• Wall Street closed out its longest weekly winning streak in six years after big gains earlier in the week on hopes for lower interest rates in the US.

• The Dow set a new ATH, adding 0.2%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 was up and down but ended flat; it’s still on track for its seventh weekly gain and only 30 points away from its own ATH.

• Last month, weekly US oil production hit 13.2 million barrels per day. That’s just above the Donald Trump-era record of 13.1 million set in early 2020, just before the Covid-19 crisis sent output and prices crashing.

• A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot.

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Lovely to see everyone taking more time off this year. God bless the grinders.

More than usual

“First Christmas with our baby girl”

Ideas, trends, and analysis

• Ten small-cap stocks to consider.

• PayPal — undervalued or a value trap?

📊 Income

• Invesco Mortgage Capital’s dividend is now at 17.66% if you’re brave enough.

📊 Crypto

• Binance will have to pay a $2.7 billion fine.

• Bitcoin miners are preparing for the halving—due April 2024—by adding capacity.

What’s the Bitcoin halving?

The Bitcoin halving happens every four years. During the halving, the reward for mining new Bitcoin blocks is halved, decreasing the rate at which new Bitcoins are created. This event aims to mimic precious metals like gold's scarcity and deflationary properties.

Why does it matter?

Some think the halving is bullish because the asset becomes scarcer; others think it’s already priced in.

🌍 Global Perspectives

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇧🇭 🇨🇦 🇫🇷 🇮🇹 🇳🇱 🇳🇴 🇸🇨 🇪🇸 🇾🇪 Fed up, the US has announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to put a stop to the Houthi attacks on the shipping trade in the Red Sea.

Why do you care?

• “The Houthis are using missiles from Iran, based on old tech from China, to object to Israel’s actions in Gaza. And in the process, they’re raising gas prices in Europe while thwarting Korean carmakers trying to get sedans from Turkey to India.”

🇿🇦 More than 2,000 platinum mine workers in South Africa are striking underground for better pay and benefits.

🇳🇬 Illegal cocoa harvesting in Nigeria is a big business.

🇬🇧 UK inflation fell by more than expected last month

🇷🇺 🇫🇮 Russia is getting antsy about Finland’s accession to NATO.

💎 Wealth Watch

• The IRS announced it will waive around $1 billion in pandemic penalties.

• The most important Social Security table you'll ever see.

• How to plan a home renovation.

• Does universal basic income work?

🗳️ Outside the Box

• New York State is looking into reparations.

• Researchers found that untreated mental illness cost Indiana over $4 billion in 2019. Extrapolating that out to the entire USA, that's $235 billion per year.

• Inside the strange battle to live forever.

• The Red Sea attacks’ unlikely winners.

• BMW drivers have the most DUIs.

📈 Trends you need to know

Search results are from our friends at Glimpse, my favorite way to spot trends.

Related, Affirm is having a fantastic quarter.

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

Cheers,

Wyatt