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Warm Up
- And we are back - Happy New year - Welcome to 2024
- Announcing the Winner of the CTP Cup 2024!
- SECURE Act Benefits for 529 Plans
- China - turn around in gaming rule discussion
- Boeing Under Pressure - Loose Nuts?

Market Update
- Worst start to the year since ... 2015 (Whatever that means)
- Market continues to have little muscle memory (Still down for the YTD)
- CES getting those AI juices flowing again
- BITCOIN ETF - News OUT! WELL- HACKED - Changed - WOW!!!

** Start of year 2024 - Looking for you to write dome reviews on Spotify , Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts - Wherever - spread the word people!

Start with this!!!!!!!
-Bitcoin on the move
- 13 companies filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF
- Rumors that some decision will be made early this week
- Bitcoin tops $47,000 on the news
- May be sell the news moment..
---- 4:15PM TODAY - UPDATE: Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges. The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance and compliance measures to ensure continued investor protection. (SEC Titter)
--- 4:27PM Bitcoin down - explained as sell the news BUT- Gary Gensler private account:  @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.
---- SO, was this a not approved or a not approved YET????

Podcasts Rule - Killing the Competition (or??)
- Radio giant Audacy has filed for bankruptcy protection amid a slump in advertising revenue.
- The Philadelphia-based company, which oversees major podcast and radio operations and has acquired CBS Radio, said it has filed a Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after a restructuring agreement with a majority of its debtholders.
- The agreement will see the company cut roughly 80% of its nearly $2 billion in debt.

Starbucks
- Starbucks app: Coffee giant accused of rigging payments to the tune of nearly $900 million over 5 years
- This is the probelm with gift cards and these plans - so much is forgotten about
- “Starbucks rigs its payment platform so consumers are encouraged to leave unspent money on their cards and apps,” said Chris Carter, campaign manager for the group in a statement.
--- “Starbucks rigs its payment platform so consumers are encouraged to leave unspent money on their cards and apps,” said Chris Carter, campaign manager for the group in a statement. “A few dollars here and there left on a payment platform may not sound like a lot but it adds up.
--- Over the last 5 years Starbucks has claimed nearly $900 million in unspent gift card and app money as corporate revenue, boosting corporate profits and inflating executive bonuses.”

Boeing
- 737 Max Issues
- We got loose nuts!
- The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday grounded dozens of 737 Max 9s after the panel blew out midflight on Alaska Flight 1282, calling for inspections.
- United Airlines said Monday that it has found loose bolts on door plugs of several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes during inspections spurred when a panel of that type blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight using that type of aircraft last week.
- Stock down 10% on this news...

Tax benefit!!!!!!
- Starting this year, families enrolled in the popular college savings plans called 529s can shift up to $35,000 in their accounts into a Roth IRA — a type of individual retirement account whose compounded growth and withdrawals are tax-free, just like those of 529s.
- The rules for rolling over unused 529 assets are specific:
—The owner must have had the account for at least 15 years. That is typically not a problem, as parents and grandparents tend to set up the plans when a child is very young.
—In a given year, you can’t roll over more than the annual Roth contribution limit, which this year is $7,000, plus an extra $1,000 for those age 50 and older. So sending the full $35,000 to a Roth will take 5 years.
—The beneficiary of the 529 has to be the owner of the Roth IRA receiving the funds.
—And they must have earned income at least equal to the amount of the rollover. Generally, that is not a problem for college graduates at the beginning of their careers.
—The prior five years’ worth of contributions can’t be rolled over.

Boeing - Alaska Air
- Door ripped off - Boeing down 8%, Alaska Air not down at all
- U.S. regulators on Saturday temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliners for safety checks following a cabin panel blowout that forced a new Alaska Airlines jet carrying passengers to make an emergency landing.
- The Boeing 737 MAX 9s fitted with a special door replacement "plug" cannot fly until they are inspected and repaired if necessary, the FAA said.

Interesting - How Do We Play?
- Return-to-office mandates, heightened pet costs and landlord restrictions have helped drive a 22% jump in stray dogs in US shelters since 2021
- Animal shelters across the US are overwhelmed and overflowing. With more workers heading back to the office and pet essentials like food and veterinary care prices swelling, the number of unwanted dogs has climbed.
--??? Stocks

Company	Symbol	1Yr Return %
Zoetis Inc	ZTS	32
Idexx Laboratories Inc	IDXX	21
Chewy Inc	CHWY	-44
Freshpet Inc	FRPT	60
Petco Health and Wellness Co	WOOF	-70
PetIQ Inc	PETQ	87
Trupanion Inc	TRUP	-39

Apple - Impervious
- Apple shares slip on report U.S. government preparing antitrust lawsuit
-- That was for about an hour or so.
- The agency's lawsuit could target how the Apple Watch works exclusively with the iPhone, as well as the company's iMessage service, which is also solely available on Apple devices. It could also focus on Apple Pay, the company's payments system, according to the report.
----- Will the Justice Department sue Nescafe as their coffee pods only work in their machines?
- Stock down from highs but not by much (inline with market conditions)

ShutDown Averted - The Cavalry Has Arrived!
- The top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Congress on Sunday agreed on a $1.59 trillion spending deal, setting up a race for bitterly divided lawmakers to pass the bills that would appropriate the money before the government begins to shut down this month.
- Part of this was already agreed to last month, Congress authorized $886 billion for the Department of Defense this fiscal year which Democratic President Joe Biden signed into law
--- Giid News - Congress solved a problem that they created! The Good Guys win again!

Twitter Valuation
- Elon Musk’s X is now worth less than one-third of what the billionaire paid for the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., based on a recent estimate from investor Fidelity.
- The firm, which helped Musk complete his $44 billion purchase, cut the value of its holding in X by 19% in its November portfolio update for the Blue Chip Growth Fund, compared with a September filing.
- It’s the latest in a series of markdowns by Fidelity since Musk concluded the acquisition of the social media platform in October 2022, as closely held X has
- The revaluation takes the value of Twitter down by 72% since Musk takeover

180 Degree Turn
- China removed an official at a government body overseeing its press and publications regulator, five sources who were briefed on the matter said, days after Chinese gaming stocks were hit by proposed rules to curb spending on video games.
- Feng Shixin was removed last week from his position as head of the publishing unit of the Communist Party's Publicity Department, the sources said. The department oversees the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) which in turn regulates China's vast video games sector.
- The NPPA's proposed measures, which seek to curb spending and the use of rewards that encourage the playing of video games, triggered fears that authorities were once again cracking down heavily on the sector and wiped nearly $80 billion off the market value of China's two biggest gaming companies.

Quality Control!
- The Wagyu beef market is expected to grow by $3.59 billion by 2027, a market research firm predicts.
- "The increased consumption of Wagyu beef in countries such as Japan has primarily contributed to the APAC regional market," the press release explained.
- They will kill the golden goose - or the Fat Cow in this instance

Congrats is in Order!
- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday named Gabriel Attal as the country's new prime minister, as he seeks to set a fresh course ahead of the summer's European Union elections.
- Attal, the current education minister, will become the youngest person to occupy France's second-highest office at 34 years old.
- First openly gay Prime Minister too....

One More Try!
- A Florida woman filed a $5 billion federal class-action lawsuit against the Hershey chocolate company, claiming that its seasonal Reese’s treats were deceptively marketed because they didn't have faces.
- Specifically Pumpkin shaped Reese's
- According to a lawsuit filed in the Middle District Court of Florida on Wednesday, Cynthia Kelly sued the Hershey's Company because its Jack-o-Lantern treats were advertised with mouth and eye drops on the packaging but didn’t have any on the actual chocolates.

So, It wasn't the Diet Drug Miracle?
- Intuitive Surgical guides Q4 revenue above consensus; Q4 procedures increased by approximately 21% 

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ANNOUNCING the WINNR of the
CTP CUP 2023

Winners will be getting great stuff like the new DHUnplugged Shirts (Designed by Jimbo) -
PLUS a one-of-a-kind DHUnplugged CTP Winner's certificate..

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CHARTS ON TRADING VIEW

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