26Dec2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Higher After Four Sessions Of Sharp Declines, DOW Futures Up +0.5%, WTI Slips Into The 42 Handle After Rising To 51, Gold Trades At 6-month High

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The DAX gained 0.21%, while the CAC 40 led the FTSE 100 lower. They fell 1.45% and 0.52% respectively.

Special Report: Oil output goes AWOL in Venezuela as soldiers run PDVSA

Last July 6, Major General Manuel Quevedo joined his wife, a Catholic priest and a gathering of oil workers in prayer in a conference room at the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.

Exxon says drilling offshore Guyana unaffected by Venezuela navy incident

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday that its oil drilling and development activities offshore Guyana were unaffected by a weekend incident in which neighboring Venezuela’s navy stopped two seismic survey vessels the company had hired.

U.S. holiday shopping season best in six years: report

Sales during the U.S. holiday shopping season rose 5.1 percent to over $850 billion in 2018, the strongest in the past six years, according to a Mastercard report, as shoppers were encouraged by a robust economy and early discounts.

Iran says private exporters had no problem selling its oil

Iran said on Wednesday private exporters have had “no problems” selling Iranian oil, and 3 million barrels of crude could be sold soon to non-government traders, state media reported, despite U.S. sanctions targeting Tehran’s oil sales.

Trump praises Treasury Secretary Mnuchin but hits Fed again on rate rises

President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin amid worries over a weakening economy and a stock market slump, but repeated his criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve, saying it has raised interest rates too quickly.

Buying and holding volatility usually hurts; then came 2018

The big uptick in stock market gyrations this year has made a surprise winner out of a trade that has rarely delivered a win – buying and holding volatility.

Stock futures higher after four sessions of sharp declines

U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday, indicating a slight respite after punishing few sessions that have pushed the S&P 500 near bear market territory on worries over slowing growth and the recent drama in the White House.

Oil rises to $51 after steep slide; growth fears weigh

Oil rose to $51 a barrel on Wednesday on perceptions that a price slide to 2017 lows prompted by economic worries had been overdone amid an OPEC-led effort to tighten supply.

Asian stocks retreat as U.S. political tumult adds to growth worry

Asian stock markets retreated again on Wednesday, extending a rout that began last week as U.S. political uncertainty exacerbated worries over slowing global economic growth.

Scared? You Are Not Alone: Wall Street Pros Explain The Fear And Loathing Gripping Markets

To those traders who are watching today’s modest rebound in stocks – after a recent historic rout which saw the S&P suffer its worst December rout since the Great Depression – with excess skepticism and are unable to muster the confidence to pull the trigger and BTFD despite president Trump’s promises that the water is now warm, you are not alone.

Below we present a handful of views from Wall Street strategists which confirm that with the S&P trading in and out of a bear market and action paralysis rampant, the financial pros not only don’t trust any move higher but many remain borderline apocalyptic.

Masahiro Ichikawa, strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui

“In addition to concerns toward the U.S. economy, the markets are now having to grapple with growing turmoil in the White House which has raised political risk ahead of the year-end.”

Kenta Inoue, market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley

“In the end, we believe that the Fed is the only presence capable of ending the current confusion in the markets. The White House will probably keep making gestures intended to halt the rout in stocks, but the federal government is likely to remain shut into the new year. The U.S.-China trade war also shows no signs of a resolution.”

Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, SVP at BB&T Wealth Management

“It is very unusual that the bias among the market participants is to the downside during this time of the year, and there’s not a lot of time to fix that. I am not a trader but I checked the futures three times on Sunday and am watching the futures on a Christmas evening as well — when you get moves like this you just can’t ignore them.”

Bernd Berg, global macro and FX strategist at Woodman Asset Management.

“We are in the middle of t …

Russian Nuclear Sub Drone Starts Underwater Pilot Test

The Russian Navy has started underwater trials of the Poseidon nuclear-capable unmanned underwater vehicle developed by the Russian Federation that can deliver conventional and nuclear warheads, reported TASS News Agency.

President Vladimir Putin first unveiled the strategic drone propelled by a miniaturized nuclear reactor at his state-of-the-nation address to both houses of the Russian parliament back in March.

“In his state-of-the-nation address to both houses of Russia’s parliament on March 1, Russian President Putin mentioned for the first time the country’s efforts to develop a nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and is capable of destroying enemy infrastructural facilities, aircraft carrier groups and other targets,” said TASS.

A source in the domestic defense industry told TASS Tuesday, “in the sea area protected from a potential enemy’s reconnaissance means, the underwater trials of the nuclear propulsion unit of the Poseidon drone are underway.”

For the trial, the Russian Navy is using one of its nuclear-powered submarines as the drone’s carrier during the trial, the source said.

Germany To Trump: Don’t Even Think About Stationing Nuclear Missiles In Europe After INF Withdrawal

Washington’s decision to drop out of the INF has fueled speculation about the return of a full-blown, Cold-War style nuclear arms race, as Russia has reflexively threatened to build up its tactical defenses along Europe’s periphery in the face of what’s expected to be a buildup of American intermediate-range arms.

But whatever happens between the two nuclear superpowers, Germany wants no part of it.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned this week that the US better not be thinking about stationing its intermediate-range missiles in Germany – or anywhere in Europe, for that matter. For the last 30 years, the treaty has prohibited stationing intermediate-range arms in Europe. Any push to change that would almost certainly be met with “widespread resistance” in Germany, Maas said, so as to avoid a scenario where Europe is put in the middle of a tug-of-war between Russia and the US.

Quoted by the RT, in an interview with German news agency DPA, Maas said that “the deployment of new medium-range missiles would meet with widespread resistance i …

Collapse In US Home Sales Confirms ‘Peak Unaffordability’

Though some signs of softness are beginning to emerge in the US housing market as home sales slump and prices in the hottest, most high-end markets have fallen – a reaction to just how unaffordable home prices across America have become – in most markets, homes have remained at their most unaffordable level since the financial crisis, as a shortage of supply and stagnant wage growth continue to conspire to weaken consumers’ home buying power.

A home-price indicator created by ATTOM Data Solutions, which maintains the country’s largest property database, showed that the median price for US homes during the fourth quarter was at its most unaffordable level since Q3 2008 – a more than 10-year high. The nationwide home affordability index, which measures the percentage of the average annual wage needed to buy a home compared with the historical average, slumped to 91 during the fourth quarter, down from 94 in Q3 – the third straight quarterly decline.

Across the US, the number of counties where home-price appreciation outpaced wage growth massively outnumbered counties where wages outpaced home price growth (which would make homes in those areas more affordable).

BookWatch: Underpromising and overdelivering sounds smart, but it’s actually a bad career strategy

Raising great expectations makes you seem more competent — no matter the outcome.

Market Snapshot: Stock futures point to rebound after Wall Street’s Christmas Eve meltdown

Stock futures point higher two days after the worst Christmas Eve session in Wall Street history.

The Moneyist: I want to marry my boyfriend, but he has $25,000 in credit-card debt and leads a financially reckless lifestyle

This woman feels caught between her love for her boyfriend and his love for buying stuff on credit.