Your Weekly Market Snapshot 📈

Dec 29, 2024

Sunday Morning Markets

Trading Week 52, covering Monday, Dec 23 through Friday, Dec 27. Your weekly financial markets update, in less than 5 minutes.

Home Prices Drop: Prices of new builds hit 2-year low, averaging $403K.
Starbucks Strike: 5,000+ workers strike at 300+ stores.
Banks Sue Fed: Stress tests called unfair; banks demand reforms.
U.K. Stalls: GDP flatlines in Q3, raising recession concerns.
H-1B Debate: Musk, Ramaswamy face backlash for pushing for more visas.
Uber Blocked: Taiwan rejects $950M Foodpanda deal over antitrust concerns.
Netflix-NFL: NFL Christmas games hit 24M+ viewers, setting a streaming record.
TikTok Ban: Trump asks Supreme Court to delay January 19 deadline.
xAI: Musk raises $6B, doubling valuation to $45B; Grok app teased.

Newly constructed home prices hit 2-year low, helping boost sales in November by 6%. The median price dropped to $402,600 as builders focus on affordability. Midwest and South led the surge.
Starbucks strike spreads to 300+ stores in 45 states, with 5,000 workers demanding higher wages and fair contracts. Union cites unfair labor practices; talks remain stalled.
Nippon Steel extends U.S. Steel acquisition deadline to Q1 2025 as Biden evaluates the $14.9B merger amid union and political pushback. Shareholders have strongly supported the deal.
Nordstrom to go private in $6.25B deal led by its founding family and Mexico’s El Puerto de Liverpool. Shareholders will receive $24.25 per share and the deal is expected to close by mid-2025.
Musk and Ramaswamy push for more H-1B visas, arguing they're vital for U.S. innovation, but the stance has sparked backlash from MAGA loyalists over domestic labor market competition.
Major banks sue Federal Reserve over stress tests, claiming the process is unfair, lacks transparency, and hurts lending. The Fed plans updates, but banks demand deeper reforms.

U.K. economy slides into stagnation as GDP growth flatlines in Q3 after earlier growth estimates were revised down. Economists predict weak or no growth for Q4, raising recession concerns.
Canada’s GDP contracted by 0.1% in November after a 0.3% rise in October. Labor disputes and sector weaknesses dampened growth as the pace of future rate cuts is expected to slow.
Taiwan blocks Uber’s $950M Foodpanda deal over antitrust concerns, citing that they would have a 90% market share. Uber must now decide whether to appeal or abandon the deal.
South Korea’s Shinsegae partners with Alibaba in a joint venture, merging AliExpress Korea and Gmarket. Both platforms will operate independently, targeting fierce e-commerce competition.
China's WuXi to sell Advanced Therapies unit to U.S. private equity firm Altaris amid tightening U.S. restrictions. The deal includes its UK-based Oxford Genetics division.

Netflix sets NFL streaming record with 24M+ viewers for each Christmas Day game. Ravens-Texans game peaked with Beyoncé's halftime show, cementing Netflix’s live-event push.
Trump asks Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban, arguing his administration needs time to negotiate. The ban would take effect January 19 unless ByteDance sells the application to a U.S. firm.
Elon Musk’s xAI raises another $6B, doubling its valuation to $45B. Funds will boost AI development, expand infrastructure, and support launching a new standalone Grok app.
Waymo dominated U.S. robotaxi market in 2024, completing 5M+ rides, while Tesla unveiled Cybercab for 2027 and Amazon’s Zoox public trials in major cities. The global ridesharing market is set to hit $480B by 2032.
Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, marking the first step in easing internet restrictions. The move follows calls for Big Tech to push back on censorship in heavily restricted nations.

No major earnings reports this week.

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