little change to avoid superficial small talk

• Common body language mistakes that hurt team morale

• 7 strategies for breaking habits that trigger relapse 

• How to save money by making most food at home

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day