Written by Gary
The S&P 500 futures trade higher this morning (SPY +0.4%). Expect new highs at the opening with upbeat trade news out of China.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 0.56% while the CAC 40 gains 0.06%. The DAX is off 0.08%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Oil prices steady as Russia touts easing OPEC+ outputOil was little changed on Monday, holding near a three-month high on optimism over a nearing U.S.-China trade deal even as Russia said an OPEC-led pact may consider easing output cuts next year. | |
Global shares hover near record high as year draws to closeWorld stocks hovered near record highs and currency markets were little changed on Monday as trading dwindled before the Christmas holiday and investors looked with confidence toward the new year. | |
Futures hit fresh record highs on positive signs in trade sagaU.S. stock index futures touched new record highs on Monday, as President Donald Trump said over the weekend that the United States and China would “very shortly” sign their so-called Phase One trade pact. | |
After Ethiopia crash, victims’ relatives say they were hounded by U.S. law firmsDays after the March 10 crash of a Kenya-bound Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing jet that killed all 157 people on board, strangers began calling or visiting bereaved families, saying they represented U.S. law firms. | |
Exclusive: Tesla to take new $1.4 billion loan from Chinese banks for Shanghai factory – sourcesU.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc and a group of China banks have agreed a new 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), five-year loan facility for the automaker’s Shanghai car plant, three sources familiar with the matter said, part of which will be used to roll over an existing loan. | |
Ryanair fails to delay operations chief’s move to easyJetThe Irish High Court on Monday rejected Ryanair’s attempt to prevent operations chief Peter Bellew from joining rival easyJet until 2021, saying a 12-month non-compete clause was unenforceable. | |
Monetary stimulus? Low rates mean more babies, Bank of England saysCutting interest rates appears to stimulate more than just the economy – Bank of England researchers say an extra 14,500 babies were born in 2009 after the central bank slashed borrowing costs during the global financial crisis. | |
Bank of England steps up monitoring of Lloyd’s whistleblowing systemsThe Bank of England has stepped up its monitoring of Lloyd’s of London’s whistleblowing systems, the central bank said on Monday, after reports this year about sexual harassment and bullying at the 330-year old insurance market. | |
Exclusive: Dubai’s Emaar to sell view from world’s tallest tower – sourcesEmaar Properties is selling the observation decks of the world’s tallest skyscraper the Burj Khalifa, four sources told Reuters, potentially raising $1 billion for Dubai’s biggest developer amid a real estate downturn. | |
US Durables Goods Orders Unexpectedly Plunge In November As Boeing Backlash HitsUS Durables Goods Orders Unexpectedly Plunge In November As Boeing Backlash Hits After a modest rebound in October (from September’s contraction), analysts expected a continued acceleration in durable goods orders in preliminary November data, but instead it collapsed! Flash November Durable Goods Orders were expected to rise 1.5% MoM, but instead they tumbled 2.0% MoM, sending the year-over-year collapse to -5.7% – the worst since July 2016… | |
“Inflation Is Inevitably Going To Rise” – Is Alan Greenspan Right?“Inflation Is Inevitably Going To Rise” – Is Alan Greenspan Right? Via DataTrekResearch.com, œRight now, there’s no real inflation at play. But if we go further than we are currently, inflation is inevitably going to rise.  That’s from Alan Greenspan on CNBC this week. The œfurther relates to US Federal deficit spending, the idea being that +$1 trillion annual budget shortfalls will eventually trigger price inflation. It isn’t just Greenspan that is worried about rising US consumer price inflation; as we read through the most bearish market commentaries for 2020 this concern often has pride of place. Easy monetary and fiscal policy combined with a reaccelerating US/global economy late in a cycle is THE playbook for rising prices, so fair enough. The counterarguments are more structural (aging demographics, Internet price discovery, etc.), and while those work over the long term we can’t lean on them too hard in any given year. So do the inflation hawks have a case to make about 2020? You know our methods for evaluating questions like this ” a combination of market-based expectations and historical/real time data ” so let’s get right to it: #1: Expected 10-year inflation expectations imbedded in Treasury Inflation Protected bonds (TIPS spreads): | |
Meltup Accelerates Into Christmas Break As Algos Run Wild In Illiquid MarketsMeltup Accelerates Into Christmas Break As Algos Run Wild In Illiquid Markets After the decade’s last quad-witching came and went without any adverse incidents, and instead a massive short squeeze of the December Emini contract into its 930am Friday expiration repriced the entire market about 15 points higher… Â | |
Saudi Arabia Sentences Five To Death For Khashoggi Murder As MbS Aides WalkSaudi Arabia Sentences Five To Death For Khashoggi Murder As MbS Aides Walk The criminal trials of the 11 scapegoats men formally accused of participating in the killing and dismemberment of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi are now over, and the end result was exactly what most expected. That is, several royal aides implicated in the killing were let go without punishment, while five others who are probably only tangentially related to the case (if at all) have been sentenced to death. As a reminder, in Saudi Arabia, a death sentence means one thing: A very public beheading. According to Bloomberg, the Saudi court said it didn’t have enough evidence to convict two top officials who are close to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of any involvement in the crime. Meanwhile, three of the 11 men were given a total of 24 years in prison, according to a statement from the Saudis that was read out loud at the public prosecutor’s office on Monday after the sentences had been handed down. | |
A big GST breather might be in the works for bankrupt firmsA big GST breather might be in the works for bankrupt firms The government may allow companies under IBC to pay current levies of GST without payment of past dues. | |
Facing a mid-life financial crisis? Read thisFacing a mid-life financial crisis? Read this6 remedies for mid-lifers who are stuck in a financial quagmire, and how to avoid it in the first place. | |
More skeletons tumble out of DHFL’s closetMore skeletons tumble out of DHFL’s closetIn a 7,000-page chargesheet, ED detailed how Wadhawan used DHFL to pay Memon more than Rs 110 cr. | |
Amazon Prime members can place orders on Dec. 24 and get items by Christmas DayAmazon Prime members still have nearly two weeks to have purchases delivered while non-Prime shoppers only have a few more days for free delivery. | |
The New York Post: Schumer seeks testimony of OMB’s Duffey after release of email requesting military-aid pause within 90 minutes of Trump-Zelensky callSen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday said the White House official who directed the Defense Department to œhold off on sending military aid to Ukraine must testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. | |
The Ratings Game: Olive Garden’s ‘Lasagna Mia’ misstep drives down same-store sales growthOlive Garden’s lasagna promotion was pulled early in the quarter. |
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