Hey Snackers,
For American companies building AI today, it’s basically a free-for-all, a self-regulation zone with zero federal restrictions. But for Chinese AI companies, the Chinese Communist Party exerts strict control over AI models. A report in The Wall Street Journal detailed the rigorous tests that AI models are subjected to: they must answer 2,000 questions that are frequently updated and achieve a 95% refusal rate for queries related to forbidden topics, like the Tiananmen Square massacre or human rights violations, according to the report.
On Friday, stocks closed flat amid thin trading volumes, but the S&P 500 notched a 1.4% gain for the week.
🧠 Test your knowledge of movie trivia with our Snacks Seven Quiz. Here’s a sample question:
Which film has had the highest-grossing opening weekend globally in 2025?
Check your answer.
The big ideas that are going to drive 2026
A new year, a new set of lines on charts swinging up and down wildly to keep an eye on.
Even though certain things that were top of mind for markets this year will stay on the front burner next year — namely, AI — we’re at a different chapter in the story. Here’s what’s on our mind heading into 2026.
Two ETFs that track regional banks and business development companies — KRE and BIZD, respectively — have charted different courses in 2025: the former flying and the latter sliding. If this is still the golden age of private credit, then why does the stock performance of those who provide it look so tarnished? Conversely, if US regional banks are hitting 52-week highs, how worried can we be about the domestic economy?
Gold is the best-trending asset in financial markets. The shiny metal hasn’t traded below its 200-day moving average since November 2023. And bitcoin, which has been called “digital gold,” is behaving the opposite of gold, trading 20% below its 200-day moving average. The ratio of bitcoin to gold hit its 2025 high the session after the inauguration, and fell calamitously since. Will this hold?
Will Corporate America’s AI adoption justify Big Tech’s massive capital spending? AI capex is both offensive — a bid to create new revenue streams and enable products that don’t exist — but also defensive, made by tech behemoths trying to ensure their existing dominant positions don’t get swept away by the tide of this new technology. Surveys on Corporate America’s utilization of AI are all over the map.
But that is far from all.
The Takeaway
To borrow lines from epic films, sentiment surrounding AI is getting a little less “if you build it, they will come” and a little more “show me the money.” To that end, these are going to be the charts to watch to get a handle on the evolving AI theme, the strength of the speculative bid in markets, how some curious divergences will be remedied (or grow larger), and get a bank-shot read on how the US economy is doing.
Not just another AI play…
As the world’s largest natural gas producer1, the US stands to benefit from the growth of AI and data centers and their large, continuous power needs. But while much of the focus has been on data center power needs, the US natural gas sector is more than just an AI play.
Global demand growth is expected to pick up in 2026, with global LNG supply expected to rise by 7%, its largest increase since 2019.2 The US has grown to feed global demand as the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG)3. While AI power needs are indeed forecast to add to that demand, US LNG exports remain the overarching driver of natural gas demand.
Global X’s newly launched US Natural Gas ETF (LNGX) offers investors pure-play exposure to American companies with high natural gas and natural gas liquids exposure across the value chain, from upstream natural gas production to midstream processing, transportation, and exports.
For ETF investors, LNGX offers both a tactical opportunity and strategic structural growth potential to benefit from America’s rise as a global energy supplier.
Why we might not be at peak AI yet
While fears of an AI bubble dominated market coverage over the past year, if we’re doing anything close to running back the late ’90s, this bubble is going to get some more air to inflate it.
Using Bank of America’s in-house methodology for assessing whether assets are in a bubble, equity derivatives strategists judge that “the core of the AI trade in the S&P, Nasdaq and the Magnificent 7 stocks remains far from these levels,” which suggests “the AI trade may still have room to run into 2026.”
Indeed, none of the publicly traded hyperscalers has a forward price-to-earnings ratio anywhere near Cisco’s peak of over 130 during the dot-com bubble.
Will retail traders’ option-fueled market stampede keep accelerating?
Retail traders had a great year because they bought the dip, stayed long AI stocks, rode momentum in precious metals, and took risky bets on speculative stocks that paid off.
Their decisions have been transforming financial markets, affecting how stocks trade on earnings releases and crowding institutional investors into their favorite stocks. The options market, in particular, stands out as the place to go to monitor retail sentiment and desire to take risk. Call buying is a critical catalyst behind meme stock rallies and days when quantum computing companies go parabolic on absolutely zero news.
We charted the explosive growth in call volume over the past decade, and noted the similar pattern between recent activity and the GameStop short squeeze of 2021.
Snacks Shots
🏈 NFL: Monday Night Football features the playoff-bound 11-4 Los Angeles Rams visiting the city of Atlanta, where the local Falcons are 6-9 and playing for draft positioning and honor. Needless to say, it’s not really expected to be particularly close, with the Rams favored* with an 81% chance to win.
🚀 SpaceX: Soon enough SpaceX will grace the public markets with its presence, but the question of which bank will take it public remains an open question. According to traders, Morgan Stanley has an 88% chance of participating, Goldman Sachs 60%, JPMorgan 47%, and Bank of America 10%. For what it’s worth, CEO Elon Musk has worked with Morgan Stanley on most of his major financial needs in the past.
🎬 Warner Bros.: Who will be the eventual buyer of Warner Bros. Discovery? Besides Netflix (which is currently the main contender favored by WBD brass) and Paramount (which has been relentless in its quest to snap up the rival), another rising contender is “none,” currently trading at a probability of 24%, essentially contending that the M&A environment just isn’t conducive to more consolidation in entertainment.
*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.
What else we're Snackin'
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss pill
OpenAI has started mocking up what ads in ChatGPT could look like
In the absence of official statistics, Bloomberg estimates there have been at least 15 deaths linked to crashes in which Tesla’s door functionality may have impeded escape or rescue
Nvidia has reached an agreement to work with AI chip startup Groq to enhance its inference capabilities
Here are three reasons why Netflix is likely to keep pushing for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and HBO assets
Snack Fact of the Day
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” was the widest Imax release ever, debuting on 1,703 screens globally and earning $43.6 million through the format.
This Week
Pending US home sales
Minutes from the Fed’s December meeting
Initial jobless claims
Markets closed in observance of New Year’s Day
December Manufacturing PMI, November construction spending
Important Information
¹ Reuters, US gas-heavy power pipeline set to stoke LNG exporter tensions, August 20, 2025.
² IEA, Global natural gas demand growth set to accelerate in 2026 as more LNG supply comes to market, July 22, 2025.
³ EIA, The United States remained the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter in 2024, March 27, 2025.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The investable universe of companies in which the Fund may invest may be limited. LNGX invests in the energy industry, which entails significant risk and volatility. LNGX is non-diversified.
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s summary or full prospectuses which are available at GlobalXETFs.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Global X Management Company LLC serves as an advisor to Global X Funds. The Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO), which is not affiliated with Global X Management Company LLC.