Hey Snackers,
No opposable thumbs required to open these presents: animals at the Berlin Zoo had a treemendously satisfying holiday after zookeepers let elephants and other creatures snack on unsold Christmas trees.
The major US indexes sagged last week, but a Friday surge chipped away at losses. Booze sellers saw share prices slip after the US surgeon general said alcoholic drinks should have warning labels about cancer risks.
47K East Coast dockworkers could soon strike, reigniting shipping disruptions
New year, same strike⌠East and Gulf Coast ports arenât leaving their problems in 2024. As soon as next week, 47K unionized dockworkers could run it back on their three-day strike from October. That work stoppage, the first of its kind in nearly a half century, was suspended after the union and port employers reached a tentative wage-hike deal (62% over six years). But they kicked the can on the issue of automation. The temporary truceâs end date is fast approaching, and talks between the two sides are set to resume tomorrow.Â
Heavy cargo: If a deal isnât reached, an estimated $5B/day strike could start as early as January 16, shutting down ports that account for 60% of US shipping traffic. Last week, Danish shipping juggernaut Maersk told customers that negotiations hadnât advanced.
Automation agitation: The union wants a contract that guarantees employers wonât introduce automation or semi-automation at ports.
Delivery date: President-elect Trumpâs inauguration is set for four days after the strike could begin. Last month, Trump voiced support for the union and said shipping companies should invest in wages over machinery.
Replacement anxiety⌠Dockworkers, animators, culinary workers, and video-game motion-capture performers have something in common: theyâve all recently sought protection from having their jobs automated away. Automation and AI have been a labor sticking point and the reason behind stoppages like the ongoing SAG video-game strike. 75% of Americans think AI will reduce the # of US jobs, and last year the tech played a role in layoffs at companies including UPS and Intuit. 61% of large US companies plan this year to use AI to automate tasks once done by humans.
Automation isnât a miracle drug⌠Investments in automation may not always come with big returns. Recent studies have found that port automation lowers some costs (including payroll), but doesnât significantly improve performance. At one SoCal port, shipping execs said a partially automated terminal and a nonautomated terminal were roughly equal in productivity.
StartEngine Is Giving Investors Exposure to Perplexity, Databricks, Discord, and More
Ever wish you could invest in some of todayâs well-known private companies like Perplexity, Databricks, and Discord?
Enter StartEngine. Weâre a leading alternative investment platform that has raised over 1,000 rounds for startups and enabled 1.8 million users2 to invest $1.3 billion into startups (when combined with our recent competitor acquisition SeedInvest).3
Howâs it going? StartEngine doubled our revenue YoY in the first half of 2024.4 This was driven by the launch of StartEngine Private for accredited investors, where weâve launched funds holding prominent companies like Perplexity, Databricks, Epic Games, and more.
The even more exciting news? Well, StartEngine is actually accepting investors in their new funding round. Invest in StartEngine.5
Coming up this week
Golden eggs⌠Cal-Maine, the USâs top egg producer, is set to report tomorrow following a year that saw egg prices fry up 38%. Consumers are crackinâ away: Cal-Maine broke its record in the previously reported quarter for dozens sold. Thatâs despite cartons costing an average of nearly $4 in September as egg sellers hiked prices on limited supply. And though bird flu has led farms to cull millions of hens (6M last month), Americaâs jumbo egg companies arenât scrambling. In addition to profiting off higher prices, egg cos receive govât payouts of 75% of the value of birds lost to disease.
Green clouds⌠could be rollinâ in. The CEO of Tilray, which reports Friday, expects friendlier regulatory skies for cannabis under the incoming Trump admin. For now, Tilray sells its cannabis products in countries including Canada as it awaits federal legalization in the US. In the meantime, a growing chunk of its gross margin (41% in the past reported quarter, 1% more than cannabis) comes from its portfolio of craft-alcohol brands like Montauk Brewing Co. Tilray plans to use the beverage-distribution network itâs built in the US to sell cannabis, if and when itâs legalized.
Stories weâre watching
Man of steel⌠President Biden said heâd block Nippon Steelâs nearly $15B proposed purchase of US Steel. Biden called out national-security concerns, arguing that one of the USâs largest steel manufacturers shouldnât be under foreign control. FYI: Nippon had tried to placate Biden with a pledge that it wouldnât reduce steel production at many US plants for a decade. Though traders mostly expected the decision, shares of the Pittsburgh biz still fell 9.5% premarket on Friday. Nippon is said to have planned to challenge any rejection in court.
Spendvidia⌠Nvidia reportedly invested $1B in artificial-intelligence deals in 2024. The AI chipmaker had a banner year â hitting a $3T+ valuation â as the genAI frenzy drove customers to stockpile its GPUs. Now, with whispers that the rate of AI-vancement might be cooling, Nvidia looks to be breathing life into some potential and current customers, and outright purchasing others. But while the investments could help keep the AI industryâs shopping spree going, they could come with some regulatory risk (think: competition issues).
What else weâre Snackinâ
Netflix scored its most-watched Christmas Day ever, with an average 26.5M viewers streaming its two live NFL matchups.
Apple will pay a $95M settlement after a proposed class-action lawsuit accused the Fruit of recording private convos and sharing them with advertisers.
A US appeals court ended the FCCâs yearslong battle to establish net neutrality as a federal policy.
Snack Fact of the Day
Investors poured over $1T into ETFs last year, a record
This Week
Tuesday: Job openings. CES tech expo begins. Earnings expected from Cal-Maine Foods
Wednesday: ADP employment data and consumer credit. Fedâs December meeting minutes released. Earnings expected from Albertsons and PriceSmart
Thursday: National Day of Mourning honoring former President Jimmy Carter; financial markets closed. Initial jobless claims. Earnings expected from KB Home
Friday: Employment data and consumer sentiment. Earnings expected from Constellation Brands, Delta, Tilray, Walgreens, and WD-40
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple, and Nvidia
Advertiser's disclosures:
š Kevin OâLeary is a paid spokesperson for StartEngine. See his 17(b) disclosure, here.
² Count determined by the number of unique email addresses in StartEngineâs database as of 08-27-2024. One individual may have more than one email address.
Âł In May 2023, StartEngine acquired assets of SeedInvest, including email lists for SeedInvestâs users, investors and founders. Go here for more details.
â´ This revenue growth has been driven by StartEngine Private, a new product line that offers funds in late stage companies. This product line has driven over $11.5M of the $21.6M of the revenue in the first 6 months of 2024. To understand the impact on margins, see financials. This revenue growth is H1 2023 vs. H1 2024.
âľ This is a paid advertisement for StartEngineâs Reg. A+ offering. Please read the most recent offering circular and related risks at invest.startengine.com.
The offering is made available through StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc. No broker-dealer or intermediary was involved in offering.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors. This investment is highly speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. There is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.