The Weekend Rip
Happy Weekend

The market transitioned from a "Santa Crawl" into a geopolitical explosion as the year-end precious metals frenzy and AI consolidation wave were eclipsed by a massive U.S. military strike in Venezuela. While the week started with silver volatility and Warren Buffett’s historic retirement, it ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro and a U.S. vow to safeguard the world’s largest oil reserves.

Let's recap and prep you for the week ahead. 📝

Monday 🥈: The final week of 2025 kicked off with a massive hangover in the metals market as Silver pulled back 9% from its weekend high of $84, triggering a "margin requirement" frenzy and a $25K-per-contract hurdle for futures traders. Intel secured a $5 billion lifeline from Nvidia in a strategic equity deal, while SoftBank dropped $4 billion to acquire DigitalBridge and secure the physical data centers needed for its "Artificial Super Intelligence" roadmap. Tesla faced a 2% slide after a major South Korean supplier slashed a Cybertruck battery contract by 99%, proving that even Musk’s "origami-shaped" dreams aren't immune to end-of-year production reality.

Tuesday 🐌 : The market slowed to a "Santa Crawl" on Tuesday as major indexes dipped slightly on a fifth of average trading volume, even as the year-end rally remained barely in the green. Silver futures stole the show with an 11% jump — their biggest one-day gain since 2009 — while Meta and SoftBank fueled a year-end AI consolidation wave by dropping a combined $42 billion on agentic AI and OpenAI data centers. Meanwhile, Tesla shares slumped after production estimates revealed an 8% annual drop in car-making, proving that even a "retail trader era" can't hide the sting of falling delivery numbers and a cooling EV market.

Wednesday 📒: The market drifted through the final days of 2025 as precious metals like Silver and Platinum took the crown as the year’s top performers, leaving small-caps and the U.S. Dollar in the dust. The "Oracle of Omaha" officially passed the torch, with Warren Buffett retiring as Berkshire CEO after 60 years to leave Greg Abel in charge of a record $382 billion cash pile. While Wall Street prepped for an AI-led 2026, retail investors spent the low-volume session debating whether Buffett’s massive cash hoarding is a prudent safety net or a final, ominous warning for the new year.

🐂 On Thursday, the markets were closed for New Year’s Day.

Friday 🤖 : The first trading day of 2026 kicked off with an "AI Hope Economy" rally as ASML and Micron surged following a massive double upgrade from Aletheia Capital. Baidu soared on plans to spin off its $20 billion AI chip unit, while crypto treasury stocks finally caught a relief bid despite Tom Lee’s bold proposal to increase authorized shares by 100x. Meanwhile, Tesla officially lost its title as the world’s largest EV maker, and the UK’s FTSE 100 hit 10,000 for the first time in history.

Friday night, the United States staged a military operation in Venezuela, bombing multiple military targets to capture President Nicolas Maduro. The operation took just minutes, with hundreds of aircraft and Delta Force operatives on the ground. The bombing killed upwards of 40 people, according to reports from the NYT, as special forces shepherded Maduro and his wife to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima aircraft carrier waiting in the Gulf. Maduro was then moved to New York City on Saturday night ET, where he will stand trial for charges of narco-terrorism, among others brought up during the first Trump administration. The president, flanked by operation architect Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Saturday the U.S. would safeguard control of Venezuela and its massive oil supply toward U.S.-friendly industry. Trump live tweeted the entire event and its aftermath, posting a picture of Maduro blindfolded in handcuffs. It is unclear who will lead the country in Maduro’s absence or how the oil markets will wake up on Monday, but it is a dramatic start to the new year and a major escalation of U.S. power over the Western Hemisphere.

🤩 This week's Stocktwits Top 25 showed outperformance vs. the indexes.

Here are the closing prices: 

THE BRIEF

Need a concise summary of what's going on this week? Look no further. Here’s a rundown of this week’s earnings and economic data.

Earnings This Week

Above is a quick summary. Check out the full Stocktwits earnings calendar for the other names reporting this week.

Economic Calendar

In addition to the above, check out this week's complete list of economic releases.

Links That Don’t Suck 🌐

🆘 Rubio seizes chance to remake Latin America in Venezuela gambit

⚠️ US attack on Venezuela raises fears of future Greenland takeover

📫️ What to know about the protests now shaking Iran as tensions remain high over its nuclear program

🛢️ Maduro overthrow in oil-rich Venezuela unlikely to shake energy markets in the near term

😡 Furious Dems float retaliation over Trump's "insane" Venezuela attack

🌍️ How the Monroe Doctrine factors into US arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

Get In Touch 📬

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