We're commemorating the end of 2024 with a look back at the business stories that had the greatest impact on the world. This year saw…

• Elon Musk's influence increased to new heights. With "White House Whisperer" essentially now among his job titles, Musk has become the most powerful unelected man ever.
• A historic global IT outage, sparked by faulty CrowdStrike software, revealed the risk of widespread reliance on just a few key tech platforms.
• Companies pulled back on DEI commitments as pressure from lawmakers and conservative activists mounted and fear of lawsuits grew in the wake of last summer's Supreme Court ruling that struck down affirmative action in higher education.
• Nvidia's importance to AI development has grown so large that the company's become a pawn in U.S.-China political tensions. My thought bubble: I'd love to spend a day inside CEO Jensen Huang's head.
• The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson exposed a level of rage in America toward an industry that continues to fail its customers.

What we're watching: Businesses in 2025 will be shaped by two major factors — policy priorities of the new White House and its billionaire allies, as well as the path of the Fed's rate cuts.

Some other predictions from a sector perspective:

• Big Tech will likely be pushed harder to prove clear ROI from its generative AI playbooks.
• Retail will continue to focus on "value" strategies.
• Sports will grow even bigger as a share of the entertainment market.
• Energy, auto and transport industries will look for even more consolidation opportunities.
• The fate of TikTok will determine the size of media and tech's deepening fissure.

The holidays will be extraordinarily gleeful for crypto enthusiasts who can tout bitcoin's rise to $100,000 — a level once deemed bonkers that now seems like just another starting point.

What we're watching: With Trump reentering the White House, expectations are high for bitcoin's bull run to continue.

• But, as Axios' Brady Dale has written, risks abound and everyone knows that high expectations are a great setup for disappointment.

• Consumers got fed up with higher prices, and companies — such as McDonald's, Starbucks and huge retail chains — scrambled to adjust.
• Microsoft's surprise announcement to help restart nuclear power plant Three Mile Island has pushed other tech giants to announce similar plans.
• Boeing faces one of the most challenging periods in its history, and its ability to overcome its problems will all come down (mainly) to new CEO Kelly Ortberg's leadership.

It's a year-end wrap, but we just couldn't resist the day's big stories...

💵 The CFPB sued JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over Zelle payment fraud. (Axios)

🪧 A handful of unionized Starbucks workers in three cities went on strike this morning. (Axios)

🏬 Big Lots is poised to liquidate its remaining stores after the discount retailer's bankruptcy restructuring plans collapsed. (Axios)

🎈Party City is planning to close all of its stores, more than a year after it exited bankruptcy. (Axios)

Writing Closer for nearly four years has been a gift. I've had the privilege of this daily platform to connect with hundreds of thousands of you — to share and write stories that I feel deserve great attention.

• But with a New Year comes new adventures — ones I've been thinking a lot about taking on, outside of Axios.

💭 My last thought bubble here: Though this is my last newsletter, I don't believe it's goodbye. Closer allowed me to make many, many connections, and I know that my work and relationships built here will continue. (Likely on LinkedIn, amirite?)

❤️ A big thank you to Courtenay Brown, founder of this newsletter, my co-writer Nathan, and awesome editors Pete and Sheryl. I've learned so much from each of you and will always be grateful for your support, care and sense of humor.

🙏 And lastly, thank you, subscribers, for sharing this space with me and for letting my stories and ideas into your life. Take care and see you again soon!