Insider Today: Finance's next generation

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Halfway there! After spending three days in an upturned boat at the bottom of the ocean, you'd think Harrison Okene would steer clear of the water. Instead, he became a diver making underwater repairs on oil and gas facilities.

In today's big story, we're unveiling our annual list of the rising stars of Wall Street.

What's on deck:

• Markets: These stocks are positioned to perform even as rates stay high.
• Tech: An Amazon exec told employees the tech giant's RTO plans could take up to three years.
• Business: Trump's "corporate death penalty" explained.

But first, keep an eye on these folks.

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The big story

New kids on the block

Get to know these names.

Insider is again highlighting some of the brightest young minds in finance with our annual list of Wall Street's rising stars.

Since 2017, Insider has identified top investors, dealmakers, and traders who are 35 and under. Recommendations come from across the industry, with editors making the final call on who makes the cut.

Our list of rising stars is a helpful exercise for identifying the industry's top young talent and getting a sense of the biggest trends.

We've even kept tabs on where some of our stars ended up. Last year, we caught up with 13 members of the inaugural class. (Here's a rundown of all our previous classes: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.)

I spoke to senior finance editor Michelle Abrego, who oversees the list, about what stood out in this year's class.

The strong representation of debt-focused roles was high on her list. That speaks to the rise of private credit, which is now considered one of the hottest career moves on the Street.

Take Luna McKeon, 35, who leads Blue Owl Capital's healthcare underwriting team, which has deployed $10 billion in capital over the past four years.

Some of the achievements of this year's class are downright eye-popping.

Apollo's Michael Dunn Goekjian, who is only 28, has already worked on transactions totaling more than $50 billion in deal value since joining the firm in 2018. Meanwhile, Anne-Victoire Auriault was one of the youngest women to make partner at Goldman Sachs at just 32 years old in 2020.

Others stand out for their unique career paths. When Jack Dillon didn't nab his dream investment-banking internship, he found a cool backup plan: Working with fashion designer Thom Browne. Dillon, now 35, leveraged that experience into a successful career at Vista Equity Partners.

And sometimes it's just a willingness to raise your hand, which Patrick McGoldrick did when the New England Patriots needed a substitute for their Pat Patriot mascot. McGoldrick, 32, is now a managing partner at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

3 things in markets

Before the opening bell: US stock futures traded higher Wednesday after stocks suffered their worst loss since March.

1. A government shutdown means the Fed's job will be a lot harder. If the government shuts down, new economic data like the jobs report and consumer price index won't be released until it reopens. That'll leave the Fed to rely on private sector data.

2. If rates stay up, these stocks are a good bet. With the Fed indicating it's likely to keep interest rates high, plenty of hedge funds are increasingly betting against stocks. But a recent note from Goldman Sachs highlighted 22 stocks, including Delta and Verizon, that would benefit from a high-rate environment.

3. JPMorgan settles lawsuit from the US Virgin Islands over links with Jeffrey Epstein. The bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle the civil lawsuit, which claimed JPMorgan facilitated Epstein's sex trafficking operation. It also settled litigation with former executive Jes Staley, who kept close ties with Epstein.

3 things in tech

1. Leaked meeting recording: Amazon SVP says a full return to office could take three years. He also told employees to share anecdotes of being pressured to immediately relocate with his HR team so that he could "dig into" those situations.

2. Microsoft plans to use nuclear energy to power its AI data centers. The tech giant shared a job opening for a "principal program manager for nuclear technology." This person would assess how nuclear energy could be used to power the data centers hosting AI models.

3. FTC says Amazon punished sellers for offering their items at a lower price elsewhere. The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general are banding together to sue the e-commerce giant. They accused it of monopolistic practices and causing higher prices for customers.

3 things in business

1. A Manhattan judge found Donald Trump and his real-estate company liable for fraud, and ordered what experts are calling a "corporate death penalty." A receiver will be appointed to "dissolve" the company - but years of appeals may play out first.

2. The job Americans would likely want replaced by robots: umpires. Automating the strike zone seems like a no-brainer. But in practice, it's been more challenging — what does the perfect strike zone even look like anyway?

3. Silicon Valley investors secretly bought up $800 million of property in Northern California. The 52,000 acres outside San Francisco will become a "city of yesterday." It'll be built in a way that "someone who was born 100 years ago will recognize."

In other news

• Hollywood writers are set to go back to work today as historic strike ends.

• A 26-year-old tech CEO was found dead with signs of blunt force trauma, police say.

• Friendship breakups via text are painful, but therapy-speak is making them worse.

• A longevity expert shares three tips for a nutritious, anti-aging breakfast.

• Verizon's CEO has been tracking his mood (out of 10) in a spreadsheet every day since 2009.

• A day in the life of an unpaid White House intern.

• A roughly 10% stake in the Golden State Warriors could go for $700 million.

• The favorite sports betting apps among NFL fans in their 20s.

What's happening today

• The second Republican presidential debate is happening today. The debate, hosted by Fox Business, will feature Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech executive-turned-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other presidential hopefuls.

• Developer conference Meta Connect kicks off. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be the keynote speaker.

• Happy birthday, Lil Wayne! Avril Lavigne, Jenna Ortega, and Gwyneth Paltrow were also born on this day.

For your bookmarks

Which iPhone is worth it?

If you're upgrading phones, consider the iPhone 14 instead of the 15. Unless you have a model from before 2020, the iPhone 14 might make more sense.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.