- BIG News - Apple loses to.... - World Economic Forum Davos Happening - Picking on Rich Peeps AGAIN - let them eat stimulus! - Best of CES? - EVs getting some shade thrown - Bitcoin ETF approved PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm Up - BIG News - Apple Loses to.... - World Economic Forum Davos Happening - Picking on Rich Peeps again - Best of CES? - EVs getting some shade thrown - Bitcoin ETF approved Market Update - Natural Gas price on the move - huge jump - 3 downgrades for Apple last week - Bank earnings - mixed, but could say disappoint - Another Stop-gap bill to AVERT a government shutdown Can You Believe this? - Microsoft ended Friday's U.S. trading session as the most valuable publicly traded company, surpassing Apple after briefly topping the iPhone maker during intraday trading on Thursday. - Shares of Microsoft climbed more than 3% for the week, bringing the company's market cap to $2.89 trillion, while Apple's stock dropped by over 3%, lowering its valuation to $2.87 trillion. More Apple - Apple said on Thursday that former Vice President Al Gore will retire from the company's board next month after serving as a director since 2003. - Other: 3 Downgrades last week! (Stock still up 2.5% for the week although down 3.5% for the year 2024 More Wealth News - Just in time for Davos - pick on the rich - LET THEM EAT STIMULUS! - The world's five richest men have more than doubled their vast wealth since 2020, according to an Oxfam report, as the charity calls for curbs on "corporate power." - The report found that the combined fortune of the world's wealthiest people — Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and family, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and veteran investor Warren Buffett — has jumped from $405 billion in March 2020 to $869 billion in November 2023. - Seven of the world's ten biggest companies have a billionaire as their CEO or main shareholder, the report found. Meanwhile, the world's richest 1% of people own 43% of global financial assets, according to the research, such as publicly listed instruments like stocks and bonds, along with stakes in privately-held businesses. - "If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade but poverty won't be eradicated for another 229 years," Oxfam said. Even MORE Davos - The global economy faces a year of subdued growth prospects and uncertainty stemming from geopolitical strife, tight financing conditions and the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, a survey of top economists released on Monday found. - Conducted each year ahead of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos, the survey of 60-plus chief economists drawn globally from the private and public sectors attempts to sketch priorities for policymakers and business leaders. (meaningless) - Some 56% of those surveyed expect overall global economic conditions to weaken this year, with a high degree of regional divergence. While majorities saw moderate or stronger growth in China and the United States, there was broad consensus that Europe would muster only weak or very weak growth. - The outlook for South Asia and East Asia and Pacific was more positive, with very high majorities expecting at least moderate growth in 2024. - 70% see financial conditions loosening (rate cuts and stimulus) as inflation slows Speaking of Rate Cuts (NOT) - The European Central Bank may defy market expectations and hold off on starting interest rate cuts during the whole of 2024, the institution's Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said Monday.