Good Morning and Happy Friday! Bank of America wrapped up a strong earnings season, with banks collectively returning $100 billion to shareholders. American Express was fined $230 million by the DOJ for marketing violations.

Trump allies are eyeing a Hail Mary to save TikTok before the platform goes dark on Sunday. Investors, advised by Lebron James, are working to raise $5 billion to launch a new professional basketball league. Blackstone is seeking $3 billion for Bob Dylan and Adele’s song rights, and Americans are voicing their frustration with tipping culture.

Plus: A top banker told the Financial Times this week that he feels "liberated" because he can now say shockingly vulgar things, and a physical therapist-approved exercise if you sit at a desk all day.

Invest in Smart Nora and help bring better sleep to millions worldwide.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Harvard MBAs Struggling

The days of the Covid employee market - where you could basically get a 20% raise to leave for a competitor - are over. And now? The job hunt has gotten so tough that even Harvard MBAs are having a rough go of it.  

According to Harvard Business School, 23% of their 2024 MBA graduates were still on the job hunt three months post-grad. Compare that to just 10% in 2022. The key reason? The white-collar labor market has cooled down over the past few years.

And it’s not just Harvard feeling the pinch—schools like Wharton, Stanford, and NYU’s Stern are seeing their own grads struggle as recruiters tone down efforts.

One 2024 Darden School grad is still showing up to networking meetups 1,000 job applications later. Other schools like Kellogg and Booth say that post-grad jobless rates have tripled compared to 2022. At Kellogg, 13% of MBAs were still unemployed after three months.

Amazon, Google, and McKinsey used to woo MBAs. But McKinsey slashed MBA hires at Booth alone by more than half, and tech giants like Google and Amazon have scaled back hiring. Some companies are straight up not coming to campus anymore.

Takeaway: If you were willing to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to get your MBA - it was all about those starting salaries (often between $175k - $200k) after graduation. But now? Those elite jobs are getting tougher to come by. It goes to show - prestige isn’t everything, and hiring cycles are cyclical. 

_{PRESENTED BY SMART NORA}

Own shares in a revolutionary sleep technology startup.

Smart Nora’s patented solution has already brought better sleep to more than 100,000 customers. The company is now bringing this technology to millions of people who can not tolerate CPAPs and other invasive snoring and sleep apnea solutions. Sleep apnea awareness and detection are at all times high. This is the perfect opportunity to join them.

Invest Now

Read the Offering information carefully before investing. It contains details of the issuer’s business, risks, charges, expenses, and other information, which should be considered before investing. Obtain a Form C and Offering Memorandum at invest.smartnora.com. This is a paid advertisement for Smart Nora, LLC's Reg CF campaign.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Bank of America tops estimates on better-than-expected earnings (CNBC)

• Banks hand $100B to shareholders, most since 2021 (BB)

• Amex to pay $230M to settle probes (CNBC)

• Wall Street banks see deal activity picking up (CNBC)

• Investors question Walmart on DEI (Full Letter)

• Coors Light mounts typo ad blitz (MD)

• Americans are annoyed with 'tipping culture' (Fox)

• Wall Street thinks U.S. homes are overpriced (WSJ)

• Trump allies eye last-ditch effort to save TikTok (WSJ)

• Apple halts AI news summaries (Verge)

• Blackstone seeks $3B in sale of Bob Dylan, Adele song rights (YF)

• Investors pitch new international basketball league that would offer players equity (CNBC)

• Spirit Airlines cuts 200 jobs in bankruptcy cost-cutting scramble (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks Finish Modestly Lower Following Retail-Sales Data

U.S. equity markets closed slightly lower Thursday after December's retail-sales data showed mixed results. Headline sales rose 0.4%, slightly below expectations, while control-group sales posted a strong 0.7% gain, indicating sustained consumer spending momentum.

Positive earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley continued the trend of better-than-expected financial sector results, driving the financials sector up 5% this week. The S&P 500 and Dow fell 0.2%, while the  Nasdaq  declined  0.9%. 

Mid-cap stocks outperformed, with the Russell Mid-cap Index gaining nearly 1%. Bond yields edged lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield closing at 4.62%.

Consumer-Spending Trends Remain Healthy

December's retail-sales data highlights strong consumer spending to close out 2024. Headline sales rose 0.4%, slightly below estimates, but November's figures were revised up to 0.8%.

Key drivers included spending at furniture/home stores and sporting goods stores, both rising over 2%. Control-group sales, which exclude volatile categories, rose by 0.7%, exceeding expectations.

With strong household balance sheets, moderating inflation, and healthy labor markets, consumer spending is expected to support economic growth in 2025.

Choppy Start to the Year, but Supportive Backdrop Remains

2025 has seen volatile markets, with four days of 1%+ moves in the first nine trading days.

Despite this, the S&P 500 is up 1% year-to-date, with most sectors posting gains. Strong Q4 earnings, particularly from U.S. banks, and forecasts for 14% S&P 500 earnings growth in 2025 point to ongoing market support. 

Labor-market conditions remain solid, and inflation is expected to moderate further, boosting real incomes. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow forecast  estimates 2.7% Q4 GDP growth, while ISM manufacturing PMI hit a multi-month high.

While volatility may persist, these conditions signal continued economic expansion and a supportive environment for equities in 2025.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Taiwan Semiconductor ($TSM) +4% after a strong outlook fuels hope for 2025 AI spending.

• (+) Morgan Stanley ($MS) +4% because the bank’s profit almost doubled thanks to a dealmaking boom.

• (–) UnitedHealth Group ($UNH) -6% after first earnings report since CEO’s killing.

Private Dealmaking

• EMCOR Group bought Miller Electric Co., an electrical contractor, for $865 million

• Stroke Space, a reusable rockets maker, raised $260 million

• Symbotic bought Walmart’s robotics unit for $200 million

• IG Group bought Freetrade for $196 million

• Amazon bought Axio, a BNPL startup, for $150 million

• Core Sound Imaging, a medical imaging platform, raised $80 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH}

Real Estate Digest

Mortgage rates have risen for the fifth straight week, surpassing 7% for the first time since May 2024. A robust economy continues to influence bond markets, pushing rates higher. However, if you're in the market for a mortgage, there's good news: shopping around and getting banks to compete for your business can help you secure lower borrowing costs.

Latest News

• We Survived to ‘25… So What’s Next for Real Estate?

• LA Rental Hits $40,000 a Month as Fire Roils Housing Market.

• More Homes on the Market Are Going ‘Stale’ Due to Big Listing Mistake

• Homes Are Piling Up on the Market in Florida

New Listings

• Imp. de la Grande Bastide Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes France: 4 Bed /4 Bath - $2,568,901

• 522 Kings Road Chelsea London, United Kingdom: 4 Bed / 5 Bath - $7,951,450

• 15 Mercer Street Apt: 4 New York, NY: 2 Bed / 2 Bath - $6,500,000 

• 2528 Noyac Rd Sag Harbor, NY:  8 Bed / 7 Bath - $8,995,000 

• 99 Hudson St, Jersey City, NJ 07302: 1 Bed / 1 Bath -  $925,000 

Fill out this form to get personalized support for buying, selling, renting, or investing in real estate.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Broken Ladder

A timely examination by a leading scientist of the physical, psychological, and moral effects of inequality.

The levels of inequality in the world today are on a scale that have not been seen in our lifetimes, yet the disparity between rich and poor has ramifications that extend far beyond mere financial means.

In The Broken Ladder psychologist Keith Payne examines how inequality divides us not just economically; it also has profound consequences for how we think, how we respond to stress, how our immune systems function, and even how we view moral concepts such as justice and fairness. 

Research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics has not only revealed important new insights into how inequality changes people in predictable ways but also provided a corrective to the flawed view of poverty as being the result of individual character failings.

Among modern developed societies, inequality is not primarily a matter of the actual amount of money people have. It is, rather, people's sense of where they stand in relation to others. Feeling poor matters—not just being poor.

Regardless of their average incomes, countries or states with greater levels of income inequality have much higher rates of all the social maladies we associate with poverty, including lower than average life expectancies, serious health problems, mental illness, and crime. 

The Broken Ladder explores such issues as why women in poor societies often have more children, and why they have them at a younger age; why there is little trust among the working class in the prudence of investing for the future; why people's perception of their social status affects their political beliefs and leads to greater political divisions; how poverty raises stress levels as effectively as actual physical threats; how inequality in the workplace affects performance; and why unequal societies tend to become more religious.

Understanding how inequality shapes our world can help us better understand what drives ideological divides, why high inequality makes the middle class feel left behind, and how to disconnect from the endless treadmill of social comparison.

“An important, timely, and beautifully written account of how inequality affects us all.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

2025's Best-Performing Cities

Raleigh, North Carolina; Ogden, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah are this year's best-performing big cities, according to an annual report ranking metros across a range of economic factors

_{PRESENTED BY BOXABL}

How to Build a Home in 4 Hours

The U.S. faces a 2.3M home shortage, driving demand for affordable, efficient housing. BOXABL aims to transform home construction with factory-built homes produced in just four hours and installed in under a day.

BOXABL has received 190,000+ Casita reservations* and gained attention from America’s largest homebuilder, D.R. Horton.

The BOXABL assembly-line delivers fully equipped homes, offering a scalable solution to housing challenges. Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of BOXABL!

Invest now before shares sell out again for just $0.80/share.*

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Dry January

Dry January, a month-long abstinence from alcohol, offers numerous physical, mental, and financial benefits, making it an appealing New Year’s resolution for many.

Participants often experience improved blood pressure as alcohol's effects on hormone regulation subside, alongside potential weight loss from cutting out high-calorie, nutrient-deficient drinks.

Better sleep is another key perk, as abstaining from alcohol restores deep REM sleep and boosts energy levels.

The digestive system also benefits, with reduced acid reflux, a balanced microbiome, and smoother digestion. For the skin, avoiding alcohol’s dehydrating and inflammatory effects can result in clearer, more radiant skin.

Mentally, participants report sharper focus, better moods, and improved clarity as alcohol’s depressive effects diminish.

Long-term benefits include healthier liver function, a reduced risk of several cancers, stronger heart health, and a more robust immune system.

Additionally, cutting out alcohol saves money, with many surprised at the financial impact of not purchasing drinks.

Success in Dry January often relies on setting clear goals, preparing for social situations, finding support, and tracking progress.

Even if participants don’t fully complete the challenge, research shows that attempting it can lead to healthier drinking habits and lasting improvements in overall well-being.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The 1 exercise a physical therapist recommends if you sit at a desk all day

• 20 productivity tips from successful business leaders

• 7 ways to use PowerPoint beyond presentations

• Strategies to strengthen your relationships this year

• Getting great sleep is much easier than you think

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day