Good morning!

Despite an underwhelming finish, 2024 turned out to be a stellar year on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 setting record highs and achieving its second consecutive year of 20% + performance for the first time since 1998. I'm looking forward to another year of healthy economics, but no matter what 2025 brings, you can be sure your Miramontes Capital team is here to help keep our clients' investments protected and growing. Here's what's happening this week...

• Wall Street's first full week of the year is also the start of Q4 earnings. It starts out slowly on Wednesday with numbers from Albertson's and Jefferies Financial Group, picks up Thursday with Infosys and KB Home, then really gets the ball rolling Friday with earnings from financial powerhouses Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Blackrock, as well as Delta Airlines and Constellation Brands. *

• Friday's U.S. jobs report is expected to show a moderate increase of 160,000 new jobs in December, down from November's unexpectedly high 227,000. Economists are cautious ahead of this week's numbers, hoping for a "Goldilocks" outcome – not too hot to cause worries about higher rates, nor too cold to trigger concerns about a recession. **

• U.S. Steel and Japan-based Nippon Steel have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration following a decision made last week to block their proposed merger. The Biden administration argued that the nearly $15 billion acquisition of the second-largest domestic steel producer by Nippon would pose a threat to U.S. national security. However, the two companies claim in their lawsuit that political considerations related to the election season influenced the formal government review of the merger. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges that the Biden administration used the government review process as a pretext to reject the merger as a favor to the United Steelworkers (USW) labor union. *** 

The financial advisors at Miramontes Capital diligently keep up with anything that can impact our clients' finances and tap into more than 175 years of combined investment experience. We do our all to keep your money protected and growing. If you think you might benefit from our financial experience and oversight, contact us today for a FREE, no-obligation consultation. Just call (800) 460-1595. Until next week...

Investment Advisory Services offered through Miramontes Capital, LLC. Securities offered through Balanced Security Planning, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Miramontes Capital, LLC and Balanced Security Planning, Inc. are separate companies affiliated through common control. This newsletter is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Miramontes Capital, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Miramontes Capital, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.