45,037,125

MARKETS

• Energy: 2018 wasn't a great year for oil prices...U.S. crude posted its first annual loss since 2015. Experts say concerns of oversupply and a slowing global economy are to blame.
• U.S. markets: Full 2018 recap below.

MEDIA

This One Goes Out to the Two of You Who Didn’t Watch 'Bird Box'

We're going to start 2019 right where we left off in 2018...talking about the never-ending thriller that is Netflix.

45,037,125

That's how many accounts watched the Sandra Bullock horror flick "Bird Box" in its first seven days, according to Netflix (setting a record for one of its original films). So what does the streamer consider a "view"? Watching past 70% of the total run time including credits...and likely contributing at least one meme.

If you're thinking, "that's an absurd number," you're correct—Netflix has just over 137 million subscribers worldwide. So you can do the math.

Some media analysts tell us to be very skeptical since it was self-reported. But even that cold water couldn't keep other experts from zooming out on Netflix's hold over entertainment promotion.

It also bowed to Saudi pressure

Netflix pulled an episode of comedy series "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" last week in Saudi Arabia. The episode allegedly violated the country's anti-cyber crime law...but you should also know Minhaj, a former "The Daily Show" correspondent, took the kingdom to task over both the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.

Why this matters, per the FT:

• "Saudi Arabia, where roughly two-thirds of the population are under 30, represents a rapidly growing market for tech companies, which can make them cautious about upsetting the authorities for fear of losing access to affluent consumers."

And it reportedly snagged a new finance chief

Netflix's recruiters finally got a positive response to their LinkedIn messages, poaching Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann for the same position at Netflix, per multiple reports. He's expected to be named to the post this week.

Neumann is a private equity vet who's held several finance leadership roles, including at Disney. He'll be based in LA, where you can bet Netflix's Hollywood ambitions will be on his mind.

MARKETS

No Love Lost for 2018 on Wall Street

Like your Uncle Robby hitting Planet Fitness, U.S. stocks have a simple resolution for 2019: just do better than last year.

That's because 2018 was the worst year for stocks since 2008. It was only the second year the Dow and S&P have fallen in the last decade. The Nasdaq snapped a six-year winning streak, too.

In a tough back stretch all around, December was particularly cold. The S&P dropped 10% and the Dow 9.7%, making for the worst December for stocks since 1931.

Volatility was also in style: The S&P was up or down more than 1% nine times in December alone...compared to just eight such moves in all of 2017.

Who bore the brunt?

• Tech shares came tumbling from glory as both sales growth prospects and lofty valuations came under the microscope.
• Energy names struggled amid falling oil prices, while trade-sensitive industries (like auto-making and manufacturing) continued to falter c/o Beijing and D.C.'s ongoing trade war.

BIZ LAW

New Year, New Laws

If you ever make it to the Brew's New Year's Eve party, you'll find that instead of watching the ball drop, we all memorize a list of every new state law coming into effect that'll impact business in 2019. Here are a few...

Minimum wages got a bump in at least 19 states and 21 cities "on or around" Jan. 1, 2019, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Publicly held corporations based in California will be required to have at least one woman on their boards by the end of the year.

Tobacco products became more regulated in Massachusetts. Not only is the minimum age to buy tobacco products now up to 21, a new law bans e-cigarette use in areas where smoking is already prohibited by state law.

In New York, drug manufacturers will be responsible for the costs of leftover drug collection, transportation, and destruction. In order to cut off the supply of opioids, "We must make the take-back and disposal of these drugs more prominent and accessible," a bill summary says.

TRADE

The Latest Trade War Victim

You've read about prime rib and foreign cars, but do you know how nuclear reactors are faring during the China trade war? Not great, if you ask Bill Gates.

We'll explain. Gates co-founded a company called TerraPower, which is working on an ambitious nuclear energy project with a state-owned firm in China to make nuclear reactors smaller, less expensive, and safer.

But TerraPower's project now faces major uncertainty due to recent U.S. policy changes...which can be traced to the ongoing economic battle between the U.S. and China.

• Xs and Os: In the fall, the Energy Department unveiled new restrictions on nuclear deals with China (citing national security concerns, of course).
• Read between the lines: It was another effort from the Trump administration to stymie China's pursuit of U.S. tech.

So what's a nuclear energy company to do? TerraPower had been working on the China project for more than three years...but now it has to find a new partner to run pilots of the nuclear reactor it's been building. You can call it a major setback, but TerraPower's calling it a "regrouping."

CALENDAR

The Week(ish) Ahead

We can't be the only ones still finding confetti in odd places. Let's take a look at what's left on the agenda for the rest of this holiday week.

Wednesday: Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (which serves as a health gauge for the manufacturing and services sectors)

Thursday: Weekly jobless claims; ISM manufacturing index (which monitors employment, inventories, production, new orders, and supplier deliveries in the manufacturing sector)

Friday: December jobs report

• Economists forecast the U.S. added 185,000 jobs last month, up from 155,000 in November.
• They also say to look out for a 3.6% unemployment rate, down a hair from the 3.7% unemployment rate the economy's enjoyed for several months (which itself was a 1969 low).

Oh, and the government is *still* partially shut down. That means construction spending stats (from the Commerce Department) and motor vehicle stats (from the Bureau of Economic Analysis) previously slated for Thursday won't be coming out if the shutdown continues. Other government agencies (including the Labor Department) are still funded and functioning.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Greenlight Capital, the hedge fund of renowned money manager David Einhorn, lost 34% in 2018, the biggest ever annual loss in the fund's 22-year history.
• Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert reportedly submitted a $4.4 billion takeover bid to save the bankrupt retailer from liquidation.
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a year-end post that he's "proud of the progress" his platform made in 2018.
• Google won approval from U.S. regulators to deploy a radar-based motion sensing device dubbed Project Soli.

BREAKROOM

Guess the Logo: New Year’s Resolutions Edition

(Answer located at bottom of newsletter)

Breakroom Answers