Your Daily Dose of Market & Career Clarity

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🎯 In this issue:

• Banana Bits: Finance headlines that actually matter

• Market Summary: Calmer trading day

• What’s Ripe / Rotten: The tastiest and most disgusting stocks 

• Technical Trip: Interview Question with OliverWyman

• Deal Dispatch: M&A, IPOs, and other transactions 

Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• Asian markets climbed on U.S. rate-cut hopes despite Japan bond jitters; the Kospi neared 2% and the Nikkei inched higher.

• Wall Street steadied as bond yields and B*tcoin finally calmed down.

• Silver could hit $60 as metals enter a breakout month, while oil faces a sharp drop, says Peter McGuire.

• Swiss prosecutors filed charges against both Credit Suisse and UBS.

• A UN trade agency says the global financial system needs an overhaul to support the real economy.

• BlackRock turned bearish on long-term Treasuries as an AI-funding wave approaches.

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Market Recap

Calmer Trading Day

U.S. stocks had modest gains today, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all going up. 

The rally was supported by renewed investor optimism about a likely Federal Reserve rate cut, which helped stabilize Treasury yields and boosted higher-growth and tech stocks. 

Meanwhile, some of the gains were driven by big movers like Boeing Co., which rose sharply after upbeat cash flow and 2026 guidance, and a rebound in cr*pto-linked names that had been battered recently. 

Global markets also showed some strength. Asian stocks rose as worries about Japanese bond markets eased, and investors responded positively to the prospect of U.S. rate cuts. 

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 moved higher, helped by gains in major banks. Still, some mixed economic data kept traders cautious and prevented a bigger rally. Overall, the day mostly had a positive tone.

What's Ripe

MongoDB (MDB) 22.2%

• MongoDB shares rose 23% after the company delivered a strong earnings report that beat expectations. Rising tech/AI optimism and strong demand for software stocks helped fuel the rally, boosting growth names like MongoDB today.

Boeing (BA) 10.2%

• Shares jumped around 10% after the company forecast stronger free cash flow and higher jet deliveries next year.

• The broader market rally, especially in industrials and rate-cut optimism, helped lift Boeing as markets gained today.

What's Rotten

Janux Therapeutics Inc. (JANX) 53.3%

• Janux saw a large percentage drop today, part of broader declines among small-cap biotech.

• Weak sentiment in the biotech sector today, as investors appeared to be more cautious, weighed on JANX and similar names.

Paranovus Entertainment Technology (PAVS) 29.4%

• PAVS suffered a severe drop today, with its share price plunging sharply due to company developments. The move appears to reflect investor losses and heavy selling, most likely driven by negative news.

🧠 Technical Trip

Interview Q&A from OliverWyman

👉 Want 1-on-1 recruiting help from OliverWyman bankers & 2,000+ top mentors? Apply to WSO Academy

🌟 WSO Academy Q4 Update

🎯 More Structured Technical Preparation

One of the most common questions we hear is: “What should I study first?” Next quarter, we plan to update our curriculum to make that answer clearer and more guided for the students.

• ✅ Instead of just spending 5 hours per week studying, assignments will be organized by topic and sequenced in such a way that they build skills in the right order

• ✅ For each stage, assignments will link directly to the specific section of their course depending on their track so that they know exactly what to study and when

• ✅ This removes guesswork and ensures they’re building a strong foundation before moving to advanced topics

🦈 Deal Dispatch

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• Eight Quarter Advisors is acquiring Innovative Mechanical & Design through Legence Corp.

• Prada finalized its $1.4B Versace acquisition, setting up its next luxury push.

• Trane Technologies is buying Stellar Energy’s digital business.

• Accel Entertainment acquired Nevada’s Dynasty Games’ route operations.

• ExxonMobil is in talks with Iraq to buy Lukoil’s stake in the West Qurna 2 oilfield.

• Tecan is expanding its robotics lineup by acquiring Wako Automation assets

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

Car X averages 25.0 miles per gallon of gasoline, and Car Y averages 11.9 miles per gallon. If each car is driven 12,000 miles, approximately how many more gallons of gasoline will Car Y use than Car X?

Answer: 520

Today

If x = 1 - 3t and y = 2t - 1, then for what value of t does x = y?

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick

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