Business

CEOs Nationwide Are Looking Over Their Shoulder

After the assassination or United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, there has yet to be an arrest made, and if I was a CEO i’d be very nervous.

UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down Wednesday morning in New York City, in what can safely be called a targeted attack. 

Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was in NYC for the company’s annual investors meeting when he was murdered outside of the Hilton hotel they were meeting in. Thompson was named CEO in 2021. He was only 50-years old and sadly leaves behind a wife and two teenage sons. Thompson’s wife said that the family had been receiving death threats prior to the murder, and two homes owned by the Thompson family were “swatted.”

While we don’t have the name of the murderer, or his true motive, here’s what we do know, according to the police: He arrived in Manhattan 10 days prior to the murder. He stayed in a hostel, traveled throughout the city during that time (including on the subway), and only used cash for any purchases. It is believed he used a fake New Jersey I.D. to check in to the hostel and the gun he used was purchased in Connecticut. He originally arrived to NYC on a bus that originated from Atlanta, though officials are unsure when exactly he got on the bus. 

Following the murder, the shooter rode a bike to central park. Police believe he left town right  away on a bus, as they have footage of him walking into a bus depot, but never coming out. The cops have over 200 images of him from his time in the city, but it seems the only photo they have of his face without a mask (at least released publicly) is from when he checked into the hostel. He was flirting with the receptionist who asked to see his smile.

The shooter left a burner phone behind in the alley he escaped through following the shooting. He was seen on a phone call prior to the shooting, as he waited outside for Thompson for 5-10 minutes. He also visited a Starbucks that morning, prior to getting to the hotel for the killing. 

The bullets were engraved with the words “deny,” “defend,” “depose.” Which are similar words to the title of a book, “Delay, Deny, Defend,” that condemned the health insurance industry. 

Following the murder, Blue Cross Blue Shield canceled their plan to stop covering the cost of anesthesia. Most health insurance companies also removed details about their leadership teams from their websites. 

The killer had left behind a water bottle and the wrapper of a protein bar, which police are testing for DNA. The police also believed they found his backpack in Central Park. A $50,000 reward for information has been announced. According to NYC Mayor Eric Adams, the cops do know the name of the shooter, but aren’t releasing it to the public just yet.

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Economy

More Houses to be Sold Next Year

Redfin thinks many will still be priced out of the market though.

Redfin’s economists expect there to be more home sales in 2025, largely due to pent-up demand. However, they believe some would-be homebuyers will still be priced out of the market, as home prices are climbing and mortgage rates remain near 7%.

Meanwhile, rental prices should stay flat and remain affordable, as wages continue to increase. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have pledged to lower housing costs for working-class Americans and build more homes… but we’ll see if that truly occurs. 

Redfin’s predictions include home prices rising by 4% in 2025, which will be a similar pace to the second half of 2025. Redfin doesn’t expect there to be enough inventory to meet the demand. 

They also predict mortgage rates remaining near 7% throughout 2025. Investors are anticipating that if President-elect Donald Trump implements a significant portion of his proposed tax cuts and tariffs, then the economy should remain strong - which would keep the Fed from cutting it’s policy rate more than twice in 2025, keeping those mortgage rates high.

Their third prediction was that there will be more home sales in 2025 than 2024, with an increase between 2-9% (4.1-4.4 million homes sold). The range is wider than usual, because high housing costs may price out some would-be buyers, but there’s a fair amount of pent-up demand in the market. 

Redfin also predicted that 2025 with be a renter’s market (rent should remain the same, while wages increase), fewer construction regulations will lead to more homebuilding, wealthy people will pay less to buy and sell homes (as commissions decline slightly), the real estate industry will consolidate (due to the Trump administration allowing the Federal Trade Commission to act more liberally), climate risk will be priced into individual homes (especially in Florida) and, lastly, democratic mayors will help reverse the flight from urban centers (such as throughout California).

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Global News

A Syrian Regime Change

Rebel fighters have overthrown the President.

Syrian rebel fighters have overthrown President Bashar al-Assad, ending a near six-decade run of his family’s iron-fisted rule following a lightning advance that reversed the course of a 13-year civil war. The fall of Assad’s government is one of the most consequential turning points in the Middle East for generations.

al-Assad fled, as he and his family found asylum in Russia. His overthrow was sudden, at the hands of a Turkish-backed revolt with roots in jihadist Sunni Islam, and now limits Iran’s ability to spread weapons to its allies and could cost Russia its Mediterranean naval base. 

It could also lead to millions of refugees, who have been scattered for more than a decade in camps across Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, to finally be able to return home. 

Bashar’s father seized power in the 1960’s and the family had run a harsh dictatorship since with hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in its gulag. And, surprisingly, it all has gone away overnight. Inmates poured out of their jail cells, freed by the rebels, and were able to reunite with their families in joy. 

“We toppled the regime,” people yelled, as they skipped through the streets in delight. 

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Sports

Wild Conference Championship Weekend

College Football regular seasons have come to a close, conferences have their champions, and we’re on to the playoffs!

It was a wild Championship weekend in college football, as Georgia, despite having to use its backup QB, came back to beat Texas (for the second time this year) in overtime, Clemson blew a 17 point lead vs SMU, before a last second 56 yard game-winning field goal gave them another ACC title, and Oregon remained undefeated by besting Penn State. 

Elsewhere, Boise State punched its ticket to the college football playoff by winning the Mountain West and Arizona State, who was picked last in the Big 12, won the conference to punch its ticket too. All of the Power 4 conferences had a first year team in the conference championship game, with the Big Ten being won by one (Oregon) and the Big 12 (Arizona State).

With Clemson upsetting SMU, Alabama got bumped from the final playoff rankings yesterday - after they were gifted a spot in last year’s four team field. 

The first round games will be played on December 20th and 21st on campus sites. All four home teams are favored to win by more than a touchdown (so maybe we didn’t need to expand to 12 teams after all…). The next round will then take place on New Year’s Eve and Day.

You can see the full bracket here.

A Legend Passes

Legendary basketball coach Lou Carneseca passed away last week/

Just about five weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Carneseca coached from high school to the ABA (with the New York Nets at the time), but was most known for his 24 years as the head coach of St. Johns in the Big East.

Carneseca won 73% of his games with St. Johns, leading them to the Final Four in 1985, before retiring in 1992. He amazingly reached the postseason at the end of every season he coached St. John’s, and was twice selected as the National Coach of the Year.

Looie, as he was referred to, was widely known for his sense of humor and his signature sweaters that he would wear on the sidelines. Therefore, current St. John's head coach Rick Pitino honored Carneseca this weekend by wearing one of his signature sweaters. In the first home game for the Johnnies since his passing, which was fittingly played in the arena named after Carneseca, St. Johns honored the coach before beating Kansas State. The school also unveiled a new logo on the court that included the late coach’s signature.

"I don't think I would have ever forgiven myself if we lost this game," Pitino said afterwards, donning the sweater. "It's been an emotional week for me personally … and it was really, really important that we get a win for Lou. Great crowd, a great second half. A lot of emotion behind the game, and Lou lived a great life. … I told the guys, you got all these St. John's legends, and St. John's ruled the world on the East Coast in the '60s, the '70s, the '80s, and it was all for the name on the front."

Pitino had five people strike out in their search online for the sweater, which is no longer in production, before having it tailored made by Calvin Klein. Pitino then retired the sweater at midcourt following the win. It was a series of nice moments on Saturday to honor a legendary basketball coach.

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