(Francois Nascimbeni/Getty Images) |
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Remember that banana taped to a wall that Sotheby's thought it could auction for over $1M? It ended up selling for $6.2M to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun. He said he plans to eat the banana, though apparently it isn't included in the sale (just duct tape and instructions). Stocks inched up yesterday, though a 4.5% drop in Google weighed on the Nasdaq. Bitcoin surged to an intraday record above $99K. 🦃 Thanksquizzing: To make the fam dinner less awkward, brush up on biz-news with our Snacks Seven quiz (corporate trivia is fantastic for diffusing tension). Here's the first q: |
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An industry in taters… Potato makers are getting chopped, boiled, and mashed up by antitrust. Five new federal lawsuits accuse frozen-spud producers Lamb Weston, Cavendish, McCain Foods, and Simplot of running a curly-fry cartel, colluding to overcharge grocery stores and consumers since 2021. The four companies are said to control 97% of the US frozen-potato market with products like fries, hashbrowns, and tater tots. The suits say that prices of those freezer-aisle staples have soared nearly 50% in the past two years through July. |
- Freezer burn: The suits allege that the four potato companies announced extremely similar price hikes several times within days of one another. In a quarterly report last year, Lamb Weston said its profit more than doubled from the year before.
- 'Twas tot us: The spud sellers have denied the allegations. Lamb Weston previously said its costs, including for raw potatoes and labor, had spiked.
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Courtroom food fights… Food-industry finger-pointing has reached a fever pitch after years of spiking grocery prices. McDonald's last month said that meat packers' greedflation from companies including Tyson is behind higher beef costs. And last year US chicken producers were ordered to face poultry price-fixing allegations. Sugar makers including Domino and Cargill were accused this year of artificially sweetening prices. The DOJ recently created an antitrust enforcement team focused on the agriculture sector to crack down on illegal activity. |
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High prices are no small potatoes… The price of food eaten at home is up 28% since 2019, and high grocery costs were a top concern for 70% of voters in the presidential election. With a lot of the food biz struggling to keep sales and volumes steady, more accusations of industry collusion could pop up. |
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- Ease: TOPT is a one-ticker solution that gives investors exposure to the 20 largest U.S. companies.
- Diversified Sector Exposure1: TOPT holds some of the largest companies in the technology, consumer goods, communications, healthcare, and financial services sectors.
- Growth: Over the last 12 months, on average these 20 companies have returned 45% and seen revenue growth of ~ 4%.2
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- Ease: TOPT is a one-ticker solution that gives investors exposure to the 20 largest U.S. companies.
- Diversified Sector Exposure1: TOPT holds some of the largest companies in the technology, consumer goods, communications, healthcare, and financial services sectors.
- Growth: Over the last 12 months, on average these 20 companies have returned 45% and seen revenue growth of ~ 4%.2
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Proof of something working… The price of bitcoin passed $99K Thursday, hitting a fresh high for the fourth day straight. The crypto is up 43% since the US presidential election, with some traders now eying a $100K price target. The momentum came the same week a new way to bet on BTC went live: options on spot bitcoin ETFs. |
- Crypto's got options: Approved by the SEC this fall, bitcoin ETF options products (from companies including BlackRock, Bitwise, and Grayscale) let traders speculate and hedge their crypto in a new way.
- Buy in: Experts say the total potential value of options on BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF amounted to an "unheard of" nearly $1.9B in its first day, which could be driving BTC's price pop.
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Addin' ETFuel to the fire… This week's crypto-options debut is a big feather in bitcoin's market cap, but not the only one. Enterprise-software biz MicroStrategy said it purchased $4.6B worth of bitcoin last week, bringing its total stash to about 331K coins. And this week, President-elect Trump nominated crypto advocate Howard Lutnick for the role of commerce secretary. His admin is also said to be considering a "crypto czar" position. Meantime, US bitcoin ETFs passed the $100B mark in total assets held, seeing $773M in net inflows on Wednesday alone. |
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Team efforts break records… Bitcoin's been on a tear, but sticking the $100K price landing is no guarantee. Mike Novogratz, the CEO of blockchain biz Galaxy Digital, said yesterday that there's likely a price correction coming. Plus, concerns that Trump's proposed tariffs could spike inflation have some worried about the Fed tightening its rate policy, which could hurt digital assets' appeal. |
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MicroStrategy is worth around three times as much as its bitcoin holdings. Read more. |
🌶️ Spicy… Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, said he put "most" of his wealth into bitcoin. His gov't disclosure forms suggest otherwise. 💰 Spendy… Shaq agreed to an $11M settlement after a lawsuit brought by investors in his solana-based NFT collection. Celebs like Tom Brady and Kim K. have also been forced to pay up after promoting failed crypto projects. |
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- SEC Chair Gensler will resign on January 20 (Inauguration Day), clearing the way for Trump to replace him on Day 1.
- Airbnb plans to host gladiatorial games in the Colosseum for the first time in 2,000 years. Roman lawmakers are not entertained.
- Deere is apparently no longer in its hay-day: the largest farm-equipment maker gave a weak outlook for 2025 as equipment sales lose traction.
- Nvidia shares didn't budge much yesterday as investors digested another quarter of strong but slowing growth.
- BJ's Wholesale Club announced membership price hikes for the first time in seven years. Costco also recently bumped up its fees.
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- Consumer sentiment
- US services and manufacturing PMI
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Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, and Nvidia |
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1 The ETF is concentrated in 20 individual stocks that can cover up to 8 sectors. Holdings are subject to change. 2 Source: S&P Global Indices for market cap as of Sept. 23, 2024. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Funds that concentrate investments in specific industries, sectors, markets or asset classes may underperform or be more volatile than other industries, sectors, markets or asset classes and the general securities market. The Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, "BlackRock"). The iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, nor does this company make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Funds. BlackRock is not affiliated with S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. iCRMH1124U/S-4003619 BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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