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ADP Loses 32,000 Jobs in November,
almost entirely by small businesses, which are getting wiped out by tariffs. They lost 120,000 jobs. The last four out of six months have been negative. Education gained 23,000. It increases the chances of a Fed interest rate cut next week.
Apartment Rents are Falling,
as vacancies hit record highs. It’s due to an oversupply of new units and a slowdown in demand, especially from younger renters. This has led to record-high vacancy rates and the fourth consecutive month-over-month rent decline nationally, reaching a median of $1,367 in November 2025, according to Apartment List. The steepest declines have been seen in markets with high levels of new construction, such as some cities in the Sun Belt, while other areas with more limited supply have performed better.
US Services PMI Comes in Flat.
The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index was little changed at 52.6 last month from 52.4 in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI slipping to 52.1. Services employment contracts for the sixth month. New orders drop, backlog orders are weak but improving.
Silver Hits Yet Another New High,
at an incredible $58.65 an ounce. The metal has doubled in 2025 and hit a record high on Wednesday. Supply deficits, a weaker dollar, and concern over the state of the economy have pushed the metal to all-time highs. Silver got its latest boost after ADP reported a surprise decline in private payrolls for November. Buy (SLV) on dips.
Delta Airlines Loses $200 Million on Government Shutdown,
and the other airlines were hit as well. The airline said the earnings impact would be approximately 25 cents a share for the current quarter. In October, Delta forecast adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.60 to $1.90 a share. Travel demand, however, is still healthy, and bookings are strong going into 2026, Delta reiterated in a securities filing on Wednesday ahead of an industry conference.
Next Year Looks to be a Poor One for the Bond Market,
says the trillion-dollar money manager BlackRock (BLK). Some $10 trillion in government financing may get crowded out by another $1 trillion in AI borrowing by the Magnificent Seven, which many investors regard as better credit. The Treasury will try to head off the high interest rates this will bring by flooding the money supply.
Bitcoin Finally has a Good Day,
up $6,000 to $91,000. But how long will it last? Stocks and crypto have been joined at the hip since October. Bitcoin treasury stock Strategy (MSTR) has lost 66% since July and all of its premium relative to its underlying holdings. But sentiment remains bearish, with positions in the Bitcoin derivatives markets suggesting that traders are bracing for another big drop. Was yesterday the final washout or is it still ahead of us? Nobody knows.
Alphabet is the Clear AI Winner,
and its lead is increasing. Alphabet’s stock gained almost 70% over the past 12 months, reaching a record high, with half the gain from P/E multiple expansion and half from earnings growth. Despite increased spending, Alphabet expanded third-quarter pretax profit margins by seven percentage points and grew pretax profit by 39%. Alphabet’s new Gemini 3 AI model, launched recently, includes tools like Deep Think and generative user interfaces, demonstrating its competitive AI position. Buy (GOOGL) on dips.
Ford Sales Fall in November.
Demand for electric vehicles has taken a hit after the government ended the $7,500 tax credits for new EV purchases in October. The automaker also had to contend with the impact of a fire at one of the plants of a key aluminum supplier, hitting production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup. Sales of Ford's EVs, such as the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning, were down about 61% to 4,247 vehicles in November from last year.
Boeing Could Double from Here,
says Rothschild & Co, a UK broker. Still, the revised objective implies potential 37% upside ahead for the stock, based on Boeing's Monday close. More optimistically, Brochet’s 2030 sum-of-the-parts valuation and price-to-cash-flow ratio could translate into even more outperformance ahead.
Mad Hedge Black Friday Sale.
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ISM Manufacturing PMI Comes in at 48.5,
a five-month low. The economy is clearly slowing. In the meantime, long-term interest rates are soaring, with the ten-year US Treasury yield. The data remain contradictory and choppy, like they’re trying to find their way in the fog.
Black Friday Sales Come in Hot,
according to Visa. Brick and mortar sales were up 4.1% while online sales jumped a massive 10.4%. People are hungry for deals as their real income declines.
Strategy Dives 10%,
on news, their dividend will be cut, and they are selling shares. The company is creating a $1 billion fund to backstop the dividend. Bitcoin was down 6.6% at about $84,500, sharply lower than its highs above $100,000 at the start of November. Strategy, which holds around 650,000 Bitcoin, is widely seen as a leveraged proxy for the cryptocurrency, causing its stock to move in tandem with Bitcoin’s fluctuations.
Silver Hits New All-Time High,
at $56 an ounce, topping the old 1980 Bunker Hunt High of $50. It’s a strong bet in favor of an interest rate cut at the December 10 Fed meeting next week. The Bitcoin crash is also driving traders into other “flight to safety” assets. Silver mine production has been decreasing for the past ten years, especially in Central and South America, due to mine closures, resource depletion, and infrastructure challenges.
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Mad Hedge Hits 61% Profit in 2025.
That takes our average annualized return for 18 years to a sky-high +50.82% compared to only +27.49% for the S&P 500. Our gain since inception is +812.92. The big winners this year? Gold (GLD), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Palantir (PLTR).
CME Crashes on Data Center Failure.
A data center in Aurora, Illinois that serves as the primary hub of digital operations for CME Group Inc. experienced a malfunction in its cooling system, taking down virtually all CME futures and options trading platforms. The facility, which is operated by CyrusOne, is a critical piece of infrastructure to global markets, with at least $25 quadrillion of notional trade volume passing through it every day. The incident has raised questions about the design of the cooling system and the disaster recovery plans in place, with experts noting that data centers of this type typically have redundancy to avoid such problems with power and cooling. A preview of our future?
2026 will be a Blowout Year for Copper.
Costas Bintas, the high-profile head of metals at Mercuria Energy Group, Ltd., has renewed his bullish prediction for copper prices as he warned that a rush to ship metal to the US risks draining the rest of the world’s inventories. Traders have been ramping up shipments to the US in recent weeks to once again capitalize on a big premium for metal on New York’s Comex exchange, fueled by ongoing uncertainty about the potential for future tariffs. Buy (FCX) on dips.
US Dollar Dives as Fed Cut Looms.
The U.S. dollar headed for its steepest weekly drop in four months on Thursday as investors bet on further monetary easing. The U.S. dollar index was up 0.05% at 99.58, having retreated from a six-month high hit a week ago to head for its largest weekly drop since July. It is currently down 0.60% on a weekly basis.
Fed Beige Book Comes in Unchanged.
The high-end consumer is strong, and the low end is suffering. Food assistance requests are soaring as unemployment increases. AI is replacing entry-level positions, curbing new hiring. Health insurance costs are increasing. Tariffs are crushing margins at small companies.
Chicago Purchasing Manufacturing PMI Crashes
to 36.4. The index has been recessionary for two years now. The Chicago Business Barometer fell to 36.3 in November 2025 from 43.8 in the prior month and against market estimates of 44.3. This was the 24th consecutive month with readings below the neutral 50 threshold, signaling a solid contraction in Chicago’s economic activity and the sharpest since May 2024. The sub-indexes of new orders, production and employment all declined. Meanwhile, supplier deliveries went up.
Weekly Jobless Claims Fall 6,000,
to 216,000. The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to still-low layoffs, though the labor market is struggling to generate enough jobs for those out of work amid lingering economic uncertainty. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended November 22, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.
US Oil Rigs Count Hit Four Year Low,
U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the first time in four weeks, with oil rigs dropping to a four-year low, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Wednesday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 10 to 544 in the week to November 26, the lowest since September.
Bitcoin May Remain Weak Until Year End.
The declines come amid liquidations of highly leveraged crypto positions, with traders pulling out of risk-on investments into risk-off assets such as gold due to mixed economic data and worries about valuations in artificial intelligence stocks. Some long-term bitcoin holders are also selling some of their holdings at this time due to a popular, but controversial, belief that the token’s “halving” schedule dictates its trajectory according to predictable four-year cycles. The next bitcoin halving is expected to occur mid-2028, when the number of blocks hits 1,050,000.