High on Hope, Wall St. Hears What It Wants From Trump [NYT]
Many of the optimists are choosing to believe that the Trump promises they want to see fulfilled are going to become reality, while dismissing those they think would be bad for the economy as mere posturing.
“A lot of people are using deductive reasoning and concluding that he’ll only do things that are good for the market,” said Julia Coronado, founder of the research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives. “They can ride this wave of hope-ium through the end of January,” she said, adding that much of it “feels delusional.”
Bracing for a Fed Pullback [DealBook]
The Fed is set to wrap up its last policy meeting of the year on Wednesday, with markets essentially convinced that the central bank will lower interest rates for a third time since September….
“A dovish pitch” by Powell would “likely lead to a continuation of the Santa Claus rally.” Anything short of that could “hamper financial market exuberance.”
Former TV host Carlos Watson gets nearly 10 years in prison in case about failed startup Ozy Media [AP]
“I loved what we built with Ozy,” he said in court Monday, initially addressing supporters in the audience before the judge suggested he turn around. Watson told the judge he was a target of “selective prosecution” as a Black entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, where African American executives have been disproportionately few, and he called the case “a modern lynching….”
U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee said Monday that the “quantum of dishonesty in this case is exceptional.”
TikTok asks Supreme Court to block law that could ban popular app [NBC News]
If the justices reject TikTok’s application, the law would go into effect as planned [on Jan. 19]. TikTok could still seek to have the high court review the law while it is in place, but the justices would already have sent a signal that they think the company is unlikely to prevail…. The appeals court found that the government’s national security justifications, including concerns that the Chinese government could access data about American users and potentially manipulate content on the app, were legitimate.
Tesla’s tax nightmare [FT]
A new pay deal could trigger a $50bn-plus corporate accounting charge and separately impose a punitive tax rate of up to 57 per cent on [Elon] Musk’s shares…. If the company tries to award a new deal with the same terms, it could trigger a nearly $70bn tax bill. “That is why they are trying so hard to ratify the original deal,” [tax lawyer Schuyler] Moore added. “If they re-award it now, there will be hell to pay on taxes.”
The NFL Has a New Most Valuable Team—and It’s Worth $8.3 Billion [WSJ]
Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie sold 8% of his franchise to two buyers, with one of those deals valuing the club at $8.3 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. That stands as the highest known valuation for any U.S. sports franchise—and what makes it even more notable is that minority shares are usually sold at a discount because they come with little say in the operation of the club….
Moreover, the Eagles aren’t even viewed as the NFL’s most valuable franchise. Which means that in this climate, a club such as the Dallas Cowboys could be worth over $10 billion if owner Jerry Jones ever sought to sell all or part of “America’s Team.”
