Podcast Summary: The Rundown

Episode: Black Friday Sales to Top 2024, Baidu Aims to Be China's New AI Chip King
Date: November 28, 2025
Host: Zaid Admani (Public.com)
Duration: ~10 minutes

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delivers a high-energy recap of the day’s biggest stock market and economic stories, focusing on Black Friday spending trends (especially the rise of AI in shopping), a major shift in the AI chip market as Baidu challenges Nvidia in China, and quick updates on movers in crypto and tech stocks. The host weaves in personal anecdotes and memorable facts to keep investors informed and engaged.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Recap & Momentum (00:30 – 02:35)

• Stocks rallied heading into Thanksgiving: S&P 500 rose 0.7%, Nasdaq up 0.8%.
• Crypto resurgence: “Bitcoin getting back above $90,000 and Ethereum is back above $3,000.” (00:47)
• November started with a sharp decline (“S&P was down nearly 5% at one point”) but is close to even after a strong late-month rally. A 0.4% gain is needed to close November in the green.
• Trading session shortened for the holiday; volumes expected to be low, but a “mini rally” is possible.
• Technical hiccup: Outage at Chicago Mercantile Exchange due to a data center cooling failure, pausing global futures (oil, gold, treasuries). “But it shouldn’t impact your portfolio unless you had plans to... buy some oil futures or something.” (01:54)
• Major U.S. equities unaffected: “stock trading should be functioning normally.”

2. Black Friday & Holiday Shopping Trends (02:36 – 06:23)

• Strong e-commerce growth: Thanksgiving online sales projected to hit $8.6 billion (+6% YoY) per Salesforce.
• Black Friday online sales (U.S.): Forecasted at $18 billion, global sales at $78 billion. “Black Friday isn’t just a US thing anymore.” (03:10)
• Retail stores also expecting high foot traffic, but overall per-person spending may soften due to economic uncertainty:
  • Consumer confidence dropped sharply (largest fall in 7 months).
  • Prices are up: Goods rose 4.9% due to tariffs, per Tax Foundation.
  • Unit sales may fall: Spending matches last year, but people buy 2.5% fewer items.
• Rise of AI in shopping:
  • 50% of Black Friday shoppers expected to use AI (Bank of America).
  • AI-powered shopping agents from major retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Target) are “helping customers find deals faster.”
  • Adobe sees a “520% year over year” surge in AI-driven traffic.
  • “Maybe soon we’re just going to have AI agents do all of our holiday shopping for us... Black Friday has changed so much.” (05:10)
  • Host’s anecdote: Using ChatGPT and Gemini for finding deals.
  • Nostalgia for old school Black Friday: “Kids these days don’t know the thrill of waiting in line at Best Buy at 4am...” (05:31)

3. Baidu’s AI Chip Ambitions (06:24 – 08:06)

• China’s AI self-sufficiency: Baidu unveils a five-year chip roadmap (M100 in 2026, M300 in 2027).
• Background: U.S. ban restricts Nvidia’s high-end GPUs in China, opening the door for domestic players.
  • “Just like in the US, the demand for AI chips in China is exploding right now. And with Nvidia pretty much cut off from that market, JP Morgan thinks Baidu is one of the best positions to capture the demand inside China.” (07:26)
• Competition: Huawei is current local leader; Baidu’s growth encouraged by export restrictions.
• Broader Baidu projects: Self-driving cars, proprietary AI model “Ernie.” Stock is up more than 40% over 6 months.
• Strategic risk for Nvidia: “Tech companies in China are incentivized to create their own chip instead of being reliant on Nvidia. And who knows, over time their chips might become better than Nvidia’s.” (07:38)

4. Stocks on the Move & Notable Company News (08:07 – 09:30)

• Circle (USDC) rises: Benefiting from S&P Global downgrade of rival stablecoin Tether (USDT).
  • S&P cited concerns about Tether’s reserves: Risky assets now make up 24% of reserves, vs. 17% a year ago.
  • “In theory, a stablecoin issuer should keep one to one dollars or US treasuries in the bank...” (08:44)
  • Circle sticks to this model; Tether doesn’t.
  • Circle stock up ~3% this morning.
• Oracle stock drops: Investors rattled by large debt taken on for AI infrastructure.
  • “Oracle is pretty much betting the entire company on AI.” (09:09)
  • Stock down 11% in 5 days, 27% month-over-month; another 2% down this morning.
  • Fun aside: Founder Larry Ellison went from richest man in the world to “number three on the rich guy list... $262 billion.” (09:21)

5. Fun Fact: Macy’s Day Parade Economics (09:31 – 10:37)

• Viewership: Over 30 million watch on TV annually—largest non-sports broadcast of the year.
• Financials: Parade costs Macy’s ~$13M; NBC pays over $20M for broadcast rights—Macy’s makes a profit.
• Cultural observation: Parade mainly serves as “background” for Thanksgiving prep; kids love the floats.
• Heavy advertising: “I think 40% of that broadcast was just ads.” (10:21)
  • Host’s daughter frustrated watching the ad-heavy coverage—“Kids these days, man, they don’t know the pain of watching tv. You couldn’t just skip past ads. It’s just another example of why people don’t watch linear TV anymore.” (10:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI and Black Friday:
  “Maybe soon we’re just going to have AI agents do all of our holiday shopping for us. It’s just crazy to see how Black Friday has changed so much over the last, what, five to ten years?” — Zaid Admani, (05:10)
• Market joke:
  “Shout out to everyone that convinced their uncle or cousin to buy the dip over Thanksgiving.” — Zaid Admani, (00:50)
• On nostalgia for old school shopping:
  “Kids these days don’t know the thrill of waiting in line at Best Buy at 4am to snag a $200 flat screen TV and pick up some video games for 20 bucks. Now everything is online.” — Zaid Admani, (05:31)
• On Macy’s Parade economics:
  “NBC pays Macy’s over $20 million to broadcast the parade. So Macy’s is actually making money on this.” — Zaid Admani, (10:10)
• On linear TV:
  “Kids these days, man, they don’t know the pain of watching tv. You couldn’t just skip past ads. It’s just another example of why people don’t watch linear TV anymore.” — Zaid Admani, (10:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 - Market performance recap
• 01:54 - CME outage explained
• 02:36 - Black Friday & holiday spending trends
• 05:10 - Rise of AI shopping & personal anecdote
• 06:24 - Baidu’s new AI chip roadmap
• 07:38 - Risks of U.S. restrictions for Nvidia
• 08:07 - Circle vs. Tether stablecoin reserves
• 09:09 - Oracle’s AI bet and stock slump
• 09:31 - Macy’s Day Parade numbers and TV ad overload

Overall Tone & Style

Zaid Admani’s tone is lively, witty, and accessible, weaving humor and relatable stories into concise financial updates. He connects high-level market trends to everyday experiences for retail investors and keeps the mood light even on technical topics.

Summary Takeaway

The episode efficiently updates listeners on market momentum (still positive despite volatile November), big changes in holiday retail (led by AI and inflation pressures), and important company narratives (Baidu challenging Nvidia, stablecoin security, Oracle’s risky AI spending). With memorable analogies and news you can use, it’s a must-listen for anyone tracking tech, retail, and holiday consumer trends.