1. Salesforce
2. Tesla
3. Silvergate

1. Futures point up this AM for the first time in what seems like a while.
2. Markets fell yesterday with the Dow down .70%, the Nasdaq down .10%, and the S&P 500 down .30%.
3. The 10 year yield is right around 3.91% and the 1 year is around 5.03%.
4. GM announced it is cutting jobs to try and become more profitable.
5. Rivian reported that it lost $4.3 billion last year.
6. President Biden says he intends to raise taxes in his next budget proposal.
7. The student loan relief effort is in front of the Supreme Court.
8. Goldman was down nearly 4% yesterday.
9. HP saw sales drop nearly 19% in the last quarter.
10. And more!

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Google/Alphabet
4. Amazon
5. Berkshire Hathaway
6. Tesla
7. Nvidia

1. There is a lot of volatility in individual stocks.
2. Domino’s Pizza fell 12% yesterday on lowering demand for pizza delivery.
3. Wayfair dropped 23% as they reported a huge loss of customers.
4. Nvidia rose 14% yesterday.
5. Beyond Meats rose 13%.
6. Warner Bros, Discovery dropped 5% on the reporting of a large revenue loss.
7. Stock indexes are falling sharply today after a core inflation report came in higher than expected.
8. GDP was revised down slightly for the 4th quarter.
9. See Fed rate policy is shaking up world of debt” – WSJ.
10. The consequences of higher interest policy are starting to be seen throughout the economy. The Fed can’t reduce inflation alone unless it drastically raises rates. This is a sub optimal solution.
11. And more!

1. Futures point up today after an awful last week in the markets. Yesterday, the Dow and S&P 500 were down but the Nasdaq registered a small gain.
2. Nvidia reported good results for the first quarter even though the rest of the chip industry seemed to report awful results.
3. Read “Bond king Jeff Gundlach- Here comes the hard economic landing” – Brian Sozzi at Yahoo Finance.
4. The Fed faces a daunting task in fighting inflation and using rate hikes to fight them. The borrowing costs can be crushing, and the Fed is fighting the US government which keeps spending more than it brings in and thus also adds to inflation.
5. Jobless claims came in low this week at 192,000. This means the labor market remains tight and the Fed may stay aggressive.
6. As the West backs Ukraine and China back Russia, this has the potential to escalate if world leaders can’t find a way to engage here with Ukraine and Russia.
7. And more!

1. The markets point down today after the S&P and the Nasdaq were also down Friday.
2. The markets remain up year to date. The Nasdaq is up nearly 13.5%, the Dow a little more than 2% and the S&P 500 6.67%.
3. The 10 year treasury yield is close to 3.9%, its highest in some time. The 1 year is at 5.04%.
4. Bitcoin is up 50% year to date and nearing $25,000.
5. Office buildings start to default on bank loans.
6. Another article in the WSJ points to a newer type of corporate financial virtue signaling. Companies announce layoffs to please the markets but really cut very few jobs. See ” Big Layoff News Doesn’t Always Mean Big Job Cuts”.
7. Two types of Treasury default risk. Short term investors are concerned about the US debt limit. Long term they are concerned about the overall debt the US is taking on.

1. The economy is hotter than expected and could lead the Fed to more aggressive action.
2. Late auto payments expose consumer credit issues.

1. 2 stories point to a hotter economy than expected and concerns that this will drive the Fed towards more aggressive action.
2. Venture funding hits its lowest point in 9 years. The 4th quarter saw $20.6 billion in VC fundraising. VC is generally considered higher risk higher return than PE.
3. Late auto payments expose consumer credit issues. The WSJ notes the worst numbers in nearly 15 years.
4. And more!

1. It reflects a return to the concept that the firm who controls the doctors can control healthcare or win in healthcare.
2. There is a growing and massive shortage of doctors.
3. The goal to control doctors or own doctors started two to three decades ago with hospitals and practice management companies.
4. The core concept of control has accelerated on all fronts the last decade.
5. Most noticeably with the huge payors Optum and CVS, and the massive private equity funds trying to gobble up doctors.
6. Walgreens and Amazon, like in the old days with slower hospitals to the game, now see the need to hire and partner with more doctors. Ie some hospitals had to play catch up here. Walgreens is now playing catch-up.
7. Unlike printing money it’s takes years to develop doctors.

1. The big news yesterday was the markets dropping significantly on signs of continued inflation and in turn the perception the Fed will stay aggressive in raising rates.
2. The Nasdaq dropped 1.8%, the Dow 1.3%, and the S&P 500 1.4%.
3. The labor market remains tight. Thank goodness given the extent of debt consumers are taking on.
4. Consumer spending remains strong but it’s being propelled by consumer debt.
5. Futures point down today.
6. DocuSign announces layoffs.
7. Lenovo sees sales drop nearly 25% as personal computer sales slow.
8. DoorDash sales rose greatly last year and last quarter as a whole generation of Americans becomes lazier and relies more on delivery.

1. The major indexes closed slightly higher yesterday. The Dow rose .1%, the S&P 500 .3%, and the Nasdaq up .9%.
2. Futures point slightly down to mixed early this AM.
3. Treasury yields have jumped the last few days. The 1 year is above 5%, the 10 year rose to 3.81% and 2 year rose to 4.59%.
4. Airbnb jumped 13% yesterday.
5. Chip maker TSMC fell 5% on news that Berkshire/Buffett sold a good deal of shares in the firm.
6. Oil is close to $79 a barrel.
7. Bitcoin jumped more than 10% yesterday to $24,600.
8. Roku had a much better quarter than expected and its shares jumped 11% after hours.

1. Walmart – $600 billion
2. Amazon – $513 billion
3. ExxonMobil – $398 billion
4. Apple – $387 billion
5. UnitedHealth Group – $322 billion
6. CVS Health – $315 billion
7. Alphabet Inc. Google – $282 billion

1. Apple – $2,43 trillion
2. Microsoft – $2 trillion
3. Google – $1.21 trillion
4. Amazon – $1 trillion
5. Berkshire Hathaway – $693 billion
6. Tesla – $615 billion
7. NVIDIA – $542 billion

1. Amazon is searching for direction. While on one hand it has been cutting brick and mortar stores the last 2 plus years, it’s CEO says it still plans to “go big” on grocery stores.
2. Another analyst advises it should more fully aggressively focus on its strengths: Ecommerce, AWS, and, I assume, streaming along with prime.
3. Amazon is down 35% over the last year, but up 18% YTD.
4. Its PE ratio is currently 99.54.
5. Amazon is the 4th largest firm by market cap and 2nd by revenues. It’s annual revenues now approach

1. The markets jumped yesterday on hopes that today’s inflation report would show slower increases in inflation.
2. The Nasdaq was up 1.5% yesterday, the S&P 500 up 1.2%, and the Dow up 1.1%.
3. Stocks fell last week as the Fed indicated there is more work to do to cut inflation.
4. Futures are slightly up this AM.
5. Ford announced it is cutting 3,800 jobs in Europe.
6. Twilio announces it is cutting 17% of its work force.
7. Amazon is searching for direction.
8. The Cannabis ETF is down 62.48% over the last year.
9. The 10 year treasury yield is at 3.71%. The 1 year at 4.93%.
10. Bitcoin is at $21,700, down 49% over the last year.
11. Oil is at $79 a barrel.
12. And more!

1. Trends in venture capital investing last year and this year.
2. What areas the panelists are excited about and see the most interest in.
3. What areas the panelists are not interested in or see little interest in.
4. What is most interesting to the panelists currently.

Panelists include:

Robert Groves, Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer at Banner|Aetna
Dave Davies, Principal at EY-Parthenon
Trishul Kapoor, Serial Founder | Investor | Faculty at University of Michigan
Matt Wolf, Health Care Senior Analyst and National Health Care Business Valuation Leader at RSM US LLP

Moderated by Scott Becker, Partner at McGuireWoods, Publisher at Becker’s Healthcare, Board Member & Author

1. The markets fell again yesterday. The Nasdaq down 1.02%, the S&P 500 down .88%, and the Dow down .73%.
2. The markets point down again today.
3. Oil up to nearly $80 a barrel, Bitcoin down below $22,000, and the 1 year treasury right around 4.89%.

1. Chipotle reported great overall results but missed estimates and the stock fell 6% pre-market.
2. Income up 68% YOY in 4th quarter to $223.7 million.
3. Revenues up 11%, earnings per share missed estimates.
4. Chipotle Mexican Grill Higher prices, same store sales up 5.6% and higher labor costs.

1. Zoom to lay off 1,300, 15% of workforce.
2. Zoom Overall a very profitable company.
3. It’s next earnings call is Feb 27th.
4. Stock jumped nearly 10% on news of cutting head count.
5. It’s stock is down nearly 40% over the last year.

And more!

1. Markets climbed yesterday after remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
2. Futures point down this AM.
3. eBay laying off 500.
4. Zoom to lay off 1,300, 15% of workforce.
5. Chipotle reported great overall results but missed estimates and the stock fell 6% pre-market
6. Biden takes aim at share buybacks, an economic policy that makes little economic sense.
7. One theme of today’s podcast is recovery, rest and sharpening the saw and its need whether in business, sports, or life.
8. Microsoft is like Apollo Creed and back at it to fight Google in the search engine game.
9. Bed Bath & Beyond drops 48% yesterday.
10. Bitcoin stable at $23,165.
11. The 10 year rises to 3.67%, the 1 year to 4.89%.
12. Oil at $78 a barrel.

And more!

1. Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures point slightly up this am. Dow futures point slightly down.

2. The markets fell again yesterday. The Nasdaq down 1% and the S&P 500 down .61%.

3. Boeing to cut 2000 white collar jobs. Reuters.

4. Dell to cut 6600 jobs, approximately 5% of its workforce.

5. CVS close to buying Oak Street Health for $10.5 billion. CVS-Aetna the 5th or 6th largest firm in the US by revenues at $313 billion plus.

6. Bed Bath and Beyond stock jumped 92% yesterday and then fell nearly 25% in pre market trading.

-And more!

1. Sales declined 5% in the 1st quarter of 2023 to $117 billion from $124 billion.
2. Profits fell to $30 billion from $34.6 billion.
3. The biggest categories of revenues are iPhone – 56.1%, Services – 17.7% and Wearables – 11.59%. iPads are next.
4. Apple stock rose Friday on a solid profits picture. The stock is down nearly 11% over the last year.

1. Net loss 2022 of $2.7 billion compared to profit of $33.4 billion in 2021.
2. Cut 67,000 jobs in 2022.
3. Stock fell 49% in 2022 and 8.43% Friday.
4. Net sales grew 9% and AWS sales grew nearly 20%.

1. The markets point down today after a tough day Friday.
2. The markets are falling based on a mix of good news.
3. Amazon- 4 Quick Notes.
4. Apple – 4 Quick Notes.
5. Elon Musk says he has essentially saved Twitter from bankruptcy.
6. Tesla is up nearly 75% YTD.
7. Webinar Feb 8^th at 1pm CST – “The Venture Capital Outlook For Health Care 2023”.

1. AMD profits were down 98% this quarter.
2. The markets were up yesterday but are slightly down this am.
3. Oil at $80, Bitcoin at $23,111, the 10 year treasury yield is at 3.47%, and the 1 year at 4.678%.
4. Snapchat warns of problems, stock drops 12%.
5. GM knocks it out of the park.

1. Markets look to fall this am after a great start to the year and after markets rose Friday.
2. BuzzFeed rose 85% Friday and is up 460% YTD.
3. Oil is steady at $80 a barrel.
4. Bitcoin is up 40% over the last month.
5. The Nasdaq is up nearly 12% YTD.
6. The markets largely expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points at their coming meeting.
7. Tesla is up 44.42% YTD.
8. Microsoft is up 3.48% YTD.
9. Amazon and Meta are each up nearly 22% YTD.
10. And more!

1. Futures point down today after an outstanding day in the markets yesterday.
2. Tesla’s stock rose 10 percent yesterday.
3. Intel’s stock fell 5 percent after missing estimates.
4. GDP rose 2.9% in the fourth quarter. A welcome sign that the Fed can fight inflation without killing growth.
5. Buzzfeed rose 150% on news that it would move some of its writing and content to AI driven writing.
6. Listen to our podcast today on how key great partners and team mates are to business. And how bad colleagues can be a cancer to organizations.
7. Excited to see the Becker’s Healthcare podcast reach nine million downloads this month. God bless Jessica Cole every day.
8. Seeking part time sales help for our non business line Becker Business Minute Podcast & Becker Private Equity PodcastListen today to four business minute podcasts on subjects such as
9. Things are heating up already between Salesforce and Elliot Management. This may be the least surprising headline this am.
10. We are planning a webinar on key thoughts on investing 2023. Can’t wait. It will be a chapter from our latest book.

1. Tesla had a Record Q4.
2. Tesla had $24.3 billion in revenue.
3. Tesla recorded $3.7 billion in profit.
4. Overall, the stock jumped roughly 5% overnight.
5. Panic over stock seems to be subsiding.

1. Tesla reported record profit in Q4.
2. IBM announced that it is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs.
3. SAP also announced significant layoffs.
4. Meta/Facebook which has seen less excitement and growth in their platform, reinstated President Trump’s Facebook accounts.
5. Further in the Elon Musk watch, it’s being reported that he is raising equity to pay down some of the debt taken on to finance the Twitter acquisition.
6. Microsoft is both investing heavily in ChatGPT and is reporting huge growth in its cyber security business which has grown to a $20 billion a year business.
7. One good rule of thumb is don’t underestimate the engine that is Microsoft, or for that matter Apple.
8. The 10 largest US firms by market cap
9. The top 6 by revenues
10. The markets finished flat yesterday after being down much of the day.
11. Futures point up this morning.
12. The 10 year treasury yield fell to 3.46%.
13. Bitcoin rose to close to $23,000.
14. Oil remains right around $81 a barrel.
15. The 1 year treasury yield remains right at 4.67%.

1. Futures point down this AM on increased concerns of recession and softening corporate earnings.
2. The Biden Administration targets Google, non-competes, and other aspects of big business. Lots of uncertainty currently regarding the FTC non-compete proposal.
3. Microsoft met its earnings forecast but barely missed its revenue forecast.
4. Great call yesterday with the Becker’s Healthcare CEO advisory board.
5. Incredible to visit with Salvatore Buscemi on the investment choices and perspectives of the super wealthy on the Becker Business Minute Podcast & Becker Private Equity Podcast.
6. “Tesla poised for record earnings, amid Wall Street unease” – WSJ.
7. While the job markets remain solid, there are signs of layoffs creeping into non tech areas.
8. Excited to see real estate mogul and investor Marc Blum in top form this week in multiple endeavors.
9. Thrilled to double down on growth in the Becker Business Minute Podcast & Becker Private Equity Podcast.
10. The Becker business shout out of the day today goes to Satya Nadella the CEO of Microsoft who does an incredible job of leading Microsoft through thick and thin and in complicated times. Amazing to watch.

And more!

1. The markets jumped Friday on news that it looks like the Fed will slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
2. Year to date the Nasdaq is up 7.25% and the S&P 500 is up nearly 4%. The Dow is up 72%.
3. Futures are flat this AM.
4. The 1 year treasury is close to 4.67%, the 2 year has fallen to close 4.17%, and the 10 year opens around 3,48%.
5. Tesla is up nearly 24% so far this year.
6. Elliot Management has taken a multi-billion-dollar stake in Salesforce.
7. Bitcoin has jumped to near $23,000 up nearly 35% year to date.
8. New Avatar film hits near record box office haul.

And more!

1. CEO of Google announces job cuts of 12,000 people, 6% of its workforce.
2. Reid Hastings the noted founder of Netflix is moving to the role of Executive Chairman from Co-Ceo.
3. Jamie Dimon the well-regarded CEO of JP Morgan made $34 million last year.

1. The markets fell again yesterday.
2. Futures are flat this AM.
3. New jobless claims came in low at 190,000.
4. Google announced job cuts of 12,000 people, 6% of its workforce.
5. Progressive lawmakers in blue states are pushing in a coordinated way to raises taxes on the wealthy.
6. Jamie Dimon the well-regarded CEO of JP Morgan made $34 million last year.
7. Reid Hastings the noted founder of Netflix is moving to the role of Executive Chairman from Co-Ceo.
8. Crypto lender Genesis files for bankruptcy.
9. Bank profits were largely up year over year this past quarter, but investment bank profits were way down.

And more!

1. The markets were mixed yesterday with the Nasdaq slightly up and the S&P 500 and Dow slightly down.
2. Futures point up early this AM.
3. Bitcoin continues to rise as its back at $21,000.
4. Oil is rising again and is up to $82 a barrel.
5. Cannabis is recovering from an awful fourth quarter and last year.
6. The 10 year opens flat at 3.53%.
7. The 1 year treasury has dipped to 4.67%.
8. Goldman Sachs stock dropped nearly 7% yesterday as it missed Q4 earnings forecasts.
9. Party City files for bankruptcy.

And more!

1. The markets are closed today in honor of legendary civil rights leader and advocate Martin Luther King and MLK day. In healthcare today’s shout out of the day goes to the remarkable Michellene Davis, Esq., who leads National Medical Fellowships and who is a fierce advocate for health equity.
2. The markets had a great day Friday and for the week last week.
3. Increasingly different perspectives on the national debt debt in DC. Janet Yellen says raise the debt ceiling. Kevin McCarthy says cap government spending. Barron’s writes “Too much government debt could become a big problem for the stock market”. And the nation.
4. “Electric Vehicles Made Up 10% of All New Cars Sold Last Year” – WSJ.
5. BlackRock vs Goldman spar over the 60/40 portfolio.
6. As a segue from 5, 3 core types of portfolios
   1. Growth- 70 to 100% Equities. 0 to 30 percent bonds.
   2. 70 to 100% bonds. 0 to 30% equities.
   3. 30 to 70% equities. 70 to 30% bonds.

And more!

The webinar featured:

Rick Kes, Health Care Partner at RSM US LLP

Hector M. Torres, Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking at DC Advisory

Moderated by Scott Becker, Partner at McGuireWoods, Publisher at Beckers Healthcare, Board Member, Author

1. Stay the course
2. Make changes
3. Double down
4. Abandon

1. Futures point down today after several great days in the market.
2. Porsche had a record year.
3. The CPI was down to 6.5% and provided a boost to the market. Core inflation down further.
4. Oil at nearly $80. Bitcoin near $19,000. The ten year near 3.44. Cannabis stocks still struggling overall.

And more!

1. Inflation still at 6.5 percent but not red hot as it was.
2. Bob Iger under fire already from activist investors at Disney.
3. Tesla is up 446 percent over the last 5 years and down 65 percent over the last 52 weeks
4. Thrilled to have Mark Cuban Martha Stewart Larry Bird and Magic Johnson speaking at the Becker’s Healthcare Annual Meeting in April.
5. So thankful to see the Becker’s Healthcare podcast in the top 15 to 20 business news podcasts.
6. The car shortage is being alleviated as chipmakers catch up to cars.
7. Home sales are way down.
8. Thrilled to see explosive growth in the newly launched Becker Business Minute and Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast.

1. A huge explosion in HC VC in 2020 and 2021. Both fundraising and investing.

2. A significant slowdown in 2022 particularly the 2nd half of 2022.

3. There are lots of funds that do a huge number of smaller investments. Funds like Rock Health, Arch Venture Partners, New Enterprise, 7Wire Ventures, Martin Ventures, Flare Capital, Costonoa and Khosla for example.

4. There are also mega funds that tend to make much larger investments per deal. For example, funds like Sequoia, A16Z (Andreessen Horowitz) General Catalyst, Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins, Norwest and more. Remiss to not mention rock star investment firms Frist Cressey and Thoma Bravo. Amazing what Bill Frist has accomplished. Bill Frist, M.D.

5. There are an increasing number of partnerships between VC funds and health systems and payors. General Catalyst has really made great advances here. See also “Venture Capital firms are partnering with healthcare organizations to improve digital health” Forbes Sai Balasubramanian, M.D., J.D.

6. There are also an increasing number of systems that have funded and self manage or outsource their only venture efforts. For example, Advocate Aurora Enterprises led by Scott Powder

Providence Ventures formerly led by Aaron Martin and a ton more. Kaiser Ventures et Al.

7. Earlier Series A rounds (and seed rounds) tend to be much smaller than larger rounds.

8. VC investing generally is more binary than PE investing. Pre Ebitda vs Post Ebitda investing. VC studies show that an overwhelming majority of profits come from 10 to 20% of investing and more than 50% of investments barely return the invested capital. Generally the earlier stage the higher risk.

9. Healthcare venture can include several different sectors- digital health, provider health, biotech, pharma, diagnostics and devices.

10. See Modern Healthcare opinion piece by Eric Epstein and Douglas French “Healthcare Venture Capital Potentially Peaked-Now What”.

11. See also WSJ ” Digital Health Venture Funding Pulls Back From Last year”.

12. Also see Kaiser Health News “Mission and money clash in non profit hospitals’ venture capital ambitions.” Kaiser Health News.

1. The markets were fairly flat yesterday.
2. Futures point down this AM.
3. Tesla for the first time in a while rose nearly 6% yesterday.
4. Lululemon dropped 9+ percent yesterday.
5. Taiwan Semiconductor is expecting to post large Q4 profits defying the rest of the chip industry.
6. CVS is rumored to be buying Oak Street Health.
7. Banks are expecting solid but lower year over year profits.
8. Bed Bath stock jumped 24% as it approaches bankruptcy filing.

and more!

1. The markets surged Friday.
2. Futures point up this AM.
3. The 10 year treasury yield has dropped nearly 30 basis points since the start of the year. It opens near 3.56%.
4. The 1 year treasury is fairly flat at around 4.72%.
5. Bitcoin has risen above $17,250.
6. Oil is steady at around $76 a barrel. It’s expected to rise on the prospect of a rebound in demand from China.
7. Lululemon is seeing their margins become slimmer despite raising prices very aggressively. It’s stock is down more than 10% in pre-market pricing. They have been so arrogant in how they discuss price increases that some will welcome them facing some challenges.
8. Rolls-Royce hit sales records in 2022. See Reuters. The average price is $534,000. It sold 6,021 cars in 2022. Around 2,100 cars were sold in the United States.
9. And more!

1. Using your time correctly
2. How much debt to hold
3. Musk and Inflation
4. Asset allocation for amateurs
5. Allocating your investments

1. Tesla down 60%
2. Space X doing well.
3. Twitter a debacle. 
4. Political comments raising eyebrows on both sides of the fence.

1. New jobs in private payrolls much slower in November than expected
2. Eurozone inflation showed signs of easing. This is a key and welcome sign. It may help lead the US and ECB to slow their raising of rates.

1. Markets relatively flat this yesterday. The S&P 500 was down .16% and the Nasdaq .59% yesterday. The Dow was flat.
2. Crude rose back to $80.
3. Bitcoin is holding its own at $16500 as the exchanges blow up around it. Fascinating to watch for the long run.
4. The 1 year treasury yield jumped to 4.85%. It’s right near its 52 week high. The 10 year remains at 3.749%. The jump in the 1 year may be pricing in the next raise in the Fed Funds rate. The Fed meets Dec 13-14.

1. The markets ended essentially flat on Friday.
2. Futures point down this morning.
3. The major indexes are down YTD.
4. Bitcoin is down 64.5% YTD.
5. Excited to launch the Becker Business Minute podcast this week- concise business and market updates.
6. 6 largest companies by revenues their stock price performance YTD.
7. Disney, Netflix and Target Stock Price YTD.

And more!

1. Market indexes fell yesterday with the Nasdaq down 1.09%, the S&P 500 down .39% and the Dow down .13%.
2. Market futures are turning upward this morning.
3. The 10 year treasury rose yesterday by a few basis points and will open this am around 3.825%.
4. The 1 year treasury moved slightly higher and opens today around 4.79%.
5. Bitcoin has dropped further to open at close to $15,800.
6. Oil remains near $81 a barrel as China remains slower due to Covid.

And more!