Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” wraps up the recent CES 2018 trade show in Las Vegas.
• US retail sales in December rose 5.4% from a year ago. They advanced 4.2% in 2017 compared with 3.2% in 2016.
• Amazon accounted for at least 4% of all US retail sales and about 44% of all US e-commerce sales in 2017, according to a new study. The fastest-growing product groups on the site included luxury beauty and pantry items.
• Xiaomi selected Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs among international banks for its planned IPO, which could see the company target a valuation of as much as $100 billion.