Your Weekly Market Snapshot 📈

Jan 12, 2025

Sunday Morning Markets

Trading Week 2, covering Monday, Jan 6 through Friday, Jan 10. Your weekly financial markets update, in less than 5 minutes.

U.S. job growth soared in December, adding 256,000 jobs, well above the 155,000 forecast. Unemployment fell to 4.1%, but strong data dampened hopes for Fed rate cuts.
Holiday e-commerce sales jumped 8.7% in 2024, hitting $241.4B, driven by steep discounts and AI chatbots. Groceries and cosmetics led spending growth, up 13% and 12.2%.
US services growth accelerates in December, with the ISM services PMI rising to 54.1. Prices paid jumped to 64.4, the highest level since 2023, fueling inflation concerns amid resilient demand.
Biden halts new offshore drilling on 625M acres, protecting U.S. coastlines from environmental risks and securing his climate legacy before Trump takes office later this month.
Disney merges Hulu+ Live TV with Fubo, creating a 6.2M subscriber powerhouse. Disney will own a 70% stake in the new company. Fubo’s stock soared over 200% on the news.
Uber launches $1.5B accelerated buyback plan, sending shares 5% higher. The move, part of a $7B program, signals confidence as CFO calls the stock "undervalued."
Trump secures $20B foreign investment for data centers, with Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani funding projects across eight U.S. states. Texas and Arizona lead the first phase of the initiative.

Justin Trudeau to step down as Liberal leader, citing internal challenges and waning support. He’ll remain PM until a new leader is chosen ahead of the upcoming election cycle this October.
Eurozone economy contracts for second month, with December PMI at 49.6. Services saw a mild recovery, but a worsening manufacturing slump kept growth out of reach.
Xpeng and Volkswagen to build ultra-fast EV charging network in China, linking over 20,000 stations across 420 cities. They’ll also co-develop branded charging hubs.
U.S. labels Tencent as a 'Chinese military company,' prompting strong denials from both the firm and Beijing. Shares tumbled 8% as geopolitical tensions escalated further.
Pony.ai plans to launch robotaxi services in Hong Kong, starting with airport staff at HKIA. This move positions Pony.ai alongside Baidu in the city's autonomous driving race.
Eurozone inflation rises to 2.4% in December, moving farther above the ECB's target. Despite low unemployment, interest rate cuts are expected to support sluggish economic growth in the region.
China services activity hits 7-month high, with December PMI at 52.2, driven by strong domestic demand. However, declining exports and U.S. trade tensions weigh on optimism and job growth.

Meta ends fact-checking, revives political posts as part of a pivot toward "free expression." It adopts a "Community Notes" model and eases content restrictions on topics like immigration and gender.
Anthropic nears $2B funding at a $60B valuation, tripling its valuation in a year. Backed by Amazon, the Claude chatbot creator becomes the 5th-most valuable U.S. startup, trailing OpenAI and SpaceX.
OpenAI shifts focus to superintelligence, with CEO Sam Altman confident AGI is achievable. He predicts AI systems could transform industries and scientific innovation within years, despite safety challenges.
Toyota invests $45M in rocket startup, backing Japan's Interstellar Technologies. Chairman Akio Toyoda says space tech is key to the future, rivaling firms like SpaceX.
Nvidia unveils gaming chips with AI tech, integrating data center advancements into GeForce RTX 50-series. The Blackwell architecture boosts graphics and gameplay.
CES 2025 dazzles with futuristic tech like Zoox’s driverless taxis, modular AI-enabled Solos smart glasses, Lenovo's rollable laptop screens, and Aptera's solar-powered EV

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