US private equity firms are collectively looking to raise some USD 1 tn in fresh funding despite a shaky market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 2.8k firms are now trying to fundraise, including nine megafunds looking to raise USD 216 bn — a jump of over 60% compared to the beginning of 2021, swamping potential limited partners at pension funds, family offices and endowments with meeting requests.

But fundraising is already down c. 43% year-on-year in 1H 2022, according to industry date.

A messy backdrop: The fundraising drive by PE players comes despite a paucity of exits (whether through private por public markets). Valuations are falling (good for would-be acquirers, bad for folks with holdings they need to exit), debt finance is getting more expensive every time the Fed meets, and global buyouts tanked in the second quarter.

So who’s going to close? Heavyweights with proven track records including Blackstone and Apollo, the WSJ suggests.

EARNINGS WATCH- Goldman, BoA report better-than-expected earnings: Bulge bracket stalwart Goldman Sachs reported a 47% drop in net income in 2Q, beating analysts’ estimates, according to its latest financial results (pdf). The bank reported a USD 2.9 bn profit for the quarter due a fall in dealmaking and said it would slow hiring and could make job cuts. Analysts had predicted income to fall to USD 2.6 bn. It was a similar story at Bank of America, where analysts were surprised to the upside by a 32% fall in earnings to USD 6.2 bn, its financial results (pdf) showed. CNBC and the Wall Street Journal have more.

AND- Has crypto bottomed out? (Don’t hold your breath.) Major cryptocurrencies staged a recovery on Monday following a three-month long crash, Bloomberg reports. BTC, the largest of the bunch, surged as much as 7% to trade above USD 22k for the first time since early June, while ETH jumped 10%. Some digital currencies had seen more than 50% of their value wiped out so far this year as risky assets plummet on surging inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical crises.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 1.1% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 930.2 mn (11.7% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 25.8% YTD.

In the green: Credit Agricole Egypt (+ 13.4%), Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (+7.1%) and GB Auto (+5.1%).

In the red: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank-Egypt (-1.1%), Telecom Egypt (-1.1%) and Cleopatra Hospital (-0.7%).

Asian markets are mostly in the red this morning, and it’s looking a similarly patchy open for European markets, according to stock futures. US shares are on course to open in the green later today.