Category: News
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ tops box office for fourth straight week with newcomer ‘Primate’ second
LOS ANGELES — “Avatar: Fire and Ash” kept on smoldering at the box office, taking the top spot for a fourth straight week on a relatively quiet weekend as the January doldrums began setting in for the industry.
The third chapter in James Cameron’s Pandora epic brought in $21.3 million in North American theaters for The Walt Disney Co., according to studio estimates Sunday.
In total after four weeks, “Fire and Ash” has grossed $342.6 million in North America and $888 million in the rest of the world. Last week it joined its two predecessors as a billion-dollar earner.
The week’s top-grossing new release was Paramount Pictures rampaging-chimp horror film “Primate,” which earned $11.3 million domestically.
Disney’s “Zootopia 2” has shown remarkable staying power since its November release. It continues to be a global juggernaut and a sensation in China. Globally, the animated sequel has piled up $1.65 billion. That put it just on the edge of becoming Disney’s highest grossing animated movie ever, trailing only the $1.66 billion brought in by 2019’s photorealistic “The Lion King.”
In its seventh week, it was fourth at the North American box office with $10.1 million for a domestic total of $378.8 million.
The Sydney Sweeney-driven thriller “The Housemaid” continues to be a good earner for Lionsgate, which earlier this week greenlit a sequel. It collected $11.2 million in North America in its fourth weekend for a total of $94.15 million after costing just $35 million to make.
The figures came on a Sunday when much of Hollywood’s attention is on the Golden Globe Awards. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Zootopia 2” are nominated for two awards apiece.
But among contenders in top categories at the Globes, only A24’s “Marty Supreme” is in this weekend’s box office top 10, finishing sixth with a $7.6 million take and a $70.1 million four-week total in North America.
It’s nominated for best picture musical or comedy, with star Timothée Chalamet nominated for best actor in a comedy and cowriter and director Josh Safdie nominated for best screenplay.
On the whole, Hollywood started 2026 strongly. Revenues this weekend were up 23% from the same weekend in 2025, according to data firm Comscore. And the 2026 total so far is also up 23% from last year.
The movie industry is coming off a poor 2025, where domestic moviegoing continued to slide. But studios are hoping 2026 could be the best box-office year of the decade as they await the releases of new “Avengers,” “Spider-Man,” “Toy Story,” “Super Mario Bros” and “Dune” movies.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $21.3 million.
2. “Primate,” $ 11.3 million
3. “The Housemaid,” $11.2 million.
4. “Zootopia 2,” $10.1 million.
5. “Greenland 2: Migration,” $8.5 million
6. “Marty Supreme,” $7.6 million.
7. “Anaconda,” $5.1 million.
8. “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” $3.8 million.
9. “David,” $3.1 million.
10. “Song Sung Blue,” $3 million.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/11/avatar-fire-and-ash-box-office-2/
Elina Svitolina vence a Wang Xinyu en Auckland y gana su 19no título de la WTA
WELLINGTON, Nueva Zelanda (AP) — Elina Svitolina se dirige al Abierto de Australia con su 19mo título de la Gira de la WTA tras conquistar el domingo en el Abierto de Auckland en Nueva Zelanda.
La cabeza de serie venció por 6-3,7-6 (8) a la séptima cabeza de serie Wang Xinyu de China. Fue el 19no título de Svitolina, quien ocupa el puesto 13 del ranking, en 24 apariciones en finales. En 2024 alcanzó la final en Auckland, pero perdió en tres sets ante Coco Gauff.
Svitolina se dirige ahora a Melbourne, donde jugará un partido de exhibición el miércoles contra la estadounidense Amanda Anisimova, quien ocupa el cuarto lugar del ranking.
La ucraniana terminó su temporada 2025 en septiembre cuando decidió tomarse un descanso de salud mental. Auckland fue su primer torneo desde ese descanso.
Fue apoyada durante toda la semana desde la cancha por su esposo Gael Monfils, quien ganó el título masculino en Auckland el año pasado y defenderá ese título a partir del lunes.
“Definitivamente se siente increíble ganar otro título, especialmente después de un final de año no muy agradable para mí”, admitió Svitolina. “Pero ese descanso realmente me ayudó a reagruparme y volver con una nueva energía y estoy muy feliz de haber conseguido un título aquí”.
“Este fue muy especial porque, obviamente, mi esposo ganó aquí el año pasado y este año me dijo si no ganas este año no sé qué decirte más”.
Svitolina salvó un punto de quiebre en su primer juego de servicio en el que Wang hizo su primera incursión exitosa a la red, mostrando la habilidad de una ex campeona de dobles de Grand Slam. Wang también utilizó un drop shot bien disimulado, otra arma para una jugadora que ganó el título de dobles del Abierto de Francia en 2023.
Svitolina convirtió su primera oportunidad de quiebre en el sexto juego, luego mantuvo sus dos siguientes juegos de servicio para llevarse el primer set en poco más de 30 minutos.
Wang mantuvo un apretado juego de servicio inicial en el segundo set, utilizando un drop shot para sacar a Svitolina de posición. Después de sobrevivir a puntos de quiebre en el quinto juego con una volea en carrera, Wang mantuvo la presión para liderar 5-4, utilizando potentes golpes de fondo para mover a Svitolina por la cancha.
Wang tomó ventaja temprana tras el subsecuente desempate por un error de Svitolina y un retorno agudo, aunque la ucraniana rápidamente igualó ganando dos puntos consecutivos en el servicio de Wang.
Svitolina luego produjo dos grandes servicios para liderar 6-5, pero Wang salvó el primer punto de campeonato. La ucraniana luego ganó un quiebre crucial para liderar 7-6 y sirvió para llevarse el partido en su segundo punto de partido.
Esta fue la primera final de Wang en la Gira.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Mavis Staples at the Chicago Theatre: This is what freedom sounds like
Mavis Staples leveraged more than 70 years of performance and activism to meet the moment Saturday at a sold-out Chicago Theatre.
Navigating a sociopolitical and cultural backdrop vastly different from the one that framed her jubilant 85th birthday celebration only 13 months ago at Auditorium Theatre, the local legend proved immune to losing hope or giving up in the face of developments that go against practically every concept she’s traditionally embraced in song and spirit.
Halfway into her 86th year, Staples led a vigorous charge against hate and oppression. Dressed in a black blouse and pants, and wearing a brilliant smile, the singer stood for the majority of the fearless 80-minute set. She sat for brief moments, and never for the entirety of a tune, her stance supporting the veracity of her repeated “I feel pretty good myself” claims. Staples was defiant, adamant, resilient, alert, cheerful, humorous. Nothing out of the ordinary for her, particularly in a live environment.
Yet amid current circumstances, her indefatigable enthusiasm and contagious optimism held greater meaning than at many of her prior shows this century. The four selections she chose to play from her new “Sad and Beautiful World” album underscored the stakes at hand. Ditto the fact that Staples left a few small openings for doubt and uncertainty — emotions that don’t often creep into her outlook.
Rather than downcast or defeatist, her acknowledgement of potential stumbling blocks came across as her way of admitting not every battle will result in victory, and that the struggle could be long and difficult. Truths she knows first-hand from journeying with her family in the Staple Singers in the contentious South during the civil rights era, and from her unwavering faith in a higher power.
She addressed both subjects during short between-song conversational breaks. The most endearing of which found her possibly mispronouncing Taylor Swift’s last name and initially misidentifying the title of the superstar’s 2014 hit “Shake It Off.” After realizing her error, Staples didn’t miss a beat. She admitted to having occasional “senior moments” and relying on her razor-sharp ensemble to help her when needed.
Guided by the stellar control of guitarist Rick Holmstrom, her five-piece band had her back at every turn. She didn’t require much assistance. Staples’ energy, passion and happiness filled the room with a warmth that evoked the presence of a favorite grandparent. Similarly, her radiant charisma, welcoming personality and cackling laughter served as reminders of what being truly alive looks and sounds like. She made it her mission to allow everyone in the building to share in that joy. And maybe, take it home with them for a while.
Per tradition, Staples recited several of her now-familiar statements to establish the mood and get people loose. As always, she meant everything she said. Staples paired vocal interjections — spontaneous commands uttered to spur on the group or crowd, emphatic assertions to redouble her own proclamations — with animated movements that helped connect her messages with the participatory traditions and compassionate tenets of the gospel church that formed the foundations of her career.
Slapping her knee. Rolling or clapping her hands. Extending her left arm as a salute. Patting Holmstrom on the shoulder as he extended a funky groove or laid into a slinky solo. Marching to a beat. Hugging back-up vocalist Kelly Hogan after serenading her with a few bars of “Happy Birthday.” Raising both arms in triumph. Staples’ physical gestures arrived as innate responses to the simmering rhythms and action-oriented lyrics. All the more appropriate for a national icon who took on the roles of instructor, preacher, healer, reporter, comforter, encourager, recruiter, disciple and, in circles that value vanity and greed, rebel and warrior.
Rich in throaty grit and raspy texture, Staples’ soulful deliveries demonstrated little evidence of limitations. Even if her ability to hold notes for extended periods has lessened, her propensity for reaching back, digging in and uncorking lines of considerable low-end depth suggested she remains as formidable a singer today as when her contemporary resurgence began in the mid-2000s.
Mavis Staples performs at the Chicago Theatre on Jan. 10, 2026. (Troy Stolt for the Chicago Tribune)
Relatedly, her phrasing, timing and dynamics revealed the nuanced techniques of a master — and expressive heft of a vocalist who sculpted each word to suit the situation. Staples avoided over-singing or using loudness for sensational effect. Never showy, albeit completely self-assured, she commanded attention whether growling bluesy declarations, humming wordless melodies or crooning soft assurances.
In several instances, Staples handed off verses to members of her band and swooped for the bridge and chorus, adding musical counterpoints and contrasts. She duetted with opener Nathaniel Rateliff on a minimalist rendition of “Friendship,” one of her late father’s final efforts. Entering from the rear flanks on a spunky cover of the Band’s “The Weight,” Staples explicitly volunteered for the task of bearing heavy loads. She aced the assignment throughout the evening.
The singer confronted climate change disasters, war-machine casualties and personal absences on the balladic “Human Mind.” Gunshots, police brutality and the death of innocents peppered a contemplative “Beautiful Strangers,” sung with a gentle grace that conjured a sweet lullaby even if the vulnerable narrative explored mortality. Despite a fog of sorrow hovering over both songs, Staples stayed resolved in her belief in the common good and humanity itself.
Mavis Staples performs at the Chicago Theatre on Jan. 10, 2026. (Troy Stolt for the Chicago Tribune)
Increasing the intensity, Staples leaned into the 1965 anthem “Freedom Highway” with a fervor that indicated she recognized its contemporary importance. Overt references to prejudice, inequality and confusion — along with the prescient line “The whole world is wonderin’ / What’s wrong with the United States” — echoed with unmistakable relevance.
For anyone seeking respite from life’s incessant storms, Staples offered relief and in-the-flesh evidence that lasting, unifying change can happen. Those principles fueled “I’ll Take You There,” deservingly given a romping treatment as the encore, and a bright, twangy reading of Eddie Hinton’s “Everybody Needs Love.”
Staples’ confidence in the transformative power of collectivity and positive thought peaked on an illuminating version of “Chicago.” Seen through her eyes, the Tom Waits tune emerged as part autobiographical tale, paean to her hometown and tribute to its spirit of resistance in the past year.
Having braved violent fearmongers and toxic cruelty before, and won, she’s come too far to turn back now. The forward momentum of her self-described “love train” won’t be stopped. Jump on board.
Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.
Setlist from the Chicago Theatre on Jan. 10:
“City in the Sky”
“I’m Just Another Soldier”
“Hand Writing on the Wall”
“Chicago” (Tom Waits cover)
“Beautiful Strangers”
“Freedom Highway”
“Respect Yourself”
“Human Mind”
“Friendship” (Pops Staples cover)
“The Weight” (The Band cover)
“Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)”
“Everybody Needs Love” (Eddie Hinton cover)
Encore
“I’ll Take You There”
With Cuban ally Maduro ousted, Trump warns Havana to make a ‘deal’ before it’s too late
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela’s leader.
Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country’s oil products.
Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Hours later, Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, responded on X by saying “those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, absolutely in any way.”
The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.
“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”
Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.
Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro’s capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.
“Those who hysterically accuse our nation today do so out of rage at this people’s sovereign decision to choose their political model,” Díaz-Canel said in his post. He added that “those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages we suffer should be ashamed to keep quiet” and he railed against the “draconian measures” imposed by the U.S. on Cuba.
The island’s communist government has said U.S. sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.
Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of an American embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.
“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”
Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.
Minnesota braces for what’s next amid immigration arrests and in the wake of Renee Good shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — Already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration officer, Minnesota’s Twin Cities on Sunday braced for what many expect will be a new normal over the next few weeks as the Department of Homeland Security carries out what it called its largest enforcement operation ever.
In one Minneapolis neighborhood filled with single-family homes, protesters confronted federal agents and attempted to disrupt their operations by blowing car horns and whistles and banging on drums.
There was some pushing and several people were hit with chemical spray just before agents banged down the door of one home on Sunday. They later took one person away in handcuffs.
“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring and gathering information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.
While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said on Sunday that the investigation into shooting death of Renee Good shouldn’t be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith both said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiassed investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened,” Smith said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem dismissed complaints from Minnesota officials about local agencies being denied any participation in the investigation during an interview with CNN.
“We do work with locals when they work with us,” she said, criticizing the Minneapolis mayor and others for not assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Frey and Noem each pointed fingers at the other for their rhetoric after Good’s killing, and each pushed their own firm conclusions about what video of the incident shows. The mayor stood by his assertions that videos show “a federal agent recklessly abusing power that ended up in somebody’s dying.”
“Let’s have the investigation in the hands of someone that isn’t biased,” Frey said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The killing of Good on Wednesday by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests across the country over the weekend.
Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis on Saturday where Homeland Security called its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation.
Associated Press journalists Thomas Strong in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/11/minnesota-renee-good-shooting/
Fast And Furious 47: The Midterm Elections Are Driving Everything
Fast And Furious 47: The Midterm Elections Are Driving Everything
By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities
Fast And Furious 47
The Fast and Furious franchise is on its 10th or 11th movie. The U.S. government is on its 47th President.
In an interesting “mash-up,” we have entered into the arena of Fast and Furious 47.
I don’t think we have ever seen the generation of so many headlines, on so many subjects, so quickly from any world leader, as we’ve seen since the start of this year!
Aside from the “obvious” headlines on Venezuela, which after Friday’s press conference looks more and more like colonization, we have a raft of geopolitical headlines.
Seizing Russian-flagged crude carriers.
Threats on Cuba, Iran, and Syria (U.S. strikes against ISIS targets once again on Saturday) to name a few. With the events that occurred in Venezuela, these need to be taken very seriously.
Some sort of peace negotiations continue with Russia and Ukraine.
Some sort of plans for rebuilding Gaza (hearing about a ski resort?).
If you missed this week’s Academy Webinar, I highly recommend watching it as Rachel Washburn does an amazing job moderating the conversation with General Ashley (Army), General Bellon (Marine Corps) who was in charge of U.S. Marine Corps Forces South (in South and Central America), Linda Weissgold (Former CIA Deputy Director for Analysis), and myself.
Then on the economic front, we had:
Venezuela and its oil – there are a lot of potential economic outcomes from the intervention in Venezuela. It remains to be seen how this plays out, and even after the press conference with oil heavyweights on Friday, there seems to be some disagreement on how attractive the prospects of investing in Venezuelan oil are.
The U.S. invested $2.7 billion in companies involved in uranium enrichment. The ProSec drumbeat continues to create investment opportunities.
Defense stocks were hit when the President suggested restricting compensation and dividend payouts for companies that are behind their targets for delivery. Then they rose when the President suggested the military budget should be increased from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion (somehow bonds barely reacted).
Housing had its own mixed bag of headlines. $200 billion to buy mortgages caused mortgage spreads to tighten. The President also tossed out the idea of restricting home purchases to individuals rather than entities designed to buy up housing.
Closing out the week was the “announcement” that credit card interest rates should be capped at 10%. On one hand, I’ve never figured out how cutting rates by a few bps here and there moves the needle for people at the lowest income rungs, especially the ones struggling with debt. On the other hand (I can play “economist” periodically), the rates are designed so that the card issuers can provide credit to as many people as possible while compensating for their potential credit losses (capping rates will likely constrain credit issuance to the riskiest borrowers).
I’m sure I missed a bunch of other important and potentially market-moving events.
Midterm Elections are Driving Everything
The President is well aware of the importance of winning the midterm elections. He realized that a President without the House of Representatives and Senate on his side, is not in an enviable position.
Look for him to implement policy after policy after policy attempting to secure victory in the midterm elections for Republicans.
Success in foreign policy will be a key element. From bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, to capturing Maduro, look for a lot more to occur on this front.
Affordability is another key issue. The steps on credit cards, housing, and mortgage rates seem to try to address that. Look for more.
Drugs and immigration will remain front and center. It seems impossible to envision a path that does not include turning our attention, and likely full might, on the Mexican cartels.
Transactional. Being transactional is not necessarily bad, and in many cases can be good, and certainly more effective than the policy of admonishing and haranguing, which did seem to be how we treated many developing or emerging nations.
If you had “colonization” on your bingo card for the year, you can stop reading now. You were way more prepared than I was. Maybe it is a stretch to call the intentions with Venezuela a form of “colonization,” but at the moment, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.
Even dialing it back, who really had a successful overnight raid to infiltrate Venezuela, to arrest Maduro, and then bring him (and his wife) to the U.S. to face charges as part of their January 2026 outlook? It is interesting to note that given the clear superiority of our military, in terms of equipment, training, and execution, the admin is keen to use it to our advantage, as demonstrated by the recent and effective actions in Iran and Venezuela.
The point we are trying to make is twofold:
Expect a LOT more announcements on many more subjects than you thought were possible even in your wildest imagination.
Let your imagination “run wild” with what could come up as potential policy, because for this admin, “out of the box” is the norm and not trying to get ahead of it could cost you.
Anticipating moves and preparing for them will help you make better investment and corporate decisions.
Out of the Box on Interest Rates
On Friday, in Jobs, Housing, and Tariffs, we tried to hammer home the need to take the government’s goals on short-term rates, the 10-year Treasury yield, and mortgage yields seriously.
Back in August, we “thought out loud” about some potential steps to Lowering Yields Across the Curve. At this stage, my only regret is that we didn’t think outside the box enough!
My view on rates is:
We are not pricing in enough cuts quickly enough. 2 cuts by June rather than 1 is at least my “base” case if not my “worst” case. With Fed Funds effective sitting right around 3.65%, I don’t see how we get to the end of the summer (and the heart of the election campaign) with rates higher than 2.875%. This is not an “economist” view based on “economic” data. It is a view that the admin wants it there and fighting that desire seems to be a recipe for disaster.
Also, there is so much wiggle room around things like the Neutral rate. For all those arguing that 3 cuts wouldn’t make sense, let’s not pretend that setting rates is a science. It is as much guesswork as science.
10s will get below 4%. Sooner than later.
Mortgage yields will grind lower as spreads tighten (and the 10-year Treasury yield moves lower). 3.75% as a target in Q1 seems high, but that is gradually where I think we will come out.
On Friday we suggested we were finally ready for 2s vs 30s to flatten. It didn’t do much until about 10am when it went from 135 to close at 128. Look for more flattening, which might make 3.75% too high of a target on 10s.
This is not necessarily the monetary policy I would want to enact. A lot can happen in the economic data to change this outlook (certainly true with the Fast and Furious 47 theme). But at the moment, I’m fighting the market, not the admin (which I think includes the Fed, or will include the Fed more than it has historically).
A “Fun” Fast and Furious Story
I was having a conversation a few years ago with an extremely good financial journalist. We were talking about “trades we missed.” You know the sort of thing you had conviction in but took off too early, got stopped out, or just didn’t have the will to push management to put it on. It was a fun and cathartic conversation.
But he had a story that outdid them all.
A journalist had been assigned by some paper/magazine (I want to say Vanity Fair or The NY Times) to explore “Street racing in Los Angeles.” It was outside the usual beat of this journalist but they went ahead and wrote a feature article about street racing in LA.
According to legend, this overworked and underpaid (only modestly successful) journalist was offered an “immense” amount of money (or what seemed like an immense amount of money at the time) to option the movie rights to their work. At the time, presumably the mid-1990s, $50k for an “option” to do movies about street racing in LA seemed like a great deal.
Fast forward to 2001, when Fast and Furious came out and became a surprise hit, that author had some serious regrets. As the franchise grew to a level very few franchises grow to (think James Bond, Star Wars, Friday the 13th), one can only imagine the thoughts going through that person’s mind.
Not sure this has much to do with today’s T-Report (other than that we all miss investments, in part because we don’t believe enough in them), but I did think it makes for an interesting interlude, before the final segment of today’s T-Report.
ProSec Needs You!
The title of this section should probably read You Need ProSec but that doesn’t go as well with the picture that we have included. We already included a “smattering” of ProSec related news in this report. Venezuela, oil, and the uranium investment. The scope of ProSec is broad enough that it encompasses so much more.
We were just discussing how difficult it was to get traction with our theme of National Production for National Security and Resiliency. After a year of trying to get traction with anything from “Refine, Baby, Refine” to National Production for National Security, we settled on ProSec as an easy way to capture our theme. It was back in August that we officially Launched ProSec.
Since August we have used ProSec in the title of 6 T-Reports and incorporated it into countless others. We have lost count of how many times we’ve used it in the media, but finally, Lisa Abramowitz at Bloomberg can keep a straight face when she mentions ProSec. It has been actually used in some reporting on how to invest under this administration. The grammar police say that I should remove “actually” but I think the use of “actually” connotates some level of surprise, which is relevant in this case. While JPM doesn’t officially call the $1.5 trillion earmarked for certain types of investments ProSec, it certainly seems to fit that quite well.
It also doesn’t hurt that two individual stock tickers we mentioned in ProSec 2026 have done extremely well. INTC is up 23% YTD, and BC is up 18% YTD. Pretty healthy increases. Across the board, many of the ProSec sectors and potential stocks (or ETFs) are outperforming the broad market (1.8% on the S&P 500 and 2.8% on the Nasdaq). Our “rotation” theme is also working out well, with the Russell 2000 up almost 6%.
Continuing to build out a portfolio of ProSec linked names should continue to work well.
A mix of “National Champions” with smaller, very domestic-focused companies should do well. Also, companies integral to the build-out phase, will do very well.
Processors, refiners, and finished goods manufacturers will likely outperform those further down the supply chain. Yes, the entire chain will do well, but expect benefits to accrue disproportionately to companies that reduce our dependency on China the most. While less dependency on everyone is part of the admin’s goal, those that can address China the best will do the best.
While the following chart is almost embarrassingly bad, even by T-Report charting skills, I think it is a great way to filter companies in (or out of) the ProSec narrative.
You Need ProSec
Whether you are part of forming government policy (at any level of government, domestic or international), are an investor, or directing the future of your company, thinking about Production for Security and Resiliency is likely to become a large part of your analysis going forward. Might as well start embracing it now, if you haven’t already.
Holy Corporate Bond Market!
The corporate bond calendar started the year at a record setting pace. I’m not sure how people in the bond market had time to breathe this week – between the headlines and the onslaught of new issues!
Not only was the supply absorbed easily (deals were oversubscribed, came with little or no concession, and still traded tighter) but also spreads in the secondary market tightened (based on the CDX IG CDS Index and the Bloomberg Corporate Bond Option Adjusted Spread).
Look for credit to continue to be stable and maybe grind a bit tighter.
Still waiting to see how the year evolves for the funding needs of data centers, AI, and energy generation. I suspect for companies that explain their plans, and communicate that they will be cautious on spending if the results don’t warrant spending, the markets will be very receptive.
Those markets will likely include public credit in your own name, private credit (on a project finance basis), and possibly even some larger deals that fall squarely into the “traditional” realm of structured products.
Bottom Line
Two biggest threats to risk markets:
China decides to respond to more aggressive U.S. actions across the globe by constraining shipments of rare earths and critical minerals. That is their primarily leverage. If they do use that leverage, it will come at the expense of their ability to legally procure U.S. AI and chip technology. I’m watching for any sign that China starts to “slow play” their approval of export licenses and/or the slowing of any contracted shipments.
Our own politics become so divisive that things cannot get done. Seems like a low risk, but we have seen some movement across party lines in some votes this past week. Keep an eye on that as a risk to the current path, which has been benefitting ProSec.
The “surprise” that could propel risk markets much higher:
The bond market drifts towards our outlook on rates.
Part of me wishes the current pace of headlines cannot continue, but:
I do think the current pace of headlines will continue as Fast and Furious 47 is a real thing.
I probably must admit that I enjoy the pace of headlines and the excitement and opportunities they bring to the markets.
Good luck and thanks again for all your help in 2025 and everything you have done to help us get 2026 going in the right direction for Academy!
Tyler Durden
Sun, 01/11/2026 – 14:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fast-and-furious-47-midterm-elections-are-driving-everything
Miles de enfermeras de NY prevén huelga si no llegan a un acuerdo con los hospitales
Por JENNIFER PELTZ
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Miles de enfermeras en algunos de los hospitales más grandes de la ciudad de Nueva York podrían irse a huelga el lunes durante una severa temporada de gripe, tres años después de que un paro similar obligó a algunas de las mismas instalaciones médicas a transferir a algunos pacientes y desviar ambulancias.
La inminente huelga podría afectar las operaciones en varios de los principales hospitales privados de la ciudad, incluidos Mount Sinai en Manhattan, el Centro Médico Montefiore en el Bronx y el Centro Médico NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving.
Cerca de 15.000 enfermeras podrían dejar sus puestos de trabajo temprano el lunes si no se llega a un acuerdo, lo que constituiría la huelga de enfermeras más grande en la historia de la ciudad, según Nancy Hagans, presidenta de la Asociación de Enfermeras del Estado de Nueva York. Hasta la mañana del domingo, se había avanzado poco en la mesa de negociaciones, comentó Hagans. Una gran mayoría de las enfermeras del sindicato votaron el mes pasado para autorizar la huelga.
Al igual que la lucha laboral de 2023, la disputa de este año involucra una compleja gama de problemas, reclamos, contrademandas y particularidades de cada hospital. Una vez más, los niveles de personal son un punto crítico: las enfermeras dicen que los centros médicos con grandes presupuestos se niegan a comprometerse con —o incluso están retrocediendo en— disposiciones para cargas de trabajo manejables y seguras.
Preocupaciones de seguridad en cuestión
Esta vez, el sindicato de enfermeras también quiere salvaguardas en el uso de inteligencia artificial por parte de los hospitales, además de más medidas de seguridad en el lugar de trabajo. Un hombre armado entró en Mount Sinai en noviembre, y un hombre con un objeto afilado se atrincheró en una habitación de hospital en Brooklyn esta semana; ambos hombres fueron finalmente abatidos por la policía.
Los hospitales privados sin fines de lucro involucrados en las negociaciones actuales dicen que han hecho avances en el personal desde 2023. Algunos de ellos sugieren que las demandas del sindicato, tomadas en su conjunto, son demasiado costosas.
Decenas de enfermeras se manifestaron el viernes en Manhattan, insistiendo en que su principal preocupación era el cuidado adecuado y acusando a los centros médicos —cuyos principales ejecutivos ganan millones de dólares al año— de codicia e intransigencia.
Sophie Boland, enfermera de cuidados intensivos pediátricos en el sistema hospitalario NewYork-Presbyterian, expresó: “Mi hospital intenta recortar personal todos los días, y luego intentan luchar contra los avances históricos que logramos hace tres años”.
Mientras tanto, los hospitales han calificado la amenaza de huelga del sindicato como “imprudente”. Prometieron en un comunicado el jueves “hacer lo que sea necesario para minimizar las interrupciones”.
Hagans, la presidenta del sindicato, también ha enfatizado que los pacientes no deben retrasar la atención durante una posible huelga.
Aun así, la gobernadora de Nueva York, Kathy Hochul, expresó su preocupación de que una huelga podría afectar la atención al paciente, instando a ambas partes el viernes a “permanecer en la mesa y llegar a un acuerdo”.
Los hospitales se preparan para una huelga
Mount Sinai ha contratado a más de 1.000 enfermeras temporales y ha realizado simulacros preparatorios para una huelga que podría afectar su hospital principal de 1.100 camas y dos afiliados —Mount Sinai Morningside y Mount Sinai West— con alrededor de 500 camas cada uno.
NewYork-Presbyterian dijo que también había organizado enfermeras temporales, pero que, si ocurre la huelga, algunos pacientes podrían ser trasladados a nuevas habitaciones o aconsejados para transferirse a otra instalación. Montefiore publicó un mensaje asegurando a los pacientes que las citas se mantendrían.
El mismo sindicato organizó una huelga de tres días en la instalación principal de Mount Sinai y Montefiore en 2023, cuando las enfermeras enfatizaron sus sacrificios durante el agotador y aterrador pico de la pandemia de COVID-19 y la crisis nacional de personal de enfermería que siguió.
La huelga llevó a esos hospitales a posponer cirugías no urgentes, a decir a muchas ambulancias que fueran a otro lugar y a transferir a algunos bebés en cuidados intensivos y otros pacientes. Se recurrió a enfermeras temporales e incluso a administradores con experiencia clínica para cubrir los puestos, pero algunos pacientes notaron tiempos de espera más largos y salas con menos personal.
La huelga terminó con un acuerdo sobre aumentos salariales que totalizaban un 19% en tres años y mejoras en el personal, incluida la posibilidad de pago extra si las enfermeras tenían que trabajar con personal reducido.
Ahora, dice el sindicato, los hospitales están retrocediendo en esas garantías y no cumplen con otras promesas.
Montefiore, por ejemplo, acordó “hacer todos los esfuerzos razonables” para dejar de mantener a algunos pacientes de urgencias en los pasillos mientras esperan que se abra espacio en otras salas. Sin embargo, tres años después, las enfermeras todavía se esfuerzan por tratar a los “pacientes de pasillo”, comentó el viernes Michelle Gonzalez, enfermera de cuidados intensivos de Montefiore.
Montefiore ha sugerido que ha hecho algunos progresos: el hospital informó a los funcionarios electos en una carta en octubre que ha habido una reducción del 35% en el tiempo que toma desde la admisión de emergencia hasta una cama en una unidad clínica.
En general, los hospitales dicen que han reducido en gran medida las tasas de vacantes de empleo de enfermería en los últimos tres años, y Mount Sinai y NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Irving University Medical Center dicen que también han agregado cientos de puestos de enfermería.
En los últimos días, varios hospitales más pequeños —incluidas múltiples instalaciones de Northwell Health en Long Island— evitaron posibles huelgas al llegar a acuerdos o hacer lo que el sindicato consideró un progreso adecuado.
________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Equipos de rescate ingresan a barrio devastado por combates en Siria
Por GHAITH ALSAYED
ALEPO, Siria (AP) — Los residentes comenzaron a regresar el domingo a un barrio en disputa en la ciudad de Alepo, en el norte de Siria, después de días de enfrentamientos entre fuerzas gubernamentales y fuerzas lideradas por los kurdos. Los socorristas entraron para atender a los residentes, limpiar escombros y desarmar minas.
Los enfrentamientos estallaron el martes en los barrios predominantemente kurdos de Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh y Bani Zaid después de que el gobierno y las Fuerzas Democráticas Sirias, la principal fuerza liderada por los kurdos en el país, no lograran avanzar en cómo integrar a las FDS en el ejército nacional. Desde entonces, las fuerzas de seguridad han capturado Achrafieh y Bani Zaid.
La lucha entre ambos bandos fue la más intensa desde la caída del entonces presidente Bashar Assad ante los insurgentes en diciembre de 2024. Al menos 23 personas murieron en cinco días de enfrentamientos y más de 140.000 fueron desplazadas en medio de bombardeos y ataques con drones.
Los combatientes kurdos se han evacuado del barrio de Sheikh Maqsoud hacia el noreste de Siria, bajo el control de las FDS. Sin embargo, han dicho en un comunicado que continuarán luchando ahora que los heridos y civiles han sido evacuados, en lo que llamaron un “alto al fuego parcial”.
El barrio parecía tranquilo el domingo.
Las fuerzas del gobierno llevaron a periodistas a recorrer la zona devastada, mostrándoles el dañado Hospital Khalid al-Fajer y una posición militar perteneciente a las FDS que las fuerzas gubernamentales habían atacado.
El comunicado de las FDS acusó al gobierno de atacar el hospital “docenas de veces” antes de que los pacientes fueran evacuados. Damasco acusó al grupo de usar el hospital y otras instalaciones civiles como posiciones militares.
En una calle, los socorristas de la Media Luna Roja Siria hablaron con un residente rodeado de coches carbonizados y edificios residenciales gravemente dañados.
Algunos residentes dijeron a The Associated Press que las FDS no permitieron que sus coches pasaran por los puntos de control para salir.
“Vivimos una noche de horror. Todavía no puedo creer que estoy aquí de pie por mis propios medios”, declaró Ahmad Shaikho. “Hasta ahora la situación ha estado tranquila. No ha habido disparos”.
La Defensa Civil Siria ha estado desarmando minas improvisadas que, según dice, fueron dejadas por las fuerzas kurdas como trampas explosivas.
A los residentes que huyeron no se les permite regresar al barrio hasta que todas las minas sean desactivadas. Algunos recordaron el desplazamiento durante la larga guerra civil de Siria.
“Quiero volver a mi hogar, se lo suplico”, indicó Hoda Alnasiri.
___________________________________
El corresponsal Kareem Chehayeb en Beirut contribuyó con esta nota.
___________________________________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
CES Came And Went. Here’s What Stood Out.
CES Came And Went. Here’s What Stood Out.
CES, short for the Consumer Electronics Show, wrapped up late last week in Las Vegas. It is the world’s largest technology trade show, offering attendees a peek into the future. This year’s event marked a shift away from gimmicky uses of artificial intelligence toward products that deliver real-world productivity gains, alongside a series of key comments from industry leaders on the state of AI.
Consumer tech publication Tom’s Guide had journalists walking CES last week who focused on finding products with practical uses of AI, including a fridge that reads food labels and manages groceries, a wearable device that records and summarizes your day while tracking emotions, and Lenovo’s Qira, an AI companion that anticipates user needs.
Alongside increasingly smart software, CES also delivered notable hardware, including an ultra-thin TV, a gaming laptop with a rollable screen that expands, and a wild robot vacuum that can climb stairs and clean more intelligently.
Last Monday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a CES keynote on booming memory demand driven by AI. The comments sent memory stock prices like SanDisk’s through the roof.
Goldman analyst Peter Bartlett told clients on Saturday that “CES came and went (AI commentary still robust), global Memory stocks resumed their torrid moves higher.”
Bartlett noted:
Memory madness… The global memory complex took another violent leg higher last week. Ongoing positive supply/demand datapoints + comments from Jensen @ CES highlighting the massive “unserved” demand for memory in the AI industry fueled the explosive move higher. From a flows perspective, our institutional activity skewed better to buy across this group, but my suspicion is the global retail trading community has had a hand in this move as well.
After Tom’s Guide evaluated dozens of companies, we took it a step further and focused on just a few of the most promising concepts or new products:
Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable
If there’s one thing that’s inevitable, it’s Lenovo introducing a fun rollable display concept at CES. But what I didn’t expect was a rollable prototype that I actually pray that the company makes. And that’s exactly what we have in the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable. Simply put, it would be the perfect bridge between my home gaming setup of an ultrawide monitor and my gaming laptop — a display that can extend from the 16-inch 16:9 panel all the way up to 24:9 at a impressive 24 inches at a 240Hz refresh rate. Whatever genre of game you’re playing, you’ve got exactly the right screen aspect ratio to play it with. — Jason England
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN
Upon first glance of the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN (it’s a mouthful, I know), I was immediately blown away by the visuals. I mean, there’s the clarity of the best gaming monitors, but then there’s this 34-inch QD-OLED display with next-gen RGB Stripe Pixel OLED technology boasting a 1800R WQHD (3440 x 1440) curved panel. The results? Crystal-clear visuals with draw-dropping colors and true blacks.
We’ve seen monitors reach well over a 360Hz refresh rate and a 0.03 response time, but Asus claims this is the world’s first RGB OLED gaming monitor on the market. It offers a 40% uplift in perceived blacks thanks to the ROG BlackShield film, along with richer colors, making the ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN a monitor for gamers and creatives to keep an eye on for 2026. — Darragh Murphy
Best 2-in-1 Laptop: Asus Zenbook Duo
The Asus Zenbook Duo finally did the thing I always wanted it to do. The redesign makes this 2-in-1 truly shine by eliminating the distracting lip between those two 14-inch OLED panels. On top of that, the battery is now shared between both sides for better weight distribution; the aluminum chassis is slimmer and sleeker; and this comes strapped with our best of show winner: Intel Core Ultra Series 3. That’s sure to bring the power efficiency this dual-screen beast needs.
For the past couple of years, the idea of a 2-in-1 has always been a convertible laptop. In 2026, dual-screen laptops have a real shot of breaking through thanks to the Zenbook Duo. — Jason England
Roborock Saros Rover
The ability to climb stairs is the final threshold — both literally and figuratively — for robot vacuums. At CES 2026, we saw a few companies try to tackle that problem, but the Roborock Saros Rover did it with the most elegance.
This robovac has two wheels at the end of extendable legs that can lift it up, one step at a time, to go from one floor of your house to the next. Even better, it can vacuum each tread of your stairs as it ascends. It’s also pretty agile. In our hands-on with the Saros Rover, we saw it lean back and forth on each leg, glide effortlessly down a ramp, and even jump up and down. When was the last time you saw a robot vacuum do that? — Mike Prospero
Hisense RGB MiniLED 116UXS
You can’t walk more than 15 feet in the Las Vegas Conference Center without seeing a sign for some brand’s Mini RGB technology. It’s everywhere. But of all the brands, Hisense has come away with the best model in my eyes — a 116-inch behemoth in the Hisense RGB Mini-LED 116UXS that not only uses RGB-subpixels but even throws in a new fourth color in the mix (cyan) to display 110% of BT2020’s coverage area.
In layman’s terms, this is the most colorful TV you’ve ever seen in your life. The tradeoff is that it’s not the slimmest, nor does it have the best anti-glare filter, but the picture is absolutely sublime. If Hisense manages to shrink this display technology and bring it to its award-winning mid-range models, it’s game over for the competition. — Nick Pino
Previous reporting on the tech show:
At CES, A Chinese Two-Legged Vacuum Signals The Next Phase Of Home Robotics
“Market That Never Existed”: Nvidia CEO Sparks Frenzy In Memory Stocks
What intrigued us most is that the rollable display concept is a game-changer for anyone tired of lugging external monitors while traveling
Tyler Durden
Sun, 01/11/2026 – 13:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/ces-came-and-went-heres-what-stood-out
Incendios forestales en sur argentino ya consumen 12.000 hectáreas y acechan a poblaciones
MONTEVIDEO (AP) — El avance del fuego sobre los bosques en la Patagonia argentina alcanzó casi 12.000 hectáreas y 78 brigadistas se han incorporado a las tareas de extinción, informó el Servicio Provincial de Manejo del Fuego.
El incendio iniciado hace casi una semana en la zona cordillerana de la provincia argentina de Chubut alcanzó una superficie estimada de 11.970 hectáreas de matorral, bosque implantado y nativo. En su avance, el fuego ya cruzó la Ruta Nacional Nº 40 y amenaza a una usina y una escuela, además de afectar establecimientos rurales.
Según el reporte, las causas del evento aún no han sido establecidas, aunque el gobernador de Chubut, Ignacio Torres, señaló que hay indicios de que uno de los incendios más devastadores, que permanece activo, fue provocado de forma intencional.
“Los miserables que prendieron fuego van a terminar presos”, dijo el gobernador en una rueda de prensa del jueves, al anunciar además una recompensa de 50 millones de pesos (unos 34.000 dólares) para quienes aporten datos sobre el siniestro que afecta a la zona.
Por su parte, el fiscal Carlos Díaz Mayer complementó que el fuego “se inició con un acelerante o nafta (gasolina), que es lo que determina que efectivamente alguien quiso prender ese fuego”, por lo que el Ministerio Público investiga las presuntas responsabilidades.
El sábado, el presidente chileno Gabriel Boric ofreció ayuda al gobierno argentino para combatir los focos activos, y propuso “trabajar juntos”, en un mensaje publicado en su cuenta de X, que fue correspondido por el canciller argentino Pablo Quirno.
El jefe de Gabinete y portavoz del Ejecutivo argentino, Manuel Adorni, informó el domingo que se desplegaron 295 brigadistas para el operativo de extinción, compuesto por 15 medios aéreos, camiones autobomba 4×4 y apoyo logístico de las Fuerzas Armadas.
Además del de Chubut hay incendios forestales activos en la provincia patagónica de Neuquén, según la Agencia Federal de Emergencias, al tiempo que Santa Cruz y Río Negro declararon circunscriptos sus focos, aunque se mantienen en emergencia.
Este incendio se trata del primero de grandes proporciones registrado en 2026 y se produce un año después de que los peores incendios forestales en décadas arrasaran con decenas de miles de hectáreas de la Patagonia, destruyeran decenas de viviendas y dejaran un muerto.
Las labores de combate se han visto dificultadas por las condiciones climáticas de sequía y fuerte viento, mientras que las enormes columnas de humo han afectado la visibilidad de los profesionales.
Los incendios forestales son habituales en la temporada del verano austral, debido a la combinación de altas temperaturas, fuertes vientos y sequía que predominan entre los meses de diciembre y marzo.
El Servicio Nacional de Manejo del Fuego de Argentina decretó una alerta roja de peligro de incendios en ocho provincias del centro y sur del país hasta el viernes.
