Though it might come as a surprise, I actually don’t read the The Wall Street Journal anymore. By all means, you guys should read the WSJ if you have access (I just think it takes too long). Instead, I live on Axios.
Axios is an independent news site started a little over a year or two ago and they’ve snagged some of the best in the business to cover business, politics, tech, and energy. It’s all the news you need to know in a shorter, more tightly focused medium. It literally takes no more than two minutes to read each segment and the entire site is tailored towards younger folks like us who want things fast. Even better, they make you sound smart. Because of its status as an centrist, independent news source, the journalists at Axios offer a number of their own takes on news stories. Most articles offer a “sound smart” bullet at the bottom of each article. The site is designed for the active, working type. It’s an incredibly engaging source and I swear by it.
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I encourage everyone to sign up for their newsletters. I personally subscribe to all of them, but at the very least, I would subscribe to AM, PM, Generate, and ESPECIALLY Pro Rata. Pro Rata is run by a former Fortune Mag editor Dan Primack. Dan is a great guy and the forefront media voice on Venture Capital, Private Equity, and M&A deal writing. He’ll deliver any incredibly comprehensive list of deals that are going to market that day and even provide some great commentary. He’s also got some pretty hilarious game with his GIF use. This is by far the best offering of its kind. Most people struggle to find all the deals that are going on and this newsletter will give it to you all. It’s critical to start gaining an understanding of the language used and the different firms and people who run the business. You read Pro Rata every day, google the terms you don’t know, and in a month you’ll be incredibly well caught up.
I also encourage you to take a look at two very helpful book to help you with interview prep. They are A Pragmatist’s Guide to Leveraged Finance and Investment Banking. They are both great reads to get you cause up on technical questions in banking interviews.