WWD : Bastien Daguzan Steps Down as Jacquemus President

Bastien Daguzan Steps Down as Jacquemus President
Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus thanked Daguzan, who was officially at the brand for less than two years.

Bastien Daguzan is parting ways with Jacquemus after less than two years as president of the breakout brand.

Simon Porte Jacquemus, founder, owner and creative director of the 14-year-old designer business, thanked Daguzan in a statement Thursday and said: “Bastien has been a driving force behind the business and its leadership. We wish him well in his new endeavor.”

Likewise, Daguzan said: “I would like to thank Simon for his trust and the incredible journey we have been on together with the team. He has always been an immense source of inspiration; I am so proud to have been a part of this adventure.”

For Daguzan, the adventure began when he started consulting for Jacquemus during his five-year stint as general manager of Paco Rabanne fashion.

In May 2022, Daguzan made the jump and switched over to Jacquemus full time just as the brand was hitting a steep growth curve.

Sales more than doubled in 2021 to top 100 million euros, with more than 30 percent of that going right to the bottom line.

Shortly after Daguzan joined, Jacquemus was tapped for the WWD Honor for Best-Performing Fashion Company, Small Cap. That fall Daguzan said the company was on pace to double sales again in 2022 and was targeting 500 million euros by 2025.

The growth spurt followed along several lines as the company has both accessories and ready-to-wear sold through its own e-commerce site, wholesale accounts and, as of last year, a flagship on Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

It is a fashion machine that employs 300 people and is powered by the designer, who has cultivated an easy connection with customers via the brand’s official Instagram account, which boasts 6.2 million followers.

Daguzan stressed the importance of that digital connection last year.

“Each time we say something on Instagram, you have a queue on Avenue Montaigne,” he said. “And that is the way we work: We create surprises in order to make people dream about us.”

WSJ : New Covid Variant JN.1 Is Here. What to Know About Symptoms, Spread

New Covid Variant JN.1 Is Here. What to Know About Symptoms, Spread
The variant could cause an increase in cases amid a busy season for other infections

A newer Omicron subvariant is gaining speed, contributing to rising Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations in the U.S. ahead of the winter holidays.

The World Health Organization classified the variant, JN.1, as a variant of interest on Dec. 19, a step below variant-of-concern status. The variant could cause an increase in cases amid a busy season for other infections, the WHO said, but isn’t expected to increase strain on health systems more than the other circulating Covid-19 strains.

Here is what we know about the new variant:

What is the JN.1 Covid-19 variant?
JN.1 emerged in August, according to the WHO, and is an offshoot of the original Omicron variant. It is a descendant of the variant BA.2.86, nicknamed “Pirola,” which caused some concern among scientists but didn’t end up taking off.

Compared with BA.2.86, JN.1 has a single mutation difference in the spike protein, the WHO said.

“It looks like the mutation in the spike protein probably gives it some advantage,” said Emily Smith, an epidemiologist and infectious-disease expert at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.

How widespread is JN.1?
JN.1 has been spotted in 41 countries including the U.S. as of Dec. 16, the WHO said. It accounted for 27% of global virus sequences as of Dec. 3, and the countries reporting the highest portions of cases are France, the U.S., Singapore, Canada, the U.K. and Sweden.

In the U.S., JN.1 made up 44% of cases as of Dec. 23, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is up from roughly 21% two weeks before. It is the most-common variant in the U.S. Nearly all variants circulating including JN.1 are Omicron subvariants.

What are the symptoms of the new variant?
New symptoms haven’t been reported with the variant, so the main symptoms to look for are still the same: cough, fever or chills, body aches, congestion, loss of smell and taste, sore throat and fatigue.

How dangerous is the new JN.1 variant?
The CDC said on Dec. 8 that there is no indication JN.1 causes more severe disease than other circulating variants.

The WHO said the additional public-health risk that JN.1 presents is “low” globally. But Covid-19 and other circulating pathogens could exacerbate the burden of respiratory disease, the WHO said. For most people, Covid-19 still poses the biggest risk for getting seriously ill compared with the flu or RSV.

“Things are circulating seasonally in a way that feels more in line with years past,” Smith said. “Covid is still one of the more serious bugs when we compare it to some of the others.”

Do Covid-19 vaccines work against JN.1?
Yes, data suggests they do. The WHO said current population immune defenses and the latest Covid-19 vaccines should be cross-reactive against JN.1. The variant’s ability to escape immune responses depends on the background immunity in each country, the organization said.

Vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have said their updated Covid-19 shots generate immune responses against JN.1’s close parent, BA.2.86.

“Data shows that all of the antibodies are a really good fit, luckily, for JN.1,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport. “That’s really good news.”

Kamil pointed out that Covid-19 vaccine uptake has been low this season, some 18% of adults having gotten a shot as of Dec. 15, according to the CDC. Some 42% of adults have gotten their flu shot this year and 17% of people 60 and older have gotten an RSV vaccine.

Are Covid-19 cases rising in the U.S.? How does this season compare with last year?
Yes, Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing in the U.S., with some 23,000 new Covid-related hospital admissions the week ending on Dec. 9, according to the CDC.

Covid-19 hospital-admission rates are significantly higher for people 70 and older, CDC data show. There were fewer Covid-19 hospital admissions in the last week compared with the same time last year. The CDC said in late November that it anticipated hospitalizations from respiratory diseases this fall and winter to be similar to last season.

Are flu and RSV cases increasing right now, too?
Yes, other viruses and pathogens including flu and RSV are spreading alongside Covid-19. RSV infections have been increasing for weeks but appear to be peaking in parts of the U.S., CDC data show.

The CDC estimates that at least 5.3 million people have gotten the flu this season, including some 54,000 hospitalizations and 3,200 deaths. Flu activity is elevated and increasing in most of the country.

What Covid-19 precautions should I take during the holidays?
Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated for Covid-19, flu and RSV, if eligible. The shots take about two weeks to provide full protection.

Wearing a mask in crowded places including airports, washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes and good ventilation all help, doctors said. People should take a test if they feel sick and stay home, and people with Covid-19 or the flu at risk of getting seriously ill should seek treatment.

“If people know they’re sick with a cough, a sore throat or runny nose, stay home,” said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s health commissioner and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “You’ll miss the gathering, but you won’t get everyone sick.”

FT : UK to deploy naval ship to Guyana after Venezuela territory claim

UK to deploy naval ship to Guyana after Venezuela territory claim
Patrol vessel to travel in show of support for former colony as Caracas seeks to claim oil-rich region

The UK will deploy a naval patrol ship off Guyana in a show of support for the former British colony as it faces a territorial claim from its more powerful neighbour Venezuela. 

The deployment follows moves by Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s revolutionary socialist president, to claim the vast, mineral-rich Essequibo region, which borders his country but has been part of Guyana for more than a century.

Britain’s decision to dispatch HMS Trent later this month is a significant show of support for the government in Guyana’s capital Georgetown.

It comes days after Lord David Cameron, foreign secretary, said the UK would “continue to work with partners in the region to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld and prevent escalation”.

David Rutley, a UK foreign office minister, visited Guyana last week to meet President Irfaan Ali and stress the UK government’s “unequivocal backing” for Guyana’s territorial integrity after the Venezuelan claim. 

Yván Gil, Venezuela’s foreign minister, responded angrily on social media platform X to that visit, saying: “The former invading and enslaving empire, which illegally occupied the territory of [Essequibo] and acted in an skilful and sneaky manner against the interests of Venezuela, insists on intervening in a territorial controversy that they themselves generated.

“This controversy will be resolved directly between the parties . . . We will stop the new filibustering that seeks to destabilise the region.”

Maduro held a referendum among Venezuelans earlier this month in which Caracas claimed that more than 95 per cent supported proposals including that Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, should become a Venezuelan state.

Caracas subsequently authorised Venezuelan state-run companies to grant licences for exploration and exploitation in Essequibo and ordered new official maps including the territory, although the presidents of both countries agreed in a December 15 meeting not to use force in the dispute.

HMS Trent, which is armed with a cannon and machine guns, has a crew of 65 and a contingent of Royal Marines, and can deploy Merlin helicopters.

The vessel, which is mostly used for counter-terrorism exercises and tackling piracy and smuggling, is usually based around the Mediterranean. However, in early December it was deployed west to Barbados to clamp down on drug runners in the Caribbean. 

The ship would anchor off the coast of Georgetown and carry out visits, training and joint activities with the country’s navy, UK officials said.

Guyana’s defence force, with only 4,070 active personnel and reserves, is dwarfed by Venezuela’s 351,000-strong military. 

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic patrol task deployment.”

Guyana is a member of the Commonwealth and the only English-speaking nation in South America. 

FT : Ratcliffe’s Manchester United deal delayed by concerns for minority shareho

Ratcliffe’s Manchester United deal delayed by concerns for minority shareholders
Some board members worried about future treatment of non-Glazer investors in Premier League club

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s push to purchase a $1.3bn stake in Manchester United has been hampered by concerns over the future treatment of minority shareholders, contributing to weeks of delays to football’s highest-profile transaction, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The British chemicals billionaire and the Glazer family that owns the English Premier League club had agreed on the broad terms to buy a non-controlling stake in November, but a formal announcement has been repeatedly pushed back.

One of the obstacles has been how United’s public shareholders would be treated in any future transactions between Ratcliffe and the Glazers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The hold-up can be partly attributed to concerns held by certain members of Manchester United’s 12-person board about potential future deals and whether they would allow the Glazers to cash out on terms that would not be extended to other shareholders.

However, people involved in the process remain confident of finding a solution, with talks focused on resolving the matter under way in recent weeks. The Ratcliffe team is also confident of getting a deal done. An announcement could be imminent but might slip to after Christmas, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

United and Ineos declined to comment.

The concerns are the latest challenge in a complex deal that has been held up before due to similar concerns for minority shareholders.

The situation is complicated because United has two classes of stock. The New York-traded A shares have inferior voting rights to the B shares held exclusively by the Glazers.

UK fund manager Lindsell Train, Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital and Chicago-based Ariel Investments are among the biggest holders of the A shares, which are largely held by non-family shareholders. Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman has also accumulated a stake. Sandler has previously threatened to oppose any deal that treats minority shareholders differently from the Glazers.

Ratcliffe and his Ineos group are set to acquire around 25 per cent of the Glazers’ super-voting B shares and 25 per cent of the New York-traded A shares. Each B share has 10 times the voting rights of a single A share.

The British tycoon had previously reformulated the Ineos bid because of concerns that arose when his original proposal for majority control envisaged buying out only the Glazer family’s B shares without extending an offer to A shareholders. Ineos subsequently changed the proposal to buy 25 per cent of each share class.

The six Glazer siblings own 110mn B shares. Selling 25 per cent of the total at $33 would generate more than $900mn for the family. The deal would value United’s equity at roughly $5.4bn, implying an enterprise value of more than $6bn including debt.

The New York-listed club’s stock exchange filings warn that the “concentration of voting power in our Class B shares may harm the value of our Class A ordinary shares” by “delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control”, “impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination”, or “causing us to enter into transactions or agreements that are not in the best interests of all shareholders”.

Ineos’s proposal values United at about $33 a share. The A shares closed at less than $20 each on Friday. Ratcliffe is also set to inject fresh capital into the club and take significant influence over football operations.

The Manchester United share price hit a high of more than $27 in February on expectations that the club would be bought in full by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of one of Qatar’s richest men. However, his Nine Two Foundation withdrew from the bidding in October.

WWD : Sanlorenzo Yachts, Leonardo Ferragamo’s Swan Explore Partnership

Sanlorenzo Yachts, Leonardo Ferragamo’s Swan Explore Partnership
Sanlorenzo and Sawa, a company owned by Leonardo Ferragamo, revealed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to evaluate possible "joint strategic opportunities" between the two firms.

SHIPS AHOY: Leading Italian maker of made-to-measure yachts Sanlorenzo and Florence-based Sawa, a company owned by Leonardo Ferragamo, revealed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Thursday.

Sanlorenzo said in a statement that the agreement involves an exclusivity period to evaluate possible “joint strategic opportunities” between Sanlorenzo and Sawa’s Nautor Swan Group, a company known for its sleek Swan sailing yachts.

Nautor Swan was founded in 1966 by Pekka Koskenkyla in Pietarsaari, Finland. It has been owned since 1998 by Leonardo Ferragamo, who built its image worldwide.

Sanlorenzo remains one of Italy’s top shipyards driving the uptick of the nation’s yachting industry, now a main catalyst of the economy. In recent years it has grown its image as a specialist in floating luxury homes fueled by collaborations with high-profile names like designer Patricia Urquiola. The La Spezia-based company booked 740.7 million euros in sales of new yachts in 2022, benefiting from a surge in demand for luxury vessels.

Revenues generated by Italy’s nautical sector as a whole surged 20 percent in 2022 to 7.33 billion euros, according to the nation’s Marine Industry Association. By comparison and according to the French Nautical Industries Federation (FIN), France’s boating sector registered 4.95 billion euros in sales in the nautical industry and services between 2021 and 2022, the last fiscal year reported.

A strategic partnership with a leader like Sanlorenzo would allow Swan to innovate and upgrade on a sustainable level and would further strengthen its “long-term vision,” Ferragamo explained in a statement.

“A strategic partnership with Sanlorenzo Group would offer several opportunities to move forward on this virtuous path with joint investments in innovative technologies, in sustainability, and in a more extensive service network for our customers globally,” he said.

WSJ : Nelson Peltz Resigns From Wiesenthal Board Over Its Ben & Jerry’s Tweet

Nelson Peltz Resigns From Wiesenthal Board Over Its Ben & Jerry’s Tweet
Jewish organization called for consumers to shun ice-cream maker following pro-Palestinian posts from its chairman

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz resigned from his position at the Simon Wiesenthal Center after the Jewish organization urged people not to buy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Peltz, who is a board member at Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, stepped down from the center on Dec. 12, according to people familiar with the matter. His firm, Trian Fund Management, is a Unilever UL 0.54%increase; green up pointing triangle shareholder.

The Wiesenthal Center, which has previously been critical of Ben & Jerry’s support for Palestinians, raised fresh objections to the brand in a post on X earlier this month after its independent chairman denounced Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Peltz was disappointed the center didn’t consult him first about the tweet and called its rabbi to issue his immediate resignation after he learned about it, according to a person familiar with his thinking. He had also been involved with the center since the 1980s, and was ready to depart given his myriad other responsibilities, the person said. Peltz’s resignation wasn’t announced publicly.

On Dec. 8, the Wiesenthal Center’s X account posted a tweet saying Ben & Jerry’s was “justifying” the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas. “No one should spend a penny on their products,” it added.

The tweet featured a photo of Ben & Jerry’s Chairman Anuradha Mittal, who on her private Twitter account has backed a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Mittal, who also runs an Oakland, Calif., think tank focused on progressive causes, has posted regularly about the conflict.

Ben & Jerry’s hasn’t posted on its own social-media accounts or commented anywhere else about the conflict in Gaza.

The Wiesenthal Center’s tweet said the ice-cream brand was “justifying the mass murderer [sic], raping and torturing of Jewish hostages including children.” After The Wall Street Journal contacted the center and Trian for comment, the tweet was deleted.

Peltz, 81 years old, most recently was chair of the center’s board of governors. He has also been a major donor to the center, which is named after an Austrian Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals.

Mittal said in an interview that she complained about the Wiesenthal Center’s tweet to Unilever, saying it unfairly singles out Ben & Jerry’s and has made her feel unsafe. “For me this is still a live issue,” she said, adding that the tweet’s deletion hasn’t stopped a barrage of hateful emails, X messages and LinkedIn messages being sent to her.

Mittal said she raised concerns about Peltz’s dual positions on the board of Unilever and the Wiesenthal Center, and asked the company to investigate whether Peltz may have breached his fiduciary duty to shareholders given the center’s calls for consumers to stop buying Unilever products.

Before the tweet was deleted, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center’s associate dean, told the Journal in a statement that there was no call for an official boycott of Ben & Jerry’s, but that any company or executive who doesn’t “denounce mass rape of women, mass kidnappings, beheadings, holding children and the elderly hostage underground for seven weeks+, we have the right and obligation to call you out!”

Peltz, a longtime activist investor who is currently in the midst of a proxy battle with Disney, joined the Unilever board last year.

Trian last year disclosed it manages funds that own a roughly 1.5% stake in Unilever.

When it acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, Unilever established an unusual governance arrangement with the ice-cream maker. The agreement allows the brand’s independent board to make its own decisions about social causes it chooses to back. The brand’s positions—on Palestinian causes and other issues—have previously prompted some consumers and pension funds to chastise or even boycott Unilever.

Before the Hamas-Israel conflict, Ben & Jerry’s had been vocal about its support for Palestinian causes. In 2021, it said it would end sales of its products in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested East Jerusalem. It said the territory was internationally recognized as illegally occupied.

The Wiesenthal Center at the time placed ads in U.S. Jewish newspapers urging consumers to tell their local grocery store to “stop selling anti-semitic ice cream,” naming Ben & Jerry’s. It also included Unilever on its global antisemitism top 10 list for 2021.

On its website, Ben & Jerry’s addresses the issue with a quote from a newspaper opinion column, in which founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wrote that, “As Jewish supporters of the State of Israel, we fundamentally reject the notion that it is antisemitic to question the policies of the State of Israel.”

Unilever last year moved to neutralize Ben & Jerry’s decision to halt sales of its products in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested East Jerusalem by selling the ice-cream maker’s Israeli business to a licensee without its permission. Ben & Jerry’s then took its parent company to court, and the two sides struck a settlement agreement.

FT : Blackstone loads up on European real estate

Blackstone loads up on European real estate
World’s largest commercial property owner says it has been more active in the region because of ‘distress and dislocation’

Blackstone invested more in European real estate than in any other region in 2023, as the world’s largest commercial property owner picked up bargains from market turmoil and distressed sellers. 

Real estate deal-making collapsed this year as sharp rises in interest rates strained a sector heavily reliant on cheap debt. Deal volumes were down by half in the third quarter, according to MSCI data. 

Blackstone cut back its total spending on new property investments from about $47bn in 2022 to about $9bn in the first three quarters of 2023. Unusually, however, it allocated more than 55 per cent of its global investments to European assets, including the UK. The group normally invests most in the US, and would typically allocate 20-30 per cent to European real estate. 

The shift suggests that buying opportunities are appearing earlier in Europe as real estate investors navigate the downturn caused by higher rates. 

Heavily indebted owners, including public companies and private investors, feel increasing pressure to sell assets to pay off debt and some are facing debt maturities.

“In Europe, our sector picks are intersecting with distress and dislocation, explaining why we have been more active in Europe this year relative to other regions,” said Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of real estate at Blackstone.

McCarthy said the firm has $40bn of “dry powder” — funds raised but not yet invested — and is targeting its investment in parts of the real estate market with “the strongest cash flow growth and favourable supply demand fundamentals”, including logistics warehouses, data centres, and the “living” sector that includes apartments and student accommodation.

Many European real estate owners loaded up on very cheap debt in recent years when interest rates were low or even negative on parts of the continent. Of €640bn in European private real estate debt issued from 2019 to 2022, more than a quarter, €176bn, may be impossible to refinance when it comes due between 2024 and 2027 because of lower property values, tighter lending conditions and higher debt costs, according to real estate advisers CBRE.

This year, the rise in debt costs has already hit property valuations hard and left many companies scraping to pay down debts, creating opportunities for deep-pocketed investors. 

Fergus Hicks, real estate strategist at UBS asset management, said prices in Europe and the UK were correcting faster. “We expect the UK market to bottom out first, followed by the rest of Europe, while the lagged response in US valuations means that we expect these to bottom out last,” he said. 

The real estate crunch has created headaches in parts of Blackstone’s business. It has had to limit investor redemptions from its flagship Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. Elsewhere, however, the group has acquired property from funds under liquidity pressure, part of a run of more than 100 deals in Europe so far this year.    

Among roughly €5bn of European deals, Blackstone in April reached a £700mn agreement to take Industrials Reit private, acquiring the UK-listed real estate company’s 7mn sq ft portfolio of industrial and warehouse space. Many listed real estate firms have traded at heavy discounts to their net asset value this year, making it difficult for them to raise equity and more liable to takeovers. 

Blackstone concluded a deal to buy another set of logistics properties from Swedish landlord Corem for €490mn. Like many Nordic real estate groups, Corem has been seeking to pay down its debt. 

In November, UK housebuilder Vistry announced a £819mn deal with two Blackstone-backed residential landlords to sell 2,915 private and affordable rental and shared ownership properties. Vistry has been changing its strategy to focus less on private home sales as the UK housing market has stalled.

>>> Barron’s Weekend Summar

Barron’s Weekend Summary: Tellus, a finance start-up, has denied any connection to Silicon Valley Bank

Barron’s Weekend Summary

Cover:
-Tellus, a finance start-up, has denied any connection to Silicon Valley Bank and has stated that it has zero exposure and does not have any funds with the bank. It claims its banking partners are JPMorgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, both of which are FDIC-insured. However, these partnerships did not exist. Tellus's savings app advertised yields close to 4% on its website, while its current rates are 5%. Both JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Bank expressed surprise when asked about their ties to Tellus, stating that they are working with Tellus to update their website and remove their company's name.

Interview:
-This week, Barron’s presents Fidelity mutual fund manager Joel Tillinghast, who will retire at the end of 2023 after a multi-decade career in managing the $26.2B Fidelity Low-Priced Stock fund. Tillinghast, 65, began managing the fund in 1989, focusing on small- and mid-cap stocks trading at a discount to their intrinsic value. Over the years, the strategy expanded to include larger companies with growth potential. The fund has returned an average of 12.6% since inception, compared to annual returns of 10.4% and 9.2% from the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 indexes. Tillinghast has lagged behind the large-cap index over the Big Tech-dominated past half-decade but still ranks in the top 22% of peer funds.

Tech Trader:
-Synopsys, the largest provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software for semiconductors, has been underappreciated in the AI boom. Despite its market value of $85 billion, it has grown alongside the rise of chips in consumer products. Shares of Synopsys have increased 75% this year to $560, compared to Nvidia's 235% increase and Palantir Technologies' 174% increase. The increased demand for AI chips and Synopsys' aggressive rollout of AI-powered features could drive a long-term increase in demand for Synopsys' software

The Trader:
-Gilead Sciences, once one of the hottest biotech stocks, is expected to recover from its 2016 blowup. The company's dominant HIV business is expected to see low-single-digit sales growth annually to just over $28 billion by 2025. Analysts predict Biktarvy, its HIV treatment, will hit almost $14 billion in 2027, up from just under $12 billion this year. The company is moving past recent increases in research-and-development costs, leading to increased margins and earnings per share growth at about 6% annually for the next couple of years. Oppenheimer analyst Justin Kim and team have named Gilead a top pick for the coming year, with moderation of expense growth as a priority from 2024

Features:
-Consumer prices fell for the first time in over three years, with the headline personal-consumption expenditures price index falling by 0.1% in November. However, volatile cooling energy prices are a main driver of the disinflation or deflation if you will. The core index, which excludes energy and food prices, rose by 3.2% year over year, still above the Federal Reserve's goal of 2% inflation. Inflation's retreat has been uneven, with goods prices dropping 0.7% in November and services prices advancing 0.2%.
-Nike stock fell after a disappointing second-quarter earnings report and a negative sales outlook. Two Wall Street analysts downgraded their ratings on shares. Nike expects sales to soften for the rest of its fiscal year, partly due to consumer spending skepticism in China and Europe. To offset this, Nike plans to save $2B over the next three years through product assortment simplification, automation, and reduced management layers, with the majority of the savings used to fuel growth.

Europe:
-The Middle East conflict has started to disrupt global trade and increasing shipping costs. Houthi militants in Yemen are using anti-ship missiles and drones to target commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea, allegedly to support Palestinians. The US is forming an international naval force to protect shipping lanes. The Red Sea is a key shipping corridor, with Egypt's Suez Canal carrying 12% of global trade and 21% of container-ship traffic. Major shipping lines have paused transits. The Panama Canal, 7,000 miles away, is facing a drought, limiting daily crossings and limiting the number of ships passing through it.

Emerging Markets:
-In 2024, central banks worldwide are expected to lower interest rates, potentially boosting the performance of emerging markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets index has seen a 5% return this year, compared to a 26% gain for the S&P 500 index. However, markets outside China have seen better results, with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex-China fund up 15% due to strong rallies in Indian, Brazilian, and Mexican stocks. Emerging markets with large current-account deficits are vulnerable to interest rate swings, which can drain capital flows and negatively impact investment, domestic consumption, and growth.

Commodities:
-US energy producers are facing geopolitical challenges, with rising energy production in the US countering efforts by authoritarian states like Saudi Arabia and Russia to control prices. Brent crude prices are down 18% from their 52-week high in September, to just over $79. This shift in energy production is expected to benefit investors despite ongoing geopolitical conflicts. In the past, US producers paid down debt rather than ramping up production, a strategy that was criticized by the White House.

Streetwise:
-this week, jack Hough has developed a taste for caramelized popcorn: Utz Brands, a snack company with a small share of PepsiCo's distribution, is growing and has a 25% upside. Mizuho Securities has rated Utz with a Buy rating, predicting shares to hit $19 in a year. The company, based in Hanover, produces up to three million pounds of snacks per week, with half of it being potato chips. Utz is concentrated in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf states and is the top non-Frito brand in New York City, Boston, and Ohio.

>>> Weekend Papers Summary

Weekend Papers Summary

FINANCIAL TIMES
-US inflation cooled in November, suggesting a soft landing by the Federal Reserve and bringing stocks closer to a new record high. The S&P 500 rose by 0.2%, putting Wall Street's benchmark share gauge within 1% of its all-time closing high in January 2022. The index has eight consecutive weeks of gains and is heading for its third-best year in the past decade. President Joe Biden hailed the report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis as a significant milestone in efforts to return inflation to pre-pandemic levels.
-James Gorman, former Morgan Stanley CEO, predicts that financial markets will "take off" once investors are confident that the Federal Reserve has lifted interest rates. Gorman also highlighted the safety of the banking system during his 14-year tenure, highlighting "their own stupidity" as a significant threat to banks.
-The US has accused Iran of being "deeply involved" in planning Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, warning Tehran of potential responses due to the increased threat to global trade. The White House claims the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen rely on Iranian-provided monitoring systems for attacks. The US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson confirmed that Iran was involved in the operations. The Biden administration is considering additional actions in response to the Houthis attacks.
-The US Supreme Court has rejected a Department of Justice request to expedite a decision on Donald Trump's immunity from federal prosecution for crimes committed during his time in office. The order means the criminal case against Trump will first be decided by a lower appeals court, potentially delaying a trial scheduled for March in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
-France's Rassemblement National party, led by Marine Le Pen's right-hand man Jordan Bardella, has claimed that its nationalist anti-immigration politics are winning the battle of ideas in the country and will prevail in European parliament elections next year. Bardella described President Macron's immigration law as a "real ideological victory" and said it opened the door for their ideas. Public concern about a surge in asylum-seekers in Europe is driving voters to anti-immigration populists across the EU, forcing mainstream parties to take drastic measures to reduce numbers. The RN is predicted to win 30% of the vote in European elections.
-The US Treasury has introduced stringent new criteria for hydrogen producers to claim green subsidies under Joe Biden's climate legislation. The $3-per-kilogramme credit will be limited to hydrogen made from new clean energy projects connected to the same regional grid as the hydrogen producer. From 2028, developers will need to certify that their production is powered by renewables every hour, not annually. This has sparked criticism from industry groups, politicians, and large developers who argue that hourly matching would make projects too costly. Developers have 60 days to comment on the proposals.
-The Biden administration plans to blacklist foreign financial institutions supporting Russia's military industrial complex as part of Washington's efforts to eliminate Moscow's war machine. An executive order will allow the US to impose sanctions on financial institutions aiding Russia in securing equipment and other goods needed for fighting in Ukraine. Banks under sanctions will be denied access to the US financial system. Russia has been using financial intermediaries to evade sanctions and export controls. The Biden administration will work with US and European banks to inform them about the new rules and ensure they communicate with their correspondent banks to avoid sanctions.
-China's National Press and Publication Administration has proposed guidelines to curb excessive gaming consumption, leading to substantial losses for China's largest online gaming companies. Tencent, the largest company by market capitalization, experienced a 12.4% drop, the sharpest one-day drop in 15 years. Rival NetEase's shares fell over 24% in Hong Kong, causing the Hang Seng Tech index to drop 4.4%, bringing year-to-date losses to over 14%. South Korean gaming developer Krafton also fell over 13%.

NEW YORK TIMES
-The US is now isolated over Gaza. The United States finds itself in a defensive crouch and at odds with even staunch allies like France, Canada, Australia and Japan. The UN has passed a resolution on Gaza aid with the US abstaining from vote. The measure called on Israel and Hamas to pause the fighting to allow for the delivery of more aid but did not impose a legally binding cease-fire.
-The Supreme Court has declined to fast-track case on Trump’s immunity defense. Jack Smith, the special counsel in the federal election case against Donald Trump, had urged the justices to move quickly.
-If the Colorado Supreme Court is right that Donald Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run for president, fundamental values are in severe tension.
-Donald Trump’s long fascination with genes and bloodlines is getting new scrutiny after a recent remark he made.
-The Wisconsin Supreme Court said the state’s heavily gerrymandered legislative maps that favored Republicans were unconstitutional.
-Seeking a Big Edge in A.I., South Korean Companies Think Smaller. The firms lag behind their U.S. counterparts, but their focus on non-English languages could help loosen the American grip on artificial intelligence.
-Apple has discussed multiyear deals to train its generative AI systems on publishers’ news articles.
-Brexiteers Vowed to ‘Take Back Control’ of U.K. Borders. What Happened? Record numbers of immigrants came legally to Britain from outside the E.U. in recent years. Some on the right call that a “Brexit betrayal.”
-Hunter Biden text cited in impeachment inquiry is not what gop suggests. A 2019 message from President Biden’s son alluded to giving his father half his salary. The back story does not support assertions of corruption.
-This Antarctic Octopus holds a warning about rising sea levels. An ice sheet appears to have melted about 120,000 years ago, when temperatures were similar to today, according to a study that mapped octopus movements.

NY POST
-A recent poll shows Andrew Cuomo easily beating Eric Adams in a primary for New York City mayor. Some New Yorkers may forget the allegations against Cuomo of sexual misconduct and abuse, and the COVID-19 deaths due to his directive ordering nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients. However, Cuomo is not the hero some may think he is, but a major reason the city is in peril.
-Hyperloop One, a high-speed train startup endorsed by Elon Musk, is set to shut down due to project delays and sex-harassment claims. The company has reduced its workforce to around 100 and will oversee asset sales before their employment ends on December 31. Hyperloop raised over $450M since its inception in 2014 and aimed to modernize transportation technology with a train that traveled at airplane-like speeds.