Hey there weekday warriors,

Today I’d like to pour one out for all the poor b*stards who have to work this week… especially those of you who have to be in the office. Thoughts and prayers.

Here’s what we’re getting into today…

• The 2023 holiday szn was a letdown

• It’s game over for China’s gaming industry

• Man U has a new (minority) owner

Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 2 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.

Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,

- tyler

+ US stocks “were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Oil and gas, Consumer Goods, and Industrials sectors led shares higher.” (Investing.com)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield “dipped about 2 basis points to 3.893%." (CNBC)

+ Oil “climbed more than 2% on Tuesday to its highest level this month, as further attacks on ships in the Red Sea prompted fears of shipping disruptions and on hopes of interest rate cuts that could boost economic growth and fuel demand.” (Reuters)

+ Bitcoin hovered around $42.5k for most of the day.

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Marathon Digital +0.94% 2) Intel +5.21% 3) Tesla +1.61%.

The results are in…

You should all be ashamed of yourselves…

Mastercard reported that retail sales during the holiday szn (between November 1 and December 24) grew just 3.1% vs. the same period last year. That was well below analyst’s expectations of 3.7% and a far cry from last year’s 7.6% year-over-year increase.

The biggest decline was in jewelry sales. The category fell 2% vs. last year. Apparently, he didn’t go to Jared…

So who’s to blame?

I don’t like to point fingers, but… parents that don’t love their kids major retailers didn’t exactly do themselves any favors. Their discounts were disappointing, and a whole lot worse than last year, when the Walmarts and Targets of the world had girthy inventories to get through.

With inflation still having its way with the US economy, consumers were fiending for deals that never came, even on “Super Saturday” (the weekend day before Christmas Eve).

On the bright side…

I’ve got some good news for the kids whose gifts were from Facebook Marketplace this year. Uncle Jerome might have won his battle with inflation… so your parents won’t be forced to choose between school lunch and a new bike (a Huffy, but still…) in 2024.

The Friday before Christmas, when not a creature was stirring, the Commerce Department dropped the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (spoiler: the Fed’s preferred inflation read). Prices rose just 0.1% in November and 3.2% vs. last year.

Both were roughly in line with estimates. But the data showed that we’re a rounding error away from prices actually dropping month over month. And 3.2% is getting awfully close to the Fed’s 2% annual mandate…

+ The Nasdaq Is About to Do Something It Has Only Done 5 Times Before. History Says This Is What Will Happen in 2024. (Read)

+ October home prices post biggest gain of 2023, despite higher mortgage rates, says S&P Case-Shiller (Read)

+ I’m a CNBC personal finance reporter — here’s the best money advice I heard this year (Read)

+ ICYMI... More couples are choosing a ‘dual income, no kids’ lifestyle. Here’s how that changes their finances (Read)

+ Do business in a communist country, they said. What’s the worst that could happen, they said…

China went all Tiananmen Square on its video game industry Friday. China’s gaming regulator handed down a bunch of proposed new rules that would impact online video games. Among them were bans on major in-game transactions and daily login rewards.

Unsurprisingly, major players in the space that have been bogged down by Draconian rules that started being handed down in 2021, got rekt. On Friday, Tencent fell 12.4%, NetEase plummeted 24.6%, and Bilibili dropped 9.7%. Oof.

But by Wednesday (the first trading day in Hong Kong after the holiday) in Hong Kong, shares of the big three gaming companies went parabolic. A true Christmas miracle. That’s because over the weekend, China’s National Press and Publication Administration (a whole ass regulatory body dedicated to video games) said it would “carefully study” the rule changes given the concerns. (Read)

+ At long last, rumors about which Sheikh will buy Manchester United can be put to rest… because British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe just bought a 25% stake in the team at a $6.3B valuation. Ratcliffe’s company will also take over team operations. Shares of Man U rose 3.5% on the news Tuesday. (Read)

+ According to the NYT, Apple has begun talking to major media companies in hopes of using their content to train AI models. Hit me up, Tim Cook. Some of the brands including Condé Nast and NBC were offered up to $50M for access to their archives. Apple knows they could just get it for free on the internet, right? (Read)

+ Have yourself a day, Intel. Shares of the Temu semiconductor makers jumped 5% on news that it would get some help from the Israeli government for a plant expansion in the country. The Israeli government offered up a $3.2B grant to help cover the $25B price tag. If only the US had a $100B fund dedicated to reinvigorating the semiconductor industry… (Read)

Here's what I'm keeping an eye on today...

… not a whole lot.

Yesterday, I asked What’s the best Christmas gift you ever got (as a kid or an adult)?

The most popular answers were video game systems. It was pretty close between the N64 and the original PlayStation, which makes sense given the demographic around here.

Probably the coolest answer was the dude whose parents got him 1993 Final Four tickets (ended up being the Chris Webber timeout championship game).

Here’s today’s question…

Back when I was on that corporate grind, I used to think working this week was the move. You could save PTO days and do literally nothing (…except take long lunches and duck out early).

Oh, and one more thing…

Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?

No, it’s the face of a God-fearing family man with sh*t-for-brains. So, act accordingly...

This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.