|  | Nasdaq | 23,241.99 | |
| | S&P | 6,845.50 | |
| | Dow | 48,063.29 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.163% | |
| | Bitcoin | $87,821.88 | |
| | SanDisk | $237.38 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 10:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The stock market was closed yesterday to give traders time to
sleep it off start the new year off right. And although stocks dipped slightly on Wednesday before the champagne started flowing, they still capped off an impressive year. Despite volatility as the market reacted to ever-changing tariff news, hope for AI (which some fear is a bubble) carried the day. All three major indexes rose over 2025, and the S&P 500 clinched its third straight year of double-digit gains. It’s also likely to be remembered as the year retail investors joined the big leagues. - Stock spotlight: Anything AI-related had a year to remember: Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology were three of the S&P 500’s top four performers, as tech firms hungered for data storage power.
- So metal: While gold and silver faltered a smidge on the last trading day of the year, nothing could stop nervous investors from pouring money into the shiny havens. Both metals had their best year since 1979, with gold up more than 60% and silver up more than 140%.
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FINANCE Usually, a 95-year-old retiring would trigger a slice of cake and a sweet note in an all-company email. But when that nonagenarian is Warren Buffett—the legendary investor who turned Berkshire Hathaway into such a force it's often considered a proxy for the US economy—it’s a much bigger deal. And perhaps no one besides Roy O. Disney knows what it feels like to be Greg Abel, Buffett’s handpicked successor, who took over as CEO yesterday after Buffett finished his last day on Wednesday (though Tim Cook and Andy Jassy may have some idea). Looking to the future without an Oracle Abel’s got his work cut out for him, as it’s now on him to figure out what to do with the $358 billion Berkshire is holding in cash besides filling a pool like Scrooge McDuck. Under Buffett, Berkshire has sold more stocks than it bought for the last 12 quarters, likely signaling that he considered stock prices too high. While Buffett has expressed confidence in Abel, investors are wary: - Berkshire’s share price ended 2025 up more than 11%, but it concluded the year lower than it was when Buffett announced his retirement in May.
- Abel doesn’t have the Oracle of Omaha’s public record of picking winning stocks, and investors were further rattled by the departure of Todd Combs, a long-tenured Berkshire employee with a solid record of picks, who left for JPMorgan last month.
Now, investors are waiting to see exactly who’ll be calling the shots. Getting the keys to the kingdom: During his 60 years leading the company, Buffett and the late Charlie Munger grew it from a failing textile firm into a massive conglomerate that’s one of only two non-tech companies to have crossed the $1 trillion value threshold. While Buffett was known for big equity investments like buying up Apple stock, Berkshire also owns companies from Dairy Queen to Geico. You haven’t heard the last of Warren Buffett: He may not be picking the stocks anymore, but Buffett’s staying on as Berkshire’s chair and intends to keep the folksy wisdom coming in his annual public letters. | | |
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STAT Getting gifts is fun. Less fun is braving the mall parking lot or post office to return two of the three copies of the same book you received because your family members all know your taste so well. So, more people are opting out of the latter experience by leaving it to the professionals. The Wall Street Journal reports: - In November and December, Taskrabbit had a 62% spike in people booking workers to complete returns for them compared to last year.
- And the demand is expected to stay strong into the early months of the new year: ReturnQueen, a startup that focuses on exactly what its name suggests, anticipates a 15%–20% uptick in bookings this month and next, which are typically the most popular times for returns.
The market still has no solution for what to do about that handmade sweater your aunt (whose creativity exceeds her knitting skills) gave you, other than wearing it with a smile the next time you see her. |
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NEWS - A fire at a New Year’s party in a Swiss ski resort’s bar killed about 40 people and left more than 100 injured, authorities said yesterday.
- Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the mayor of New York City, after campaigning on addressing affordability with changes like free buses and child care. Many of his ambitious proposals would require raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers—something that would require support from the state government.
- Multiple people were killed amid protests in Iran over economic conditions.
- Tariffs on furniture and kitchen cabinets that President Trump had slated to begin yesterday were delayed for a year. The US also sharply lowered planned tariffs on Italian pasta.
- The ACA subsidies at the heart of the government shutdown fight expired, raising insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
- President Trump said Wednesday that he would withdraw National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. The announcement came after the Supreme Court upheld a ruling blocking the deployment in Chicago.
- Betty Boop entered the public domain yesterday after the copyright protection on the cartoon character expired. Notable works about several fictional detectives also became available for public use, including writings about Nancy Drew, Sam Spade, and Miss Marple.
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Together With Thrive Market |
PLAY Decipher: The first Decipher of the year is called “New Year’s aphorism,” and asks you to decode a message from an absolute legend. Play it here. Friday puzzle What do the following words have in common? Feminine Kindergarten Canine Threaten Cobblestone Height Done Oversweeten |
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=1b6cbc51 |
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ANSWER They all end with the spelling of a number. Source Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: nonagenarian, meaning “a person who is between 90 and 99 years old.” Thanks to Blair from New Jersey for a suggestion that doesn’t make us feel old. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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✢ A Note From Pendulum *Based on preclinical studies. Not intended for weight loss. **Based on a consumer survey of 80 people over three months. |
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Feast: 
