Good morning.
What is going on? The news is accelerating faster and faster. It seems like the White House shifts new industries or areas of geopolitics multiple times a day. We have Venezuela and the potential Greenland take over, but did you hear the news about Defense sector and now real-estate investing?
Don’t get lost in the sauce, though, because these shifts are making us more confident of one thing: Energy, robotics, and infrastructure will create the next millionaires.
In today's news:
White House strips defense stocks of dividends, but raises defense budget
Blackstone to be banned from buying 1-family homes (6 stocks this impacts)
US will control Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely, says Trump
ADP's December private sector jobs report missed expectations
Let’s take a deeper look.
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📰 Market Headlines
US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after digesting fresh labor data and a cascade of policy announcements from President Trump.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.2%, but the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% from its record high. The Dow tumbled almost 1%, shedding over 450 points.
President Trump announced the US will indefinitely control Venezuela's oil sales, holding proceeds in Treasury accounts while marketing up to 50 million barrels of stored crude. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration will restart Venezuelan oil exports and use revenue to rebuild the country's battered infrastructure. Oil futures slipped 1.5% on the news.
Trump sent defense stocks yo-yoing yesterday with 2-part combo: First, defense contractors got hammered after President Trump said he won't permit stock buybacks or dividends until they ramp up production and equipment maintenance (he also cut their CEO pay packages to $5M). Shares of General Dynamics (GD), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Northrop Grumman (NOC) all fell as much as 7%.
And part two: just hours later, Trump announced that the US’s military budget would be increased by $500 billion to build the “Dream Military”; Northrop, Lockheed, and General Dynamics all rose between 6-7%, recovering their losses.
Blackstone (BX) stock plunged 5.6% after President Trump posted on Truth Social that he's taking steps to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes. The asset manager controls one of the largest rental housing portfolios in the country. President Trump said he'll call on Congress to codify the ban, arguing "people live in homes, not corporations."
ADP's December private sector jobs report missed expectations, adding just 41,000 jobs. Meanwhile, November JOLTS data showed job openings fell to 7.1 million while hiring slowed to what analysts called an "anemic" pace. All eyes now shift to Friday's December jobs report as a critical test of whether the economy is cooling enough to force the Fed's hand.
😱 Fear & Greed Index
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🤖 AI/Future/Tech News
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, letting users link medical records and wellness apps securely; it's informational, not diagnostic, and won't train core models.
Anthropic plans a $10 billion funding round at a $350 billion valuation, nearly doubling in three months amid Claude-driven coding demand.
Google and Character.AI settled lawsuits over alleged harm to minors, including suicides, a major legal reckoning for AI chatbots.
NVIDIA's Jensen Huang said Chinese demand for H200 AI chips remains "very high," despite US export limits.
🪙 Crypto
Wyoming launched the first state-issued stablecoin, making WYST publicly available and backed by reserves held at state-chartered institutions.
Solana Mobile set January 21 as the launch date for its SKR token, with 20% of the 10 billion token supply reserved for an airdrop to Seeker users and developers.
Hyperscale Data shares surged over 30% after revealing its Bitcoin treasury hit $80.2 million, exceeding 100% of the company's market cap. The AI data center firm holds 524.7 BTC through mining and open market purchases.
🚨 Trending on Reddit
Applied Digital chatter rose 210%, as traders debated post-selloff strategies and speculated on upside ahead of earnings despite recent losses.
Palantir chatter climbed 180%, driven by discussions linking PLTR’s movements to US geopolitical developments, with mixed sentiment on near-term catalysts.
🚚 Market Movers
D-Wave is acquiring Quantum Circuits for $550 million, bringing Yale's Rob Schoelkopf's dual-rail qubit tech and targeting commercial gate-model systems in 2026.
RESIDCO secured a $100 million facility from Huntington National Bank to accelerate aircraft engine acquisitions as aviation demand recovers.
First Brands launched a sale process to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
❓What do you think?
Which will have the biggest impact on US GDP?
🎤️ What you said last time
🧠 The Missing (Market) Links
JPMorgan reached a deal to take over the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs, becoming the new issuer of one of the country's largest co-branded credit card
Japan has a new stationmaster cat. And two other stationmaster cats got promotions. We’re serious.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, says he’s fine with paying $8 billion for the potential California billionaire wealth tax. He’s the 9th-richest man in the world.
Here are the top 10 fastest-growing jobs out there, according to LinkedIn’s newest “Jobs on the Rise” list.
FreshDirect mapped 2026 grocery trends: spicy flavors, artisanal water, and chef-led products bringing restaurant quality home.
📜 Quote of the Day
📢 We want to hear from you.
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⭐️ What did you think of today's edition?
That’s all for today. Did we miss anything? Smash the reply button to let me know.
Cheers,
Brandon & Blake of Invested Inc
Thumbnail image: Flickr, TEDizen
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