The Week's Top Stories: Mad Markets, and Shutdown Showdown
*From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.*
* **Markets Whipsaw:**
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is usually a languorous time of slow news days, long lunches, and early clock-outs. Someone should have told that to the traders on Wall Street. The markets this week behaved much like a roller coaster ー continuing a slide after Christmas, then reversing course for the Dow’s largest point gain in history, then slipping and rallying again. Finally on Friday, the Dow traded in a more settled range, the first day it gained or lost less than a percentage point since Dec. 18. With one more trading day left in the year, the S&P is on track for its biggest annual percentage decline since the peak of the financial crisis in 2008.
* **Happy Holiday:**
The market volatility did not stop shoppers from going out (and online) in droves to finish off the holiday season on a strong note. All told, U.S. consumers spent a cool $850 billion this holiday with retail sales up more than 5 percent over a year ago ー the biggest increase in six years. E-commerce sales were up nearly 20 percent year-over-year, with department stores showing the only signs of weakness, due mostly to store closings. A shopping trend known as BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) came into its own this year; those types of sales were up 46 percent, and 86 percent of retailers surveyed called the trend the future of the delivery model. [Read more](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/not-dead-yet-malls-show-signs-of-life-amid-strong-holiday-spending).
* **Shutdown Showdown:**
Meanwhile, Washington ended the year in a stalemate over funding for President Trump’s border wall. The federal government has been partially shut down for a week due to the budget impasse, which is affecting 800,000 federal workers. Trump has said he won’t reopen the government until he secures the $5 billion he has requested to build more of the wall and said he would consider closing the southern border if the funding doesn't materialize. Trump repeatedly told his supporters during his campaign that the wall would be paid for by Mexico, though that narrative has largely been replaced by a taxpayer-funded barrier that two-thirds of Americans don’t deem necessary. [Read more](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/congress-meets-and-adjourns-with-no-solution-to-shutdown).
* **Tesla:**
If you’re in the market for a new Tesla ($TSLA) but haven’t pulled the trigger, you might want to do so before Tuesday. That’s when the federal tax credit will be slashed in half, from $7,500 to $3,750. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the company will reimburse customers who bought new cars, but encountered delays that caused them to miss out on the subsidy. Meanwhile, as part of Musk’s settlement with the SEC ー remember that “funding secured” tweet? ー two new members were added to the electric carmaker’s board: Larry Ellison, the former CEO of Oracle ($ORCL), and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson of Walgreens ($WBA). In China, the company’s largest overseas market, Tesla has seen demand plummet due to tariffs, prompting it to cut prices for the third time in two months. Tesla is at work on a Shanghai factory that would cushion the blow from trade war tariffs on U.S.-produced vehicles. [Read more](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/tesla-appoints-new-board-members).
* **Tax Changes:**
With the first year of the new tax law almost in the books, it’s a good time for a primer on how the law will affect individual filers when tax season comes, which is always sooner than you think. Your 1040 will look different, for starters: the personal deduction has been eliminated, but standard deductions have roughly doubled for single filers, heads of household, and those with dependents. Filers will also no longer be able to deduct costs associated with job searches and working from home, which will negatively impact freelancers and anyone who spent more than 2 percent of their adjusted gross income on job-related expenses. The new law also makes it harder for people to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes. [Read more](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/the-tax-changes-that-are-about-to-sneak-up-on-you).
*-Carlo Versano*
Spotify beat fourth quarter earnings expectations, and also reported a jump in monthly active users and in paid subscribers. The report comes as the company grapples with a new question: is it simply a streaming platform, or is it a media company responsible for the content it posts, like Joe Rogan's controversial podcast? Greg Martin, Co-Founder of Rainmaker Securities, joins Closing Bell to discuss why the stock took a hit even though earnings results were positive, how the company can move forward through the Rogan controversy, and more.
Chen Arad, Chief Operating Officer for Solidus Labs, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why Wormhole was particularly vulnerable to a $320+ million crypto hack and discusses what new investors need to do in order to protect their assets.
E-commerce platform for construction and building materials RenoRun has raised $142 million in a Series B round, which the company says is the fourth largest Series B round in Canadian history. RenoRun’s platform offers same-day delivery of construction materials to job sites in Canada and the United States. The company aims to revolutionize the construction industry by maximizing productivity and efficiency. RenoRun co-founder and CEO Eamonn O’Rourke joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Facebook parent company Meta reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and also issued disappointing guidance for Q1 2022. The tech giant is also under pressure due to Apple's iOS privacy change, as well as continued multi-billion dollar losses for its metaverse focused business unit. Angelo Zino, Tech Analyst at CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss the earnings results, how Apple's iOS privacy change will impact revenue, whether the metaverse is an underrated investment opportunity, and more.
The video game industry has seen monumental growth the past few years - with an increasing amount of companies jumping head first into the space. In January alone, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard, game publisher Take-Two agreed to buy Zynga, and most recently, Sony announced it has agreed to buy game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. Tobias Batton, CEO and founder of Ex Populus, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss the surge in M&A activity in the gaming space.
Facebook parent Meta reported disappointing results in its first quarterly earnings report since rebranding to focus on the metaverse. The tech giant delivered mixed results with quarterly profit falling well below Wall Street expectations. Shares plunged more than 20 percent in after hours trading as a result. Martin Garner, COO of CCS Insight, joined Cheddar Movers to break down the company's results.
Super Group, the company behind leading global online sports betting and gaming businesses Betway and Spin, has landed on Wall Street. The company went public via SPAC with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp., and now lists on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'SGHC.' This debut comes as the U.S. sports betting market continues to heat up with more and more states legalizing the practice. Eric Grubman, chairman of Super Group, joined Cheddar to discuss.
Miami wants to be the crypto capital of the world. Mayor Francis Suarez has gone all in on the blockchain, even accepting one of his first paychecks in Bitcoin, hosting one of the world's largest digital cryptocurrency conferences, and marketing Miami as a great place for tech experts to work. Maja Vujinovic, managing director of OGroupLLC, joined Cheddar's Fast Forward to discuss Miami's enthusiasm toward crypto, some of the potential risks that entails, and where the city might be heading when it comes to the crypto takeover.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
