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DHUnplugged #733: Santa Quantum!

DHUnplugged Podcast
DHUnplugged Podcast
Episode • Dec 25, 2024 • 1h 5m
Shutdown..... AVERTED

Mergers - Auto Industry big move

Lots of Trump Talk

The Market's new favorite stocks

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Warm-Up
- Shutdown..... AVERTED
- Mergers - Auto Industry big move
- Lots of Trump Talk
- Deli Stock Scheme - Update
- Holiday Tidings!

- Markets
- S&P 500 Equal weight down 6% MTD, Small Caps down 8%
- The New favs? Quantum Computing Stocks - Santa Like them.....
- Index inclusion has become a thing

Checking out the early CTP Cup Standings


EVERYONE IS IN! - 7 Contestants....

Fed Meeting Dec 18th
- Fed freaked out markets
- All of a sudden they are projecting that inflation is not going to come down to their 2% level into 2026
- DJIA was donw 1000 points and it was an ugly day overall.
- Onc day later, PCE comes out not too far aay from assumptions and market takes off
- Just goes to show that

DJIA - Records?
- Follow up - it was 10 days and the last time that happened was 1974

Meanwhile - XMAS Rally
- Once big day down, then a test and BOUNCE
- Most of the Fed Day losses have been wipe out - still much damage in December
--- Once again - Mega cap holding things up
---- EVEN though 10Yr >4.6%  - this is an important price point... Failed  couple of times before.

Quantum Computing Stocks
- Ever since Alphabet (Google) announced that they made progress, been some crazy moves on a few names - with YTD returns
-- D-Wave Quantum Inc  QBTS  (825%)
-- Rigetti Computing Inc   RGTI  (1,050%)
-- Quantum Computing Inc   QUBT  (1,900%)
-- Defiance Quantum ETF   QTUM (51%)
-- IONQ Inc    IONQ   (240%)
---(none seem to be making any money  - actually losing a ton)

More Quantum
- Willow's speed is almost incomprehensible — according to Google, it's able to perform a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to solve. Ten septillion is 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years.
- Concern has turned to the potential for this technology to break down crypto (or other) cryptography.
--- It may take years - but this could be something we need to watch as a byproduct, the need for better security from quantum hacks

Auto Merger
- Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda on Monday announced they had entered into official talks to merge and create the world's third-largest automaker by sales.
- The deal would aim to share intelligence and resources and deliver economies of scale and synergies while protecting both brands
- Nissan's strategic partner Mitsubishi has been offered the chance to join the new group and will take a decision by the end of January 2025.
- Lots of things to iron out before this deal gets done

Index Traders - Hang on...
- Huge moves to reset these days
- Companies are competing to get to NASDAQ and NYSE to gain inclusion as they know share prices will potentially pop
- Palatntir is banking on that as they said in their recent announcement and one reason was to get inclusion in the NASDAQ 100
- These kind of index changes has buig impacts on stocks
- - ALSO, there should be some movement over the next month as there will be re-balancing going on as 2024 big run for markets/stocks

Trump Talk/Plans
- Trump said he will not let the canal fall into the 'wrong hands'
- Trump accused Panama of charging excessive fees to use the canal
- Panama's President Mulino defends canal's independence and fees
- US handed over control of the canal in 1999
- Talk that we could take it back
- Twitter: "Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will c...

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