Finance

Jobs Report Steers Market Sentiment in First Full Trading Week of 2025

U.S. stocks have been experiencing a decline as they approach the first full trading week of 2025.

Over the past five trading days, the S&P 500 has dropped more than 1.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite has fallen nearly 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has also lost around 1.5%.

Looking ahead, a critical set of labor market data is set to shape investor sentiment, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' December jobs report being the most significant release on Friday morning. Other key data, including job openings, private wage growth, and reports on services sector activity, will also be available.

This data will offer a final labor market snapshot before the Federal Reserve's next meeting on January 30-31.

On the corporate front, investors will be watching for important updates from tech companies like Nvidia (NVDA) during the Consumer Electronics Show. Additionally, quarterly earnings reports are expected from Delta (DAL) and Constellation Brands (STZ).

The upcoming week will also be shortened due to markets being closed on Thursday in observance of the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.

Labor Market Outlook

While the labor market showed signs of cooling in 2024, the Federal Reserve remains confident in its trajectory.

At his December 18 press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the labor market as "good," noting that the "downside risks" which emerged during the summer of 2024, when the unemployment rate spiked, have largely subsided.

Powell emphasized, "The labor market is now looser than pre-pandemic, and it’s clearly still cooling further, but in a gradual and orderly way. We don’t think we need further cooling in the labor market to get inflation down to 2%."

Economists anticipate more gradual cooling in the data. The December jobs report is expected to reveal an addition of 153,000 jobs, down from 227,000 in November, while the unemployment rate is predicted to remain at 4.2%.

Morgan Stanley's Sam Coffin noted, "The labor market is on solid footing, but employment growth slowed and overall labor market conditions cooled in 2024. The good news is that the labor market isn't softening as abruptly as it did last summer."

As of Friday afternoon, markets were assigning an 11% chance to a Fed rate cut in January, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

TECH

The Tech Millionaire Fixated on Aging: The Mind Behind Netflix’s ‘Don’t Die’

There is no magic formula that will grant humans immortality. However, for tech millionaire Bryan Johnson, the pursuit of longevity revolves around a regimen of pills, shots, blood draws, and experimental therapies he claims are reversing his biological clock. In Netflix's new documentary Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever, released on January 1, filmmakers offer an inside look at the immense effort and money involved in trying to extend life indefinitely. The film delves into the psyche of a man obsessed with aging, presenting the argument that despite his eccentricities, Johnson might be creating something meaningful for others. Yet, his approach is undeniably unconventional.

“Blueprint may seem like it’s about diet, sleep, and health, but it’s not,” Johnson explained in a September 2023 interview with Rolling Stone. “It’s about figuring out how we survive as a species. I’m a collection of 35 trillion cells. Before Blueprint, I had many goals — Morning Me, Evening Me, Ambition Me, Dad Me — each wanted different things at different times, resulting in conflicting outcomes. I ran this experiment to see if I could align my 35 trillion cells toward a single objective.”

CRYPTO

Luna/Terra Collapse Architect Do Kwon Finally Extradited to the U.S.

The U.S. government has finally apprehended Do Hyeong Kwon, the 33-year-old South Korean national who built a vast financial empire through the cryptocurrency Luna and the "stablecoin" TerraUSD, only to see it all collapse in a catastrophic failure that wiped out $40 billion in investor funds.

As private investors filed lawsuits and both South Korea and the U.S. launched fraud investigations, Kwon went into hiding. In 2022, the South Korean government issued a "red notice" with Interpol, requesting Kwon's arrest and return to Korea. A few months later, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged him with fraud.

On September 17, 2022, Kwon infamously tweeted, "I am not 'on the run' or anything similar"—though he refused to disclose his whereabouts. His situation worsened when he was arrested in March 2023 in Montenegro, at an airport, carrying fake travel documents, and attempting to travel to a country with no U.S. extradition agreement.

After serving time in a Montenegrin prison, Kwon fought extradition to both South Korea and the U.S. This delayed the process for several months, but on December 31, 2024, he was handed over to U.S. authorities. He appeared before a federal judge in New York City today and pleaded "not guilty" to fraud charges.

The U.S. Justice Department celebrated the extradition, with Attorney General Merrick Garland noting that the U.S. can often catch fugitives through unexpected means.

“We secured this extradition despite Kwon’s alleged efforts to cover his tracks by laundering the proceeds of his schemes and attempting to use a fraudulent passport to travel to a country with no extradition treaty with the United States,” Garland said in a statement. “This extradition from Montenegro highlights the Justice Department’s international partnerships, which allow us to pursue criminals wherever they try to hide.”