the friday brief

3 things that matter

markets rallied on rising rate-cut odds – even as signals stayed mixed

after a soft monday — with the s&p 500, dow, and nasdaq all slipping and crypto-linked names dragging — markets recovered midweek on growing expectations of a december fed rate cut. treasury yields eased, tech and cyclicals bounced, and retail saw selective strength.

the nuance: manufacturing contracted for a ninth straight month, and investors are still questioning how quickly ai-driven revenues will materialize. optimism is back, but conviction isn’t.

the u.s. vaccine schedule underwent its biggest shift in decades — acip voted to drop the universal hep b birth dose

the cdc’s vaccine advisory committee voted to end the long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis b vaccine at birth — a cornerstone of u.s. prevention strategy since the 1990s. under the new guidance, only infants born to mothers who test positive for hbv (or whose status is unknown) get the immediate birth dose; others can defer until two months of age.

the reaction was swift: pediatricians and public-health experts warn this could reverse years of progress, increase missed screenings, and create confusion for parents already navigating a complex childhood vaccination schedule.

global bond markets were rattled — japan signaled a break from ultra-easy policy

the bank of japan hinted that a rate hike may be coming this month, jolting global bond markets and pushing yields higher worldwide. even as the u.s. leans toward easing, japan tilting the opposite direction reminded investors that policy cycles are no longer synchronized.

the real story: a single shift from tokyo now has outsized consequences — reinforcing how globally entangled rate regimes have become.

1 thing to know

netflix just became the unexpected winner of warner bros.' restructuring

netflix struck a multiyear licensing deal with warner bros. discovery that hands over some of wbd’s most valuable hbo-era titles — including “game of thrones,” “succession,” and “the sopranos” — marking the latest step in wbd’s push to monetize its library amid mounting debt pressure.

the quiet headline: for the first time, prestige cable’s crown jewels are living on a rival platform not as a marketing funnel, but as a revenue lifeline.

the bigger shift: streaming’s old moats are dissolving. exclusivity is no longer the business model; distribution is. and netflix, with unmatched global scale, is becoming the place where every studio eventually sends its past to pay for its future.

1 thing to try

journaling prompts to take you into 2026

“what did this week teach me about what i value?” – one line, one answer. you’ll see the shift over time.

“what emotion drove most of my decisions today — and was it accurate?” – a simple way to separate instinct from narrative.

“what do i need tomorrow that the past few days didn’t give me?” – turn unmet needs into direction, not drift.