You’re a mean one, Mr Di Sibio. After EY CEO Carmine Di Sibio called 2022 “one of the most successful years in the history of the organization” he also told the firm’s US staff that they would not be getting holiday bonuses this year. Three ghosts need to visit this man immediately.

The lowdown

• 🎮 Microsoft acknowledges its acquisition of Activision may be delayed after FTC sues to block the deal on competition concerns.

• 🏦 Blackstone may slow the launch of planned PE fund after investor withdrawals.

• 🐦 Twitter to relaunch Twitter Blue from today with Apple users charged a higher price.

Flex your finance muscle 💸💪

It might have been some time since you believed in Santa Claus but it’s still ok to believe in:

The Santa Claus rally

Well, usually.

The Santa Claus rally is a calendar effect seen in stock markets where the final five days of trading in December and the first two trading days in January combine to deliver higher-than-average performance than an average 7-day period. The effect has mainly been observed in markets in the United States.

As seen in the graph above, from 1950 to 2017, the average return for the S&P 500 in December was higher than any other month of the year at just over 1.5%. December also sees the S&P 500 finish higher than where it began most consistently, coming in at roughly 75% since recording began. Time to put some stock in your stocking?

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Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision may be undone by Call of Duty

In January, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire games publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in cash. The deal was to be the biggest in Microsoft’s history, surpassing its $26 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2019. Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission announced that it would seek to block the deal on competition concerns.

Activision owns some of the most popular gaming franchises in the world including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and the more casual Candy Crush. Currently, these games are available on a range of consoles including PlayStation, PC and Microsoft’s own Xbox. The FTC’s fear is that the acquisition will allow Microsoft to limit the devices on which these games could appear.

What makes this interesting is that the FTC is intervening in a vertical as opposed to a horizontal merger. Horizontal mergers – for example, if Microsoft acquired Sony’s PlayStation business – are much more routinely blocked by regulators. Vertical mergers occur when companies at different levels of the supply chain combine and have been less likely to be attacked by regulators.

The issue is that regulators appear to have slept through some important tech acquisitions in the past. Facebook’s acquisition of a then-tiny Instagram is often cited as an example of this. The FTC is now awake and picking up the controller.

The content we're consuming today

• The New York Times: Why is Howard Schultz Taking a Starbucks Union So Personally? ($).

• Bloomberg: Retail Investors Clash With Pros Over Best Stock Trade Before the Fed Rate Decision.

Off-balance sheet items

• Have you been tasked with preparing Christmas lunch this year? Here is a list of festive recipes that will ensure you are never given this responsibility again.

The bottom line