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Morning News: January 6, 2026
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on January 6th, 2026 at 7:04 amChina Slaps Export Controls on Japan Military for Taiwan Remarks
In China, a Debate About Political Power Ignites After Maduro’s Capture
Snatching Maduro From Venezuela Was Illegal — and Damaging
Venezuela Ushers in the Era of Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’
Trump’s Hint to Oil Executives Weeks Before Maduro Ouster: ‘Get Ready’
Mystery Trader Garners $400,000-Plus Windfall on Maduro’s Capture
Bets on Maduro, Jesus Reveal Promise and Risks of Prediction Markets
Venezuela’s New Leader Is the Oil Industry’s Long-Time Ally
Chevron’s Risky Bet to Stay in Venezuela May Now Give It an Advantage
Citgo Is a Crown Jewel of Venezuela’s Oil Industry. Elliott Is Set to Reap the Benefits.
Trump’s Venezuelan Gambit Holds Chance of Rising US Sway Over Crude
Copper Surges to Fresh Record as Inventories ‘Locked in the US’
Hilton Lands in DHS Crosshairs After ICE Agents’ Hotel Reservations Are Canceled
The GOP Is Kidding Itself About the Economy
Do Tariffs Cause Inflation? New Studies Offer Surprising Answer
Sweeping Minimum-Wage Hikes Take Hold Across the Country
The Fed’s Six Big Challenges in 2026
The Cost of Inaction On Crypto Market Structure
More Tax Revenue Is a Certain Path to Soaring National Debt
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Votes to Shut Down
Optimism About Nuclear Energy Is Rising Again. Will It Last?
Nvidia’s $4 Trillion Stock Rally Faces More Threats Than Ever
Nvidia Details New A.I. Chips and Autonomous Car Project With Mercedes
Tesla Is Swapping Its EV Crown For Even More Promises
Hyundai Unveils New Humanoid Robot for Work in Car Factories
Dell’s Underperforming PC Business Seeks a Comeback
Steel Dynamics, SGH Bid $8.8 Billion to Acquire BlueScope Steel
AB InBev Buys Back $3 Billion Stake in U.S. Metal Container Facility to Boost Supply Security
How Corporate Security Has Changed a Year After UnitedHealth Killing
Make Drug Prices Great Again Without Price Controls
Victoria’s Secret Faces Valentine’s Day Test
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Morning News: January 5, 2026
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on January 5th, 2026 at 7:06 amTrump’s Ouster of Maduro Shows America’s New World Order Is Here
Switzerland Freezes Assets of Maduro and People Close to Him
Trump Now Has His Very Own Oil Empire
Chevron, US Oil Stocks Rally as Trump Vows Venezuela Revival
Trump’s Venezuela Oil Revival Plan Is a $100 Billion Gamble
Reviving Venezuela’s Flow of Oil Will Not Come Easily or Cheaply
Not Your Father’s Oil Market: Geopolitical Shocks Lack Impact
Why Oil Prices Are Barely Moving After the Venezuelan Incursion
China Needed Oil. Venezuela Needed Cash. Their Deal Faces a Turning Point.
Xi Faces Higher Costs in Taiwan Than Trump Does in Venezuela
Venezuela Trade Disruptions to Stay Localized, Analysts Say
Why Markets Can Sit Out the Drama in Venezuela
Safe-Haven Gold Propelled to One-Week High by US-Venezuela Conflict
Yellen Warns of Growing ‘Fiscal Dominance’ Threat to US Economy
Calls to Weaken the Dollar Are the Stuff of Economic Ignorance
Slow Growth Since 1971? The Floating Dollar Just Begs For Attention
Small-Time Crypto Investors Are Facing Violent Attacks
Treasuries Advance Ahead of Key US Manufacturing Numbers
Dimon’s $770 Million Windfall Shows How Banking Is Great Again
Supreme Court Increasingly Favors the Rich, Economists Say
The Winners and Losers From 2026’s Mix of Tax and Benefit Cuts
Contemplating the Difficult Labor-Market Conditions for U.S.-Born Men
‘Hectocorns’ Are Just One AI Flashpoint for 2026
Ten Unexpected Things 2026 May Bring
Simulation or Not, Musk’s Surreal Year Could Push Him to $1 Trillion Heights
US Auto Sales Poised to Slip as Middle-Class Buyers Retreat
27 Million Fewer Car Trips: Life After a Year of Congestion Pricing
Zillow’s CEO Is Ready for Another Slow Year in the US Housing Market
Apollo Leads $1.2 Billion Investment in Brad Jacobs’ QXO
Saks in Talks for $1 Billion Bankruptcy Loan to Keep Doors Open
First GLP-1 pill for Obesity from Novo Nordisk Launches in the U.S.
America Is Falling Out of Love With Pizza
Dutch Bros Is Out-Starbucksing Rivals With the Sugariest Drinks
More People Are Lifting Weights. It’s Changing Gym Culture.
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Morning News: January 2, 2026
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on January 2nd, 2026 at 8:15 amThe 14 Global Trends That Will Shape the Climate in 2026
Orsted Files Legal Challenge to Trump’s Wind-Farm Suspension
Trump’s Lasting Damage Will Be the Steady Erosion of Norms
Work, Invest, Inherit: How Americans Can Actually Move to Europe
Britain’s FTSE 100 Hits 10,000 Mark in Strong Start to 2026
The Global Economy Must Adapt to Avoid Tumult This Year
Economists Whiffed Tariffs Precisely Because They Whiffed Inflation
US Treasuries Extend Gains After Posting Best Year Since 2020
Can Kalshi Take On Inflation, Too?
Wall Street Sees Another Banner Year for Markets. Could Anything Stop It?
Here’s (Almost) Everything Wall Street Expects in 2026
China’s Multi-Asset Funds Dominate Top Performers as Tech Soars
3 Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks That Are Screaming Buys in 2026
Rationally Exuberant Markets Will Be Risking AI Mishaps in 2026
Tech Companies Land at Las Vegas Eager to Show AI Transformation
Tech Giants Are Racing to Embed A.I. in Schools Around the Globe
Kara Swisher on the Blind Spot That Broke Big Tech
Bezos, Catz, Dell Cashed Out Billions as Top Insider Sellers of 2025
Threat of California Billionaire Tax Draws Criticism From Ultrawealthy
The Condo Market Hasn’t Been This Bad in Over a Decade
The Year of the $100 Million House
BYD Hits Sales Goal, Set to Topple Tesla as Biggest EV Maker
Tesla Closes Out Brutal Year in Europe With Sales Declines
The Year the Newsletter Business Reached a Fever Pitch
List of Companies Laying Off Employees in January
Ozempic Users Actually Spend More Dining Out. Smart Restaurants Are Adapting
How Kraft Heinz Lost Its Lock on Mac and Cheese—and American Shoppers
The World Cup Is Nike’s to Lose Versus Adidas
Can the Most Indebted Team in Global Soccer Fix Its Finances?
Repeat Moviegoers Help Hollywood Eke Out a Slightly Better 2025
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Morning News: January 1, 2026
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on January 1st, 2026 at 7:08 amSouth Korea’s Exports Stronger Than Expected in December; Set Annual Record in 2025
China Calls EU Carbon Border Tax Unfair, Warns of Counter-Moves
How Japanese Scallops Became a Pawn in Diplomatic Tensions With China
US Sanctions Chinese Companies, Tankers With Venezuela Links
Trump Delays New Tariff Hike on Furniture, Kitchen Cabinets
Trump Abandons National Guard Push in Chicago, LA, Portland
The Year America’s Economic Edge Evaporated
There Is a Way Out of This Mess
Dollar Posts Worst Year Since 2017 With More Fed Cuts Expected
US Stocks Slouch Into Year End With No Sign of Santa Claus Rally
Crypto Soared in 2025 — and then Crashed. Now What?
Year End Sees Record Borrowing from Fed’s Standing Repo Facility
Bridgewater’s Flagship Pure Alpha Surges 33% in 2025, Outperforming Biggest Hedge Fund Peers
These Are the ETFs to Watch in 2026
Warren Buffett Officially Retires as Berkshire Hathway’s CEO
The $358 Billion Question for the New CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Clairvoyance Is Great for Hedge Fund Returns
Mortgage Rates at 2025 Low Give Homebuyers Momentum in New Year
Technology Can Help Us Lead More Moral Lives — If We Let It
The US-EU Rift Over Social Media Rules Will Only Get Wider in 2026
Tesla Sales Outlook Darkens Despite Musk’s Self-Driving Euphoria
The Price Honeybees May Pay for Biofuel
Think 2025 Was a Big Year for Health News? Fasten Your Seat Belts
Hasbro’s Secret Weapon for Training Its Next Leaders: A Board Game
You Can Now Hire Someone to Return All Those Unwanted Gifts
Repeat Moviegoers Help Hollywood Eke Out a Slightly Better 2025
The ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Is the Escapism We Need
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The 2025 Buy List
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 31st, 2025 at 10:14 pmHappy New Year!
The 2025 investing year is on the books!
This was another good year for Wall Street. The market shook off some trade-related jitters from this April to put in another solid performance. We even made several new all-time highs. Once again, the expected recession never arrived. After a long pause, the Federal Reserve resumed cutting interest rates again.
I’m pleased to say that the 2025 Buy List performed well, although we didn’t do as well as the overall market. Much of this can be explained by our conservative approach. In 2025, safe and secure stocks were not the most sought after on Wall Street.
For the year, the S&P 500 gained 16.39%, and with dividends, it was up 17.88%. Our Buy List was up 6.54% for the year, and with dividends, the gain was 7.53%. Most of our underperformance came when the market sharply turned around in April, May and June.
In 2025, the Buy List had a “beta” of 0.7105. That’s unusually low for us. I think this shows us how much risk the rest of the market was absorbing.
For the 20 years of the Buy List, the S&P 500 with dividends is up 706.20%, while our Buy List is up 713.84%.
Here’s a look at our Buy List versus the S&P 500 throughout the year (this doesn’t include dividends).
I always strive to be as transparent as possible when discussing our track record. Here’s a breakdown of how our Buy List performed in 2025. For tracking purposes, I assume the Buy List is a $1 million portfolio and that all 25 stocks are equally weighted at the start of the year.
Amphenol was our biggest winner on the year, with a gain of more than 94%. IES Holdings also did very well, with a gain of over 93%. Cencora gained 50% for us. Fiserv was our biggest loser, with a loss of 67%. FactSet and Miller Industries also had a tough year. Interestingly, in 2024, both Fiserv and Miller gained 54%.
FICO had a very dramatic year in 2025. At one point in May, it lost nearly one-third of its value in one week. Later, the stock popped more than 40% off its August low in just a few weeks.
Note that during the year, Fiserv changed its symbol from FI to FISV.
Here’s the data behind the dividend-adjusted returns. I’ve listed each stock’s beginning price, ending price and dividend-adjusted starting price.
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The 2026 Buy List
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 31st, 2025 at 5:51 pmHere are the 25 stocks for the 2026 Buy List. The list is locked and sealed, and I can’t make any changes for 12 months.
For tracking purposes, I assume the Buy List is a $1 million portfolio that’s equally divided among 25 stocks. Below are all 25 positions with the number of shares for each and the closing price for 2025. Whenever I discuss how the Buy List is doing, the list below is what I’m referring to.
Here are the five new buys with their starting Buy Below prices:
Casey’s General Stores ($600)
Comfort Systems USA ($1,000)
McKesson ($900)
ResMed ($270)
Sprouts Farmers Market ($90)The five sells are:
Fiserv
McGrath RentCorp
Miller Industries
Otis Worldwide
SilganHere are the corporate descriptions of our five new stocks:
Casey’s is a Fortune 500 company operating approximately 2,900 convenience stores. Founded more than 50 years ago, the company has grown to become the third-largest convenience store retailer and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States. Casey’s provides freshly prepared foods, quality foods and friendly service at its locations. Guests can enjoy pizza, donuts, other assorted bakery items, and a wide selection of beverages and snacks.
Comfort Systems USA is a premier provider of business solutions addressing workplace comfort, with 184 locations in 139 cities around the nation.
McKesson Corporation is a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for patients everywhere. Our teams partner with biopharma companies, care providers, pharmacies, manufacturers, governments, and others to deliver insights, products and services to help make quality care more accessible and affordable.
Resmed creates life-changing health technologies that people love. We’re relentlessly committed to pioneering innovative technology to empower millions of people in 140 countries to live happier, healthier lives. Our AI-powered digital health solutions, cloud-connected devices and intelligent software make home healthcare more personalized, accessible and effective. Ultimately, Resmed envisions a world where every person can achieve their full potential through better sleep and breathing, with care delivered in their own home.
True to its farm-stand heritage, Sprouts offers a unique grocery experience featuring an open layout with fresh produce at the heart of the store. Sprouts inspires wellness naturally with a carefully curated assortment of better-for-you products paired with purpose-driven people. The healthy grocer continues to bring the latest in wholesome, innovative products made with lifestyle-friendly ingredients such as organic, plant-based and gluten-free. Headquartered in Phoenix, and one of the largest and fastest growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural and organic food in the United States, Sprouts employs approximately 35,000 team members and operates more than 450 stores in 24 states nationwide.
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Every Buy List Stock
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 31st, 2025 at 9:22 amHere are all 117 Buy List stocks and when they made the cut.
Eddy Elfenbein is a Washington, DC-based speaker, portfolio manager and editor of the blog Crossing Wall Street. His