’Twas the week before Christmas… 2025.
With apologies to Clement C. Moore and the fans of “A Visit From St. Nicholas”.
’Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the land,
The markets were watching the Fed’s steady hand.
Three cuts for the year, three quarters all told,
Inflation still sticky, but no longer bold.
Powell spoke calmly, as chairmen will do,
“We’re easing, not racing,” was the message he drew.
“Data dependent,” was the mantra that remained,
As bankers all nodded, and many others complained.
Tariffs still clung to each ship and each crate,
As trade wars went global, impacting the freight.
Supply chains rerouted, reshored, then delayed,
Till costs showed up even in the coffee we paid.
China slowed down, not much more than a walk,
Exports ran quiet, and the real estate balked.
In Europe, the headlines stayed heavy and grim,
With Putin and Ukraine, will there be no end to him?
Stocks first went down and then stayed flat,
Then they started to climb, thanks to AI and group chat.
More rapid than eagles the tickers they came,
As traders all shouted and called them by name:
Now Nvidia! Palantir! Microsoft, Meta!
On Apple! on Amazon! AI makes it better!
To the highs on the charts! To the top of the wall!
Now rally away! Rally away! Rally away, all!”
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So did data centers rise like weeds in the sand,
Power grids strained just to keep up the demand.
Chips flew off shelves faster than sleighs in the sky,
As models grew larger and questions asked “Why?”
Crypto cooled off from its headlines of highs,
From dinner-party boast, to more cautious replies.
When out in D.C. there arose such a fuss,
Congress went silent — then shuttered on us.
The doors all were closed, the workers sent home,
Airports ran thin, and tempers would foam.
Streaming wars raged with more tiers than a cake,
Each price “still a bargain,” each season at stake.
Bundled and rebundled till no one could say,
What they paid last month, or canceled today.
The Ghost of Christmas Past, bearing the name of Epstein,
Resurfaced with files that caused quite a scene.
And health trends went viral, injections went mainstream,
Weight loss met wellness, fed into the media scheme.
Then from Chavez Ravine rose a roar, loud and true,
As Ohtani and Freeman did what legends do.
With Miggy igniting and Yamamoto’s command,
The Dodgers took October (barely!) as they had planned.
As the year winds down and it goes in the books,
We take a moment and give Christmas some very good looks.
What have we done and what we will do,
Will depend on our resolutions lined in the queue.
Changes will come, as they inevitably do,
Just roll with the punches and stay with your crew.
And I say to you all, as I write with much cheer,
Merry Christmas to all, and a Prosperous New Year!
Like many people, Christmas is my favorite time of year. We stop to wish people “happy holidays,” send notes, and make phone calls to let people know how much we appreciate them. Office workers often participate in Secret Santa exchanges, and a good portion of the workforce has time off to spend with family and friends.
I am always introspective at Christmas time; I think it’s an opportunity to look back and see what went right and continue that. I also look for opportunities to improve with a vow to redouble my efforts, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The wonderful thing about a new year is that it provides a clean slate upon which you can build and measure your degree of success 12 months later. Make a list of things you want to accomplish, check it twice, and then insert it in your calendar for this time next year. You will be surprised how much of it you get done.
Thank you for being one of my readers, and I hope to connect with more of you in 2026! Happy holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
