Good Afternoon. Risk appetite is shifting, not disappearing. AI stocks slid, precious metals rallied, and bitcoin lost ground as investors reassessed what deserves a premium to close out 2025. Meanwhile, Meta’s enforcement gaps raised fresh questions about digital trust, just as SpaceX showed how quickly infrastructure businesses can grow once they reach escape velocity. Let’s get into it.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

1. Gold Shines as Tech and Crypto Slips

The News: U.S. markets started the week on uneven footing, with the Nasdaq edging lower as AI-linked stocks like Broadcom, Oracle, and CoreWeave extended recent losses. Gold and silver rallied, with gold futures settling near record highs, while bitcoin slid below $87,000, dragging down crypto-exposed stocks. The Dow held near all-time highs, underscoring a growing split beneath the surface of the rally.

Why It Matters: Investors appear to be rotating. As AI exuberance cools and crypto volatility resurfaces, capital is drifting toward perceived safe havens like precious metals and large-cap industrials. The divergence highlights a market that’s less about broad risk-on enthusiasm and more about selective confidence.

What to Watch: This week’s data could reset the tone. Delayed U.S. jobs reports land Tuesday, followed by a key inflation print Thursday alongside earnings from Nike and FedEx. Add central bank decisions from Europe and Japan into the mix, and markets may soon have to choose between shiny hedges and growth bets — again.
Source: wsj.com

2. Reuters Finds Meta Ran Billions in Scam Ads via Chinese Agencies

The News: A Reuters investigation found Meta ran prohibited cryptocurrency scam ads, even when a journalist openly said he was violating the rules, exposing deep failures in fraud enforcement across Facebook and Instagram. Reporter Jeff Horwitz placed ads promising absurd returns (10% weekly; ~14,000% annualized) using accounts from agencies listed in Meta’s own “trusted” Partner Directory; the ads reached 20,000+ users across multiple regions. Internal documents show Meta estimated roughly 10% of 2024 revenue, about $16 billion, came from scam and banned ads, with Chinese agencies accounting for more than $18 billion in annual sales and enjoying enforcement exemptions.

Why It Matters: This isn’t a moderation miss, it’s a business model risk. The investigation suggests revenue guardrails trumped enforcement, with Meta’s systems acting only at 95% certainty of fraud and charging suspected scammers higher ad rates instead of removing them. If accurate, that puts Meta at the center of massive consumer harm: senators estimate potential links to $50 billion in U.S. losses. The fallout could be regulatory, legal, and reputational, especially as governments scrutinize Big Tech’s role in financial fraud and election-year misinformation.

What to Watch: FTC and SEC responses, changes to Meta’s ad enforcement thresholds, and whether revenue tied to Chinese agencies meaningfully declines. Meta says scam ads are falling, regulators will want proof, not percentages.
Source: reuters.com

3. New mRNA Therapy Wipes Out Liver Tumors in Preclinical Study

The News: Researchers reported a breakthrough mRNA-based therapy for liver cancer that achieved complete tumor remission in animal models, according to a study published Monday in Nature Communications. The treatment, called MTS105, uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver mRNA directly to the liver, instructing cells to produce a bispecific protein that links cancer cells to T cells and triggers targeted immune destruction. In mouse models of hepatocellular carcinoma, tumors fully regressed with no recurrence over an 84-day follow-up and minimal systemic inflammation, a key hurdle for earlier immunotherapies.

Why It Matters: Liver cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers, with limited options once the disease advances. What makes this result notable isn’t just the remission, it’s the delivery. By localizing mRNA expression to the liver, researchers appear to sidestep the toxicity that has plagued other therapies in solid tumors. If the approach translates to humans, it could open a new chapter for mRNA beyond vaccines, positioning it as a programmable, organ-specific cancer therapy platform. Big caveat: this is still preclinical — but the signal is strong.

What to Watch: Progress toward human trials, durability of response beyond short follow-up windows, and whether the liver-targeted mRNA strategy can be adapted to other solid tumors. For now, this is early but it’s the kind of early that makes drug developers lean forward in their chairs.
Source: nature.com

4. Starlink Traffic Doubles as SpaceX Lines Up a Potential Record IPO

The News: Global internet traffic from SpaceX’s Starlink more than doubled in 2025, rising 2.3× year-over-year, according to Cloudflare’s annual review released Monday. SpaceX now has over 8 million active Starlink users, up from 4 million a year ago, with service available in 150+ markets after launches in 20+ new countries. Elon Musk confirmed reports that SpaceX plans to go public in 2026, with multiple outlets citing a target valuation near $1.5 trillion and a capital raise north of $30 billion, potentially the largest IPO ever.

Why It Matters: Starlink has quietly become the economic engine of SpaceX. With projected $15 billion in 2025 revenue and up to $24 billion in 2026, most of it from satellite internet, SpaceX is no longer just a launch company, it’s a global telecom with rockets on the side. The traffic surge validates Starlink’s real-world adoption, from rural broadband to in-flight Wi-Fi, and strengthens the investment case ahead of an IPO that would reset expectations for both tech and aerospace valuations. If markets buy the growth story, SpaceX could rival or eclipse Big Tech’s largest listings.

What to Watch: IPO timing and structure in 2026, Starlink margins as scale accelerates, and regulatory pushback as satellite internet expands globally. Rockets get the headlines but bandwidth is what’s building the balance sheet.
Source: space.com

5. Tesla Shares Jump as Musk Confirms Driverless Robotaxi Testing

The News: Tesla shares rose more than 4% Monday after CEO Elon Musk said the company is testing robotaxis with no safety monitor in the front seat, pushing the stock to its highest level in nearly a year. Tesla has been running a limited, geofenced robotaxi service in Austin since June using modified Model Y vehicles, previously with a human monitor onboard. Musk’s update signals a step closer to fully autonomous operation as Tesla prepares to launch its dedicated Cybercab model next year. The rally comes despite Tesla’s core profits still being driven by EV sales, not autonomy.

Why It Matters: Much of Tesla’s $1.59 trillion valuation rests on the promise of self-driving and robotics, not car deliveries. Moving to unsupervised testing is a critical milestone that investors have been waiting for and a necessary step if robotaxis are ever to scale economically. That said, the bar is high: Alphabet’s Waymo still leads the field, running thousands of vehicles and hundreds of thousands of paid rides per week. Tesla’s progress narrows the narrative gap, but execution, safety, and regulatory approval will determine whether autonomy becomes a business or remains a valuation story.

What to Watch: Regulatory responses to unsupervised testing, expansion beyond Austin, and timelines for Cybercab commercialization. The market is pricing in autonomy again, now Tesla has to prove it can drive the story all the way home.
Source: reuters.com

1. Samsung Doubles Down on Memory Prices

The News: Samsung has raised DDR5 contract prices by more than 100%, pushing units to about $19.20 and telling manufacturers there is effectively “no stock” available, according to Taiwanese media reports. Prices for 32GB DDR5 modules jumped 60% in just two months, while LPDDR5X memory used in smartphones has more than doubled this year. The company has scrapped long-term supply agreements, even with its own mobile division, shifting to quarterly pricing as AI-driven demand overwhelms supply. Other manufacturers, including Dell and Lenovo, are already flagging 15–20% price hikes for customers heading into early 2026.

Why It Matters: This is the AI boom hitting consumers in the wallet. Memory makers are diverting capacity toward high-margin AI data center chips. With Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron controlling about 85% of the global market, shortages ripple fast, raising costs for phones, laptops, and PCs just as inflation fatigue lingers. For tech companies, margins get squeezed; for shoppers, the next upgrade cycle is getting pricier before it even launches.

What to Watch: CES meetings between Samsung and Micron, Apple’s upcoming supply negotiations, and whether DRAM prices keep climbing into mid-2026 as forecast. AI may be eating the memory market but consumers are the ones picking up the bill.
Source: sammobile.com

2. Global M&A Hits $4.5 Trillion in 2025, the Second-Biggest Year on Record

The News: Global mergers and acquisitions surged to roughly $4.5 trillion in 2025, up 36% from last year and the second-highest total ever, according to Bloomberg and industry data. The rebound was powered by megadeals, transactions above $5 billion accounted for 75% of strategic deal value growth, with technology M&A jumping 76% to $478 billion. Companies rushed to secure AI capabilities and strategic assets, culminating in late-year blockbuster bids including the Warner Bros. Discovery battle involving Netflix and Paramount Skydance. Nearly half of U.S.-target deals drove global value.

Why It Matters: After years of hesitation, CEOs are back to swinging big and often outside their comfort zones. About 60% of megadeals came from infrequent acquirers making transformative bets worth more than half their market cap, signaling urgency rather than opportunism. Lower capital costs, easing regulation, and tighter valuation gaps unlocked pent-up demand, while AI shifted M&A from “scale” to “scope.” For investors, this wave suggests confidence in long-term growth but also raises execution risk as companies integrate expensive, fast-moving tech assets.

What to Watch: Regulatory scrutiny as deal sizes swell, post-merger integration in AI-heavy acquisitions, and whether momentum carries into 2026 as financing conditions evolve. When M&A hits this scale, it’s not just confidence, it’s conviction, with a bill and performance requirements attached.
Source: bain.com

3. China’s Retail Sales Stumble Again

The News: China’s retail sales rose just 1.3% year-over-year in November, sharply missing expectations for 2.8% growth and slowing from October’s 2.9%, deepening concerns about weak consumer demand. Industrial production grew 4.8%, also below forecasts, while fixed-asset investment contracted 2.6% over the first 11 months, the steepest drop since 2020. The property slump worsened, with real estate investment down 15.9% and home-price declines accelerating across major cities. Unemployment held steady at 5.1%, but youth joblessness remains elevated.

Why It Matters: China’s recovery is increasingly unbalanced, strong exports, soft households. Weak consumption limits Beijing’s ability to pivot away from export-led growth, even as a record $1.1 trillion trade surplus fuels global tensions. Falling home prices and stalled auto sales are hitting confidence, while stimulus so far has been targeted rather than forceful. For global markets, the data undercuts hopes that Chinese consumers will meaningfully support 2026 growth, raising pressure on policymakers to move faster and bigger to stabilize demand.

What to Watch: Details on fiscal stimulus in early 2026, issuance of ultra-long bonds, and whether job and wage growth finally turn up. Until households feel better about income and housing, China’s growth engine will keep running but on exports, not confidence.
Source: cnbc.com

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