Welcome to 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
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1. A war of words over the metaverse. Even as tech giants like Instagram and its parent company Meta pour money and resources into the nascent and vaguely defined space, the richest man in the world has his doubts.
"I don't know if I necessarily buy into this metaverse stuff," Elon Musk said in an interview with The Babylon Bee. The Tesla CEO questioned whether anyone would actually want to strap a screen to their face for a day. Earlier, Musk tweeted "Web3 sounds like bs."
Echoing those sentiments, Jack Dorsey created a Twitter storm when he said the involvement of venture capitalists means crypto users won't own a decentralized Web3 — and Musk tweeted back in apparent agreement.
Dorsey's mocking of the metaverse (Marc Andreessen blocked him on Twitter) comes despite his high praise for digital assets more broadly. He told rapper Cardi B that bitcoin will replace the dollar, and his company Block, which changed its name from Square, has placed big emphasis on crypto.
"I think we're far from disappearing into the metaverse," Musk said. "This sounds just kind of buzzword-y."
2. US stocks are shaping up for a third day of wins, with a 'Santa rally' on the cards. Promising Omicron and economic updates are bringing some holiday cheer to stocks worldwide. Here are the latest moves on the market.
3. A JPMorgan Asset Management veteran is ringing the bell for a red-hot housing market in 2022. Jack Caffrey also warned investors to brace for more volatility during the new year — and he shared which three industries to invest in.
4. Earnings on deck: Sanderson Farms, GoGold Resources, and Naito and Co., all reporting.
5. Americans aren't scared of inflation because they think it already peaked. Even though inflation is the worst since 1982, the Consumer Confidence Index rose in December to a five-month high. Market signals are also suggesting that fears may have peaked.
6. Elon Musk said he's sold enough Tesla stock to meet his 10%. The Tesla chief offloaded another $548 million of shares on Tuesday — bringing his total sales since November to about $14.1 billion.
7. Steph Curry is selling NFT sneakers that can be "worn" in the metaverse. The NBA star sold 2,974 NFTs in honor of him breaking the NBA three-point record. Users can show off the digital sneakers in three different metaverses.
8. Look for Crypto.com and FTX during Super Bowl commercials. Both crypto platforms bought ad space for the 2022 Super Bowl, the Wall Street Journal reported — a 30-second ad has a $6.5 million sticker.
9. Todd Baldwin, a 29-year-old property investor, is set to earn more than $1.5 million this year. He invested in his first property at 23 and has generated millions ever since. Baldwin shared two unconventional real-estate strategies he's used to build his wealth.
10. Crypto evangelist David Gokhshtein explained what needs to happen for a record-high bitcoin and ethereum rally. The two cryptocurrencies have struggled in recent weeks, but have still posted strong gains for the year. Gokhshtein also shared his eight favorite altcoins for 2022.
Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email [email protected] or tweet @philrosenn.
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