Best investment of 2024

US stocks close out best two-year stretch since 1998, 21 states are getting minimum wage bumps, the biggest S&P gainers and losers, Citigroup and BofA join US lenders in exiting Net-Zero Banking Alliance, and Bitcoin was the best investment of 2024...

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Market Briefing
January 02, 2025

Happy New Year 🎉

The Fast Five → US stocks close out best two-year stretch since 1998, 21 states are getting minimum wage bumps, the biggest S&P gainers and losers, Citigroup and BofA join US lenders in exiting Net-Zero Banking Alliance, and Bitcoin was the best investment of 2024…

⚠️ Thinking about buying AI stocks? This will make you think twice… 
 - from Stansberry

Calendar: (all times ET) - Full calendar

  • Today:
    Initial jobless claims, 8:30A
    Construction spending, 10:00A

  • Tomorrow:
    ISM manufacturing, 10:00A

Your 5-minute briefing for Thursday, January 2:

BEFORE THE OPEN

As of market close 12/31/2024. Bitcoin as of 1/1/2025.

Pre-Market:

US Investor % Bullish Sentiment:
↓ 40.71% for Week of December 19 2024 *

Previous week: 43.33%. Updates every Friday. *Delayed update due to holiday

Market Wrap:

  • Futures edge higher to start 2025: Dow +67, S&P +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%.

  • 2024: S&P +23%, Nasdaq +29%, Dow +13%, powered by AI, rate cuts.

  • Magnificent Seven stocks led gains; Nvidia +171%, Apple +30%.

  • Santa Claus rally dims after S&P's 4-day slide to end 2024.

  • FBI probes New Orleans attack; jobless claims data due Thursday.

EARNINGS

No noteworthy earnings scheduled for release this week. See full calendar »

HEADLINES

The S&P 500 Index surged 23% in 2024, stoked mostly by the hype around AI breakthroughs.

It was a good year for AI-linked companies in 2024, as they led the stock market with eye-watering returns.

  • S&P 500 soared in 2024 despite a weak fourth quarter (more)

  • Bitcoin was the best investment of 2024, but not without its usual volatility (more)

  • Dollar starts 2025 higher (more)

  • US home-price growth slows slightly as buyers gain more leverage (more)

    • Housing market heading into 2025 with a worrying supply trend (more)

  • 21 states getting minimum wage bumps in 2025 (more)

  • Green-energy firms’ pitch Trump: you’re going to need a lot of power (more)

  • Nippon Steel offers US government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval (more)

  • Maersk sees no progress in US Port talks, urges cargo removal (more)

  • Russia and Ukraine end 5 decades of gas transit to Europe (more)

  • ECB hopes to hit 2% inflation target in 2025 (more)

  • Citigroup, BofA join US lenders in exiting Net-Zero Banking Alliance (more)

  • Mazda poised for record-breaking year powered mostly by gas (more)

  • Robinhood, already a ‘comeback’ stock, has aggressive plans for 2025 (more)

A MESSAGE FROM STANSBERRY

🚨 An urgent investment report from the man who predicted the 1998 Japanese banking crisis, the dot-com bubble, and the Global Financial Crisis has just been released…

Porter Stansberry warns:

“If you hold tech stocks, it’s time to sell”

M+A | Investments

  • Alibaba to sell Sun Art to buyout firm DCP for $1.6 bln (more)

  • Li Ka-Shing-backed Hutchmed sells stake in unit for $608M (more)

  • Xerox Holdings Corporation acquires Lexmark International, Inc., a provider of innovative imaging solutions including printers (more)

  • Safara, a hotel booking platform curating the world’s best hotels and rewards travelers with cashback, acquired Skipper, a software company empowering independent hotels with seamless checkout experiences (more)

  • Besseges, a fire protection and facilities management business for the retail, commercial and education sectors, received an investment from BGF (more)

  • Royal Health, Inc., an advanced radiology software and workflow solutions, closed a minority investment led by HealthQuest Capital (more)

VC

  • Gates-backed KoBold Metals raises $537M in funding round (more)

  • AusperBio, a clinical-stage biotech company advancing therapies to achieve a cure for chronic hepatitis B (CHB), closed $73M Series B financing (more)

  • Gemma Biotherapeutics, a therapeutics company, closed a $34M seed funding (more)

  • boon AI, an AI-powered workflow platform for commercial fleets, raised $20.5M in Series A funding (more)

  • Cadstrom, an AI expert system enabling electrical engineers to design devices correctly on the first try, raised $6.8M in Seed funding (more)

  • Sunairio, a Bclimate and energy analytics startup, raised $6.4M in funding (more)

  • HuLoop Automation, a leader in AI-powered intelligent automation, closed its Series A funding round of undisclosed amount (more)

  • Vitalic, a mental health startup, launched with $4M in seed funding (more)

  • Bluenote, a gen AI platform for life sciences companies, raised $10M in financing (more)

CRYPTO

  • Why 2025 could be a pivotal year for cryptocurrencies (more)

  • MicroStrategy plunge deepens in days following Nasdaq-100 inclusion (more)

  • US debt ceiling looms in signal for a Bitcoin cycle bottom (more)

BULLISH BITES

🤑 Regulation, Deals and Crypto: Fintech themes to watch in 2025.

⏳ Flashback: Inside the Y2K crisis that never was, 25 years later.

👜 Shady: Inside luxury goods' broken audit system.

🎉 In photos: New Year's celebrations in US and around the world.

DAILY SHARES

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