SFM Observer- January 2025

Glenn Sweeney |

SFM OBSERVER

January 2025 Recap

A CONCISE REVIEW OF THE MONTH IN THE INVESTMENT MARKETS

Issued: February 12, 2025 

The Dow closed the month of January at 44,545 for a monthly gain of 2,001 points or 4.7% beating the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to start the year.  The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates where they are based on concerns around inflation. The economy grew at 2.5% last year which is a good sustainable pace.

Some interesting events from the month just passed:

  • Netflix raised its prices this month on the back of strong subscriber growth.  The ad supported tier is up one dollar to $7.99/month and the ad free tier is up $2 to $24.99.  Netflix has been a winner in the streaming wars as many of its competitors continue to lose money.
  • Retail has a reputation for being a low paid profession, but Walmart is changing that image.  A marketing manager at Walmart who is responsible for roughly a dozen stores can make over $600,000 per year with bonuses and stock grants.  Walmart is the largest employer in the U.S., so this opportunity is there for 2 million workers.
  • Bourbon manufacturers need a drink.  After a boom started during the pandemic, the bourbon industry is going through a decline.  Sales have been declining for the past two years as customers either trade down or switch to other beverages.  The trend reversal is particularly tough for the small craft distillers that don’t have the financial horsepower to ride out the decline.
  • Facebook and Instagram are no longer going to fact check posts made on its websites.  Apparently, Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to appease President Trump who was removed from these sites after the 2020 election.  With billions of users, it would be a good idea to prevent the spread of falsehoods. Advertisers are concerned about being associated with hate speech in various forms.
  • AI got a shock when a Chinese company developed a cheaper, better way to run artificial intelligence software.  The news unseated the belief that the U.S. was the dominant force in AI and opened the possibility to further competition.  The name of the Chinese company is DeepSeek.

Thank you for reading this issue of the SFM OBSERVER.  If you have any comments or questions, please send us a reply.  If you have a friend or associate that might be interested in the SFM OBSERVER, feel free to forward this email. 

Until next month,

Glenn Sweeney CFA