Meta and Alphabet lose dominance over US digital ads market (4 min read)
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The market shares of Meta and Alphabet combined in US ad revenue is projected to fall to 48.4% this year and the first time the duo will not hold the majority of the market since 2014. They have dropped for five consecutive years since peaking at 54.7% in 2017. Although the market shares of new entrants like Amazon, Tiktok, Microsoft, and Apple are still relatively small, they have been growing at a rapid pace. It is estimated that their ad business will jump in double digits annually in the coming years.

Short-sellers made $15 billion betting against Tesla shares this year (2 min read)

Research shows that betting against Tesla stocks was the most profitable short trade of 2022 in the US. Short-sellers made $15 billion in total this year from shorting Tesla stocks as the company lost about $800 billion of its market-cap. The interest in shorting Tesla started in April when it began to decline and ramped up again in September as Elon came close to acquiring Twitter. About 3% of Tesla shares are being shorted, making it one of the largest US shorts.

The Fed’s favorite gauge shows price increases are moderating (5 min read)
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The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index (PCE) rose 5.5% annually in November, lower than the annual increase of 6.1% in October. The core PCE which strips out food and energy was up 4.7% annually. Both PCE indexes hit their lowest annual increase since October 2021 and provided another indication that inflation has peaked. PCE is the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge since it looks at a more complete picture of costs for consumers.

‘We’re in a housing recession right now,’ expert says (3 min read)

According to the CEO of National Association of Home Builders, the US is already in a housing recession. The combination of rising mortgage rates, high construction costs, and low inventory levels has led home sales to decline for 10 months in a row. The percentage of first time home buyers has slipped to 26% from 34% just a year ago while the average age went up to 36 from 33. The housing market will likely recover in 2024 when the Fed begins to lower its benchmark rate.

How to Choose the Best ETFs for Long-Term Investing (4 min read)
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Choosing the appropriate ETFs for long-term investing ultimately depends on the investor’s risk tolerance and time horizon. But the general guideline is to look for ETFs with low fees, high AUM, and longer track records. Lower fees offer a better chance to outperform in the long-run, higher AUM tends to have higher trading volume, and longer history provides an idea how it did against its peers. Examples of ETF types for long-term portfolios are available in this article.

Direct Indexing May Not Be the ‘ETF Killer’ Everyone Thinks (3 min read)
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Direct indexing has been called an “ETF Killer” because it allows investors to directly buy equities and build customizable portfolios. It offers more personalization than ETFs by letting investors passively invest in the market, but without the fund wrapper. However, this article argues that the strategy is also a niche service that mostly benefits high net-worth individuals. Without a broader range of investors, the growth in direct investing may be limited.

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