12Dec2016 Market Close: Major US Indexes Close Fractionally Lower, WTI Crude Slips 2 Dollars, Investors Increasingly Concerned Over Possible Correction

Oil hits highest since mid-2015 on non-OPEC cut agreement

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil rose to an 18-month high on Monday after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output to tackle global oversupply, though prices slipped late in the day.

Wall Street drifts lower as financial, tech stocks drag

(Reuters) – Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trading on Monday as a drop in technology and financial stocks offset a jump in energy shares.

Sumner Redstone and daughter pull CBS, Viacom merger plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Media mogul Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari called off their failed effort to merge CBS Corp and Viacom Inc on Monday, sending shares of Viacom – widely viewed as the weaker company – down more than 7 percent.

Trump attack on Lockheed Martin foreshadows war on defense industry

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump on Monday widened his attack on defense contractors, slamming Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet program as too expensive as aides to the president-elect said he intends to keep pushing to cut the costs of military hardware.

Exclusive: Fox nears firm bid for Sky via scheme of arrangement – sources

LONDON (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox aims to table a firm cash bid valuing British broadcaster Sky at 10.75 pounds per share as early as Wednesday for the 61 percent of the company it does not already own, four people familiar with the matter said.

Apple in talks to invest $1 billion in SoftBank tech fund: source

(Reuters) – Apple Inc has held talks to invest up to $1 billion in a new $100 billion tech fund being set up by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp , a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Trump puts Goldman Sachs in spotlight, for better or worse

(Reuters) – No Wall Street firm is set to do better under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump than Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Fed turns to Trump agenda with rate hike nearly in the bag

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve inaugurates the Trump era this week with a near-certain interest rate increase and new economic forecasts providing a first glimpse into whether the U.S. election has reshaped the central bank’s growth and inflation outlook.

Chipotle founder Ells takes over as sole CEO at burrito chain

(Reuters) – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said founder Steve Ells will retake the helm as sole chief executive officer after co-CEO Monty Moran stepped down on Monday amid intense pressure to turn around the burrito chain that has yet to recover from string of food safety lapses that have damaged its sales and reputation.

Koch Bros. & PropOrNot: Feud Explodes Through the Pages of History

• Via The Daily Bell

Koch Bros. & PropOrNot: Feud Explodes Through the Pages of History

• Via The Daily Bell

The Dow Is The Most Overbought In Over 20 Years (And Options Traders Have Never Been More Bullish)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has only been more overbought than it is today four times in the last one hundred years.

Having risen for 21 of the last 25 days, The Dow is the most overbought since 1996…

With Dow 20,000 one good algo ramp away, it is perhaps worth noting that the index – dominated by Goldman Sachs’ performance – has been overbought for 22 straight days.

And options traders have never, ever been more bullish on the S&P 500…

…

RBC Warns January Is Setting Up As A “Massive Mean-Reversion” Month

Following Friday’s report by RCB’s Charlie McElligott which sought to answer “THE” question every investor is asking, namely “what could derail this rally”, today’s the cross-asset strategist has released a follow up analysis in which he warns that even though the bond battering continues – and is likely to continue for a while – the market is now being set up for a “massive mean-reversion” counter-trend rally as soon as January.

His arguments why are presented below:

Big Picture: BOND BATTERING CONTINUES BUT SET-UP FOR JANUARY COUNTER-TREND REVERSAL

Bonds further ‘wearing it’ on multiple-fronts this morning (monster TY put block overnight, likely hedging against MTM losses being accumulated–H/T Alex Redhead) as once again, the 5+ year rates trader playbook is torn-up with weakness during the Asian session overnight—five points I’m highlighting:

1. Crude oil is +5% (highest levels in 17 months) after further Saudi commitment to cut output following the non-OPEC states agreement this weekend to do the same. RBC’s Chief Commodities Strategist Helima Croft is calling this “OPEC’s ‘whatever it takes’ moment,” and global developed market inflation expectations are again being ‘reset’ higher;

   Front-loaded UST issuance calendar this week ahead of Fed, with 3Y and 10Y auctions Monday and 30Y on Tuesday;

   Nikkei press report that 2017 BoJ issuance will set a new record, specifically highlighting plans to issue Y3T of 40Y JGBs against a reduction of sales in the front-end / belly. Accordingly, we see JGB 2s30s and 5s30s curves making new nine-month steeps;

   Western financial press reports noting that the BoJ may have to reduce asset purchases by as much as 10% in light of the move already seen …

An Oil Curveball for Global Bonds

Bond markets could ignore oil as long as they had faith in central banks. Now investors need to pay attention.

Changes but No Clarity at Alexion ​

A rare disease biotech investigation still has unanswered questions for Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Time For Italy to Be Clear About Its Troubled Banks

Will Europe let Italy rescue its third-biggest bank and how far will the government try to protect small investors? Those are the key questions now the Italian Treasury has said it stands ready to prop up Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The Tell: Currency traders are betting the farm on the dollar

Currency traders haven’t been this optimistic about the long-dollar trade since late 2015.

Futures Movers: Oil futures log highest finish since July 2015

Oil prices rally to their highest settlement in nearly 17 months after a weekend deal to reduce output by a heavyweight producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

50 Twitter accounts for investors to follow in 2017

Time to toss the bots and Eggheads, and follow these Twitter accounts that will keep you on top of market action in 2017.