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This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business in the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Each day we bring you one to two business and market insight episodes, plus an interview with the business leader. Today's discussion is the markets are getting crushed today, plus 14 other notes so so here's the deal. 1. The markets have been fairly resilient this year. To date. The S and p is about 1.73%, the Nasdaq of about 2%. But despite that resilience, the markets are actually getting crushed today. We'll hope that it gets better. They're down about 2 percentage points. That's going to erase most of this year's gains. Second, Microsoft, which is one of our core holdings, is starting the year off in the red. It's down about 3% year to date. Third, Nvidia so far is essentially flat year to date. We'll see where that goes the rest of the year. Fourth, the more that we invest in private equity and venture capital funds, the less certain I am that this set of investments is going to beat the index funds. We'll see how this goes. Long story we'll have a separate podcast on this specific subject. Fifth, Amazon is about 5.1% year to date, but down today a couple percent. And Alphabet Google remains on fire, up about 7.2% year to date. Sixth, Tesla and Palantir are essentially flat year to date. Palantir was a huge winner last year. Tesla also made strides again. Seventh, we're thrilled to add Mark Cuban as a keynote speaker at the Becker's Healthcare Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit this spring. Looking forward to visit with Mark Cuban and talking to him about his cost plus RX current company. 8th sterile labs is up about 8 and a half percent year to date. God bless those investors who steered me into that company. At least God bless them today while it's still up. Ninth intel keeps surging. Its stock is up 28% year to date. We certainly wish we'd invested in Intel. 10th. We try and stay away from politics in this podcast in our newsletter, but we're very supportive of the people in Iran that are trying to overthrow and protest that government. 11th Meta Platforms begins to cut some jobs. The stock is down 4.4% year to date and probably dropping today. 12th and we did a podcast in JP Morgan yesterday. They dropped 4.2% yesterday after missing on earnings. Its earnings miss was more due to losses on buying the Apple credit card business and a slowdown in investment banking fees than due to fundamental problems. I continue to believe Jamie Dimons about the best CEO that's out there. 13 we'll have a webinar around business concepts and business thoughts on January 27th. Feel free to text Scott Becker. We'll get you registered for that, no charge. Molly Gamble will interview us largely around our new book, building great businesses. 14th Salesforce got crushed yesterday. It dropped nearly 7%. It's down nearly 9% year to date. And finally, 15th MicroStrategy, which got crushed last year, is up nearly 14% year to date after a very tough year last year. Thank you for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. We hope you enjoy this. Thank you so much. Feel free anytime to Text Scott Becker 773-766-5322 thank you for listening.
Episode: The Markets Are Getting Crushed Today + 14 Quick Notes
Date: January 14, 2026
Host: Scott Becker
In this concise and fast-paced episode, Scott Becker provides an up-to-the-minute overview of major shifts in the stock markets as well as quick commentary on specific companies, trends, and upcoming events. The episode is a rapid-fire collection of 15 succinct observations reflecting both short-term turbulence and longer-term perspectives in business and investing.
"Despite that resilience, the markets are actually getting crushed today. ... They're down about 2 percentage points. That's going to erase most of this year's gains."
(Scott Becker, 01:03)
"We certainly wish we'd invested in Intel."
(Scott Becker, 02:40)
"The more that we invest in private equity and venture capital funds, the less certain I am that this set of investments is going to beat the index funds. We'll see how this goes."
(Scott Becker, 01:42)
"Molly Gamble will interview us largely around our new book, Building Great Businesses."
(Scott Becker, 03:24)
"God bless those investors who steered me into that company. At least God bless them today while it's still up."
(Scott Becker, 02:32)
"I continue to believe Jamie Dimon’s about the best CEO that's out there."
(Scott Becker, 03:13)
“We're very supportive of the people in Iran that are trying to overthrow and protest that government.”
(Scott Becker, 02:49)
Market Anxiety:
"The markets are actually getting crushed today. ... That's going to erase most of this year's gains."
(01:03)
Intel FOMO:
"We certainly wish we'd invested in Intel."
(02:40)
Candid Investment Reflection:
"The more that we invest in private equity and venture capital funds, the less certain I am that this set of investments is going to beat the index funds."
(01:42)
Gratitude to Peers:
"God bless those investors who steered me into that company. At least God bless them today while it's still up."
(02:32)
| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------| | 00:30 | Episode & theme intro | | 01:03 | Market performance update| | 01:24 | Microsoft update | | 01:33 | Nvidia update | | 01:42 | Private equity reflection| | 01:43 | Amazon & Alphabet update | | 02:01 | Tesla & Palantir | | 02:18 | Mark Cuban keynote news | | 02:29 | Sterile Labs highlight | | 02:37 | Intel surge and regret | | 02:49 | Iran protests support | | 02:53 | Meta layoffs | | 03:04 | JP Morgan earnings miss | | 03:13 | Praise for Jamie Dimon | | 03:24 | Upcoming webinar & book | | 03:34 | Salesforce drop | | 03:48 | MicroStrategy recovery |
Scott Becker’s style is informal, rapid-fire, and deeply candid, offering listeners both actionable information and personal reflections. The episode mixes technical market data, pointed commentary, and human moments of gratitude or humility.
For listeners who want to quickly grasp the biggest moves and news in the markets—and get a sense for the bigger themes facing business leaders—this episode delivers sharp snapshots, seasoned with Becker’s real-world thinking and an openness to share both wins and misses.