Hey Snackers,
If you were a ’90s kid, you might remember the craze around Tamagotchis, the Japanese pocket-sized virtual pet that taught many of us what losing a (virtual) pet felt like. Well, it looks like they’re getting a reboot: looking at Google Trends data, searches for “tamagotchi” spiked in December in the US, with the most search volume in almost two decades.
Stocks jumped on Friday, with the S&P 500 notching a new record high. All Magnificent 7 stocks gained, helping the Nasdaq 100 outperform. The Russell 2000 also climbed higher. The jobs report showed that though fewer jobs than expected were added in December, the unemployment rate dropped by more than expected.
🎥 Trivia time:
Who is the highest-grossing film director of all time?
A major test of AI regulation is on the horizon, as the United Kingdom assesses Grok to figure out if Elon Musk has finally gone too far
In what is becoming one of the first major tests of whether a major economy will take a first step toward reining in an AI company, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to “take action” against Elon Musk’s X over its AI tool Grok producing sexualized images of children.
Speaking on Thursday, the UK premier called the images “unlawful” and urged the social media platform to “get their act together and get this material down,” as public outrage mounts over Grok generating explicit deepfakes on X.
Starmer has said that he supports a potential intervention by Ofcom, the UK’s primary authority media regulator, with government sources telling BBC News, “We would expect Ofcom to use all powers at its disposal in regard to Grok & X.”
According to a third-party analysis published this week, X is seeing thousands of instances of images occurring each hour where people have been nonconsensually undressed by its AI tool. The UK’s Internet Watch Foundation has also reported finding “sexualized” images of children created on the site.
X has attempted to walk things back by making the tools available to only paid subscribers, but turning the technology into a premium service has not exactly been a satisfactory solution when the ultimate problem is that the tech is producing the images in the first place.
The Takeaway
Whether X will now be banned in the country has been brought into question. Prediction markets* have certainly been showing a steady increase in the implied probability that Grok may be banned by the United Kingdom. On Friday, traders were pegging the chance of a Grok ban before March 1, 2026, at one in four, nearly double the odds two days before.
Stories We're Watching
America now has more job seekers than available jobs: Though Friday’s jobs report showed the unemployment rate is dropping, job growth was weaker than expected. We charted the tightness of the labor market based on Wednesday’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary report, which shows that 7.8 million Americans are looking for jobs, but there are only 7.1 million jobs available — a radical shift from the pandemic period.
Rising sum: We’ve long been fans of Uniqlo’s round shoulder bags and live in its heat-tech thermal layers all winter, and we’re not alone: sales of its casual, often unisex clothing grew 15% in the company’s first quarter as its international business, which has long surpassed its domestic business, continues to skyrocket. The clothing chain isn’t slowing down, and has a lofty goal to overtake the current global king of retail.
The Best Thing We Read Today
Patients are increasingly turning to AI for medical advice — so are their doctors
OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT Health last week, and it seems everyday Americans are on board with the idea of Dr. AI, with 55% of adults in a recent survey saying they used AI tools to “check or explore symptoms” in the last three months. We’re not surprised by the evolution from Googling symptoms to asking a chatbot, but we did find it surprising how many doctors are using the tech not just to complete administrative tasks, but to assist with diagnoses as well.
Snacks Shots
🏈 NFL: Tonight is the final game of the NFL’s Wild Card playoff week, with the Texans heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Despite having a lower seeding Houston is indeed favored to win the contest, with a market-implied 59% chance of victory.
🏛️ Supreme Court: On Friday the Supreme Court announced its first ruling of this year’s session, but the eagerly awaited ruling on President Trump’s tariffs was not among them. Markets expect that ultimately the court will not rule in favor of the tariffs, with traders pricing in a 31% chance that the court sides with the administration.
*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.
What Else We're Snackin'
Intel enjoyed another Trump bump following a post from the president praising its CEO
Housing stocks, too, enjoyed a presidential pump following his call for his “Representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds
And after the Supreme Court declined to give a ruling on tariffs, a basket of “Trump Tariff Losers” tumbled
Snack Fact Of The Day
Sandisk, the top performer of the S&P 500 in 2025, hit a new record high on Friday.
This Week's Events
December Consumer Price Index. Earnings expected from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, and Delta
December Producer Price Index. Earnings expected from Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank of America
Earnings expected from TSMC, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs
Earnings expected from PNC, State Street, M&T Bank, and Regions Financial