Expository dialogue, often viewed as cringe, may be Netflix's new engagement strategy: the streamer has reportedly been telling screenwriters to have characters announce what they're doing so that viewers can follow along while scrolling TikTok and folding laundry. Markets were possessed yesterday by the DeepSeek freakout: the Nasdaq plunged 3% and chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom saw their shares tumble about 17% — some of the biggest losers in a sell-off sparked by China's new DeepSeek AI model (more on that in a sec). Nvidia shed ~$600B in market cap, the largest one-day loss in US stock market history. |
👀 Last chance to tell us about yourself… |
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Deep sink… Chinese AI startup DeepSeek blew a $1T+ hole in the stock market yesterday. AI's "Sputnik moment" saw Nvidia wipe out ~$600B in market cap — the largest one-day loss is US history. DeepSeek's free-to-use model, launched last week, is said to match the performance of OpenAI's most advanced GPT offering. Salting the wound: DeepSeek said its model was trained for less than $6M (OpenAI spent roughly 20x that to train its GPT-4). Yesterday, DeepSeek dethroned ChatGPT as the top free app on Apple's App Store. |
- Reality check: DeepSeek built a serious AI contender despite using fewer (and less-advanced) chips. In the face of US chip-export restrictions, the Chinese co said it used ~2K reduced-capability Nvidia chips to train its model — a fraction of the tens of thousands of chips used by rival models.
- Skeptics: The CEO of ScaleAI suggested DeepSeek has 50K advanced Nvidia chips that it can't admit to because of US export controls. Still, it's a sobering wakeup call about China's AI capabilities, which have advanced quicker than previously thought.
- Reviews: Users have lauded DeepSeek's transparency (the app shows its work with every answer) but criticized its censorship (think: refusing to answer q's about the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre). It also sends US data to China.
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"Did we just waste billions?"… DeepSeek's success-for-less strategy is making investors shudder at the gargantuan amounts US tech companies have poured into AI. Last quarter alone, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta spent $60B in capital expenditures, largely on AI investments like data centers. Meta recently said it'll make $65B in capital expenditures this year as it executes plans for a city-sized AI data center. Microsoft committed $80B to AI data centers this year, and the AI infrastructure investment by OpenAI's Stargate joint venture could grow from $100B to $500B+. |
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Having less can yield more… US attempts to limit China's access to advanced AI through export controls may've backfired as DeepSeek built a better (and free) product with less-advanced chips for less money. Now it seems experts' warnings that restricting access could lead to more innovation have come true. |
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Former Zillow Execs Target a $1.3T Market |
Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow. Austin Allison sold his company to Zillow for $125M. Now they've teamed up to co-found Pacaso and transform the $1.3T vacation home market.1 SoftBank and Maveron have already invested in Pacaso's private offering — and the company is now open to investment from individual investors, too. Pacaso's streamlined digital marketplace is leading the co-ownership revolution, making luxury vacation homes accessible, fully utilized, and virtually hassle-free. And the results speak for themselves: nearly $1B in transactions, 1,500+ happy homeowners, and $100M+ in adjusted gross profits in four years.2 Coldwell Banker's survey found that 40% of Americans want to buy a vacation home within the next year. And with properties in 40 different markets – including the most recent addition, Paris – Pacaso's co-ownership model makes luxury vacation homes accessible worldwide. Become a Pacaso investor today for just $2.70/share.3 |
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Former Zillow Execs Target a $1.3T Market |
Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow. Austin Allison sold his company to Zillow for $125M. Now they've teamed up to co-found Pacaso and transform the $1.3T vacation home market.1 SoftBank and Maveron have already invested in Pacaso's private offering — and the company is now open to investment from individual investors, too. Pacaso's streamlined digital marketplace is leading the co-ownership revolution, making luxury vacation homes accessible, fully utilized, and virtually hassle-free. And the results speak for themselves: nearly $1B in transactions, 1,500+ happy homeowners, and $100M+ in adjusted gross profits in four years.2 Coldwell Banker's survey found that 40% of Americans want to buy a vacation home within the next year. And with properties in 40 different markets – including the most recent addition, Paris – Pacaso's co-ownership model makes luxury vacation homes accessible worldwide. Become a Pacaso investor today for just $2.70/share.3 |
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Sunday scaries… On Sunday afternoon, President Trump threatened Colombia with 25% tariffs after the country refused to accept two US military planes carrying deported migrants. But by Sunday night the White House said Colombia had agreed to repatriate the passengers. The Trump admin said it would keep tariffs on the table in case Colombia didn't follow through. Yesterday, Colombia said it was sending one of its air-force planes to pick up citizens who were on a Sunday deportation flight that wasn't allowed to land. The uncertainty rattled traders. |
- Pressed: Coffee futures hit an all-time high yesterday (the US gets nearly a third of its java from Colombia).
- Drip: Following Colombia's ordeal, China said it was ready to accept any undocumented Chinese nationals returned by the US.
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Made in America… or else. On the campaign trail, Trump threatened exorbitant tariffs on top trade partners like Mexico, Canada, and China, but has so far not imposed any. POTUS recently ordered federal agencies to conduct a study of trade practices ahead of potential tariffs, leading some to believe his stance may not be aggressive as previously thought. |
- Still: Last week Trump said the US could start slapping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China as early as next month.
- Plus: During his recent speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump re-upped tariff threats on all US imports while calling EU trade policies "unfair."
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The proof isn't always in the pudding… Just the threat of tariffs is getting countries to advance the new POTUS's agenda. But leveraging countries' dependence on US trade could backfire. If and when Trump actually goes through with tariffs, it could spark a trade war as countries retaliate with their own restrictions. |
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The rise of GLP-1s have changed the way many Americans eat. But food companies won't be leaving any money on the table. Read more. |
Yesterday's Big Daily Movers |
Falling short in the AI department seems to have benefits: Apple stock popped over 3%, bucking the DeepSeek-driven tech plunge. Maybe it isn't an AI stock, after all. The AI data-center trade was sent off the rails: a big loser was cloud-networking company Arista Networks, which tumbled 22%. Cybersecurity cos like Cloudflare and Qualys were among the rare stock gainers yesterday after DeepSeek said it had been hit by a large-scale cyberattack. |
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Should You Cancel Your Car Insurance? |
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Should You Cancel Your Car Insurance? |
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- Perplexity AI reportedly pitched ByteDance on a plan to merge TikTok's US biz with Perplexity and let the US gov't own up to half of the new entity.
- Costco said that this summer it'll swap out Pepsi fountain drinks for Coke beverages in its food court famed for $1.50 hot-dog-soda combos.
- Universal Music Group saw its shares soar 7% after it announced a multiyear music-licensing deal with Spotify.
- AT&T's stock popped after it reported strong Q4 #s, with profit up 69% on the year on the back of booming 5G and fiber subs.
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- Home-price index
- Consumer confidence
- Earnings expected from Boeing, GM, Lockheed Martin, Royal Caribbean, RTX, Synchrony, JetBlue, Kimberly-Clark, Chubb, Starbucks, and SAP
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, GM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Starbucks |
Advertiser's disclosures:
1 This is the U.S. Total Addressable Market. Source: All US housing data based on National Association of Realtors, Redfin and MLS data U.S. Census 2021; 24M U.S. households earn greater than $150K per year, equating to 19% of total U.S. households. US serviceable based on transactions greater than $500K per home sold per period. 2 We calculate Adjusted Gross Profit as gross profit under GAAP adjusted for amortization of developed technology, inventory valuation adjustment in the current period, inventory valuation adjustment in prior periods and share-based compensation. Please see management discussion of the financial condition section of the offering circular for more details. 3 The minimum investment is $1001.70. This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.pacaso.com. 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. DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck. |
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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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