22Dec2017 Pre-Market Commentary: Futures Point To A Positive Session On Wall Street, In Silicon Valley, Much-feared Tax Bill Pays Dividends For Workers, Bitcoin Fell 20% To A Low Of $12,504 Overnight

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today as French and German shares fall. The French CAC 40 is off 0.50% while the German DAX is down 0.27%. The FTSE 100 in London is not trading.

Bitcoin plunges below $13,000, heads for worst week since 2013

LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Bitcoin plunged below $13,000 on Friday after losing around a third of its value in just five days, with the digital currency on track for its worst week since 2013 after a blistering ascent to a peak close to $20,000 on Sunday.

In Silicon Valley, much-feared tax bill pays dividends for workers

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The U.S. tax overhaul is a boon to Silicon Valley technology companies like Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc , which will enjoy big tax cuts and the chance to bring back billions of dollars from overseas at a reduced rate.

Futures point to positive session on Wall Street

(Reuters) – U.S. stock futures pointed to slight gains for Wall Street in what could be a quiet session on Friday as investors prepare for the Christmas holiday.

Sonic boom or bust? Dreams of super-fast jet travel revival face headwinds

(Reuters) – Supersonic passenger travel, which died out with the Concorde’s demise in 2003, will make a comeback by the mid-2020s if three entrepreneurial U.S.-based companies can make jets quiet and efficient enough to win over buyers and fliers.

U.S. experts resign from monitoring China’s ZTE Corp: sources

(Reuters) – Two consulting firms hired to help the United States police ZTE Corp’s compliance with trade sanctions have resigned, according to four people familiar with the matter.

U.S. tax break could push startups to share the wealth

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Startup companies came away with a significant victory in the U.S. tax overhaul — a chance to defer the often-onerous tax bill that is attached to company stock options.

Two final bidders chosen for Austrian airline Niki

BERLIN (Reuters) – The administrators of insolvent Austrian airline Niki have picked two strategic bidders for final-stage talks over its assets, one administrator said on Friday.

This year’s lumps of coal could be 2018’s diamonds

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Investors saddled in 2017 with the market’s worst performers, including Under Armour and General Electric, may do well to remember as December draws to an end that lumps of coal sometimes turn into diamonds.

Lotte chief gets suspended prison sentence; free to run firm

SEOUL (Reuters) – A Seoul court on Friday found Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin guilty of breach of trust and embezzlement and sentenced him to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, leaving him free to try and revive the conglomerate after steep losses in China.

Subway Closes 909 Stores In 2017: It’s The “Beginning Of A Crisis”

Earlier this year, we reported that in its 52-years of operation sandwich chain Subway – for the first time ever – contracted in 2016, closing 359 U.S. locations. Bloomberg described the situation as the “biggest retrenchment in the history of the restaurant chain” whose total store count dropped 1.3% from 27,103 in 2015 to 26,744, while the company failed to keep up with the latest fast-food eatery trends.

“Subway is in the midst of a massive transformation, and change of this size takes time,” a representative for the company told Business Insider. “Our goal is to strengthen the Subway brand in every market around the world to give Subway franchisees the greatest opportunity to successfully grow their businesses.”

Confirming that Subway has indeed peaked in its 5 decades-long business cycle, even as management desperately attempts to engineer a soft landing, a Subway representative said that another 909 locations have been closed in 2017, representing more than 3% of the chain’s 2016 U.S. stores.

This is the second consecutive year that subway has closed hundreds of locations. The company is currently operating 25,835 shops in the U.S., compared with 26,744 at the end of 2016. Sales in 2016 have also declined -1.70% after 359 locations were dropped. It’s evident that a domestic sales slowdown has rippled its way through the company in 2017 …

The Fight For Syria’s Last Al Qaeda Holdout: Russian Jets Launch Nonstop Airstrikes Over Idlib

Authored by Leith Fadel of Al-Masdar News,

The Russian Aerospace Forces launched a large number of airstrikes over the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate overnight on Thursday, targeting the positions of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS/al-Nusrah) around the town of Abu Dali. Russian jets flying out of the Hmaymim Military Airbase began their attack by launching airstrikes over the towns of Abu Dali and Musharifah.

Not long after launching this attack, the Syrian Army was able to overwhelm the jihadist rebels of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham that were attempting to defend the town; they would then retreat before their entire front-line collapsed.

Image via AMN news

Momentum against the al-Qaeda insurgents began early this week when the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a new advance in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, capturing a small town that was under jihadist control. Led by elements of the Republican Guard and 4th Mechanized Division, the SAA stormed the town of Al-Ruwaida on Monday, striking the jihadist defenses from its southern flank. With this latest advance in southeast Idlib, the Syrian Army has managed to establish a strong presence in this once jihadist dominated province in northern Syria.

At the same time, elsewhere in Syria thousands of people gathered in Saadallah al-Jabiri square in Aleppo on Thursday to join a military parade marking one-year since the Syrian government retook the city. The military were greeted by many of the city’s residents carrying pro-government banners and images of President Bashar al-Assad.

Two More White House Advisers Leave As Staffer “Churn” Continues

One week after Omarosa Manigault Newman left the White House under suspicious circumstances – she was reportedly escorted off the property when she tried to enter the residence after being fired by Chief of Staff John Kelly – two more senior Trump staffers are on their way out.

Last night, both Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn and White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Jeremy Katz said they would step down early next year. Dearborn told Fox News that his departure is “bittersweet” because he loves working for Trump. But he said the time was right following the tax bill victory. According to the Washington Post, the departures are the latest indication that the administration is in the middle of a “churn” of senior staffers, although the WaPo is known to have a certain “angle” when reporting on the Trump admin.

Dearborn oversaw the White House’s political operation, public outreach and legislative affairs. An exact date of departure has not yet been set, and he will stay in the position for the first month or two of the next year.

Meanwhile, Katz, a Bush administration veteran who worked as NEC Director Gary Cohn’s lieutenant, played a central role in coordinating the administration’s push to overhaul the tax code. He was also one of four people officially advising Trump on the nomination for Federal Reserve chair.

“This is Groundhog Day”: Spanish Stocks Battered By Catalan Vote, Bitcoin Crashes

Spanish stocks and the euro fell, while Spanish government bond yields hit their highest levels in over a month after Catalan secessionists delivered an unexpected blow to the government of Spanish PM Rajoy by winning the Catalan regional election. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, U.S. equity futures and the dollar rose on the last trading session before the Christmas holiday. The MSCI index of world stocks was flat.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index traded sideways as Spain’s Ibex 35 underperformed, dropping as much as 1.6%. Spanish stocks dominated Europe’s biggest fallers, confirming analyst expectations that any shake-out from the Catalonia vote would be mostly confined to Spain. Spain’s bonds also fell along with peripheral European government debt, though bunds were little changed after a selloff this week drove yields to five-week highs. For those who missed it, Catalan separatist parties triumphed in regional elections, outperforming some polls and reigniting Spain’s political trauma. While the Euro has stabilized since, it suffered a mini flash crash in the illiquid aftermath of the Catalan election news, momentarily dipping to $1.1817 before trimming losses to last stand at $1.1853, down 0.2 percent.

“This is Groundhog Day, we have been here,” said Christopher Peel, chief investment officer at Tavistock Wealth. “I just don’t think the Spanish government can do anything other than come to the table now.” He added that thin liquidity due to the holidays could be accentuating what he called a kneejerk reaction on the IBE …

How Buying the Dips Made Them Disappear

Lack of volatility helped drive valuations higher but when the dip-buying strategy fails, there could be a wipeout.

Burgundy vs. Bordeaux: Holiday Guide to Wine Investing

Christmas cheer in a bottle may not come cheap this year, with a price index for 150 top-end Burgundies—delicate reds that pair well with festive meals—up 27% over the year through November. Some merchants are starting to wonder if a bubble is forming.

Tax Bill Makes 2018 the Year of the Deal

With tax uncertainty in the rear-view mirror, pressure on companies to combine will keep growing.

Economic Report: U.S. durable-goods orders jump on aircraft but key core sector disappoints

Orders for durable or long-lasting goods made in the U.S. rose 1.3% in November, but orders of key capital goods excluding aircraft fell 0.1%, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Why 2018 is a make-or-break year for pharma

Many profitable products are aging, and some companies don’t have many new candidates to replace them.

Market Extra: Another pro-independence win in Catalan elections ratchets up risk for investors in Spain

Spain’s pro-independence parties win a majority in parliament, putting the question of secession for Catalonia back in play.