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• Earnings szn is just about here, and like your date last Friday night, analysts have really low expectations
• Looks like Scum Bag-Fraud could be getting a cellmate in Alex Mashinsky, founder of Celsius, as NY State smells even more crypto fraud
• Want to scan your pee? Or watch Joe Rogan clips on your daily commute? Well, after CES 2023, all this weird sh*t and much more could be yours
• Being the trendsetters we are, hundreds in Brazil have followed suit and stormed the nation's capital in protest of the election of President Lula da Silva

JPow Swipes Right on American Employment

I'd love to say bittersweet was the word of the day following Friday's jobs report, but to Mr. Market, the slowdown in hiring was anything but bitter. Just sweet.

The US economy added 223,000 jobs in December, well above the 202,000 guesstimated by economists. At the same time, revisions brought the number of job additions in the prior two months down by a total of 28,000.

With that, we can take a grand look back at 2022 in its entirety. Overall, we added 4.5mn jobs last year, averaging 375,000 new hires per month. That's basically the equivalent of adding the entire populations of LA and Boston into the job market in a single year, the second highest ever behind only 2021 (where 6.6mn jobs were added).

To paraphrase the Flex Seal guy, that's a lotta jobs! And as you smart, attractive, loyal readers of the Peel know, adding an excessive number of jobs has, for the past few months, made Mr. Market sad because they know JPow is terrified of Americans having livelihoods.

But fr, this report was fairly solid in a few different ways.

First, 223,000 jobs added is a pretty stellar number by historical standards. Americans are still having a relatively easy time finding jobs, a good sign for long-term consumer spending and credit trends.

Second, 223,000 is a slowdown in job growth from previous periods. Taking the opposite view of the above paragraph, a slowdown in hiring is exactly what JPow and the gang want to see in order to chill out with the meteoric rate hikes.

But, with unemployment actually falling back to 3.5% while the labor force participation rate remained at 62.3%, the market for jobs is still undeniably tight.

It's just that now instead of being as tight as that green shirt Zelensky always wears, we may be seeing some breathing room start to emerge.

The real stickler of the report came a little bit farther down, so if you didn't read past the first two paragraphs as 99.99% of people, you might've missed it. But you know I got you.

Average hourly earnings of non-supervisory employees (basically non-managers) continued to increase for the period, albeit at a slower rate of just 0.2% month-over-month. That right there is exactly what JPow dreams about seeing.

Rising earnings is good because…obviously. But rising too fast triggers wage-push inflation, the very beast that's been driving insane price increases over the last year and a half. Compared to last year, wages rose by 4.6%, settling at $32.82/hr.

Long story short, the age-old struggle between capital and labor is alive and well. 2022 was a rare year where labor absolutely and utterly dominated capital like a sadistic bully, but if 2023 is like the last decade, capital could be returning to the throne soon.

Stay tuned!

World Wrestling Entertainment ($WWE) ↑ 16.98% ↑

• Like Steve Jobs returning to Apple or Andrew Carnegie returning to US Steel, the legendary Vince McMahon has announced plans to return to his baby, World Wrestling Entertainment.
• While McMahon previously stepped down in relation to sexual misconduct allegations, this absolute psycho is often more remembered for his obscene stunts like 
   or this.
• But when he's not wrestling in hospital beds or getting kicked in the nuts by his wife while fighting his son, he's actually apparently a pretty shrewd executive, according to Wall Street. Shares gained nearly 17% solely on news of his return.
• Still, it likely won't be for long. Analysts note that the smartest and shareholder-favored move now is to immediately explore a sale of the "entertainment" firm.

Costco ($COST) ↑ 7.26% ↑

• Is anyone surprised? Clearly, the Street finally heard about the grand honor bestowed upon Costco after winning last year's highly regarded Platinum Banana award for Company of the Year. Shares rocketed over 7% as word finally got out.
• At the same time, Costco also just happened to drop its December comparable sales report. After a spooky showing in November led shares to dump more than 10%, investors got confirmation that that, in fact, was probably a fluke.
• Sales proved almost as strong as Damar Hamlin through the end of the year and holiday season, once again bringing cheer back in the minds of investors. And yes, the hot dogs are still just $1.50. Now you see why they're deserving of an honor as supreme as the Platinum Banana??