Good evening, everyone. It’ssss Friday! 🥳
Stocks rallied into the end of the trading week. The S&P 500 spiked 0.95% and registered a new record-high close. 🏆 The Nasdaq recovered 0.73%, but the Russell 2000 dipped 0.38%.
Bottomline Technologies blasted 16.7% to eleven-month highs after Bloomberg reported that the software company is negotiating a potential sale with Deutsche Bank.
Each sector ETF closed in positive territory. Tech registered new all-time highs thanks to $AAPL advancing 2.8% and $MSFT marching 2.83%. 💚 Consumer staples climbed 1.69% to record highs as well.
In November, CPI data revealed another multi-decade high rate of inflation. In November, the CPI increased by 6.8% over the previous year, marking the biggest yearly increase since June 1982. More on this below.
The crypto weakness continues… Ethereum erased 2.4% and hovers just above $4K. Bitcoin traded flat.
Lumper leaped 4.4% today and marked a weekly gain of 17.93%. Lumber has closed positive 4 of the last 6 weeks. 💪
$NTP popped 22.6%, $SGMA soared 84.67%, and $LWLG leaped 12.87%.
Here are the closing prices:
| S&P 500 | 4,712 | +0.95% |
| Nasdaq | 15,630 | +0.73% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,211 | -0.38% |
| Dow Jones | 35,971 | +0.60% |
Economy
The Inflation Situation
The S&P 500 notched a record high today, even as consumer price index data showed that America’s inflation hit a 39-year high.
The consumer price index (CPI) jumped 0.8% in November, marking a 6.8% YoY growth in the measure. It was the fastest pace of growth since 1982. Stocks and gold rose on the news, U.S. treasury yields barely changed, and the dollar weakened. Michael Arone of State Street Global Advisers shared his insights with Reuters:
“This data suggests that the Fed will have to tighten monetary policy more aggressively than just a couple of month ago, and the market’s acceptance of that is a little surprising to me… We believe the market can handle rate increases as long as [The Fed is] transparent and they’re at the right pace.”
The Biden administration set the stage earlier in the week for a high figure, but was granted an unexpected reprieve: inflation wasn’t greater than 7%, as some economists had worried it would be. In many ways, the CPI figures are a small victory for the markets and for a Biden administration struggling to pass legislation. 🤷
The surge was mostly driven by rising energy prices, which include both commodities and energy services. These prices have risen 33.3% YoY. Other categories, such as food, rose 6.1% YoY. All other items rose just 4.9% YoY.
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Company News
Ford Takes on Tesla
Ford is crushing the electric truck game. 🌩️ ⚡ As a matter of fact, Ford is doing such a good job that the company had to stop taking reservations for its F-150 Lightning because it’s so popular.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said “We are completely oversubscribed with our battery electric vehicles, Lightning especially…We stopped at 200,000, and those are orders. Hard orders.” The company hopes to double its original full production goal of 70,000 – 80,000 units. 💰
Regarding Ford’s decision to pause its waitlist, Farley commented “We don’t want to build these vehicles in tents” in reference to the time Tesla had to increase EV production in tents outside its main factory to keep up with demand. Farley continued “I’m a race car driver. Second place is the first loser… I can’t keep track of the other racers. All I know is there’s one finish line and we are motivated to get there,” also referring to competition with Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Ford aims to produce 600,000 EVs by 2023. By 2025, the company hopes to produce 1 million EVs and become the second-largest electric car manufacturer behind Tesla.
$F gained 9.61% today. 🚀
Company News
It’s a Buyback Bonanza 🤠
Oracle expanded 15.6% to close above the $100 level for the first time ever after a stellar earnings report. The board of directors also approved a $10 billion increase in share repurchase authorization. 🤑 $ORCL is up 61.3% YTD and sits at all-time highs.
Broadcom blitzed 8.27% to record highs alongside Oracle. What did these two beasts have in common besides the record-high closes?? Aggressive share buyback plans. 😎 That’s right, Broadcom also announced a $10 billion share buyback plan. Here’s the full report.
Bullets
Bullets from the Day
What the $%&# is happening at Kellogg? Kellogg plans to replace 1,400 of its workers who have been on strike since October 5. President Biden said he was “deeply troubled” by the company’s plans, as Democrats have attempted to outlaw such practices. Meanwhile, the internet has voiced its opinion on the situation — Reddit users flooded and spammed Kellogg’s application site for new workers in droves. Read More in The New York Times.
GM eyes $4 billion investment in Michigan. Auto giant General Motors is mulling a $4 billion investment in two Michigan-based plants, which it hopes will boost capacity to manufacture and produce electric vehicle. The company has already proposed building a $2.5 billion battery plant in the region. Read more in CNBC.
Activision Blizzard struggles to defend against union drive. Employees at Activision Blizzard are fed up with the status quo. The company, which has been battered for creating a hostile work environment for women and minorities, is now trying to stop a union drive and open-ended strike. Employees say they’re tired of the company’s leadership ignoring them. Read more in Axios.
Peloton falls after “Sex and the City” death. A rough year for at-home fitness company Peloton got worse last night. It’s not because of company news, earnings, or supply chain issues (the things that have plagued the company in recent quarters.) Instead, it’s the death of a fictional character from the HBO Max show “Sex and the City.” Peloton stock fell 5.4% today. Read more in Fortune.
Volvo reports investigation of security breach. The car maker has launched an investigation into a cybersecurity breach and theft of R&D data, claiming a “limited amount of the company’s R&D property has been stolen during the intrusion.” Volvo has partnered with a third-party researcher to address the breach. Read more in Tech Crunch.
Links
Links That Don’t Suck:
🎅 Is the Santa Claus Rally real? Find out in this infographic from IBD*
👋 Instacart President Carolyn Everson Announces Departure Just Three Months After She Started
🚗 ‘No easy solution’ for Tesla Cybertruck’s Comically Large Windshield Wiper, Elon Musk Says
🚁 This Hovercraft Flew Through a Forest Like a Scene Out of ‘Star Wars’
🤭 Blunder Prevents Early BuzzFeed Employees from Selling their Shares
⚖️ Prosecution Rests in Ghislaine Maxwell Trial
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