mtf.tv's mtf NOW: Dow tanks... SCOTUS sets TikTok date... Fed cuts rate... Nolan's 'Interstellar' comes to life...
MARKETS PLUMMET: WORST DOW LOSING STREAK SINCE 1974. Wall Street suffered a historic setback Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average marked its 10th consecutive losing day—the longest streak since 1974.
Dow’s Dive: The Dow fell 1,123 points (2.6%) to 42,326.87, its second 1,000-point loss this year and worst losing streak since an 11-day slide in 1974.
Broader Market Pain: The S&P 500 sank 2.95% to 5,872.16, while the Nasdaq dropped 3.56% to 19,392.69, with losses intensifying into the close.
Fed Fallout: The Federal Reserve cut rates to 4.25%-4.5% but hinted at only two cuts in 2025, down from the four expected, spooking investors.
Caution Ahead: Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on a “more cautious” approach to future rate changes added to fears of extended monetary tightening.
More Fed fallout soon… keep reading…
SUPREME COURT TAKES ON TIKTOK BAN: WHAT’S NEXT? Mark your calendar: On January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear ByteDance’s appeal against a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the platform is sold to an American company.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, slated to take effect January 19, has sparked heated debates over national security and free speech.
WHY YOU CARE:
High Stakes Showdown: ByteDance faces a January 10 Supreme Court hearing just days before the law takes effect.
Security vs. Free Speech: Proponents say TikTok poses a national security risk, while critics, including the ACLU, argue it infringes on free speech rights.
Political Context: Passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Biden, the law reflects ongoing tensions over Chinese tech influence.
Sources: Engadget… WSJ… Vox… NPR…
WHAT CONSERVATIVES ARE READING —> Trump should make TikTok America, via National Review:
Trump has said he wants to save the app. The way for him to do that — the only defensible way — is to facilitate a sale to one of multiple potential buyers, including Steve Mnuchin and Activision’s Bobby Kotick.
FLASHBACK —> Exclusive: ByteDance plans new AI model trained with Huawei chips, sources say, via Reuters.
The kids will be fine without TikTok…
hello, future. it’s me, kev.
…and this is a dispatch from the digital frontier. Your one-stop shop for markets, tech, and the future. The day is 352. The year is 2024. The planet is Earth. My name is Kevin Cirilli —> LinkedIn.
Back to the future...
FUTURES
SIGN OF THE TIMES: LUXURY BRANDS WILL ACCEPT BITCOIN. PARIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Bitcoin’s soaring value has caught the attention of high-end fashion brands and retailers, prompting further interest in offering cryptocurrencies as a means of payment to tap in to fresh pockets of wealth and build loyalty with crypto investors.
FED RATE CUTS SLOW AS INFLATION LINGERS: The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point — its third cut this year — but signaled a slower path ahead for 2025.
Fewer Cuts Ahead: The Fed now projects just two rate cuts in 2025, down from September’s estimate of four, as inflation remains stubbornly elevated.
Higher for Longer: Benchmark rates stand at 4.3% after Wednesday's move, meaning mortgage, auto loan, and credit card rates may remain elevated well into next year.
Approaching Neutral: Policymakers suggest they are nearing the “neutral” rate — a level that neither boosts nor restrains the economy.
Sources: WSJ… AP Business… Bloomberg…
TALKIN’ SMACK: Nvidia Says It Could Build a Cloud Business Rivaling AWS. Is That Possible?, via The Information.
NOTABLE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: Superpower showdown: how US-China economic warfare could play out under Trump.
NOTABLE: FINANCIAL TIMES: Microsoft acquires twice as many Nvidia AI chips as tech rivals.
OLD SCHOOL? Phone a friend. NEW SCHOOL? Phone a robot!
DIALING INTO THE FUTURE: CALL 1-800-CHATGPT. OpenAI just gave ChatGPT a hotline! Call 1-800-CHATGPT or hit it up on WhatsApp for an easy, low-cost way to chat with the viral AI. The first 15 minutes per month are free—just enough time to ask it life’s big questions (or what’s for dinner). Call now! Operators (well, bots) are standing by. Source: CNBC.
We’re more old school… we just talk to ourselves…
FOX BUSINESS: Retail theft surges 93% since before COVID-19 pandemic. Fox Business Network: “The average number of shoplifting incidents jumped 93% in 2023 compared with pre-pandemic times and monetary losses for retailers have risen 90%, according to the nation's largest retail trade group.”
FLASHBACK: "The combination of what's happened in the physical world and how much improvement we've made to our pharmacy experience is driving a lot of customers.” — Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, August 2024.
STUCK IN SPACE: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, stranded on the ISS for over six months since their June mission, will now return to Earth no earlier than late March aboard a SpaceX capsule.
—> FLASHBACK: Originally launched on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for an eight-day mission, technical failures left them waiting in orbit, raising questions about Starliner’s future and Boeing’s role in space exploration.
Source: WSJ.
‘INTERSTELLAR’ RE-RELEASE SETS IMAX BOX OFFICE RECORDS: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (Kev’s all-time favorite movie) is defying gravity again. The sci-fi epic’s 10-year anniversary IMAX re-release has become the highest-grossing IMAX re-release of all time, pulling in $17.4 million this year alone. Source: Collider.
Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ science is proving more true each day…
Keep reading…
INTERSTELLAR HIGHWAYS: ARE WE LIVING IN A COSMIC TUNNEL? New research hints that our solar system might be cruising along a plasma highway—a network of hot, low-density channels stretching toward distant stars like Centaurus and Canis Major. Think the movie Interstellar — but with real-world science unraveling our cosmic connections.
WHY YOU CARE:
GALACTIC SHORTCUTS: These tunnels might reveal how interstellar material flows and powers star formation.
NEW COSMIC MAP: Data suggests a sprawling network of plasma highways connecting distant star systems.
NEIGHBORHOOD REDEFINED: If true, this changes how we think about our place in the galaxy—and our ties to the stars.
Even if humans can’t get there… yet… what if our technology can? And what might our technology find? The discovery sparks big questions about our pale blue dot. Source: Max Planck Institute… Astronomy & Astrophysics… Earth.com.
With gratitude,
Kev
ABOUT mtf.tv’s meet the future: mtf.tv’s meet the future is a cutting-edge platform focused on addressing key challenges at the intersection of national security, technology, and business. With a mission to embrace freedom to meet the future’s challenges and opportunities, mtf.tv offers forward-thinking media offerings and forums.
That plasma tunnel stuff is freaky. Really brings you face to face with your own mortality. Another great edition, Kev🙌