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Good morning & Happy Friday!

We're covering key stories including Shein's planned London IPO, Spirit Airlines' bankruptcy filing, rising oil prices amid Russia-Ukraine tensions, and Elon Musk’s escalating feud with OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

Grab your flat white and let's get into it! ☕️👇️

Amazon Bets Big on Smart Homes, You Can Too

VCs know how difficult it is to spot promising early investment opportunities. Even the Sharks from Shark Tank declined the offer to buy 10% of Ring for $700,000 - a decision they would regret when Amazon acquired Ring, turning the $700,000 into $10M!

RYSE is the smart-home brand poised to follow a similar trajectory. The founder pitched on Canada’s version of Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den and received two offers - it seems the Dragons’ learned from the Sharks’ mistakes. Don’t make the same mistake the sharks did.

Invest now.

Markets

🧠 Nvidia to report Q3 earnings Wednesday - What to look out for
Nvidia is set to unveil its Q3 earnings after the bell on Wednesday, offering Wall Street a crucial snapshot of AI's booming influence. The tech giant's stock has skyrocketed 189% year-to-date, driven by surging demand for AI technology across sectors. Investors will closely watch for Nvidia’s performance against revenue and earnings expectations, and any potential hike in its Q4 outlook.

🏎️ Tesla stock pops 8% in premarket after report Trump wants to relax U.S. self-driving rules
Tesla shares soared Monday after a Bloomberg report indicated that President-elect Trump’s transition team plans to prioritize federal regulation of self-driving cars. Tesla stock is up 8.38% in premarket trading.

💰️ MicroStrategy’s $26 billion bitcoin cache is larger than IBM, Nike cash holdings
Michael Saylor’s bold move to hold Bitcoin on MicroStrategy’s books has transformed the software firm into a financial heavyweight. With roughly $26 billion in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy’s holdings eclipse the cash reserves of giants like IBM, Nike, and Johnson & Johnson. Saylor’s 2020 pivot to Bitcoin, initially funded by operations and later by stock and debt sales, has made MicroStrategy the top publicly traded Bitcoin holder.

📈 Solana Breaks Out to Chase Record Above $260
Solana surged over 13% during the weekend, leaving it just 6% shy of its record high from three years ago. While the broader market cools, Solana continues to heat up, with on-chain metrics far surpassing Ethereum, and investor excitement over a potential game-changing ETF linked to the token, rumored for 2025 approval.

🪖 Palantir Reaches Huge Milestone: Here's What Could Happen Next
Investors are flocking to Palantir, the analytics and AI upstart that’s taken Wall Street by storm. With its stock up over 250% this year, Palantir’s market cap has now eclipsed defense giant Lockheed Martin. Recent Q3 earnings showcased robust revenue growth and surging profits, driving the stock up 40% over the past month. But with all this momentum, the question remains: should investors stay bullish on this hypergrowth player?

Quick News

• With the holiday season kicking off, Go Banking Rates has highlighted 7 Black Friday deals that shoppers should skip.

• Budget travel pioneer Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday morning, amid escalating losses.

• Oil prices inched higher on Monday as intensified fighting between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend fueled supply concerns.

• Following a bold 50 basis point rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, spot gold reached a peak of 2,687 per troy ounce. Experts predict that this bullish trend for the precious yellow metal may continue, so it may be smart to get in now before prices keep climbing. *

• Elon Musk is escalating his clash with Sam Altman, claiming in a court filing that OpenAI is prioritizing market dominance in generative AI at the expense of safety.

• With many investors anticipating a market boom under a Trump presidency, Ben Carlson tackles the pressing question: are U.S. stocks overvalued? As market optimism rises, concerns about inflated valuations and potential corrections are front and center.

• US President Joe Biden has given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, US officials say.

Shein targets UK Stock Market Listing in 2025

Shein is preparing to list on the London Stock Exchange in early 2025 with an estimated valuation of £50 billion. The fast-fashion giant, originally founded in China but now based in Singapore, has enlisted Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley to handle the IPO.

The move follows years of rapid growth, but Shein’s financial performance has recently faltered. Profits plummeted by 70% in the first half of 2024, largely due to intense competition from rivals like Temu. Revenue growth also slowed, dropping to 23% from 2023’s full-year growth of 40%.

Shein generated revenues of $18 billion but saw profits fall below $400 million during the first half of 2024. This marks a stark contrast to 2023, when the company doubled its profits to over $2 billion.

Shein’s business model, which focuses on selling low-cost clothing directly from Chinese factories, has enjoyed global popularity. However, rival Temu has seen increasing success, particularly in key markets like the U.S. This intensifying competition has strained Shein’s market dominance.

Legal issues further complicate Shein’s outlook, with a 2026 trial set in London’s High Court. Shein has accused Temu of copyright infringement, while Temu has counterclaimed that Shein violated competition laws by tying fast-fashion suppliers to exclusive agreements. The legal battle underscores the heated rivalry between the two companies.

British investors have expressed skepticism about Shein’s London IPO, citing concerns over the company's business practices. Hugh Smith suggested that allowing companies like Shein to list could harm the UK market’s reputation, especially given past scrutiny over its Chinese ties and supply chain issues that delayed a U.S. listing.