It has all been about the Federal Reserve this week. The Fed led by Chairman Powell ended up standing firm against the President and the markets and raising rates. We wrote earlier in the week that they were damned if they did, damned if they did not raise rate, with the perception of the Fed on the line. As expected the markets puked on the news that the accommodative run by the Fed seem to be coming to an end, and that there will be further rate increases in 2019. If that was not enough, appears there might be a government shutdown due to issues with border wall funding. In Europe, the Swedish Riksbank raised it rates for the first time in 7 Years. The Italian government were able to an agreement with the EU and struck a budget deal. This deal should keep things calm there for now, but question is how long? In Asia, you know things are getting bad when China announces just at the end of week for more stimulus for 2019 and the markets don’t really buy it. On the geopolitical front, General Mattis resigned secretary of defense post President Trump’s withdrawal from Syria. Also, U.S. charged several Chinese hackers with theft of intellectual property sending a clear signal to China. Question is if this will affect the trade-talks. In the Middle East, President Trump decided to pull out U.S. troops out of Syria, declaring the fight against ISIS completed. On the corporate front, Fedex lowered its 2019 forecasts due to global economic uncertainty. Oil prices continued their decline as expectations of both continued high supply and lower demand for the coming year. The markets are now starting to look ahead into 2019 with initial focus on earnings. Are more and more companies seeing the effects of the global turmoil or is the economy still holding good. This first earning season will give indication of where things stand starting the New Year.
Fed Raises Rates, but Signals Slightly Milder Path of Future Increases via WSJ
U.S. weekly jobless claims up; mid-Atlantic factory activity slows from Reuters
Global debt reaches record high of $184 trillion, IMF says by Marketplace.org
U.S. Housing Starts Grew in November via WSJFed Rate Hike Decision: Damned if they Do, Damned if they Don’t – Independence Threatened? By AskBrokers
Powell’s Bet: The Data Is Right, the Market Is Wrong via WSJ
FedEx just slashed its 2019 forecast because of ‘global economic uncertainty’ by Business Insider
A government shutdown is looming, but you may hardly notice from McClatchy
Trump tariff war with China sends U.S. retailers on buying binge by Reuters
Xi says no one can ‘dictate to the Chinese people’ from FT
China Pledges More Stimulus in 2019 as Economy Seeks Floor via Bloomberg
Xi Jinping: China to stick to Communist rule and its own path to cope with ‘unimaginable’ perils via SCMP
China Mutual Fund Closures Hit Record on Shadow Banking Purge from Bloomberg
U.S. to Unseal Criminal Charges Against Chinese Intelligence Officers via WSJ
US warns of Chinese influence at multilateral lenders from FT
Brexit: no lessons learned by EUReferendum.com
BoE says Brexit jitters worsen, sees inflation below target via ReutersNo-deal Brexit will raise food prices, says Michael Gove from The Guardian
Credit Suisse advises clients to consider moving assets out of UK via FT
Swedish Riksbank Surprises With First Rate Hike in Seven Years via from Bloomberg
Italy budget deal struck with Europe after months-long row from BBC
Qui n’avance pas, recule by AskBrokers
India’s Assault on Central Bank Autonomy Is Just Starting from Bloomberg
Erdogan says Trump responded ‘positively’ to Turkey’s threats on Syria via Al-Monitor
Erdogan sees China as a partner for the future from Asia Times
Saudi Arabia: Country Releases Budget for 2019 – Living in Fantasy Land? Via AskBrokers
Trump shocks allies and advisers with plan to pull US troops out of Syria from The Guardian
Sharp stock market sell-off on Fed rate rise via FT
Keep It Simple by AskBrokers
Cash is King from Pension Partners
Peak “Everything Bubble?” The data is piling up. By Wolf Street
Gold – Shines and Protects via AskBrokers
No One Wants to Buy Europe Stocks Anymore. Will They Ever? By Bloomberg
Crash Déjà vu or Contrarian Bounce? By Ask Brokers
Cash or Bonds at Low Yields and a Flat Yield Curve? Via EconompicData
Is All Lost? Record Share Buybacks But Stocks Get Crushed from Wolf Street
Volatility and the Alchemy of Risk By AskBrokers
Well, that could have gone better… by Reformed Broker
Lex in-depth: SoftBank’s credibility problem by FT
GOOGLE’S SECRET CHINA PROJECT “EFFECTIVELY ENDED” AFTER INTERNAL CONFRONTATION by the Intercept
European Retailers Crash as ASOS Collapses from AskBrokers
Deutsche Bank Death Spiral Hits Historic Low. European Banks Follow by Wolf Street
Emerging Markets – King! From AskBrokers
Google Plans to Spend Over $1 Billion on New York City Campus via Variety
Amazon Targets Unprofitable Items, With a Sharper Focus on the Bottom Line via WSJ
GlaxoSmithKline to break up after striking Pfizer consumer joint venture by FT
Williams-Sonoma Accuses Amazon of Copying West Elm Furniture via Seattle Times
Facebook doesn’t need to sell your data. It has been giving it away free for years. From Recode
How much is social media worth? Estimating the value of Facebook by paying users to stop using it by Plos One
Turning Off Facebook Location Tracking Doesn’t Stop It From Tracking Your Location by Gizmondo
Instagram Was Bigger Russian Election Tool Than Facebook, Senate Report Says from Bloomberg
TWITTER HAS BECOME THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN OF SOCIAL MEDIA – NEW PRICE TARGET – $20 by Citron Research
Tencent shares rally as China restarts gaming approvals via FT
Malaysia files charges against Goldman Sachs and 2 bankers via FT
Goldman Sachs Ignored 1MDB Warning Signs in Pursuit of Asian Business By WSJ
Marlboro maker stake values vaping group Juul at $38bn from FT
Airbus shares fall after report of U.S. joining corruption probe via Reuters
New questions over Elon Musk’s use of SpaceX resources for Boring Co. tunnels via MarketWatch
Atlas Copco looks to battery spark in changing car industry from Reuters
Pinterest Readies Itself for Early 2019 IPO via WSJ
BlackRock, Microsoft to Build Retirement-Planning Platform from Bloomberg
China’s tech giants want to go global. Just one thing might stand in their way. By MIT Technology Review
China’s Ctrip says US trade war discouraging tourism via FT
The Revenge of the Chart Watchers by Institutional Investor
Robinhood Update: Pulls Back Savings Offer after Regulator Concerns – Was it all a Marketing Stunt? Continued Deception? By AskBrokers
Chick-fil-A on track to become No. 3 fast-food chain in US from NYPost
Fine Wine Outperformed Global Equities in 2018 via Barrons
In Paris, ‘Yellow Vest’ Protests Cut Sharply Into City’s Luxury Trade from NYTimes
Vanguard’s asset machine wobbles under Abby Johnson’s withering pricing assault, but Fidelity’s new cost-cutting front aimed at advisors is proving more lethal for BlackRock by RIABiz
Sad Santas Confront Empty Malls: ‘Do I Have Something in My Beard? By WSJ
Five Things to Watch in European Tech, Media and Telecom in 2019 by Bloomberg
Prediction vs. Preparation from A Wealth of Common Sense
M&A activity dives in fourth quarter as corporate confidence ebbs via FT
You know things are bad when Tether is in the crypto top 5 by Ft Alphaville
My Predictions for Crypto in 2019 from The Information
Bitmain’s landmark plan to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in doubt via The Block
Crypto-Mystery Clues Suggest Tether Has the Billions It Promised by Bloomberg
Blythe Masters steps down as Digital Asset chief executive via FT
First Futures Contract to Pay Out in Bitcoin Poised for Green Light from WSJ
Derivatives, options and hedges by AskBrokers
Netflix’s Movie Blitz Takes Aim at Hollywood’s Heart by NYTimes
Prime and Punishment from The Verge
3D-printed heads let hackers – and cops – unlock your phone via Techcrunch
Brexit Could Drastically Change English Soccer by FiveThirtyEight
What’s So Funny About $1 Trillion? The Norwegians Who Manage It from Bloomberg
The best things on the internet in 2018 via AVClub
Ebola outbreak reaches city of 1 million residents from Ars Technica
Paul Ryan’s long con by VOX
Wealthy in the Hamptons Set Their Sights on Do-It-Yourself Deals by Bloomberg
The economic impacts of climate change could limit climate change by Ars Technica
Parrot uses owner’s Amazon Alexa to order shopping, play music via FoxNews
Meet Coyote Peterson, YouTube’s King Of Stings. Is He Animal Planet’s Next Big Dog? From BuzzFeed News
THE COMING QUANTUM LEAP IN COMPUTING by Boston Consulting Group
Saturn is losing its iconic planetary rings via Quartz
The World’s Most Successful Caviar Entrepreneur Is A Scrapyard Operator In Wisconsin from Forbes
Longreads Best of 2018: Profiles via Longreads
How Britain stole $45 trillion from India by Al Jazeera
TARGETING BLACK AMERICANS, RUSSIA’S IRA EXPLOITED RACIAL WOUNDS via Wired
Deal-Master Debbane: Meet The Secretive Lebanese Immigrant Behind Oprah’s Weight Watchers Windfall by Forbes
