News Recap • Week 48 2025

Check the news below and make sure to visit my latest Market Recap as well.

‍

Macro

• Mon The Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) has been shut down eight months ahead of time. (CNBC)
• Tue The core Producer Price Index (PPI) in the US rose less than expected in September, a positive data point for the fight against inflation and for the prospects of further rate cuts. (CNBC)
• Tue Private US companies lost an average of 13,500 jobs a week over the past four weeks according to the latest ADP report. That’s a big jump from the 2,500 reported a week ago, pointing to a slowing labor market and likely increasing the likelihood of a rate cut in December. (CNBC)
• Tue The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 in November, down 6.8 points from the prior month for its lowest reading since April. Economists had forecast 93.2. (CNBC)
• Tue Kevin Hassett is reportedly the favorite to take over as Federal Reserve Chairman after Jerome Powell. The odds on Polymarket jumped from 32% to 56%. Hassett is seen as generally very dovish, market friendly, and aligned with Trump’s policies. The Trump administration also said this week that they’re likely to appoint the next Fed chair within the next month. (Bloomberg)
• Tue US retail sales rose just 0.2% in September, less than the 0.4% expected. (Yahoo Finance)
• Wed China’s industrial profits dropped 5.5% in October, the biggest decline since June and a massive reversal from the +20% growth rates measured in August and September. (CNBC)
• Wed Finance Minister Rachel Reeves revealed the UK’s new autumn budget. The FTSE 100 rose 1.9% this week. (CNBC)
• Wed Taiwan will introduce a supplementary $40 billion defence budget as a counter move to China’s increased military pressure. (Reuters)
• Thu Minutes from the ECB’s October meeting showed no hurry to cut rates but potential for further cuts in 2026 when inflation is set to fall below the 2% target. (Reuters)
• Thu Russia’s President Putin said he’s ready for serious talks and that the peace plan proposed by the US can be the basis for future agreements. (CNBC)
• Fri India’s economy grew at an annual rate of 8.2% in Q3, well ahead of the 7.3% forecast and the prior quarter’s 7.8% growth rate. (CNBC)
• Sun China’s manufacturing activity remained in contraction in November with the PMI coming in at 49.2. It was a slight uptick from October and in line with expectations. The non-manufacturing PMI contracted for the first time in three years. (Reuters)

‍

Other

• Mon Tesla’s China sales fell to a 3-year low in October. (CNBC)
• Mon Revolut was valued at $75 billion in its latest share sale. (Reuters)
• Mon Alphabet’s recent rally has made co-founder Larry Page the second richest man in the world. (Forbes)
• Mon Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide failed to slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease, causing the stock to fall 5.8% on Monday after initially plummeting as much as 13%. However, it fully recovered the losses and closed the week 4% higher in a very bullish reversal. (CNBC)
• Mon Amazon said it will invest as much as $50 billion on AI infrastructure to support US government agencies. (CNBC)
• Tue Meta is reportedly considering using Google AI chips in its data centers in 2027. With Alphabet emerging as a serious competitor, Nvidia stock fell on the news and has been lagging the broader market in recent weeks. Alphabet, on the other hand, has soared 125% since the April lows and closed at a fresh record high this week. (CNBC)
• Tue Robinhood is going deeper into the prediction market space by partnering with Susquehanna to launch a futures, derivatives exchange, and clearinghouse in 2026. (The Block)
• Tue Robinhood CEO’s AI startup Harmonic raised $120 million at a $1.45 billion valuation. (Reuters)
• Wed Apple will ship around 243 million iPhone units this year, beating Samsung’s 235 million. It will be the first time in 14 years that Apple ships more smartphones than Samsung. (CNBC)
• Fri Black Friday shopping in the US rose 9.4% compared to last year to $8.6 billion, once again underscoring how resilient the consumer is. (Reuters)
• Fri Black Friday also saw a record $11.8 billion in online sales in the US, an increase of 9.1% from last year. (Reuters)

‍

Earnings

• Tue Alibaba reported 5% revenue growth in its fiscal Q2, up to $34.8 billion driven by strong cloud computing sales. Shares fell 2.3% after the report but are up more than 85% year-to-date. (CNBC)