Hey Snackers,
Remember that banana taped to a wall that Sothebyâs thought it could auction for over $1M? It ended up selling for $6.2M to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun. He said he plans to eat the banana, though apparently it isnât included in the sale (just duct tape and instructions).
Stocks inched up yesterday, though a 4.5% drop in Google weighed on the Nasdaq. Bitcoinâs surged to an intraday record above $99K.
đŚ Thanksquizzing: To make the fam dinner less awkward, brush up on biz-news with our Snacks Seven quiz (corporate trivia is fantastic for diffusing tension). Hereâs the first q:
The DOJ is asking Google to shed which part of its biz? (Check your answer.)
Big Potatoâs accused of a price-fixing spudspiracy in a handful of antitrust lawsuits
An industry in taters⌠Potato makers are getting chopped, boiled, and mashed up by antitrust. Five new federal lawsuits accuse frozen-spud producers Lamb Weston, Cavendish, McCain Foods, and Simplot of running a curly-fry cartel, colluding to overcharge grocery stores and consumers since 2021. The four companies are said to control 97% of the US frozen-potato market with products like fries, hashbrowns, and tater tots. The suits say that prices of those freezer-aisle staples have soared nearly 50% in the past two years through July.
Freezer burn: The suits allege that the four potato companies announced extremely similar price hikes several times within days of one another. In a quarterly report last year, Lamb Weston said its profit more than doubled from the year before.
âTwas tot us: The spud sellers have denied the allegations. Lamb Weston previously said its costs, including for raw potatoes and labor, had spiked.
Courtroom food fights⌠Food-industry finger-pointing has reached a fever pitch after years of spiking grocery prices. McDonaldâs last month said that meat packersâ greedflation from companies including Tyson is behind higher beef costs. And last year US chicken producers were ordered to face poultry price-fixing allegations. Sugar makers including Domino and Cargill were accused this year of artificially sweetening prices. The DOJ recently created an antitrust enforcement team focused on the agriculture sector to crack down on illegal activity.
High prices are no small potatoes⌠The price of food eaten at home is up 28% since 2019, and high grocery costs were a top concern for 70% of voters in the presidential election. With a lot of the food biz struggling to keep sales and volumes steady, more accusations of industry collusion could pop up.
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Bitcoin eyes $100K as new crypto options fuel the trading frenzy
Proof of something working⌠The price of bitcoin passed $99K Thursday, hitting a fresh high for the fourth day straight. The crypto is up 43% since the US presidential election, with some traders now eying a $100K price target. The momentum came the same week a new way to bet on BTC went live: options on spot bitcoin ETFs.Â
Cryptoâs got options: Approved by the SEC this fall, bitcoin ETF options products (from companies including BlackRock, Bitwise, and Grayscale) let traders speculate and hedge their crypto in a new way.
Buy in: Experts say the total potential value of options on BlackRockâs spot bitcoin ETF amounted to an âunheard ofâ nearly $1.9B in its first day, which could be driving BTCâs price pop.
Addinâ ETFuel to the fire⌠This weekâs crypto-options debut is a big feather in bitcoinâs market cap, but not the only one. Enterprise-software biz MicroStrategy said it purchased $4.6B worth of bitcoin last week, bringing its total stash to about 331K coins. And this week, President-elect Trump nominated crypto advocate Howard Lutnick for the role of commerce secretary. His admin is also said to be considering a âcrypto czarâ position. Meantime, US bitcoin ETFs passed the $100B mark in total assets held, seeing $773M in net inflows on Wednesday alone.
Team efforts break records⌠Bitcoinâs been on a tear, but sticking the $100K price landing is no guarantee. Mike Novogratz, the CEO of blockchain biz Galaxy Digital, said yesterday that thereâs likely a price correction coming. Plus, concerns that Trumpâs proposed tariffs could spike inflation have some worried about the Fed tightening its rate policy, which could hurt digital assetsâ appeal.
The Crypto Catch-UpâŚ
đśď¸ Spicy⌠Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, said he put âmostâ of his wealth into bitcoin. His govât disclosure forms suggest otherwise.
đ° Spendy⌠Shaq agreed to an $11M settlement after a lawsuit brought by investors in his Solana-based NFT collection. Celebs like Tom Brady and Kim K. have also been forced to pay up after promoting failed crypto projects.Â
đ Policy⌠Trumpâs transition team is said to be considering creating a new White House position dedicated to crypto policy (a first). A âcrypto czarâ role could cement cryptoâs shift from outsider asset to institutional heavyweight.
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What else weâre Snackinâ
SEC Chair Gensler will resign on January 20 (Inauguration Day), clearing the way for Trump to replace him on Day 1.
Airbnb plans to host gladiatorial games in the Colosseum for the first time in 2,000 years. Roman lawmakers are not entertained.
Deere is apparently no longer in its hay-day: the largest farm-equipment maker gave a weak outlook for 2025 as equipment sales lose traction.
Nvidia shares didnât budge much yesterday as investors digested another quarter of strong but slowing growth.
BJâs Wholesale Club announced membership price hikes for the first time in seven years. Costco also recently bumped up its fees.
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Snack Fact of the Day
The price of a Thanksgiving feast for 10 has dropped to $58
Friday
Consumer sentiment
US services and manufacturing PMI
Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, and Nvidia
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