Notable market news this past week (29-Dec-24)
Here is the Skeptivest roundup of the latest market headlines for the week
🎅Christmas driving spending, employment and economic vitality
Holiday spending at 3-4% of GDP: In 2023, Americans spent $964.4 billion on Christmas, equating to 3.52% of GDP. This year, spending is forecasted to hit nearly $1 trillion, with the average individual shelling out $1,063. Around 64% of that goes to gifts, while the remaining 36% covers decorations, food, and festive indulgences.
Employment surge of c700k temp jobs: The holiday season creates roughly 700,000 temporary jobs, split between retail and logistics. This seasonal employment powers additional spending, turning the spirit of giving into an economic cycle that fuels growth and consumption.
Festivity drives economy: The U.S. leads in holiday spending, showing how the celebration of relationships contributes significantly to GDP and economic vitality.
☕️ Quick fire happenings to note
🌏 Global macro
- Global corporate borrowing climbs to $8tn: Issuance of corporate bonds and leveraged loans climbed by more than a third from 2023 as large corporations are taking advantage of lower borrowing costs. The average US investment-grade bond spread shrank to as little as 0.77% in the aftermath of the election, the tightest gap since the late 1990s, according to Ice BofA data
- Argentina Central Bank's $599m reserve sale highlights strain: The largest reserve sale since 2019 follows the removal of a key import tax, fueling dollar demand. The move underscores challenges to President Milei’s efforts to rebuild reserves amid looming debt obligations.
- Nikkei index heads for best year-end close since 1989: The Nikkei surged to an all-time high above 42,000 points in July. This is due to a sustained rally driven by company share buybacks, activist funds and retail investors finally pushed stocks beyond the bubble-era levels.
- Russia intensifies attacks amid holiday tragedy: Putin escalated strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in a winter offensive. Meanwhile, a civilian airliner crash near the Caspian Sea, likely linked to Russian fire, claimed 38 lives.
🏦 Individual stocks/companies
- Trump asks to delay Tiktok ban: Trump has asked top court to put the Tiktok ban deadline on hold while it considers the merits of the case in order to give his incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution
- South Korean movie and drama studios tumbled: South Korean entertainment stocks plunged as Netflix's Squid Game season debut disappointed, with Artist United down 30%, Wysiwyg Studios 25%, and Dexter Studios, a Korean partner of Netflix, down 24%.
- Delivery Hero tanks (-30.2% past 1 month) as Taiwan blocks Uber's Foodpanda purchase: Delivery Hero shares fell 9% in Frankfurt to a four-month low after Taiwan’s anti-trust regulator blocked Uber’s purchase of its Foodpanda unit.
- Toyota (+14.53% past 5 days) ROE wish sent its stock flying: A Toyota executive’s vague comment about doubling the company’s 11% ROE sent shares soaring, adding tens of billions in market cap. The “unnamed executive” reportedly hinted at this ambition without a timeline, turning a simple ROE target into investor euphoria.
- Nvidia is betting on robotics to drive future growth: The push into robotics comes as the company faces more competition from rival chipmakers and cloud computing giants seeking to reduce dependence on the Nvidia. Robotics have remained an emerging niche that has yet to generate large returns
- Meta rolls out AI tools to drive engagement: Majority of creators are at present using Meta’s AI tools to make their real-world content look better, such as editing photos. The new features will allow users to create AI characters on Instagram and Facebook to make the interaction with AI more social
- Alibaba and E-Mart Forge $4b Joint Venture in South Korea: AliExpress and Gmarket will form a 50-50 entity to bolster Alibaba’s presence in South Korea's online retail market. The move aims to offset slowing growth in Alibaba's core Chinese e-commerce business.
🇸🇬 Singapore related
- PSA surpasses its annual handling record: The company handled more than 40m TEU containers for the first time surpassing its previous record of 38.8m TEUs
