Kim Kahn

The deal pairs D-Wave's scalable superconducting control tech with Quantum Circuit's error-corrected gate model approach.

And Evercore ISI says Apple remains its top hardware pick, pointing to steady iPhone strength and potential upside from an AI-powered Siri upgrade.

On the economic front, ahead of Friday's official jobs report, ADP said private sector employment rose by 41,000 in December, rebounding from a 29,000 drop in November but missing the 47,000 consensus.

In addition, the November Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS,

showed openings fell to $7.146 million in November, well below the consensus of $7.648 million and the lowest level since 2024.

In other news of note, what price memory?

You heard in today's Wall Street Breakfast about the rally in memory chip stocks as prices climb.

Now, Samsung president and head of global marketing, Wonjin Lee, is echoing concerns that rising costs are reaching the point where they'll hit everyone in the supply chain.

There's going to be issues around semiconductor supplies, and it's going to affect everyone, Lee told Bloomberg at CES.

Prices are going up even as we speak.

Obviously, we don't want to convey that burden to the consumers, but we're going to be at a point where we have to actually consider repricing our products.

And in the Wall Street Research Corner, you say GIF, I say GIF, but what do they say about where stocks are heading?

A new academic paper introduces a sentiment gauge called GIF Sentiment, built from millions of GIF posts on StockTwits.

The researchers find that GIF Sentiment is positively tied to same-day S&P 500 returns, but negatively predicts returns over the following month.

They argue that GIFs with motion and sequential images act like mini-stories about past events and future forecasts, making them especially engaging as expressions of market mood.

Crucially, GIF sentiment outperforms some traditional sentiment measures, including text-based analysis and the Baker-Wergler Sentiment Index when it comes to predicting reversals.

The effect is strongest in small caps and high-volatility portfolios, the parts of the market most vulnerable to investor bias.

Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis.

Good afternoon.

Today is Monday, December 29th, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn.