💼 Rally mode continues

Wall Street’s optimism isn’t stopping... your pre-market briefing inside →                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 December 20, 2023 | [Read Online]( ☕️ Good Morning. The Fast Five → Wall Street’s [optimism]( isn’t stopping, shippers have diverted [$35 billion in cargo]( amid fears of attacks, Colorado Supreme Court [disqualifies Trump]( from ballot, Citi suit raises [#metoo claims]( at the top levels, and IRS to [waive $1 billion]( in penalities for people owing back taxes… Here’s your 5-min briefing for Wednesday: BEFORE THE OPEN As of market close 12/19/2023. MARKETS: - Stock futures near flatline overnight after strong 2023 rally. - S&P 500 futures down 0.03%, Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.08%, Dow futures slip 0.04%. - FedEx drops 9% in extended trading due to disappointing outlook. - During regular trading, S&P 500 gains 0.59%, Nasdaq crosses 15,000, Dow advances 0.68%. - All three major averages set for a winning December and 2023. - S&P 500 up 4.4% for the month, Dow up 4.5%, Nasdaq up 5.5%. - Today: consumer confidence data and existing home sales for November. EARNINGS What we’re watching: - Thursday: - [Nike]( (NKE) - expected: $.84 per share (-.1.2% YoY) on $13.4 billion revenue (+0.8% YoY) Full earnings calendar [here]( [Wall Street's Stock-Market Optimism Isn't Stopping]( Tuesday advance powers Dow to its fifth-straight record. [Shippers Diverted About $35 Billion in Cargo From the Red Sea Amid Fears of Attacks]( Ocean carriers and companies are in a race to explain to U.S. shippers the delays they could be facing. - Wall Street’s dramatic year ends with flat bonuses for traders ([more]() - Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from 2024 ballot ([more]() - IRS to waive $1 billion in penalties for people and firms owing back taxes ([more]() - Asia stocks to track Wall Street’s year-end rally ([more]() - Key Japan yield falls to August low as BOJ keeps market guessing ([more]() - Citi suit raises #MeToo claims at Wall Street’s top levels ([more]() - U.S. Bank to pay $36 million for illegal pandemic conduct ([more]() - Google to pay $700 million to U.S. consumers, states in Play store settlement ([more]() - Southwest Airlines, pilots’ union reach labor deal after contentious talks ([more]() - Toshiba to be delisted after 74 years, faces future with new owners ([more]() - Porsche, Volkswagen, and Audi finally say they will use Tesla's EV charging plug ([more]() - Tesla drivers had highest accident rate, BMW drivers most DUIs study finds ([more]() - Goldman Sachs overhaul and what it could mean for David Solomon and John Waldron ([more]() - Media and telecom companies unlikely to usher in good tidings for 2024 ([more]() - GM has cut its Buick dealership network in half through buyouts ([more]() - Target blamed theft and violence for 9 closures. Crime is higher at stores it kept open nearby ([more]() - As golden age for private capital ends, 2024 heralds more consolidation ([more]() A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BEHIND THE MARKETS The buck stops here. Dear Fellow Investor, China just deployed six warships near Israel. China's presence could easily escalate this regional conflict into a direct confrontation with the US. This would be a nightmare scenario for us. We lost 18 straight simulated war games with China. The good news is, the US military has a plan to upgrade our weapons to win wars in the 21st century. And early investors could see 35,960% returns with the small defense contractor who won this groundbreaking contract to upgrade our weapons. [Here's the Ticker ]( "The Buck Stops Here." Dylan Jovine DEALFLOW M & A | INVESTMENTS: - Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) acquired IPVideo, a creator of the HALO Smart Sensor that detects real-time health and safety threats ([more]() - ADM to buy UK-based firm to boost nutrition business ([more]() - EQT Private Equity, an investment firm, acquired Zeus, a supplier of custom polymer components ([more]() - BryteBridge Group, a provider of outsourced compliance, legal, and filing services to nonprofit organizations, received an investment from RFE Investment Partners IX and Knox Capital ([more]() - VideoVerse, a provider of a SaaS platform that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, computer vision, and Machine Learning (ML), received an investment from Bluestone Equity Partners ([more]() VC - Lightmatter, a company specializing in photonics-enabled technologies, raised $155M in Series C-2 at a $1.2 million valuation ([more]() - Employer Direct Healthcare (EDH), a specialty healthcare network solution provider, raised an investment of $92M from Insight Partners; at $1 billion valuation ([more]() - SimSpace, a company specializing in military-grade cybersecurity, raised $45M in funding ([more]() - Halcyon, a platform designed to defeat ransomware, closed a $40M Series B funding round ([more]() - Unnatural Products, a biotech company pairing AI with chemistry for molecularly targeted therapeutics, raised $32M in Series A funding ([more]() - ImpriMed, a precision medicine startup focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to improve cancer treatment, raised $23M in Series A funding ([more]() - Agtonomy, a software and services company specializing in advanced autonomous and AI solutions for agriculture, raised $22.5M in Series A funding ([more]() - TuMeke, a provider of a computer vision platform that automatically assesses injury risk in manufacturing facilities, raised $10M in Series A funding ([more]() - Backer, a fintech company focused on tax-advantaged 529 Savings Plans, raised $9.5M in funding ([more]() - Salt Labs, a loyalty and financial technology company for employers and employees, raised additional $8M in funding ([more]() - Future, a climate-positive fintech company, raised $6.5M in additional funding ([more]() - Turngate, a provider of a cybersecurity solution offering IT and cybersecurity professionals insights into user activity, raised $5M in Seed funding ([more]() - Excarta, a company commercializing AI for business-targeted weather forecasting, raised $2.5M in Seed funding ([more]() - Iris&Romeo, a clean beauty brand, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding ([more]() FUNDRAISING: - Argonaut Private Equity, a private equity firm focused on investing in Middle America, closed Argonaut Private Equity Fund V, with $500 million in capital commitments ([more]() Was this briefing forwarded to you? [Sign Up Here]( CRYPTO - Access to Binance's law enforcement request panel is for sale for $10K ([more]() - Bitcoin mania is relentless with ETF upstart touting carbon credits ([more]() BULLISH BITES 🚫 Don’t speak: Jeff Bezos describes his [perfect meeting](. ⏎ Back at it: Why [Flexport CEO]( Ryan Petersen took his company back. 📈 Big bets: Where to invest in [future trends](. 🔮 Age of AI: 8 [predictions]( for AI in 2024. 💰 War chest: In the last 90 days, Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Winklevoss twins among others have funded [crypto super-PACs]( to the tune of $78 million. DAILY SHARES [tw profile: Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟] Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ @PelosiTracker_ [tw] This “Insider Trading Politicians” Lego set is a must buy for the holidays! Dec 19, 2023 612 Likes 100 Retweets 36 Replies [tw profile: High Yield Harry] High Yield Harry @HighyieldHarry [tw] Private Credit seeing Equinox have a funding need Dec 19, 2023 300 Likes 11 Retweets 5 Replies [tw profile: Ramp Capital] Ramp Capital @RampCapitalLLC [tw] The golden age of private credit Dec 19, 2023 643 Likes 39 Retweets 27 Replies Know someone who would enjoy this? [CLICK TO SHARE 🔥Â]( What did you think about today's briefing? - [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent, keep it comin'!]( - [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good stuff]( - [⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was alright]( - [⭐️ Needs work]( Like what you see? [Get tomorrow’s briefing here]( Keep the curation going! [Buy the team a coffee]( ☕️ Have a comment or suggestion? 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