Dj Disney, Fox And Warner Won't Move Forward With Venu Sports Venture

By Sabrina Escobar

U.S. consumers spent a lot of time and money shopping online this holiday season, ringing up a record $241.4 billion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 8.7% more than last year, according to Adobe data. Half of that online spending came in three categories: electronics, apparel, and furniture and home goods. One reason: big discounts. Electronics markdowns peaked at 30.1%, notes Adobe, and apparel at 23.2%.

Consumers have been budget conscious for the better part of two years as they navigated persistent inflation and rising interest rates. Online shopping, however, made it easier to compare prices and grab the best deals, helping shoppers control expenses while offering the convenience of home delivery.

In fact, while online shopping boomed, in-store sales struggled. Data from Mastercard SpendingPulse says that in-store sales increased 2.9%, while online retail sales surged 6.7%. Total consumer spending rose 3.8% year over year.

As shoppers get more comfortable with buying online, they're experimenting with new tools and channels. Most online transactions — 54.5% — took place via smartphones this holiday season, up from 51.1% in 2023, Adobe says. Buy now, pay later tools also hit a high, contributing $18.2 billion in online spending, 9.6% more than in 2023. And, says Adobe, traffic from chatbots powered by artificial intelligence soared 1,300% from 2023. Now, imagine this year.

Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com

Last Week

Markets

The week began with weak China manufacturing data, a falling yuan, and sinking stocks. U.S. stocks, powered by chips, edged up, then sold off as Treasury yields rose on strong jobs and services data. Los Angeles burned. Stock markets closed on Thursday for Jimmy Carter's funeral. The December jobs report on Friday saw an unexpected 256,000 jobs; yields popped and stocks cratered. The Dow industrials fell 1.9% on the week; the S&P 500, 1.9%; and the Nasdaq Composite, 2.3%.

Companies

Meta Platforms named Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White to its board and ended its fact-checking program. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the CES trade show announced new chips for gaming, autonomous driving, and robotics. The U.S. classified WeChat parent Tencent and battery maker CATL as "Chinese military corporations." Stocks of vaccine makers Moderna and Novavax spiked after the first U.S. human bird-flu death. Sports-betting company Flutter Entertainment cut its outlook, saying too many favorites won NFL games.

Deals

Walt Disney bought 70% of FuboTV, which it will merge with its Hulu + Live TV offering. Disney will pay Fubo $220 million to settle litigation over a sports joint venture with Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery... Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued over President Biden's decision to block their merger... Cintas made a $5.3 billion offer, a 60% premium, for uniform maker UniFirst...Getty Images will buy Shutterstock for $3.7 billion.

Next Week

Wednesday 1/15

Fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off with big banks and brokerages announcing results. BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all report before the opening bell on Wednesday. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley follow suit on Thursday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for December. Economists forecast a 2.9% year-over-year increase in the CPI, two-tenths of a percentage point more than in November. The core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.3%, matching the November figure. The annual change in the CPI has ranged from 2.4% to 2.9% over the past five months, but getting to the Federal Reserve's target of 2% has proved to be a sticky problem.

Thursday 1/16

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and UnitedHealth Group hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.

The Census Bureau reports retail and food services sales for December. Consensus estimate is for a 0.6% month-over-month increase, after a 0.7% gain in November. Excluding autos, retail sales are seen rising 0.5%, three-tenths of a percentage point more than previously.

The Numbers

2.4 M

The average daily number of cyberattacks targeting the Taiwan government in 2024, double that of 2023.

1.6 M

Number of Americans job hunting for at least six months, up more than 50% since 2022.

686

The number of U.S. companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2024, up 8% from 2023 and a 14-year high.

285%

The rise in the U.S. government's annual net interest costs over the past decade, to $882 billion in 2024.

Write to Robert Teitelman at bob.teitelman@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.