Category: What I’m Reading Today

Be in the know. 15 key reads for New Year’s Day…

  1. Mortgage Rates End 2025 at a Yearly Low, Signaling Relief for 2026 Buyers (barrons)
  2. Trump Promises ‘Aggressive’ Housing Reforms in 2026. Here’s What We Know So Far (yahoo)
  3. What to expect from the housing market in 2026—and the 10 major cities where prices could fall the most (cnbc)
  4. Economist Mark Zandi sees the Fed surprising with three rate cuts in first half of 2026 (cnbc)
  5. Trump Delays New Tariff Hike on Furniture, Kitchen Cabinets (bloomberg)
  6. “Zootopia 2” breaks record to become top-grossing Disney animation film (reuters)
  7. Repeat Moviegoers Help Hollywood Eke Out a Slightly Better 2025 (nytimes)
  8. Xi Touts China’s AI, Chip Wins In Triumphant New Year’s Speech (bloomberg)
  9. Investors Have Cut China’s Internet Giants Down to Size (wsj)
  10. Hong Kong home prices rise for sixth consecutive month, setting stage for 2026 rebound (scmp)
  11. Hong Kong and mainland China stocks finish year with world-leading gains (scmp)
  12. Robo-Taxis and Home Runs? 40 ’Forgotten’ Stocks for 2026. (barrons)
  13. New Made-in-USA Cars Qualify for Trump Tax Perk, IRS Says (bloomberg)
  14. Warren Buffett hands over Berkshire Hathaway’s reins to Greg Abel (ft)
  15. Boeing awarded $2.7 billion contract for Apache helicopter support, Pentagon says (reuters)

Be in the know. 18 key reads for New Years Eve…

  1. Xi Declares China’s Economy Set to Hit 5% Growth Goal in 2025 (bloomberg)
  2. Hong Kong Stocks Log Best Year Since 2017 as AI Boom Fuels Tech Rally (wsj)
  3. China’s ‘Invisible’ Stimulus Is Here. Why It’s Easy to Miss. (barrons)
  4. KraneShares’ Brendan Ahern on the health of Chinese consumers: They have money (youtube)
  5. Beijing renews trade-in subsidy scheme amid domestic car market’s gloomy outlook (scmp)
  6. China manufacturing activity expands for the first time since March, beating expectations (cnbc)
  7. China Greenlights Yuan Gains at Year-End With Measured Approach (bloomberg)
  8. Boeing Stock Is on a Roll. Why It Could Gain 25% in the Next Year. (barrons)
  9. Why Oil Stocks Are Worth a Bet in 2026 (barrons)
  10. Dollar on track for steepest annual drop for almost a decade (ft)
  11. Fed Survey Sees About $220 Billion in Bill Buying Over 12 Months (bloomberg)
  12. Most Fed officials see more rate cuts ahead as long as inflation cools, minutes reveal (nypost)
  13. From Tax-Cuts To Tariff-Stability: US Economy Poised For Solid Growth In 2026 (zerohedge)
  14. US home prices rise by least since 2012 in October, government data shows (reuters)
  15. Hybrid vehicles are a better solution for U.S. consumers and abroad, says former Ford CEO Fields (youtube)
  16. Warren Buffett Stayed True to His Ways in His Final Year as Berkshire CEO (wsj)
  17. European Stocks Are Set for the Best Annual Advance Since 2021 (bloomberg)
  18. Netflix vs. TikTok, Disney Soars, and 3 More Not-So-Wild Media Predictions for 2026 (barrons)

Be in the know. 14 key reads for Tuesday…

  1. Chinese Stocks on Track for Best Year Since 2017 as Rally Widens (bloomberg)
  2. China Unveils Initial $9 Billion in Consumer Subsidies for 2026 (bloomberg)
  3. Alibaba, Abu Dhabi Set to Invest in MiniMax’s $600 Million IPO (bloomberg)
  4. If U.S.-China AI Rivalry Were Football, the Score Would Be 24-18 (wsj)
  5. AI Stock Investors May Want to Heed China’s Latest Possible ‘DeepSeek’ Threat (barrons)
  6. AI Trade’s Next Leg Is All About Tech’s ‘Pick-and-Shovel’ Stocks (bloomberg)
  7. November Pending-Home Sales Had Fourth Consecutive Monthly Rise (wsj)
  8. Chipotle and Other Restaurant Stocks Had an Ugly 2025. How They Can Recover in 2026. (barrons)
  9. Warren Buffett gifts us 5 secrets for investing success, as he hands off Berkshire’s reins this week (marketwatch)
  10. Dogs of the Dow Had a Strong Year. Here Are the 10 Stocks for 2026. (barrons)
  11. Pentagon announces $8.6 billion Boeing contract for F-15 jets for Israel (reuters)
  12. ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Knocks Out Power to Thousands in Northern US (bloomberg)
  13. Europe Rallies, Hedge Funds Sell Anyway (zerohedge)
  14. Private equity firms sell assets to themselves at a record rate (ft)

Be in the know. 12 key reads for Monday…

  1. How Hybrid Models Are Helping Keep Automakers’ Electrification Plans Afloat (bloomberg)
  2. China EV Exports Worldwide Rise 87% Y/y to 199,836 in November (bloomberg)
  3. The Housing Market Is Moving in Favor of Gen Z (bloomberg)
  4. ‘Headwinds are abating’: US economy looks set for tax-cut boost (yahoo)
  5. ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Tops Domestic Box Office Again (barrons)
  6. In a Wild Year for Markets, Investors Who Did Nothing Did Just Fine (wsj)
  7. Payment giants are preparing for a world where AI agents book flights and shop for you (cnbc)
  8. Intel completes $5 billion private stock sale to Nvidia (investing)
  9. China signals tolerance for stronger renminbi (ft)
  10. China issues draft rules to regulate AI with human-like interaction (reuters)
  11. Dollar Could Stay Under Pressure in 2026 (wsj)
  12. Private Equity Has More Housecleaning to Do in 2026 (wsj)

Be in the know. 11 key reads for Sunday…

  1. US vs. China AI race: Which companies are set to gain (yahoo)
  2. Alibaba reportedly plans to order more than 40,000 AMD MI308 chips (technode)
  3. Trump Wants a Weaker Dollar. Some Chinese Say He Has a Point. (wsj)
  4. China Signals Sustained Fiscal Support for Growth in 2026 Plan (bloomberg)
  5. AI May Push the Magnificent 7 to Spend Themselves Into Catastrophe (inc)
  6. Michael Burry Bets He Isn’t Too Early to Go Against the AI Juggernaut (wsj)
  7. Americans will get ‘gigantic’ tax refund next year, Treasury Secretary says (foxbusiness)
  8. Lots of things are looking up (scottgrannis)
  9. Restaurant Stocks Had an Ugly Year. What an About-Face Would Look Like. (barrons)
  10. 5 Healthcare Themes for Investors to Watch in 2026 (barrons)
  11. Homebuilder Lennar’s average home price is down 21% from the pandemic housing market boom peak (fastcompany)

Be in the know. 11 key reads for Saturday…

  1. Mortgage Rates Dip To 3-Year-Lows As Home-Sellers Outnumber Buyers (zerohedge)
  2. How to End Mortgage Lock-In and Get Americans Moving Again (wsj)
  3. Trump promised ‘aggressive’ housing reform next year. Here’s what to expect for home prices in 2026 (cnn)
  4. Altra Global Brand President Jen McLaren Reflects on 2025, Looks Ahead to 2026 (shopeatsurf)
  5. How China’s Singles Are Quietly Reshaping Consumer Spending (barrons)
  6. The Outlook for Chinese Stocks and Economy Hinges on the U.S. (barrons)
  7. ‘It’s been an expensive year’: Meituan counts cost of China’s delivery wars (ft)
  8. Why China’s Hangzhou has become a hotbed for billion-dollar tech startups (cnbc)
  9. Intel stock soars— but ‘everything hinges’ on what comes next (yahoo)
  10. Discounters and Resale Platforms Lead the Retail Pack in Resilient Holiday Season (barrons)
  11. After 2 straight misses, this year’s ‘Santa Claus rally’ is off to a solid start. Why it matters for investors. (marketwatch)

Be in the know. 11 key reads for Friday…

  1. Why buying Berkshire was Warren Buffett’s biggest mistake (cnbc)
  2. These ‘Quality’ Stocks Are Trading at a 40% Discount to the Market. Act Now. (barrons)
  3. 12 Days of Christmas? 12 Stocks That Are Gifts for 2026. (barrons)
  4. The Reason I’m Bearish on Tech Stocks (morningstar)
  5. As A.I. Companies Borrow Billions, Debt Investors Grow Wary (nytimes)
  6. From OpenAI to Nvidia, firms channel billions into AI infrastructure as demand booms (reuters)
  7. Monetizers vs manufacturers: How the AI market could splinter in 2026 (cnbc)
  8. Mizuho’s Jared Holz on why he is bullish on biotech heading into 2026 (youtube)
  9. The Time for Mortgage Portability Has Come (wsj)
  10. China Starts State-Backed Venture Funds to Support Tech Startups (bloomberg)
  11. Scott Bessent: Fixing the Fed, Tariffs for National Security, Solving Affordability in 2026 (youtube)

Be in the know. 10 key reads for Christmas…

  1. Why Disney Stock Is the Real Winner from the Warner Takeover Battle (barrons)
  2. Disney Box Office Hits $6 Billion for First Time Since COVID Thanks to ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ (variety)
  3. A rotation into value stocks from growth could grow stronger in the new year (cnbc)
  4. Intel’s Fab 52 is bigger and better equipped than TSMC’s Arizona facilities — Intel’s production volume dwarfs TSMC’s operations in the U.S. (tomshardware)
  5. The U.S. Housing Market Has 37% More Sellers Than Buyers—More Than Double Last Year’s Gap (redfin)
  6. Warren Buffett and Private Equity Both Love Insurance. The Similarities End There. (wsj)
  7. Investors Warn of ‘Rot in Private Equity’ as Funds Strike Circular Deals (nytimes)
  8. Why the ‘Everyone’s a Winner’ Energy Trade Can’t Last Forever (wsj)
  9. US Expands Northeast Energy Emergency on Plant Outage, Cold (bloomberg)
  10. BofA data shows largest equity outflows in nearly two months (streetinsider)

Be in the know. 15 key reads for Christmas Eve…

  1. Consumers Power Strongest U.S. Economic Growth in Two Years (wsj)
  2. The AI Investment Boom Continues to Drive GDP Growth (barrons)
  3. AI Construction Costs Can Be an Accounting ‘Black Box’ (wsj)
  4. Tech groups shift $120bn of AI data centre debt off balance sheets (ft)
  5. Mergers and Acquisitions Soared This Year. 2026 Could Be Even Bigger. (barrons)
  6. Bessent Sees Room for a Future Revamp of the Fed’s 2% Target (bloomberg)
  7. Fed chair candidate Hassett says U.S. is way behind the curve on lowering interest rates (cnbc)
  8. “We Are In The ‘Optimism’ Phase Of The Cycle”: Goldman Sees Bull Market Broadening In 2026 (zerohedge)
  9. The Marketing Master Trying to Make Us Fall in Love With Disney Again (wsj)
  10. How a Silicon Valley dealmaker charmed Trump and gave Intel a lifeline (reuters)
  11. Boeing awarded $2 billion engine replacement order, Pentagon says (yahoo)
  12. Stanley Black & Decker stock rises as Baird raises price target on CAM sale (investing)
  13. Alibaba Shows China May Be the Next Frontier for Nvidia and AMD (barrons)
  14. Emerging markets had a bumper year — here’s what could be in store in 2026 (cnbc)
  15. “Winter Isn’t Over”: NatGas Soars As Another Cold Blast Targets US East (zerohedge)

Be in the know. 16 key reads for Tuesday…

  1. Stanley Black & Decker’s $1.8 bln aerospace unit sale will ease debt load (streetinsider)
  2. How Alex Chriss has changed PayPal’s ‘focus’ (americanbanker)
  3. BofA upgrades Intel for balance sheet strength, Micron on memory upcycle (streetinsider)
  4. Alibaba Has Soared. China Tech Stocks Can Ride the AI Wave Further, Says Goldman. (barrons)
  5. Alibaba’s DingTalk rolls out Agent OS as it bets bigger on AI agents (scmp)
  6. Holiday retail spending rose 4.2% this season, driven by e-commerce and electronics: Visa report (cnbc)
  7. Retail Stocks Could Get a Tax Refund Boost in 2026 (barrons)
  8. Wall Street Sees Cyclicals Rallying as Economic Growth Picks Up (bloomberg)
  9. 5 Key Investing Themes From Warren Buffett’s Early Letters (morningstar)
  10. New car sales in Europe rise for fifth month helped by EVs (reuters)
  11. Gas prices fall to four-year lows as millions embark on holiday road trips (cnbc)
  12. Car Payments Now Average More Than $750 a Month. Enter the 100-Month Car Loan. (wsj)
  13. 12 Stocks That Dropped After Tax-Loss Selling—and Can Bounce Back (barrons)
  14. Dollar’s Worst Slide Since 2017 Has Further to Go, Options Show (bloomberg)
  15. AI debt boom pushes US corporate bond sales close to record (ft)
  16. Once Wall Street’s High Flyer, Private Equity Loses Its Luster (nytimes)