Should I make this a 2026 weekly newsletter? · InvestCEO with Kyle Henris

Kyle Henris

👑

Dec '25 • General discussion

Should I make this a 2026 weekly newsletter?

🚨 The Money Memo (working title)

Edition: Week Ending Dec 17, 2025

Vibe: Markets are spicy, but your plan should be boring.

✅ The 60-Second Market Snapshot

Stocks (risk-on, but with a weird limp):

• SPY (S&P 500 ETF): ~$673.90

• QQQ (Nasdaq 100 ETF): ~$603.75

• DIA (Dow ETF): ~$481.02

• IWM (Small caps): ~$248.56

Crypto (still acting like crypto):

• Bitcoin: ~$86,569

• Ethereum: ~$2,845.57

🤓 Kyle’s read: We’re not in “everything is broken” mode… we’re in “stop paying any price for the shiny AI stuff” mode.

⸻

✅ What Mattered Last Week (and why it moved price)

A) AI stocks stopped getting a free pass.

Markets have been sliding for multiple sessions largely because big AI names have been taking heat—bubble talk, capex worries, and “how soon is the payoff?”

B) Data-center reality check = “show me the money.”

Reuters flagged a big snag around an Oracle-linked data center financing situation, which poured gasoline on the “AI spending is getting expensive” narrative.

C) Crypto: year-end vibes + macro nerves.

BTC has been drifting lower in cautious trade. And markets are eyeing big expirations (“triple witching” + options expiries) as potential volatility fuel.

✅ The Week Ahead: Your “Don’t Get Surprised” Calendar

The big one: November CPI drops Thursday, Dec 18 (delayed schedule).

Translation: liquidity is thinner into the holidays, so a “normal” inflation print can still create an abnormal move.

🧐 Kyle’s playbook (simple):

If CPI surprises hot → yields up, growth/AI could feel it first.
If CPI surprises cool → risk assets breathe, but watch for “one good print doesn’t fix everything” whiplash.

✅ Setups & Watchlist (how I’m thinking, not what you “must” do)

Theme 1: “AI ≠ automatic wins.”

This isn’t anti-AI. It’s pro-price. When the crowd gets emotional, I get selective.

Theme 2: Small caps = sneaky tell.

IWM matters because it hints at risk appetite beyond the megacaps. If small caps can’t hold bids, the “broad rally” story gets weaker.

Theme 3: BTC = volatility with a schedule.

Into options expiries, treat BTC like a coiled spring: it can do nothing all day… then erase a week’s patience in 15 minutes.

✅ World Headlines That Actually Matter (for markets + real life)

Oil / geopolitics: The U.S. announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering/leaving Venezuela, pushing oil attention higher and adding geopolitical risk back into the inflation conversation.

Global growth pockets: Sri Lanka forecasted ~5%+ growth in 2026 tied to post-cyclone reconstruction and international financing—one example of how “the world economy” is never one story at a time.

✅ The Fun Corner (because money shouldn’t be miserable)

This week’s market translation…🥁