It's been an eventful year, said everyone, so we whipped up a special edition on the biggest stories in business, markets, and the economy — good fodder for holiday-dinner chitchat. The S&P 500 fell last week, snapping its win streak. Traders expect the Fed'll cut rates at its meeting on Wednesday. 🎁 All we want for Quizzmas is for you to get a perfect score on this week's Snacks Seven. Here's the first q: |
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The final stretch… With just a handful of trading days left this year, the S&P 500 is on track to end 2024 up 27%. After a 24% gain in 2023, it would mark only the fourth time in the past century that the index has notched 20%+ returns for two years straight (the last time was in the '90s). The year's rally has been fueled by AI hype, Fed rate cuts, and a perception that POTUS-elect Trump's policies will be favorable for markets. His victory has Wall Street anticipating corporate tax cuts, looser regulatory scrutiny, and a dealmaking boom, especially with the expected departures of FTC chair Lina Khan and SEC boss Gary Gensler. The techy Nasdaq appears poised to outperform the S&P 500 with AI-flavored stocks leading the pack (Nvidia and Palantir have racked up triple-digit annual gains). Still, about a fifth of stocks in the S&P 500 are down for the year. Among the biggest losers: Walgreens, Boeing, Intel, and Moderna. |
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As the U.S. economy continues to evolve, companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia have been at the forefront, shaping the future of key industries. These innovators have accelerated advancements that rippled through the economy, influencing job markets, technological progress and long-term market growth. The 20 largest U.S. stocks represent $24 trillion in market cap1 — close to the total of the 480 other stocks in the S&P 500 ($29.8T) as well as the entire U.S. economy, measured at $27T in GDP in 2023.2 Through iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF (TOPT), investors can access multiple sectors with some of the largest most recognizable companies by market capitalization in the U.S — all in a single trade. Explore how TOPT offers exposure to companies that are defining the next era of economic development. Get exposure to the 20 biggest U.S. stocks with TOPT.* |
1 FactSet, S&P Dow Jones Indices for market cap as of Nov. 26 2024. 2 S&P Dow Jones Indices for market cap as of September 23, 2024; Bureau of Economic Analysis for U.S. GDP as of September 26, 2024. |
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As the U.S. economy continues to evolve, companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia have been at the forefront, shaping the future of key industries. These innovators have accelerated advancements that rippled through the economy, influencing job markets, technological progress and long-term market growth. The 20 largest U.S. stocks represent $24 trillion in market cap1 — close to the total of the 480 other stocks in the S&P 500 ($29.8T) as well as the entire U.S. economy, measured at $27T in GDP in 2023.2 Through iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF (TOPT), investors can access multiple sectors with some of the largest most recognizable companies by market capitalization in the U.S — all in a single trade. Explore how TOPT offers exposure to companies that are defining the next era of economic development. Get exposure to the 20 biggest U.S. stocks with TOPT.* |
1 FactSet, S&P Dow Jones Indices for market cap as of Nov. 26 2024. 2 S&P Dow Jones Indices for market cap as of September 23, 2024; Bureau of Economic Analysis for U.S. GDP as of September 26, 2024. |
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Makin' Satoshi proud… Crypto's EOY holiday card is packed. The launch of spot bitcoin ETFs helped cryptocurrency gain Wall Street acceptance and hit fresh records. And while April's "halving" brought growing pains, most miners overcame 'em: MARA, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8 all reported soaring Q3 revenues. Bitcoin soared past the $100K milestone this month, and companies like MicroStrategy have scooped up billions in coins. Meantime, Trump has talked about creating a strategic bitcoin reserve. But this year wasn't just BTC's show. Solana, XRP, and dogecoin all saw mega gains, and 4M+ meme coins were launched on Pump.fun. Elsewhere, traders wagered $3.6B+ on the US presidential election on blockchain-based Polymarket as prediction markets hit the mainstream. With an incoming industry-friendly White House and turnover at the SEC, 2024 has teed up the crypto industry for what it hopes will be another banner year. |
Hard takeoff, soft landing… The US economy has spent the year finding its sea legs. In July, price-weary consumers celebrated inflation falling below 3% for the first time since March 2021. In September, they cheered the Fed's first rate cut in four years. Rates were cut again in November, and an expected final trim for the year is due Wednesday. As the cuts came, inflation closed in on the Fed's 2% target, dropping to as low as 2.4% in September before climbing to 2.7% last month. Unemployment ticked up — though still historically low — and November marked the sixth straight month in which unemployment eclipsed 4%. The US has added about 186K jobs/month, on average, and hourly wages have risen an average of 4% for the year. While a lot of metrics pointed to a strong economy (growing GDP, jobs, and household wealth), Americans' vibes stayed pretty bleak. Consumer sentiment started the year at 79 points (below the historical average) and dropped in July to 66. Since then, it's gone up for five straight months, ending the year at 74. |
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Could FAA-Approved Swarm Drones Revolutionize Agriculture? |
🚨 Meet Hylio… the ag-tech pioneer hoping to revolutionize farming with FAA-approved swarm drones. With $23M+ in lifetime revenue3 and 1M+ acres treated, Hylio aims to make agriculture cheaper, faster, and more sustainable. 🤝Trusted by USDA, Nutrien, and King Ranch, Hylio is poised to lead the $556B combined global ag, drone, and crop protection market. Don't miss this chance to invest in a company transforming how the world grows food. Invest in Hylio today.4 3 Lifetime revenues are for 9 years. |
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Could FAA-Approved Swarm Drones Revolutionize Agriculture? |
🚨 Meet Hylio… the ag-tech pioneer hoping to revolutionize farming with FAA-approved swarm drones. With $23M+ in lifetime revenue3 and 1M+ acres treated, Hylio aims to make agriculture cheaper, faster, and more sustainable. 🤝Trusted by USDA, Nutrien, and King Ranch, Hylio is poised to lead the $556B combined global ag, drone, and crop protection market. Don't miss this chance to invest in a company transforming how the world grows food. Invest in Hylio today.4 3 Lifetime revenues are for 9 years. |
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Ozempi-economy… Prescription fills for weight-loss drugs more than doubled in 2024 as folks splurged to shed lbs. Novo Nordisk is expected to rake in $65B this year from its Ozempic and Wegovy injectables, while Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound are forecast to earn $15B. Meanwhile, telehealth cos like Hims and Ro have capitalized on weight-loss-drug shortages with copycats. Boeing's bumps… The beleaguered jet maker has lost a third of its value since a door plug yeeted off a 737 during a flight in January, which led to federal investigations. In October, Boeing had its lowest deliveries since 2020 after a seven-week workers' strike. It just restarted 737 Max production, but this year has lost ~$8B. CrowdStrike outage… The cybersecurity provider sent a faulty update in July that blued out 8.5M screens and rocked the airline industry. Delta alone canceled 7K flights and lost $380M in biz that quarter. The Caitlin Clark effect… Basketball stars like Clark attracted millions of viewers to women's college and WNBA games. As attention heats up, women's elite sports are estimated to have earned $1B+ in global revenue for the first time. Bowl-spiracy… Chipotle found itself in the limelight as TikTokers went viral complaining about skimpy bowls, which led one investor to sue the chain. Dead lobster… Months after Red Lobster ended its costly "endless shrimp" promo, the Cheddar Bay Biscuit chain declared bankruptcy. Paul vs. Tyson… 65M Netflixers watched Jake Paul beat Mike Tyson in a live but glitchy boxing match. Netflix is punching into live content (next up: holiday NFL games). Chief exits… CEOs private-jetted to new jobs at rival companies, with Starbucks nabbing Chipotle's chief and Victoria's Secret scooping up Savage x Fenty's top exec. |
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How rampant digestive problems are quietly eating into productivity, job performance, and career-growth prospects. Read more. |
- $400B: Elon Musk's record net worth, about the same as Iran's GDP.
- 35%: the share of US startup funding that went to AI companies.
- $2B: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ticket sales, a record for the concert industry.
- 14.6K video-game industry workers were laid off.
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- Monday: US services and manufacturing PMI data
- Tuesday: Fed meeting begins. Retail sales. Homebuilder confidence. Earnings expected from Amentum
- Wednesday: Fed's interest-rate decision; Powell's press conference. Earnings expected from General Mills, Birkenstock, Toro, ABM Industries, Micron Technology, and Lennar
- Thursday: Initial jobless claims. Earnings expected from Accenture, Cintas, Darden Restaurants, FactSet, Conagra, Paychex, CarMax, Nike, FedEx, BlackBerry, and Scholastic
- Friday: Personal consumption expenditures. Consumer sentiment. Earnings expected from Winnebago
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Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and dogecoin and shares of: Alaska Air, Delta, Disney, Eli Lilly, Moderna, Nvidia, Riot Platforms, and Starbucks |
Advertiser's disclosures:
*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. iCRMH1224U/S-3991408 BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. 4 This is a paid advertisement for Hylio's Regulation CF Offering. This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC. Please read the offering circular and related risks at https://www.startengine.com/offering/hylio. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Hylio Reg CF Campaign hosted on StartEngine. |
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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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