🖨️ The PCE Index prints inline

🍌 And now markets have a pass to go bananas

Wanna make $5k?

Alts.co is growing exponentially, and while that’s great, it’s become clear we need someone behind the scenes to do the yeoman’s work of keeping things running smoothly.

If you refer someone to us that we hire for the roll, I’ll give you $5k.

You might get to meet this guy

Grocery-anchored commercial properties ⚓

First National Realty Partners offers accredited investors unique opportunities to invest in grocery-anchored commercial real estate.

What is 'grocery-anchored?'

  • These are properties that have a grocery store as their primary tenant.

  • Grocery stores serve as the main draw (or "anchor") for shoppers, attracting consistent foot traffic to the property

First National Realty specializes in Grocery-anchored tenants, which are generally considered more stable and lower-risk real estate investments. Grocery stores tend to perform well even when times are bad (after all, groceries are a basic necessity).

Invest where people live, shop, and eat.

SPONSOR

📰 Market Headlines

*past 24-hour performance

  • Anticipation for the PCE inflation report had markets on edge yesterday, with expectations set for a 0.3% monthly gain and a 2.4% year-over-year increase.

  • PCE numbers came in bang in line with forecasts this morning:

    • The index printed 0.3% MoM and 2.4% YoY

    • Core numbers were up 0.4% MoM and 2.8% YoY.

    • The report sent all index futures higher.

  • Bitcoin's rally stole the spotlight, hitting $60,000 for the first time in over two years. It’s at $63,000 as we go to press.

    • Trading volume was so high that Coinbase went down for a bit.

    • An 18-month path to $150,000 is possible due to unprecedented adoption.

  • The S&P 500's valuation has reached the 95th percentile compared to historical data.

  • Congressional leaders might have struck a deal to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. Meanwhile, Republican Mitch McDonnell, the longest-serving caucus leader in Senate history, announced he’s stepping down as Senate Leader. He’ll keep his seat, though, which is good until 2027. He’s 82.

🕶️ Market Vibes

🎰 Market Forecasts and Futures

😱 Fear and Greed Index

🧠 What do you think?

Will the US government shut down Friday?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

🎤 What you said last time

Results are bullish; only a tiny percentage think we’ve peaked. The real question now is, how high can we go?

📈 Trends you need to know

From DeepSearchLabs today. Sentiment for Google Gemini cratered a couple of days ago after the high-profile imaging disaster, but it looks like people have already forgotten about it for the most part.

📊 Stocks

Want to invest like Buffet? With Public.com, you can emulate Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio with just a few clicks.

Winners and losers

Earnings, upgrades, and acquisitions

  • Salesforce beat earnings and announced its first-ever dividend, but shares fell after hours due to weak guidance.

  • Snowflake beat Q4 earnings but forecasted weak sales; shares fell 23% on news the software company will replace its CEO.

  • Baidu posted mixed Q4 results with earnings above and revenue just below expectations, focusing on AI growth; shares dropped 8%.

  • AMC Theatres reported a significant revenue increase to $1.10 billion in Q4, driven "literally all" by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert movies; shares fell 9% after the call.

  • Novavax shares plummeted over 20% as the vaccine maker missed Q4 revenue estimates and projected poor sales for 2024.

  • C3.ai reported revenue that topped estimates, sending shares up more than 14% in extended trading.

  • Paramount Global revealed a mixed Q4; shares remained mostly flat post-announcement.

    • “Paramount+, the company’s flagship streaming service, saw a 69% year-over-year revenue increase and added more than 4 million net new subscribers for a total of 67.5 million. The company also said it expects Paramount+ to achieve profitability domestically by 2025.”

  • Okta soared in post-market trading, surpassing Q4 consensus estimates and issuing strong Q1 guidance; shares jumped 19.44% to a new 52-week high.

Market movers

  • Wendy's backtracked on surge-pricing their burgers. [Ed: How many McKinsey consultants lost their jobs over this one?]

  • The US SEC launched an investigation into OpenAI and the chaos around the brief firing of CEO Sam Altman.

  • Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WW (formerly Weight Watchers). Shares plummeted on the news.

  • Alibaba Cloud slashed prices by up to 55% across over 100 products to boost AI growth in China.

  • Electronic Arts announced layoffs of 5% of its workforce, about 670 employees, as it shifts focus towards owned IP and massive online communities.

  • Nvidia directors sell shares worth $80 million following the company's record-high stock prices. That second yacht won’t pay for itself.

  • TikTok encouraged creators to post more photo content as access to popular songs dwindled due to its spat with Universal Music Group.

Ideas, trends, and analysis

🌍 Global Perspectives

  • 🇲🇽 Volcanic ash from Popocatepetl volcano prompted the suspension of 22 flights from Mexico City.

  • 🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin threatened nuclear war if NATO deployed troops to Ukraine.

  • 🇨🇳 In a bid to boost birth rates, Xian, China, will give lottery tickets to newlyweds. This option seems a lot more sensible tbh.

  • 🇸🇴 🇺🇸 🇹🇷 🇺🇬 Somalia signed security deals with the US, Turkey, and Uganda as tensions flair in the Horn of Africa.

  • 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 China intensified naval surveillance around Taiwan with advanced drone carriers.

📊 Income

📊 Crypto

  • South Korea's ruling party retracted its promise to ease crypto restrictions, including lifting the ban on local spot bitcoin ETFs.

  • Crypto traders hedge against potential Bitcoin price pullback, snapping up puts as the market heats up.

  • Three hidden gem cryptos set for explosive growth by 2030.

🧠 Errata

📺 What to Watch Today

What you need to know about the PCE

That’s all for today. Did I miss anything? Smash the reply button to let me know.

Cheers,

Wyatt

Reply

or to participate.