Avoid Being Scrooge-like; Maintain Your Grip on Kindness
In this informal podcast discussion, Our Website analyst Jason Moser and host Dylan Lewis explore several topics that will shape the market and consumer behavior in 2025.
First, Moser addresses the market's post-holiday hangover, attributing the skid to profit-taking, tax loss harvesting, and lingering uncertainty in the new year---including the incoming administration, potential inflation, and interest rate policy.
Moser then shares his end-of-year investment strategy, opting to maintain his existing winners while shoring up funds for college tuition. While Lewis mentions increasing his 401K contributions for the new year, the two agree on the importance of planning and adaptability.
Turning their attention to consumer credit card debt, the duo voices growing concerns about delinquencies, particularly amongst lower-income earners and as inflation and higher interest rates put pressure on budgets. The lack of savings among this demographic raises red flags, as their discretionary spending may be impacted if debt becomes unmanageable.
Expanding on the credit card debt topic, the pair discusses the popularity of buy now, pay later services, which have proliferated in recent years. Though these options may alleviate some near-term pressure, the long-term implications of increasing debt remain unclear.
Transitioning to retail, both Moser and Lewis ponder how the market might shake out in the coming year, noting that some retailers catering to higher-income customers may continue to fare well while those serving the lower-earning demographic may face headwinds.
As the podcast wraps up, the two discuss Alphabet's 2025 agenda, which centers on AI, Gemini, and Project Mariner. Alphabet's commitment to investing in AI infrastructure confirm a growing focus in a rapidly evolving technology.
Moser also touches on the company's new AI conversational model, Gemini 2.0, and its mission to introduce new ad concepts. Additionally, Project Mariner, an AI agent that can understand and manipulate browser information, has been unveiled as part of Alphabet's broader AI and technology advancements.
Enrichment Data:
Alphabet's 2025 agenda: + AI Infrastructure Investment: $75 billion in spending on servers, data centers, and research and development. + Gemini AI Models: The company has launched Gemini 2.0 with performance enhancements and low-latency versions. + Project Mariner: AI Agent Capabilities and in-browser automated task completion introduction. + Deep Research Tool: Web Research tool leveraging agent capabilities to explore complex topics. + Mixed Reality Operating System: Android XR, designed for mixed reality experiences. + Generative Media Models: VO2 and Imagen 3, State-of-the-art video and image generation models.
In discussing the future of finance, Moser mentions the importance of considering potential inflation and interest rate changes when making investment decisions.
Despite the challenges, Moser emphasizes the value of maintaining winning investments and planning for future expenses, such as college tuition.
Turning to consumer behavior, the analysts express concern over the rising credit card debt, particularly among lower-income earners, and the potential impact of unmanageable debt on discretionary spending.
Moser highlights Alphabet's commitment to investing in AI infrastructure, introducing new AI conversational models, and unveiling Project Mariner, an AI agent designed to manage browser information.
