Tale of the Tape

Good evening, y’all. It’s Wednesday. 🙂

The market of stocks was mixed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher while the Russell 2000 and Dow both dropped less than 0.50%.

Technology and consumer discretionary were the strongest sectors. $XLK and $XLY both closed at a new all time high.

Bitcoin finally bopped through 20K. Could this start another crypto craze?? Possibly – tune in to tonight’s episode of After Hours to hear more.

The Fed had its final meeting for the year. Powell didn’t present any surprises. See more on this below. 

November’s Retail Sales struggled. Here’s Eddy Elfenbein with more.

Shopify surged 7.7%, Penn popped 6%, and Stitch Fix flew 3%. These stocks all closed at a new all time high. 

$SFIX has sailed for 7 consecutive days and the stock is up 85% since it reported earnings on December 7th. Here’s the daily chart:

And here are the closing prints: 

S&P 500	3,701	+0.18%
Nasdaq	12,658	+0.50%
Russell 2000	1,952	-0.36%
Dow Jones	30,154	-0.15%

Bro, Bitcoin is Bodacious

It’s open season on bears in the Bitcoin market — the $BTC bulls got to do their favorite thing and say “I told you so” to all the haters.

$BTC.X broke 20K… and continues to edge higher like the Energizer bunny. Not only did the crypto crack 20K, Bitcoin already bopped through 21. Savage. 

Will the bubble burst, or can crypto carry on? Time will tell.

Here’s the Bitcoin daily chart: 

And the weekly: 

Talk about a big ol’ base. 👀

The Fed’s Final Meeting 

The Fed finished its final meeting for 2020. 

As expected, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rates near zero, and will buy at least $120B in bonds per month.

The Fed said:

The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. Weaker demand and earlier declines in oil prices have been holding down consumer price inflation. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses.

The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus. The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.

Fed Chief Powell expects the economy to grow rapidly after next June, as coronavirus vaccine immunizations will reach most Americans. Fiscal stimulus may help in the coming 3-4 months.

Here’s the official statement from the Federal Reserve.

Weed Is Tight

Aphria Inc. and Tilray Inc. announced today that they will merge to create the largest global cannabis operation by revenue. $APHA fell 1% on the news while $TLRY ripped 18.5%.

The companies combined would control 17% of Canada’s adult cannabis market by revenue, ~2x the shares of 3 other competitors. The merger is expected to generate C$100M in annual cost savings within two years. Cheers!! 

Mr. Kennedy, Tilray’s CEO, commented:

We are thrilled to bring together two cannabis industry leaders. At this nascent stage of development and expansion of the global cannabis market, we believe companies with leading geographic scale, product range and brand expertise are most likely to benefit long-term. By leveraging our combined strengths and capabilities, we expect to be able to meet the needs of consumers more effectively all over the world and advance patient care. With a strong financial profile, low-cost production, leading brands, distribution network and unique partnerships, we believe the Combined Company will be well-positioned to deliver sustainable, attractive returns for stockholders.

SPAC Attack on AST

SPAC New Providence will take AST & Science public with a valuation of $1.8 billion. This deal will place AST on the Nasdaq with the ticker $ASTS in Q1 2021. New Providence is currently listed under $NPA.

So what makes AST so valuable? Well, the company is  launching a technology that could let any phone connect to satellites, giving consumers 5G anywhere. 

Woah – best of luck, y’all! 😮

The biggest game in college sports?

Easy, it’s the NCAA vs the US Government.

Today the Supreme Court agreed to hear the NCAA’s appeal from a lower court decision that found them guilty of unlawfully limiting compensation for collegiate athletes. 

This means the Supreme Court holds the future of the NCAA in its hands. If the current ruling is held, it would mark the first landmark change in collegiate compensation. 

Imagine how much money Manziel could’ve made signing autographs… legally 😉 lol

Earnings This Week

Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Here’s the earnings calendar.

Links That Don’t Suck

*💹 IBD is offering 12 days of discounts on MarketSmith, SwingTrader and more! What’s today’s deal? Go here to find out…

⚾ MLB Gives 1920-1948 Negro Leagues ‘Major League’ Status

🚫 Massachusetts Regulators File Complaint Against Robinhood 

🏢 Mecanoo Proposes Sinuous Maritime Museum for Rotterdam Harbour

🌺 Hawaiian Ranch Where Lost Was Filmed Listed for $45 Million

🍌 The Las Vegas of the Future Will Include a ‘Banana-Shaped’ High Rise. Yeah, That’s It. Banana-Shaped.

📚 ‘The Speed Game’ Review: Fast Break Forever

*this is a sponsored post