Good Morning! You may want to think twice before cutting corners in those compliance modules next time, with EY firing dozens of staff who tried attending two video training meetings at once. Meanwhile, it was a good day to short food stocks - with Starbucks suspending its 2025 guidance, and the CDC announcing an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s quarter pounders. Walgreens will start delivering prescriptions to customers’ doorsteps to compete with CVS. And DJT stock surged as Trump election bets intensify.

Plus, why family offices are the next big career track at business schools and former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO arrested on sex trafficking charges.

Datasite just dropped its latest report “How PE dealmakers are navigating exits.” Get the full report here.

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Wall Street’s Househusbands

Climbing the ranks on Wall Street is tough for anyone, but for women with children, it's a whole different challenge. It’s not just frat culture or the grind of 80-hour workweeks; it’s the constant need to be “on call” for clients. This demanding environment has historically made it difficult for Wall Street to promote and retain women.

Yet, some of the most successful women on Wall Street have a secret weapon: househusbands. These stay-at-home dads handle family responsibilities, freeing their wives to focus on their high-powered careers.

This trend is turning traditional gender expectations on their head, particularly in finance, where men are typically expected to be the primary earners. In a world where stay-at-home moms are often celebrated, stay-at-home dads are still met with raised eyebrows at Hamptons parties full of Ivy League grads.

But times are changing. Fifty years ago, women out-earned their husbands in just 15% of marriages. Today, that number has tripled to 45%, and the share of stay-at-home dads has risen from 11% in 1989 to 18% in 2021. In high finance, this shift is even more pronounced: couples may start out as equals, but as the wife’s career accelerates, the husband often steps back to take on parenting duties.

Many of the most powerful women in finance have followed this path: from the CEOs of Citi and TIAA to the CFO of Vista Equity and Blackstone’s global co-head of real estate, all have husbands who manage the home front.

Takeaway: Achieving success in finance or any high-powered industry requires sacrifices. Unlimited work-life balance is a myth, and juggling 80+ hour weeks with parental duties is almost impossible. As Wall Street continues its slow progress toward closing the gender gap, we may see even more househusbands in the years to come.

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How PE Dealmakers Can Still Find Exit Value + Liquidity

In the midst of 2024’s deal volume slump and a drought for exits, some savvy private equity dealmakers are still raking it in. 

How? Secondary buyouts and continuation funds.

In their latest report, Datasite and PitchBook dive into how dealmakers are unlocking this liquidity and staving off the drought with innovative liquidity strategies. 

What else it covers:

• PE market trends

• The rise in secondary buyouts

• The implications of continuation and secondaries fundraising

• The Datasite view on today’s liquidity landscape

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Top Reads

• IRS announces new federal income tax brackets for 2025 (CNBC)

• EY fired staff members who attended 2 video training meetings simultaneously (YF)

• E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders in multiple states (CNBC)

• Starbucks shares slide after preliminary results show sales fell again (YF)

• The next big career track at business schools: Family offices (CNBC)

• GM’s profit nears a record, year after saying it couldn’t afford workers’ demands (CNN)

• Blackstone, Apollo step up pursuit of investment-grade loans (YF)

• DJT stock surges as Trump election bets intensify (YF)

• Walmart will start delivering prescriptions to customers’ doorsteps (CNBC)

• Asset managers headed for increasingly lean years, study says (YF)

• Angel investing isn’t what it used to be (WSJ)

• BlackRock's Fink bullish on private markets amid high US deficit (MSN)

• Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO arrested on sex trafficking charges (NBC)

• Private markets are reserved for the rich, should a test let you in? (WSJ)

• Klarna produces more startups than any other European fintech (CNBC)

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Markets Rundown

Stocks close lower: Major U.S. equity markets finished lower on Tuesday, although they reversed much of their earlier losses by the close. Consumer staples and communication services were the best-performing sectors, while other sectors saw mixed results.

Despite the pullback over the last two days, the S&P 500 remains up 22% year-to-date. In global markets, both Asia and Europe saw mostly lower finishes, and the U.S. dollar strengthened against major currencies. In commodities, WTI oil and gold both posted gains, continuing their recent upward trends.

Focus on corporate earnings: With little economic data this week, attention has shifted to third-quarter corporate earnings, which have started off strong. So far, 76% of companies have beaten analyst estimates, with an average upside surprise of 6.1%. Earnings growth is expected to be broad-based, with eight of 11 sectors expected to show year-over-year growth.

However, industrials, energy, and materials sectors are forecast to post earnings declines but represent less than 15% of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization. This broadening earnings strength has contributed to gains across sectors like utilities, financial services, and industrials, which have joined technology and communications services in leading the market this year, all up more than 20% year-to-date.

Bond yields tick higher: Bond yields have continued to rise, with the 10-year Treasury yield up more than 50 basis points since its recent low in September. Bond markets have reduced their expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts to about 1.5% through the end of 2025.

The Fed’s dual mandates of maximum employment and stable prices are coming into balance, as the labor market normalizes and inflation continues to moderate. Lower interest rates should help reduce borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, supporting economic growth and corporate profits.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) General Motors ($GM) +10% because the automobile maker raised its full-year forecast.

• (–) Verizon ($VZ) -5% after revenue missed analysts’ expectations.

• (–) Genuine Parts ($GPC) -21% after the automotive parts company missed on Q3 earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• France’s Wendel acquired Monroe Capital for $1.13 billion

• Kaspi.kz bought a majority stake in Hepsiburada for about $1.1 billion

• Sophos, bought cybersecurity firm Secureworks for $859 million

• Zip, a procurement orchestration platform, raised $190 million

• AvenCell Therapeutics, a cell therapies developer, raised $112 million

• SchooLinks, college readiness software provider, raised $80 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms

The shocks and crises of recent years—pandemic, recession, inflation, war—have forced executives and investors to recognize that the macroeconomy is now a risk to be actively managed.

Yet unreliable forecasting, pervasive doomsaying, and whipsawing data severely hamper the task of decoding the landscape. Are disruptions transient and ephemeral—or permanent and structural? False alarms are costly traps, but so are true structural changes that go undetected.

How can leaders avoid these macro traps to make better tactical and strategic decisions?

In this perspective-shifting book, BCG Chief Economist Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak and Senior Economist Paul Swartz provide a fresh and accessible way to assess macroeconomic risk. Casting doubt on conventional model-based thinking, they demonstrate a more powerful approach to building sound macroeconomic judgment.

Using incisive analysis built upon frameworks, historical context, and structural narratives—what they call "economic eclecticism"—the book empowers readers with the durable skills to assess continuously evolving risks in the real economy, the financial system, and the geopolitical arena.

Moreover, the authors' more nuanced approach reveals that the all-too-common narratives of economic collapse and decline are often false alarms themselves, while the fundamental strengths of our current "era of tightness" become visible.

With rational optimism rather than gloom, Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms speaks to the key financial and macroeconomic controversies that define our times—and provides a compass for navigating the global economy.

Rather than relying on blinking dashboards or flashy headlines, leaders can and should judge macroeconomic risks for themselves.

“…this is a stimulating primer on how business leaders can keep abreast of changing economic tides.”

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Private Credit Is a Small Share of Total Lending to Corporates

_{PRESENTED BY WARP}

Simplify Payroll for Your Startup with Warp

Steve Jobs said it best: “Design is how it works.” Warp embraces this approach, cutting through the clutter of traditional payroll software to focus on what founders actually need—paying people and staying compliant.

With Warp, process payroll in seconds, onboard employees in minutes, and let compliance with state tax agencies run on autopilot. No unnecessary features, just a streamlined interface that gets you in and out quickly.

Spend less time on payroll and more time building your startup. Get started with Warp today and receive a $1,000 Amazon gift card after your first payroll run.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Introverts

Contrary to popular belief, introverts have unique strengths that make them highly effective business owners.

Their ability to reflect deeply, focus intensely on tasks, and listen carefully to others allows them to make well-thought-out decisions, solve complex problems, and build meaningful relationships.

Famous introverted entrepreneurs like Sarah Blakely, Brené Brown, and Warren Buffett show that introversion can be a superpower in the business world.

By embracing their natural tendencies, introverts can create successful businesses on their own terms.

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Short Squeez Picks

• 3 strategies to fast-track your way to a promotion

• 3 ways your optimism can turn toxic

• 6 habits that highly-creative people share

• Rewire your habits, rewire your life

• The power of empathy in leadership

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Memes of the Day