“Even if something helps raise the standard of living in Cuba, they won’t do it if it risks their hold on power. This is true with or without Fidel” — Jim Mora, Latin American affairs official in the Pentagon, on Fidel Castro’s death. Brace yourself for a power struggle, folks.
Market Snapshot
- U.S. markets closed a shortened Thanksgiving week with more all-time highs, and the small-cap Russell 2000 rose for a 15th straight day, the first time that’s happened in 20 years
Trial and Error
…A whole lot of error. Last week, pharma giant Eli Lilly (-15% on Wednesday) revealed that its Alzheimer’s drug, solanezumab, arguably the world’s best chance at a cure for the disease, had failed a late-stage clinical trial. Beyond the stock plunge, the failure quickly triggered worries across the pharmaceutical industry that this may severely chill research spending on Alzheimer’s (America’s sixth-largest killer). Unfortunately, the pharma bad news ain’t done yet. Juno Therapeutics dropped over 26% as well amid news that its cancer drug led to the deaths of two patients in a mid-stage clinical trial. Keep fighting the good fight, pharma.
“No Way”
…Jose. Everyone’s favorite tequila maker Jose Cuervo has reportedly put its $1 billion IPO on hold following the election of Donald Trump. The upcoming administration has big plans to either renegotiate or scrap altogether the North American Free Trade Agreement (affectionately dubbed NAFTA)—and we probably don’t need to tell you it would have a serious impact on Jose Cuervo’s American business (but we did anyway). Troubling times for the world’s largest tequila producer, but it’s not the only Mexican company suffering: Mexico’s major stock index has plunged over 7% since the Don won. The Brew could use a drink.
Zuckerberg Climbs the Great Firewall
…Or tries to, at least. It’s no secret that Facebook (-0.38%) has been giving China the eyes for some time—with 1.3 billion potential users, what’s not to like? Unfortunately, there’s a lot about Facebook that China doesn’t like, aka that whole freedom of speech bit. Apparently, that’s an easy fix: Facebook coders have been dispensing with their democratic values by reportedly working on a censorship tool to win China’s heart. The tool would block posts from specific locations in China and posts pertaining to certain issues. Facebook has a big moral decision to make here: freedom of speech or more $$$? This new tool may amount to nothing in practice, but it makes us wonder how flexible other internet giants will be when doing business with the world’s second-largest economy.
The Ever-Elusive Rate Hike
…Is it finally here? For months (just about 12 of them), the ever-looming Fed has been dancing around the idea of raising interest rates in the U.S. After anxiously awaiting the verdict for weeks, minutes from the Fed’s November meeting were released last week, and almost all signs now point to a December rate hike. With an uptick in employment and inflation finally picking up, the ingredients for raising rates are certainly all there, and the stimulus-heavy economic impact of president-elect Trump doesn’t hurt things either. Plus, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen likes what she sees in terms of economic improvement. Nonetheless, we’ll believe it when we see it—stay tuned for December.
Other Stories
- Reddit CEO admits to editing posts on popular pro-Trump page
- Pokémon Go could get a huge December update with 100 new creatures
- Reindeer pizza delivery is now a thing in Japan
- Amazon in talks to buy Dubai’s Souq.com in $1 billion deal
Economic Calendar
- Monday: Government T-Bill Auctions
- Tuesday: Tiffany Earnings; U.S. Q3 GDP (2nd Estimate); Consumer Confidence; Case-Shiller Home Price Index
- Wednesday: Royal Bank of Canada, American Eagle, Box Earnings; Private Employment Report; Pending Home Sales; Beige Book; Personal Income and Outlays
- Thursday: Kroger, Dollar General, Ulta Salon, Smith & Wesson Earnings; Motor Vehicle Sales; Weekly Jobless Claims; PMI Manufacturing Index; ISM Manufacturing Index; Construction Spending
- Friday: Big Lots Earnings; November Jobs Report
How the Election Influences Holiday Shopping
As if the election hasn’t impacted enough, new research suggests that the outcome has also influenced holiday shopping. Yes indeed; the impact is more far-reaching than you might think. People reacted in a variety of ways to the election, but here’s how they were reacting in terms of holiday spending:
- In the first two weeks of November, stores lost out on more than $800 million in online revenue. The states that went blue in the election saw the sharpest drop in sales.
- One store found that products featuring words like “hope” and “kindness” saw sales nearly double, while sales for products with words like “elf” and “joy” fell behind. If we can agree on one thing as a country, it’s that we’ve had it with the elves.
- One interesting nationwide trend is that food has skyrocketed into the #2 spot for hot holiday gifts—behind gift cards (lame). Experts say this is because millennials turn to food when they’re stressed (which they tended to be after the election) and baby boomers turn to food to celebrate. Plus, we do need food to survive.
- The greeting card industry got rocked by the election: demand for cards with the word “cheer” has fallen 14% since the election, while demand for cards with “peace” and “hope” rose 14% and 9%, respectively. Don’t even get us started on the cheerful elves.
Interview Question of the Day
There’s a unique number which, when multiplied by any number from one to six, will get you a new number that contains only the same digits. What is that number? (Answer)
Stat of the Day
Black Friday has brought us another new record—$3.34 billion in online sales, up 21.6% from last year. Even more surprisingly, Black Friday was the first day that mobile transactions surpassed the $1 billion mark: $1.2 billion to be precise, a 33% increase since last time around. It ain’t over, either: Adobe predicts today’s Cyber Monday will outdo Black Friday to become the largest online sales day ever.
Food for Thought
This holiday season, instead of pouring money down the drain, throw money into making an endless hole. That’s what Cards Against Humanity had in store for its annual Black Friday festivities. Affectionately named Holiday Hole, the live-casted, real hole was dug using donations from consumers that topped $100,000.
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