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No. 25 UConn working on climbing back up poll, faces No. 15 BaylorNone

wildpixel Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify The holiday-shortened week will market the start of seasonal stock gains. (0:18) Costs soaring on ChatGPT improvement project. (4:06) How much did the " 12 Days of Christmas " cost in '24? (5:14) Investors will enjoy a holiday-shortened trading week. The stock and bond markets are shut on Wednesday for Christmas Day and both will also close early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve. But while there are no major earnings, there’s still the Santa Claus Rally to watch out for. First defined by the legendary Stock Traders Almanac in 1972, the Santa rally refers to the tendency for stocks to gain during the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days of January. So, it should start on Tuesday. Going back to 1969 the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) has been up nearly eight out of 10 times during this period, rising an average of 1.3%. So, is it all aboard the sleigh? Traders may be reticent after last week’s Fed dots deflated what was looking to be a strong final month to a strong year. David Laut, CIO of Abound Financial, said earlier in the month that the “Santa Claus rally that we typically see at the very end of the year, likely came early this year, as there are very few near-term catalysts to push stocks higher.” Looking at where the indexes stand, if anything could use some holiday cheer it’s the Dow ( DJI ). It’s been hammered, down -4.6% in December and trailing the broad market for the year, up nearly 14%. The S&P is down -1.7% for the month following the Fed selloff, so there’s room to run. But it’s already notched a 24% gain for 2024. The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) is still in the green for December, up +1.9% and more than 30% for the year. There are other factors at play this time of year as well. Wolfe Research notes that there is a bounce trade of the worst performing stocks as tax-loss selling wraps up. The worst-performing stocks historically outperform by an average of about 250 basis points during the last two weeks of December through the end of January. On the economic calendar , the Conference Board’s measure of December consumer confidence arrives on Monday, just in time for last-minute shopping. The index is expected to rise to 113.5 from 111.7 in November. The index is more like to reflect political opinions than spending habits, though. On Tuesday, even with the shortened trading day, November durable goods orders arrive before bell. The headline number is forecast to fall -0.3%, with the core figure, ex transportation, seen rising +0.3%. Last Friday, November’s spending and income numbers arrived and Pantheon Macro economist Samuel Tombs noted that the 0.3% monthly rise in real consumer spending “leaves it on track to grow at an annualized rate of 2.5-to-3% in Q4, down from Q3’s breakneck 3.7% pace but still remarkably strong.” “That said, most of the overall increase in November was due to a 1.8% leap in spending on durable goods. Part of this reflects very strong spending on autos, which rose by 2.3% on the month, as vehicles damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton were replaced. But part of it probably reflects consumers starting to bring forward spending on many types of goods that will potentially be subject to new tariffs by the incoming Trump administration.” “If so, that likely will continue to support goods consumption in the very near term. But it will result in payback later after the tariff threat either recedes or comes to pass,” he said. Along with that report came the PCE price index (the Fed’s favored inflation gauge), which showed headline inflation rising less than expected to 2.4% with core PCE staying at 2.8%. But what about Xmas inflation? More on that later. In the news this weekend, the Senate on Saturday voted to pass a spending bill that will fund the government through mid-March and avoid a shutdown. President Joe Biden then signed the legislation into law. The Senate vote wrapped up what has been a chaotic funding process involving multiple rejections and a looming shutdown threat. The latest plan provides for spending through March 14, extends the farm bill, offers additional aid to farmers and provides disaster relief to hurricane victims. The Senate passed the bill with a vote of 85-11 early Saturday morning. It had first cleared the U.S. House on Friday evening 366-34. And OpenAI’s project, intended to be a major advancement to the artificial intelligence that drives ChatGPT, is behind schedule and expenses are soaring . The Wall Street Journal says the project that has been in the works for more than a year and a half, officially named GPT-5 and code-named Orion, may not work. Microsoft ( MSFT ), OpenAI’s largest investor and closest partner, had expected to see a new model around the middle of this year. OpenAI had held two large training runs, at least. Each has included months of adding huge amounts of data, aimed at making Orion smarter. New issues reportedly arose and the software didn’t meet researcher’s goals. Orion, at best, works better than OpenAI’s current products. But it hasn’t progressed to the point to justify the huge expense of running the new model. For income investors , on Monday, Broadcom ( AVGO ) goes ex-dividend with a payout date on December 31. Dividend darlings Philip Morris ( PM ) and Altria ( MO ), along with Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) go ex-dividend on Thursday. Altria pays out on January 10, Philip Morris pays out on January 13 and Southwest pays out on January 16. On Friday, American Tower ( AMT ) goes ex-dividend, with a payout date of February 3. And in the Wall Street Research Corner, we look at Xmas inflation as promised. For the last 41 years, PNC has been calculating the "true cost of Christmas" based on the prices of the gifts in the song "The 12 Days of Christmas." This year, the Christmas Price Index rose 5.4% from a year ago. Amanda Agati, CIO of PNC's Asset Management Group, said: "Believe it or not, we're still seeing the cause and effect of the pandemic-inflation hangover, even nearly five years later. With years of steep price increases, we'd think inflation has nowhere to go, but we'd be wrong. This latest PNC CPI is an accurate reflection of what we're seeing in the market." In dollars, buying all 364 gifts in the song, rose to $209,272. It topped $200,000 for the first time last year. The biggest inflationary rise was the price of the Partridge in a Pear Tree, which jumped 16%. Six Geese-A-Laying rose 15.4% and Eleven Pipers Piping (as measured by the Philadelphia area musicians union) rose 15.8%. Two Turtle Doves, Four Calling Birds, Five Gold Rings, Seven Swans-A-Swimming and Eight Maids-A-Milking were all flat. The core Christmas index, excluding volatile swans, rose 7.5%.

Ancelotti: ‘Real Madrid had to match Atalanta intensity’STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Jaylen Reed’s hands were still dirty and his face smeared with eye black as he took a seat in the Beaver Stadium media room. The hard-nosed veteran of nearly 50 college football games looked weary after Penn State pounded Maryland on Saturday, but lit up as he watched media members gather around teammate Audavion Collins next to him. The sophomore was excitedly describing his first career interception. Reed grinned, his pride was evident. One of Penn State’s captains, Reed loves when underclassmen earn playing time. He knows, especially on defense, the No. 3 Nittany Lions (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) will likely rely on them to make a run at their first national championship since 1986. “Having that type of depth, having that type of guy that can step up and play the game every week, that’s something that’s going to help us down the stretch,” Reed said. “Having depth at all positions, I feel like that’s the main thing and I feel like we have huge depth.” Reed knows Collins is far from the only reserve player who has been effective for Tom Allen’s defense this season. Heading into Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against No. 1 Oregon in Indianapolis, Penn State has used 39 players on a defense that ranks seventh nationally against the run and pass. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are fourth overall in total defense (266.8 yards) and sixth in scoring defense (14 points) entering the showdown with the Ducks' 15th-ranked offense with a College Football Playoff first-round bye at stake. It’s not just the starting 11 getting it done. Since mid-October, Penn State has regularly rotated at least nine defensive linemen, six linebackers and nine defensive backs early and midway through games. As a result, seven players have snagged their first interceptions this season, while five others have recorded their first sacks. “We believe in everybody coming in behind us,” linebacker Tony Rojas said. “Our defense, we know what we’re capable of and I feel like our defense is top tier, if not the best.” It technically hasn’t been at full strength since Week 2 of the season. Then, star safety KJ Winston was lost to an unspecified long-term injury. He tried to play at Wisconsin on Oct. 26, but hasn’t seen action since. In the meantime, Winston’s absence has allowed Allen and head coach James Franklin to get a good look at Collins and other young backend players like Eliot Washington, Zion Tracy and Dejuan Lane. Tracy and Lane have seen their snap counts go up since November, and both have interceptions since. The Nittany Lions haven’t been immune to injuries up front, either. Star end Dani Dennis-Sutton was limited midway through the season by an unspecified ailment. Before last weekend’s game against Maryland, Penn State listed defensive tackles Alonzo Ford and Kaleb Artis and defensive end Zuriah Fisher out with injuries. While not near 100% healthy, Dennis-Sutton continued to suit up, but yielded reps to Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert. Vanover and Vilbert are seniors who were slowed over the years by injuries but have stuck around, and are now shoring up the team’s depth. “I think getting Dani back healthy, that’s been important,” Franklin said. “I think this was his first game back where he was really healthy, Abdul (Carter) the second half of the season, has gotten very comfortable playing defensive end. We’ve been able to rotate and get production out of guys like Amin as well, so I think all those things have been really important.” So is the fact that Penn State’s defense has continued to close out games. The Nittany Lions have allowed just 445 yards on 125 third-quarter plays this season. Meanwhile, they’ve outscored opponents 192-55 in the second half and overtime and held 19 of their last 22 Big Ten opponents to fewer that 100 rushing yards. Like Reed, senior Dvon J-Thomas spent much of the second half against Maryland cheering on his freshman teammates. Notably, tackle Ty Blanding who had his first career tackle for loss in his first defensive series. “I’ve seen a tremendous leap in their attention to detail,” J-Thomas said. “There’s not a lot of moments or times in your career where you’ll have an opportunity like this and I think they realize that." Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballHave a very conscious Christmas!

Abortions are up in the US: A complicated picture as women turn to pills, travelSaturday Night Live has lined up its last trio of hosts for 2024. After a season full of nostalgic bits, political bites, and even some emotional moments, Season 50’s first stretch will conclude with three back-to-back-to-back episodes in December. Here’s what to know about how to tune in for the last three episodes of the year.0 Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Truck Parking Club tapped into the Alternative Fuels Data Center and White House data to visualize the expanding EV infrastructure in the U.S. Click for more. Here's why US electric vehicle infrastructure has tripled in 5 years, and where it's most common

The Flyers’ visit to Columbus is another painful reminder of the void left by the late Johnny and Matty GaudreauWhile the rest of the Notre Dame community figures out whether it's worth paying four figures for a ticket to the College Football Playoff first-round home game against Indiana, the men's basketball team continues to figure out how to survive without Markus Burton. Notre Dame (5-5) hosts its next-to-last nonconference game Wednesday night against Dartmouth (4-4), which plays its sixth contest of a seven-game road trip. The Fighting Irish took a promising step -- and snapped a five-game losing streak -- on Saturday by edging Syracuse 69-64 in their ACC opener. "We needed to be in a close game and we needed to win a close game so our guys can build some belief back," head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "We can't take any steps back on Wednesday." Without Burton -- the stat sheet-stuffing sophomore point guard who injured the medial collateral ligament in his knee Nov. 26 against Rutgers -- the Irish are struggling to find someone to run the offense, as evidenced by their seven assists versus 15 turnovers against Syracuse. At the same time, players are filling the scoring void. Braeden Shrewsberry poured in a career-high-tying 25 points versus the Orange while hitting 6 of 11 3-point attempts. Tae Davis averaged 12.4 points and 7.2 shots per game when Burton was healthy, but he has upped his mean production to 16.6 points and 12.2 shots in the past five games. Micah Shrewsberry, though, prefers to measure progress on a possession-by-possession basis. "Just the toughness," he said. "There have been times when we haven't gotten the key stop. We haven't gotten the bucket when we quite need it. It gets deflating sometimes." Dartmouth knows that feeling. On Sunday, the Big Green took a one-point lead with 4:03 left in overtime at UIC -- and then failed to score on their final six possessions to suffer a 69-68 loss. The Big Green, who haven't posted a winning season since 1998-99, believe whole-heartedly in launching 3-pointers as they take 48 percent of their shots from behind the arc. Senior Cade Haskins (13.6 ppg) has hit a team-high 28 of 68 3-pointers this season, though fellow senior Ryan Cornish stacks up as the team's top scorer (14.3 ppg), passer (3.0 assists per game) and defender (2.3 steals per game). In its only previous game against a power-conference opponent, Dartmouth upset Boston College 88-83 on Nov. 29. --Field Level Media

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