📈 Irrational optimism?

Fed is sparking irrational market optimism former FDIC Chair warns, gold prices soar to record highs, Teamsters authorize strike at Budweiser, A-Rod’s Slam SPAC plans merger with Lynk Global, and Bezos talks plans for a trillion people to live in huge space stations...

December 18, 2023

☕️ Good Morning.

The Fast Five → Fed is sparking irrational market optimism former FDIC Chair warns, gold prices soar to record highs, Teamsters authorize strike at Budweiser, A-Rod’s Slam SPAC plans merger with Lynk Global, and Bezos talks plans for a trillion people to live in space stations…

Here’s your 5-min briefing for Monday:

BEFORE THE OPEN

As of market close 12/15/2023. Bitcoin as of 12/17/2023.

MARKETS

  • US stocks mostly rose, closing out their seventh-straight winning week on the back of a Fed-sparked rally

  • The Nasdaq rose 0.4%, while the S&P fell 0.01%

EARNINGS

  • What we're watching this week:

    • Today: Heico

    • Tueday: FedEx, Accenture 

    • Wednesday: General Mills, Micron, MillerKnoll, BlackBerry

    • Thursday: Nike, Carnival

  • Full calendar here

NEWS BRIEFING

Bair suggested Fed Chair Powell was irresponsibly dovish at last week’s policy meeting by creating “irrational exuberance” among investors.

Union says 5,000 workers at 12 breweries prepared to strike. Teamsters want new contract with improved wages, job security.

  • UBS CEO tells paper he's not convinced inflation is under control (link)

  • ‘Underwater’ car loans signal US consumers slammed by high rates (link)

  • To trade the Fed’s pivot, Wall Street turns to short-dated debt (link)

  • Bond bulls look to juice 2024 return in obscure niche trades (link)

  • Hedge funds turn bearish on dollar as Goldman sees more declines (link)

  • Gold prices soar to record highs as Federal Reserve takes unexpected dovish turn (link)

  • Oil boon will add extra zip to rally in emerging-market assets (link)

  • US frackers return to haunt OPEC’s pricing strategy (link)

  • Asia shares brace for BOJ meeting, US inflation test (link)

  • China's ban on Apple's iPhone accelerates (link)

  • Recent data shows AI job losses are rising, but the numbers don’t tell the full story (link)

  • Activision Blizzard settles $54M workplace discrimination lawsuit with California (link)

  • Robinhood woos wealthier clients from bigger brokerages (link)

  • Citigroup employees, on edge over layoffs, told they can work remotely until the new year (link)

  • Deloitte is looking to AI to help avoid mass layoffs in future (link)

  • Jeff Bezos discusses plans for a trillion people to live in huge cylindrical space stations (link)

  • Floundering weed stocks test Wall Street’s faith in 2024 rebound (link)

CRYPTO

US regulators must finally decide whether to approve a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF on January 10 (link)

SEC denied a request from Coinbase for tailored crypto regulations (link)

BULLISH BITES

💙 Besties’ revenge: How the ‘All-In’ podcast captured Silicon Valley.

🎁 Gifting: The 58 new books top business leaders say are must-reads.

😱 Disrupted: News publishers see Google’s AI search tool as a traffic-destroying nightmare.

🏡 Watch list: The No. 1 most affordable place to retire in 2024—it’s not in Florida.

FEATURED TRADES

Tiptree Inc. is a diversified holding company, with a primary interest in specialty insurance through its majority stake in Fortegra, as well as other non-insurance financial assets. They focus on acquiring or investing in niche companies, specifically in the insurance sector and other selected markets, utilizing balance sheet capital to drive growth.

Ticker: TIPT | Price: $18.73 | Price Target: $31.37 (+67%) | Timeframe: N/A

💼 Holding Company | 💸 Specialty Insurance | 📈 Bullish Idea

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