| Good morning and Happy Festivus. Quick poll...does anyone actually celebrate the holiday? Would love to hear stories if you do. | | | |  | NASDAQ | 12,793.20 | + 0.40% | |  | S&P | 3,690.58 | - 0.12% | | | | DOW | 30,075.00 | - 0.47% | | | | GOLD | 1,867.00 | - 0.84% | | | | 10-YR | 0.920% | - 1.60 bps | | | | OIL | 46.89 | - 2.25% | | | *As of market close | - Markets: The S&P dipped for the third straight day, and futures dipped some more after President Trump posted a video saying he wanted Congress to amend the $900 billion Covid-19 bill before he signed it. Keep reading for more on that.
- Pardons: President Trump pardoned 15 people, including former campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former Rep. Chris Collins, who pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to commit securities fraud.
| |  Francis Scialabba | On Monday, Reuters reported that Apple's self-driving car unit, in the shadows for years, is revving up to produce an electric passenger vehicle by 2024. The Silicon Valley colossus reportedly plans to implement innovative new battery tech to maximize range and minimize cost. The takes were swift and they were hot The bears were perhaps best summed up by Barron's Senior Writer Al Root, who wrote, "making cars is hard." The iCar haters say no amount of sleek minimalism can make up for the vast capital and manufacturing capacity it takes to churn out automobiles. - It took 17 years for Tesla to turn a profit making cars.
- Skeptics of the move also pointed to the lower profit margins and valuations in the auto industry compared to tech.
Root suggested it would be wiser for Apple to pursue the route Alphabet's Waymo has taken: developing self-driving tech to sell to automakers. Apple hasn't ruled out that approach. The bulls argue that while auto manufacturing takes a lot of cash, Apple is the rare company that has...a lot of cash ($192 billion at last count). Also, Apple investors are used to eye-popping growth—to keep its stock price on a roll, Apple needs to pursue new markets. - As for manufacturing logistics, Apple has managed to reliably move its products from factories to consumers, the bulls say, while Tesla hasn't always checked that box.
- Plus...you know you want to see what that design team comes up with.
Zoom out: While we don't have a final verdict on the Apple car, we know it would be a challenge to Tesla. The EV maker's shares slid in its first two days in the S&P 500 index, and Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that the news of Apple's entry was "perhaps the most credible/formidable bear case for Tesla's stock that investors have had to consider for some time." Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems ready for a fight. He tweeted yesterday that when the Model 3 was floundering, he approached Apple CEO Tim Cook about an acquisition at about 10% of Tesla's current price. Cook "refused to take the meeting," Musk said. | |  Know Your Meme | Last night, in a video posted to Twitter, President Trump criticized the $900 billion relief package Congress passed on Monday, calling it a "disgrace" and saying it has "almost nothing to do with Covid." It wasn't clear whether he would sign it. Trump's opposition was a complete surprise. The president had stayed on the sidelines of negotiations as a bipartisan group of lawmakers compromised on a bill that would provide relief to Americans and businesses suffering from the pandemic. - The highlights of the package were more than $300 billion for small businesses, direct payments of up to $600 for individual Americans, and added unemployment insurance until mid-March.
That wasn't enough for Trump The president said, "I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple." Democrats...don't hate it. Having fought for a more generous bill in the first place, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted, "Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!" A vote on $2,000 checks could come Thursday. Zoom out: We don't know yet whether President Trump will derail the bill. Aides told the WSJ this statement was more Trump celebrating Festivus one day early by airing his grievances, rather than a legitimate threat to block the stimulus package. | |  Francis Scialabba | Did you spend yesterday afternoon sneaking in one last batch of Christmas cookies instead of answering emails? Let's catch you up on the most important numbers from the news. 2.2+ million: The number of people globally who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, per Bloomberg estimates. In the U.S., we're at 614k and counting. 115,000+: Americans currently hospitalized with the coronavirus. Covid patients are straining healthcare systems across the country, and almost one-fifth of hospitals with ICUs have filled 95% of beds. - 0%: ICU capacity in SoCal. The U.S.' most populous state could add 300,000 new cases this week, and some projections say it's headed to 90,000 hospitalizations.
88.6: The December reading of U.S. consumer confidence, which fell sharply from November. It's a sign of consumer pessimism during what is a crucial season for retailers, airlines, and restaurants. -2.5%: The change in existing home sales in November, the first monthly dip since May. Sales are still up over 25% annually, and average home prices have gained nearly 15%. | | SPONSORED BY VANGUARD DIGITAL ADVISOR |  | With the holidays literally knocking at your holly, jolly, wreathed door, it's time to take a moment and think about what you can get yourself this year. Vanguard Digital Advisor® is making that decision a little easier by waiving advisory fees for 90 days when you enroll before 12/31/2020. As we've told you before, Digital Advisor helps you design your unique retirement savings plan with its sophisticated retirement calculator. And with Vanguard's 45+ years of investing expertise backing everything they do, they can tailor an investing strategy that can help you reach your goals. So make this the holiday you think about your future. Enroll in Vanguard Digital Advisor* by 12/31 and get advisory fees waived for 90 days. | |  Wallpaper Flare | This story is dedicated to all readers crippled with fear because your girlfriend's present hasn't left the warehouse in Kentucky yet. You are not alone: USPS is struggling to keep up with deliveries ahead of Christmas. The key number: Foot traffic fell 39% annually at U.S. retail stores on "Super Saturday," aka the Saturday before Christmas. That doesn't mean people are buying fewer gifts...it means they're buying them online, putting further strain on an already strained delivery system. On top of the e-commerce surge, the USPS is facing a double whammy of other challenges: - FedEx and UPS limited shipments from some retailers earlier this month. USPS has been picking up the slack and handling an average of 6 million extra packages per day.
- At the same time, its workforce has shrunk due to Covid. Almost 19,000 of USPS's 644,000 employees have called in sick or are isolating because of the coronavirus.
Truth: "This year can't end fast enough," Jennifer Lemke, the clerk craft director at APWU Local 170 in Ohio, told the Washington Post. | | ![A gif of Charlie Brown holding up a puny Christmas tree with one ornament; the caption]() Giphy | Looking to stave off the Covid holiday blues, millions of Americans are making space in their home for a bushy balsam fir. But this year, they may have had trouble finding the perfect one. Christmas tree grower associations have reported that earlier purchases and increased sales this year are sapping inventory (the National Christmas Tree Association says it's not a shortage, just a tight supply). - In Hong Kong and Singapore, customers have queued up for hours to get one, and 6' trees are selling for $1,500 a pop—around 8x last year's prices.
- "Knee-high bundles of branches shaped like trees are going for $100 apiece," the WSJ reports.
One explanation: the recession But not the one fresh on your mind. After the 2008 financial crisis, trees were plentiful and prices fell, so some farmers planted fewer trees. Because a Christmas tree typically takes 8–12 years to mature, those reduced plantings = today's supply crunch. - The accompanying price increase has been a rare boon for farmers. One Oregon farm estimates a 30% rise in tree prices over the last four years.
+ While we're here: Wirecutter's recommendations for the best artificial holiday trees. | | - The DOJ sued Walmart over its alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis.
- Media holding company IAC plans to spin off video software company Vimeo, which was last valued at nearly $2.8 billion.
- The SEC sued cryptocurrency company Ripple and two of its execs for allegedly violating investor protection laws.
- Group Nine Media, which owns brands including Thrillist and NowThis, is forming a SPAC to add more publications under its umbrella.
- President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly nominate Miguel Cardona, the head of Connecticut's public schools, to become Secretary of Education.
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