Bulls, Bitcoin, & Beyond

Market Moves Yesterday

S&P 500 @ 5,996.66 ( ⬆️ 1%)

Nasdaq Composite @ 19,630.20 ( ⬆️ 1.51%)

Bitcoin @ $101,851.33 ( ⬇️ 0.53%)

Hey Scoopers,

Happy Tuesday! Are you ready for an exciting newsletter to begin this shortened week?

👉 Donald Trump takes guard

👉 The race to $1 trillion

👉 Bitcoin gains and then tanks

So, let’s go 🚀

Market Wrap

Hey, Scoopers!

Here's what you need to know about recent market moves and why they matter:

The Big Picture

Stock futures dipped Monday evening after President Donald Trump proposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Tariffs typically increase costs for businesses and consumers, which Wall Street generally views as negative for stocks.

The Market's Reaction

Traders got nervous because:

• Earlier reports suggested no immediate tariffs were coming

• Surprise policy shifts create uncertainty

• Trade tensions historically hurt market sentiment

The development comes as markets just wrapped their best week since Trump's November election with:

• S&P 500: +2.9%

• Dow: +3.7%

• Nasdaq: +2.5%

What This Means For Your Portfolio:

If you're investing for the long term (which we advocate), these short-term political headlines shouldn't drastically change your strategy.

Remember:

1. Market volatility is normal during political transitions

2. A diversified portfolio helps reduce risk from any single policy change

3. Focus on your investment plan rather than reacting to daily headlines

The Bigger Lesson: Citi's economist Robert Sockin notes that staying nimble while focusing on strong economic fundamentals is likely the winning strategy.

Trending Stocks 🔥

Costco - Costco Teamsters voted to strike if contract negotiations fail by January 31, with 85% of members supporting work stoppage amid final talks with the retailer. 

TSMC - The global chip maker projects revenue growth from AI accelerators to reach a mid-40% CAGR over the next five years.

Howard Hughes - Bill Ackman will spend $1 billion to increase Pershing Square’s stake in the real estate development company.

Donald Trump is Back at the White House

Donald Trump, the 47th president, is back in the White House, and markets are already reacting to his first-day agenda. 

Let's break down what matters for your investments:

Key Market Moves

• European markets: Stoxx 600 edged up 0.05%

• Currencies: Euro and British pound strengthened vs. USD

• U.S. markets: Closed for MLK Jr. Day

Tariff War

• 20% universal import tariff

• 25% on Canada/Mexico goods

• 60%+ on Chinese products

What This Means For Your Money 💰

• Companies paying more for imports = Higher costs

• Higher costs often = Higher consumer prices

• Potential impact: Could fuel inflation

Immigration Policy: Stricter immigration controls and potential deportations

Market Impact:

• Labor-intensive sectors (construction, agriculture) might face worker shortages

• The tech sector could be affected by visa restrictions

• Possible result: Higher wages to attract workers (which can also fuel inflation)

Other Market-Moving Policies:

• Corporate tax cuts

• Crypto regulation changes

• Reducing green energy subsidies

The Wealth Gap Widens

Remember when being a mere billionaire was impressive? Those days are looking quaintly outdated.

In what might be the greatest wealth speedrun of all time, the world's ultra-wealthy added an astonishing $2 trillion to their collective piggy bank in 2024, bringing their total to a whopping $15 trillion.

That's not just pocket change – it's enough to buy roughly 7.5 billion premium Netflix subscriptions (not that they're paying for those either).

Plot twist: While billionaires were playing "Who Wants to Be a Trillionaire?", global poverty rates have remained stubbornly unchanged since 1990.

A staggering 44% of humanity lives on less than $6.85 per day—about the cost of a fancy coffee that many billionaire kids probably spend on their trust funds.

Here's a fun fact: 60% of billionaire wealth now comes from what we're calling the "Lucky Sperm Club" trilogy:

• Inheritance (thanks, Mom and Dad!)

• Monopolies (because competition was so last century)

• "Crony connections" (aka "my golf buddy knows a guy")

Oxfam predicts we'll see our first trillionaire within a decade.

Leading the race? Elon Musk is currently sitting pretty at $440 billion. At this rate, he'll need a bigger wallet by 2027.

Outgoing President Biden dropped this truth bomb: "An oligarchy is taking shape in America."

Thanks for the heads-up, Joe. We almost overlooked the private space race and billion-dollar yacht competitions.

Oxfam suggests we might want to:

• Break up monopolies (sorry, tech bros)

• Regulate corporations (revolutionary!)

• Make the rich pay their fair share (gasp!)

“So many of the so-called 'self-made' are heirs to vast fortunes, handed down through generations of unearned privilege." - Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director (Translation: Being born rich is still the best business strategy)

✍️ Editor's Note: This newsletter was written from a modest desk, not a superyacht. Though we're open to changing that if any billionaires are reading...

Bitcoin's Wild Ride

Crypto Snapshot:

• Bitcoin price: $101,851 (⬇️ 0.53%)

• Previous all-time high: $109,350

• Broader crypto market: ⬇️ 3.6%

The Trump Effect 🎭

Remember the old Wall Street saying, "Buy the rumor, sell the news"? That's precisely what we're seeing with Bitcoin today.

• Traders got excited about Trump's return

• Expectations of crypto-friendly policies

• Hopes for a national Bitcoin reserve

• Speculation about a crypto advisory council

Over the weekend, we saw something unexpected:

• Trump launched the "Official Trump" meme coin. With a market cap of $10 billion, its trading volume touched $31 billion in the past 24 hours.

• Melania launched the "Melania" meme coin with a trading volume of over $7 billion.

Why This Matters For Investors:

1. Market Sentiment: The launch of Trump-related meme coins is interpreted as a bullish signal for crypto regulation.

2. Risk Levels: Meme coins are considered the riskiest part of a volatile crypto market. Think of them as the penny stocks of the crypto world.

3. LMAX strategist Joel Kruger sees potential for Bitcoin to reach $130,000

4. Experts view Trump's embrace of crypto (even meme coins) as positive for the industry

Headlines You Can't Miss!

Eli Lilly to acquire Scorpian Therapeutics for $2.5B

Apple’s iPhone sales fall 5% in Q4 of 2024

Shake Shack wants to expand to 1,500 locations

Google AI chatbot aims to attract 500M users by end of 2025

Crypto liquidations surge past $1.2 billion

Chart of The Day

Meme of the Day

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. The newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.