🛍 Black Friday cleaned up

This Black Friday was bigger than last year's | Gold struck past the $2,000 mark | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for November 28th in 3:14 minutes.   🤩 Our Modern Investor Summit, presented by CFA Institute, is only one week away. So [grab your free ticket before they're gone](, and secure your spot at 12 expert-led sessions including Ray Dalio's 2024 predictions and CFA's sustainable investments forecast. [Pick up your free ticket here]( Today's big stories - Black Friday pulled in the bargain hunters, with US shoppers spending over 7% more than they did last year - This 90-year trend is the key to better returns – [Read Now]( - Gold’s price crept above the $2,000 mark, landing just $60 shy of its all-time high Gravy Train [Gravy Train] What’s going on here? Rich and luscious [online]( Black Friday sales left retailers swimming in cash. What does this mean? Black Friday traditionalists might make a habit of lining up outside stores at the crack of dawn, but most modern shoppers prefer browsing thirty tabs while gnawing on a leftover turkey leg. Case in point: US shoppers spent nearly $10 billion on online shopping this Thanksgiving season according to Adobe analytics, 7.5% more than the same time last year. Now, some of that increase could well be down to the impact of this year’s higher prices, even after discounts. But because inflation’s made folk more budget-conscious, Americans likely seized the chance to do their pent-up spending and holiday shopping when price tags were smaller than usual. With that out of their system, though, retailers may be a lot quieter for the rest of the year. Why should I care? For markets: Pay up (please). A lot of that spending was probably charged to credit cards, making those stocking fillers next month’s problem. But that could be a problem indeed: today’s interest rates are as high as they were in pre-crisis 2007, making payments more expensive to keep up with. Now, banks wouldn’t turn down a few pricey interest payments on outstanding debts, of course. But the number of credit card delinquencies – that’s debt payments over a month late – are now sitting at a level last seen back in 2012, an ominous sign for the personal borrowing industry. The bigger picture: Life in plastic, it’s fantastic. Roughly 1% of every single swipe – including the virtual ones – goes straight to banks and payment firms like Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard. And sure, they can’t get their grubby hands into stores’ money drawers, but only around a fifth of all global spending is still done with cash, down from roughly half in 2007. That trend is only headed in one direction, so it’s no wonder shares of Visa and Mastercard are at all-time-highs, then. You might also like: [The creaking floorboards under America’s housing market](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Gravy Train&utm_campaign=daily-global-28-11-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take 90 Years, 90 Stocks, And One Big Lesson For Your Portfolio [90 Years, 90 Stocks, And One Big Lesson For Your Portfolio]( [Photo of Reda Farran, CFA] Reda Farran, CFA, Analyst A few years ago, a finance professor at Arizona State University by the name of Hendrik Bessembinder published a paper [with a remarkable revelation](. He found that just 90 companies – less than 0.4% of the total analyzed – were responsible for half the $35 trillion in shareholder wealth created by [US stocks from 1926 to 2016](. And whether you’re an active investor or a passive one, knowing [where to find those superstars]( has big implications for your money. That’s today’s Insight: [the 90-year trend that’s the key to better returns](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY MASTERWORKS Picasso’s $139 million sale highlights “safe haven” investment opportunity Just this month, an iconic Picasso painting sold for $139 million at auction. Quite a result, considering it was purchased for under $2 million in the late 1960s. But there’s a surprising group also celebrating this sale: [61,000 everyday investors]( of one investment platform. That platform, called [Masterworks](, enables anyone to invest in world-class blue-chip paintings by artists like [Picasso and Banksy]( for just a fraction of the cost. With recent sales, Masterworks investors saw net annualized returns of 17.6%, 21.5% and 35%. And as a special partner, [Finimize readers can skip the waitlist to join here](. DisclaimerInvesting involves risk and past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures and aggregate advisory performance [masterworks.com/cd]( [Skip The Waitlist]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Fuels Gold [Fuels Gold] What’s going on here? Investors powered up gold’s price to reach [above $2000](. What does this mean? Gold’s a go-to place to stash cash when the wider environment turns dicey, because it tends to hold its value throughout inflation, global turmoil, and currency dips. So now that financial systems are feeling the strain of het-up interest rates, investors and central banks alike are stocking up on gold. But that’s not the only reason investors are keener than usual. See, gold doesn’t dish out income like stocks and bonds, so when high interest rates make income-producing assets look more rewarding, the metal tends to get the cold shoulder. But the opposite’s true when rates are lower, and now that Wall Street’s whispering about interest rate cuts, investors are buying up gold in anticipation of a turnaround. The result: the price of gold crept above the $2,000 mark, landing just $60 shy of the record $2,072 from 2020. Why should I care? For markets: Not quite liquid gold. Not every commodity thrives in downturns. Brent crude has slipped for five weeks straight to end up roughly a fifth lower than its October high. That’s partly because supply’s been plentiful, but China’s lackluster recovery has also meant the world’s biggest buyer of crude oil has been drinking less of the stuff than usual. So all eyes will be on OPEC this Thursday, when the group of oil-producing nations will discuss the state of their production cuts. The bigger picture: Destination diversification. Despite inflation showing signs of defeat and the economy staying strong so far, the risk of seeing the opposite – sticky inflation and sluggish economic growth – is still looming. That “stagflation” scenario can be kryptonite for traditional portfolios: stocks end up squeezed while bonds’ regular payouts whittle away. But you guessed it: that’s exactly the environment when you might want hardy gold in your portfolio. You might also like: [How to invest in gold](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Fuels Gold&utm_campaign=daily-global-28-11-2023&utm_source=email) SPONSORED BY ADMIRALS You can trade volatility with leverage If you have steady nerves, you can [use today’s volatility to your advantage](. One way to do that is [spread betting](: unlike other ways of investing, spread betters never actually own the underlying product. 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Finimize received a fixed fee for producing, hosting and promoting this content on behalf of BioStem (OTC:BSEM), totalling $15,000. Other than the compensation received for this service, Finimize and its principals are not affiliated with either Sideways Frequency or BioStem (OTC:BSEM). Finimize and its principals have no ownership in BioStem (OTC:BSEM). The content on this page should not be taken as advice, an endorsement, or a recommendation from Finimize and its principals to buy or sell any security. Finimize and its principals have not evaluated the accuracy of any claims made on this page. Finimize and its principals recommend that investors do their own independent research and consult with a qualified investment professional before buying or selling any security. Investing is inherently risky and capital is at risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🎯 On Our Radar 1. Caviar is under investigation. Some of it’s fake, [more of it’s illegal](. 2. To utopia, and beyond. A fresh investing style could [build a better future]( for you and the planet.* 3. It’s like you never left. Startups are [ridding the world of grief](. 4. Size-up the opportunities. You can [trace the world’s biggest stock indexes]( without paying mammoth prices.* 5. The rise of the sober curious. Now [non-drinkers even have apps](. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live [Modern Investor Summit x CFA]( ❤️ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend. You stay classy, {NAME} 😉 We’d love to hear your thoughts. [Give feedback]( Want to advertise with us too? 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