Market Snapshot: Week of Dec. 11 – 17

We believe that knowledge is power and we want you to have more of it. The best realtors can engage their customers in conversation on a wide-range of topics, from business trends and shifting political landscapes to the latest happenings in the world of sports, art, and pop-culture. We've summarized the biggest happenings from these sectors so that you don't have to.

1. Business

Market Snapshot Week of December 11^th-17^th

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• Dow Jones:┬á24,652 (+1.30%)
• S&P 500:┬á2,676 (+0.89%)
• Nasdaq:┬á6,937 (+1.37%)

Market Winners:

• Investors are overjoyed this season as Apple released its "Gymkit" for Apple Watches. Gymkit allows users to sync an Apple Watch with gym treadmills to record every calorie burned during a workout.
• Football fans using Verizon have something to cheer about these Holidays as the service provider just finalized a deal that will allow it to stream local NFL games across Verizon apps, regardless of wireless carrier.
• Nintendo stock rose on word that its newest console, the Nintendo "Switch", is set to surpass its Wii with 10 million consoles sold.

Market Losers:

• Alibaba shares dropped due to reports that China's 10% retail sales growth last quarter was not as high as analysts expected.
• Oracle's $9.6 billion quarterly revenue surpassed predictions, but investors are hesitant due to Oracle's competition from Amazon and Microsoft.

Other Market News:

• MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent, and Japan's Topix index closed 1.4 percent. In Europe, Stoxx 600 Index rose, with all industry groups sharing gains. S&P 500 futures added 0.3 percent and the price for gold and oil slight rose.

2. Real Estate

Local:

• This past Wednesday former English soccer star David Beckham added the MasTec brothers, Jorge and Jose, into his investment group which plans to build a Major League Soccer stadium in Overtown. Beckham has been trying to bring an MLS team to Miami and is pending approval from the league's owners, some of which are aggravated at Beckham's discounted $25 million-dollar expansion fee.
• Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque de Soleil, continues to express interest in Miami's real estate market buying up a trio of new warehouses in Little Haiti for $6.9 million cash. Laliberte is partnering up with Magic City developers Tony Cho, Bob Zangrillo and Plaza Equity Partners to build a massive mixed-use project.┬á
• Former coach of the Louisville Cardinals, Rick Patino, just listed his Miami Beach estate just under $24 million. The former big-time basketball coach is in hot water after being in the heart of an FBI-led investigation targeting the bribery of incoming college recruits and student players.
• University Developments┬ácelebrated the grand opening of the┬áUniversity Bridge Residences┬ásales gallery on Thursday, Dec. 14^th. More than 150 of Miami-Dade's leading real estate brokers, VIPs and community leaders joined the development team at its unique dome-shaped, contemporary sales center in welcoming Miami's first student housing condominium, which will be located across the street from the main campus of Florida International University.┬áClick here┬áto read more.┬á

3. Politics

North America:

• This past Wednesday the Federal Reserve hiked its federal funds rate range by a quarter point, from 1.25% to 1.5%. This is also Janet Yallen's last month as Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, she plans on a smooth transition for her successor Jerome Powell.
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 3-2 vote Thursday ended Obama-era rules that required internet service providers to treat all Web traffic equally. In theory, the end of "net neutrality" opens the door for internet service providers like Verizon and AT&T to test out new business models free of government regulation and allows them to invest in infrastructure. Opponents of the repeal worry the online world will become like cable TV following these new rules.

• This past week the United States stood by its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital by vetoing the United Nation Security Council's call for the declaration to be withdrawn. The 14 remaining council members voted in favor of the resolution which failed to mention the United States or Trump directly but expressed "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.

4. Sports

North America:

National Football League (NFL):

• Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced that he plans on selling his NFL team after the completion of the 2018 season. This rash decision is likely due to an NFL investigation looking into alleged workplace misconduct by Richardson. He released a statement through the Panthers organization outlining his plan to sell but failed to acknowledge the accusations made against him.
• The New England Patriot's controversial 27-24 win over the Pittsburg Steelers this past Sunday has the whole league and sports world pondering what is a complete pass. Officials overruled tight end Jesse James' 10-yard scoring drive because according to them he did not control the ball as he crossed the end zone. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, "[The team is] not going to cry over spilled milk."

5. Entertainment

• "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" premiered last Friday in theaters. The galactic blockbuster reached a near-record $220M in the US and $450M globally its opening weekend. The movie also has an 8.2/10 Average rating and 93% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.┬á

6. Quote of the Week 

All the opinions expressed by Juan Artiles in this newsletter are solely his opinions. You should not treat any opinion expressed by his as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinions.