No opposable thumbs required to open these presents: animals at the Berlin Zoo had a treemendously satisfying holiday after zookeepers let elephants and other creatures snack on unsold Christmas trees.
The major US indexes sagged last week, but a Friday surge chipped away at losses. Booze sellers saw share prices slip after the US surgeon general said alcoholic drinks should have warning labels about cancer risks.
47K East Coast dockworkers could soon strike, reigniting shipping disruptions
New year, same strike… East and Gulf Coast ports aren’t leaving their problems in 2024. As soon as next week, 47K unionized dockworkers could run it back on their three-day strike from October. That work stoppage, the first of its kind in nearly a half century, was suspended after the union and port employers reached a tentative wage-hike deal (62% over six years). But they kicked the can on the issue of automation. The temporary truce’s end date is fast approaching, and talks between the two sides are set to resume tomorrow.
Heavy cargo: If a deal isn’t reached, an estimated $5B/day strike could start as early as January 16, shutting down ports that account for 60% of US shipping traffic. Last week, Danish shipping juggernaut Maersk told customers that negotiations hadn’t advanced.
Automation agitation: The union wants a contract that guarantees employers won’t introduce automation or semi-automation at ports.
Delivery date: President-elect Trump’s inauguration is set for four days after the strike could begin. Last month, Trump voiced support for the union and said shipping companies should invest in wages over machinery.
Replacement anxiety… Dockworkers, animators, culinary workers, and video-game motion-capture performers have something in common: they’ve all recently sought protection from having their jobs automated away. Automation and AI have been a labor sticking point and the reason behind stoppages like the ongoing SAG video-game strike. 75% of Americans think AI will reduce the # of US jobs, and last year the tech played a role in layoffs at companies including UPS and Intuit. 61% of large US companies plan this year to use AI to automate tasks once done by humans.
Automation isn’t a miracle drug… Investments in automation may not always come with big returns. Recent studies have found that port automation lowers some costs (including payroll) but doesn’t significantly improve performance. At one SoCal port, shipping execs said a partially automated terminal and a nonautomated terminal were roughly equal in productivity.
US’s top egg producer, is set to report tomorrow following a year that saw egg prices fry up 38%. Consumers are crackin’ away: Cal-Maine broke its record in the previously reported quarter for dozens sold. That’s despite cartons costing an average of nearly $4 in September as egg sellers hiked prices on limited supply. And though bird flu has led farms to cull millions of hens (6M last month), America’s jumbo egg companies aren’t scrambling. In addition to profiting off higher prices, egg cos receive gov’t payouts of 75% of the value of birds lost to disease.
Green clouds… could be rollin’ in. The CEO of Tilray, which reports Friday, expects friendlier regulatory skies for cannabis under the incoming Trump admin. For now, Tilray sells its cannabis products in countries including Canada as it awaits federal legalization in the US. In the meantime, a growing chunk of its gross margin (41% in the past reported quarter, 1% more than cannabis) comes from its portfolio of craft-alcohol brands like Montauk Brewing Co. Tilray plans to use the beverage-distribution network it’s built in the US to sell cannabis, if and when it’s legalized.
President Biden said he’d block Nippon Steel’s nearly $15B proposed purchase of US Steel. Biden called out national-security concerns, arguing that one of the US’s largest steel manufacturers shouldn’t be under foreign control. FYI: Nippon had tried to placate Biden with a pledge that it wouldn’t reduce steel production at many US plants for a decade. Though traders mostly expected the decision, shares of the Pittsburgh biz still fell 9.5% premarket on Friday. Nippon is said to have planned to challenge any rejection in court.
Spendvidia… Nvidia reportedly invested $1B in artificial intelligence deals in 2024. The AI chipmaker had a banner year — hitting a $3T+ valuation — as the genAI frenzy drove customers to stockpile its GPUs. Now, with whispers that the rate of AI-vancement might be cooling, Nvidia looks to be breathing life into some potential and current customers and outright purchasing others. But while the investments could help keep the AI industry’s shopping spree going, they could come with some regulatory risk (think: competition issues).
Netflix scored its most-watched Christmas Day ever, with an average 26.5M viewers streaming its two live NFL matchups.
Apple will pay a $95M settlement after a proposed class-action lawsuit accused the Fruit of recording private convos and sharing them with advertisers.
A US appeals court ended the FCC’s yearslong battle to establish net neutrality as a federal policy.
