Weekly roundup

Here’s what you missed while you were hustling this week:

• 🛢️ Oil and gas activity rebounds. The Dallas Fed’s latest energy survey shows a slight uptick in oil and gas activity for Q4, with the business activity index rising from -5.9 to 6.0. While optimism is creeping back, mixed production results and rising costs are keeping the industry cautious about what’s next.

• 🌏 Jimmy Carter’s enduring Chinese legacy. As the U.S. reflects on Jimmy Carter’s transformative presidency, his role in establishing modern U.S.-China relations remains one of his most impactful achievements. In a world of shifting geopolitics, Carter’s diplomatic groundwork is more relevant than ever.

• 📈 Private employment grows in December. ADP data shows a 122,000-job increase in private employment last month, highlighting resilience in the labor market. However, slower job growth hints at employers exercising caution as economic uncertainties linger.

Featured story

Hershey Scrambles for Cocoa Amid Global Shortage

Hershey is in a sticky situation, petitioning the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to let it buy a jaw-dropping 90,000 metric tons of cocoa—nine times the usual limit. Blame it on a global cocoa shortage, fueled by crop disease, bad weather, and policy failures in top producers like Ivory Coast and Ghana. Prices have skyrocketed, stockpiles are at a 20-year low, and chocolate makers like Hershey are scrambling to secure supply before the situation gets worse.

Cocoa futures jumped 4.5% on the news, while Hershey’s stock slid 3.4%, underscoring the precarious balance between securing supply and rattling markets. This isn’t Hershey’s first high-stakes cocoa play; the company pulled a similar move during the pandemic. But with a 60-year high deficit looming, this latest push could reshape the market—and spark chaos among traders and competitors alike.

So, what’s next? If Hershey gets the green light, it could dominate the cocoa trade, driving up prices for everyone else. But if the bid fails, the chocolate giant faces an even tougher fight to keep costs—and candy bar prices—from melting down.

Indices at 12:00 AM (ET)

Here are your upcoming market events:

• 📉 S&P Starts 2025 Shaky
  The S&P 500 stumbled into 2025 after skipping its Santa Rally, and analysts say a rough January could spell trouble for the rest of the year. Historically, a bad start means weaker six-month returns, and with a new presidential cycle adding uncertainty, investors are on edge.

• 🛠️ DOGE Goes Big
  Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is staffing up with salaried engineers, HR pros, and finance experts to hunt down $2 trillion in federal waste. It’s a bold move to tackle bloated government spending and prove that "efficiency" isn’t just a buzzword.

• 📸 Getty and Shutterstock Join Forces
  In a $3.7 billion megadeal, Getty Images and Shutterstock are merging to create the ultimate visual content giant. From AI innovation to 3D imagery, this powerhouse promises to shake up the media landscape and leave smaller players scrambling to keep up.

Off-balance sheet items

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• Over-explaining is overrated. A management professor argues that constant over-explaining erodes trust and wastes time, urging leaders to embrace clarity and confidence instead.

• Ancient ice, new insights. Scientists in Antarctica drilled nearly two miles down to extract a 1.2-million-year-old ice core, offering unprecedented clues about past climate shifts and what’s ahead.

• The world goes beige. The “sad beige” aesthetic is taking over everything from fashion to furniture, as a love for neutral tones raises questions about creativity and self-expression.

2025 World GDP Growth Projections

The bottom line

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