What I Am Reading

January 2 (Thursday) Markets The Bull Market Is Charging Into 2020 W The Strongest Major Currency This Year Seen Stalling Out in 2020 B U.S. dollar share of global currency reserves highest for a year in third quarter: IMF data R Central banks China’s Monetary Policy Eases Into the New Year W PBOC Stresses Policy Flexibility as Economic Pressures Persist B Fed sees small take-up of repo, rates fall for year-end R US Jobs and Inflation: The Great Trade-Off, Demystified W Small business pay checks are growing at a fast pace as job gains slow C China Inside China’s Push to Turn Muslim Minorities Into an Army of Workers N US politics Giuliani says he’d testify at Trump’s Senate trial C Pete Buttigieg raised a huge $24.7 million haul in the fourth quarter, campaign says C Geopolitics & trade Trump Says He Will Sign Phase-One Trade Deal With China on Jan. 15 W Tariffs on Chinese Goods Are Skirted by Some U.S. Shoppers W North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warns of ‘shocking’ action, new strategic weapon C Industries & companies Aerospace: Exclusive: Airbus beats goal with 863 jet deliveries in 2019, ousts Boeing from top spot R Energy: Energy Producers’ New Year’s Resolution: Pay the Tab for the Shale Drilling Bonanza W Pharma: More drugmakers hike U.S. prices as new year begins R Offbeat Ghosn’s Escape From Japan Followed Months of Planning W Google AI Beats Doctors at Breast Cancer Detection—Sometimes W A Restaurant With No Leftovers N YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 31 (Tuesday) Markets Stocks End Day With Push to Gains W Asia shares struggle to stabilize after punishing week R The Inverting Yield Curve Is About More Than Recession This Time B Commodities’ Drop Deepens on Fears Coronavirus Will Dent Chinese Demand W Coronavirus Spurs Fresh Fears About Growth in Emerging Markets W Central banks The World Is the Dog, the Fed Is the Tail W Virus WHO declares China coronavirus that’s killed more than 200 a global health emergency C Trump says coronavirus outbreak is ‘all under control’ and a ‘very small problem’ in US C Coronavirus live updates: China says death toll hits 213, confirmed cases rise to 9,692 C Passengers May Leave Italy Ship; Tests Show No Virus Danger  B US U.S. Economy Heads Into 2020 With Steady Growth W U.S. economy misses Trump’s 3% growth target in 2019 R US politics Impeachment trial turns to whistleblower ahead of possible weekend finish R Industries & companies Airlines: Southwest Failed to Prioritize Safety, Government Says W Consumer: Maker of Lipton Cools on Tea W FAANGs: Amazon soars after huge earnings beat C FAANGs: Amazon holiday sales jump as one-day shipping pays dividends, stock up 13% R FAANGs: AWS generated revenue of $9.95 billion in Q4, up 34% from a year ago C FAANGs: Jeff Bezos’ net worth jumps by over $12 billion after Amazon’s big quarter C Financials: Deutsche Bank Posts Big Loss as Overhaul Bites W Financials: Visa Posts Record Profit on Higher Spending W Financials: U.S. banks could invest in venture capital funds again under ‘Volcker rewrite’ R Media: Star Wars Game Helps Lift Sales, Profit at Electronic Arts W Tech: IBM’s Ginni Rometty Steps Down as CEO W Wireless: Verizon Adds Wireless Users, Takes Another Hit on Yahoo Unit W Corporate finance Reynolds Raises $1.2 Billion in Top IPO by Household Goods Maker B YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 30 (Monday) A 10% to 20% pullback could strike stocks early next year, long-time bull Ed Yardeni warns C The Dow Is Closing Out 2019 With a Bang. Good Luck in 2020. BR Key reports to watch for this week as the S&P aims for its best year in 2 decades C Fight for Market Share Gives Bond Issuers Pick of Ratings W Markets II European Hedge Funds Caught Out by Bull Run in Stocks W Emerging Market Stocks Had a Dismal Decade. Where to Look for Growth Going Forward. BR Central banks Trading a Dove for Two Hawks: A Look at the Fed’s 2020 Voters B The Bedrock of Ultra-Low Yields Is at Risk B US How the Affordable Care Act transformed our health-care system C Europe ‘Japanification’ Haunts Slow-Growth Europe W China In China’s Crackdown on Muslims, Children Have Not Been Spared N Geopolitics & trade China commerce ministry says it has proactively dealt with U.S. trade frictions R Kim May Have Reconsidered His ‘Christmas Gift,’ Trump Aide Says B All the missiles and nukes North Korea has tested in one chart C US carries out ‘precision defensive strikes’ in Iraq and Syria against Iranian-backed militia C Industries & companies Media: 2019 US box office projected for $11.4 billion in ticket sales, second-highest of all time C Media: Disney accounted for nearly 40% of the 2019 US box office C Media: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Leads Final Weekend of 2019 B Pharma: Chinese Alzheimer’s Drug to Launch Global Trials Amid Skepticism B Pharma: Pharma Companies Are Rushing to Treat a Little-Known Liver Disease. Investors Should Be Skeptical. BR Tech: Chip-Equipment Stock Applied Materials Is Not as Cheap—but Still a Buy BR Utilities: PG&E: Wired to Fail W Corporate finance Fewer Companies Merged in 2019. Just Don’t Call It a Bad Year. BR Offbeat The 2020s Will Bring Great Change. We May Not Be Ready. BR The CBC’s Cut of a Scene From ‘Home Alone 2’ Draws the Trumps’ Ire N WeWork Exit Packages Include $17 Million to Co-CEOs, FT Reports B YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 28 (Saturday) Markets Dow Industrials Inch Ahead to Record W S&P 500 notches fifth straight week of gains as market rallies into end of 2019 C Here’s how a bull market scrambled seasonal trends in 2019 C Recession, robots and rockets: another roaring 20s for world markets? C U.S. energy shareholders seek to leave behind a lost decade R Credit Mortgage Bonds Attract Investors in Low-Yield World W Leveraged-Loan Downgrades Signal Financial Cracks W Central banks Four New Voters to Join Fed’s Rate-Setting Panel W ECB’s Holzmann: Return to positive interest rates in 2020 unlikely R US Workers Get Bigger Raises as Labor Market Tightens W China China’s industrial profits grow at fastest in eight months, but sustained recovery uncertain R Bills Come Due for China’s Local Governments W US politics Super Saturday sales the latest sign Trump’s economy is unstoppable P Elizabeth Warren’s campaign sounds the alarm as fundraising slows about 30% in fourth quarter C Spotify to Suspend Political Advertising W Geopolitics & trade ‘Hong Kong’s Not Right.’ Protests Upend Life in a City on Edge. W Russia claims its new hypersonic weapon is ready for war C Industries & companies FAANGs: Apple Sued by New York Doctor Over Watch’s Heart Technology B Financials: Banks Set for Biggest Job Cull Since 2015 as Morgan Stanley Cuts B Retail: Holidays Cheer Amazon, Tiffany W Corporate finance Microsoft paid $26 billion for LinkedIn, then mostly left it alone—CEO Jeff Weiner is good with that C Investors Push Tech Startups for Profits, Not Just Customers W Offbeat More Investment Managers Are Helping Those Betting Against Them W Boomer or Bust? Europe’s Aging Entrepreneurs Cling to Power. W YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 27 (Friday) Markets U.S. Stocks Climb to Highs W Trump stock market rally is far outpacing past US presidents C Dow’s ‘Dogs’ Lag Behind a Hot Market W Nasdaq hits 9,000 for the first time, S&P 500 reaches all-time high in year-end rally C Emerging market stocks were laggards in the past decade R The Corporate Bond Market’s $100 Billion Buyer Is Here to Stay B Distressed-Asset Hedge Funds Run Into Trouble W Central banks U.S. Fed buys $825 million of mortgage bonds, sells none R Fed’s U-Turn on Assets Faces Test W Fed May Be Quietly Masking Extent of Efforts to Calm Repo Market B Repo Fix Requires Wall Street, Fed Collaboration W US U.S. Durable Goods Orders Fell in November W China State Support Helped Fuel Huawei’s Global Rise W In Tougher Times, China Falls Back on Coal W US politics McConnell, Schumer Lay Out Dueling Visions for Senate Impeachment Trial W Leading Republican senator says impeachment witnesses not ruled out R Judiciary panel says it could draft ‘new articles of impeachment’ against Trump C Geopolitics & trade China commerce ministry says in close touch with U.S. on signing trade deal R China to Cut Tariffs on Range of Goods Amid Push for Trade Deal W Trade-Court Lawsuits Take On Trump’s Tariff Effort W Trump’s Mexican cartel policy creates dissent among Cabinet R Christmas passes with no ‘gift’ from North Korea, but US officials are on alert NN Saudi Arabia sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder, U.N. official decries ‘mockery’ R Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing CEO Pushed Out as Company Reels From 737 MAX Debacle W Aerospace: New Boeing CEO David Calhoun Faces Daunting Tasks After 737 Max B Airlines: US airlines are set for a 10th year of profits. More than 120,000 employees want a raise C Autos: SEC Investigating BMW Over Sales Practices W Autos: Automakers cut jobs, close factories to save billions in 2019 C Energy: Big Investors Showing Love to Gas Fields Others Shun W FAANGs: Amazon Says Holiday Business Hit New Highs W FAANGs: Apple Extends Rally, Solidifying 2019 as Best Year in a Decade B Financials: U.S. Banks Rally as Holiday Shopping Signals More Consumer Cheer B Financials: Eleven Years in the Making: Breaking Even on JPMorgan’s Purchase of Bear Stearns W Pharma: Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Shares Plunge on Cancer-Drug Results W Pharma: Drugmakers Turn to Data Mining to Avoid Expensive, Lengthy Drug Trials W Retail: Holiday season package returns to hit a record high, says UPS R Retail: Super Saturday Shopping Sets One-Day Sales Record, Analyst Says B Tech: Tech Giants Hunt for AI Startups—and the Brains Behind Them W Corporate finance Tesla Shares Race Past $420 Buyout Figure W Musk Finds Humor in Tesla’s $420 Stock Getting ‘So High’ B Electric vehicle startup Rivian scores $1.3 billion investment from T.Rowe Price, others R Deutsche Telekom Weighed T-Mobile-Comcast Merger in 2015 B Offbeat Walmart, Target Embrace 8-Year-Old YouTube Influencer’s Brand W New rule would make it possible to track and identify nearly all drones flying in the U.S. C Shooting, Sex Crime and Theft: Airbnb Takes Halting Steps to Protect its Users W YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 23 (Monday) Markets The S&P Heading for Best Year Since 2013. What Fueled the Rally. BR Wall Street Week Ahead: History suggests rally may slow for U.S. stocks in 2020 R Investors may be overly complacent about the 2020 outlook NN The Decade of Dividends: Income Stocks Fed Yield-Hungry Investors in a Low-Rate Era BR Commodities America is now the world’s top oil producer, but cracks are emerging NN Oil’s 2019 Milestones Tell Decade’s Story of Energy Abundance B Commodities Had a Great Year. Why Palladium Led the Way BR Banks Get Tough on Shale Loans as Fracking Forecasts Flop W Central banks Our Guide to What the World’s Top Central Banks Will Do Next Year B Do Negative Rates Work? Yes, but Not by Much W Repo Market News: Fed Is Entrenched. How Does It Get Out? B US The Economy, 2019: A Microcosm of a Decade in Which Growth Was Slow and Market Gains Fast BR China China to Further Open Up Industries, Ease Burden for Companies B Inside China’s plan to become the world’s leading economy C China should step up regulation of artificial intelligence in finance, think tank says R Emerging Modi Defends India’s New Citizenship Law as Protests Persist W US politics Pelosi’s Delay in Sending Impeachment Articles Stirs Sparring B Trump Asked About Ukraine Aid Before July Zelenskiy Call B Newly released emails offer more details in timeline of pause to Ukraine aid NN Battles lines harden over Trump impeachment trial witnesses R Trump gains support among millionaires, CNBC survey finds C Geopolitics & trade In the Battles Over Trump’s Trade Wars, Hawkish Adviser Navarro Endures W President Xi Jinping praised Macao this week, but Hong Kong still has the financial clout NN Clashes as police try to clear Hong Kong protesters after Uighur support rally R Industries & companies Aerospace: ‘Bull’s-eye’ landing caps Boeing’s faulty astronaut capsule test mission R Autos: Tesla’s Soaring Stock Crushes Short Sellers BR Autos: Tesla’s topsy turvy 2019 NN Industrials: Options Traders Are Betting Heavily on GE’s Rebound BR Media: ‘Rise of Skywalker’ debuts at $374 million, below recent ‘Star Wars’ films R REITs: Brookfield’s Bet on Malls Looks Riskier than Ever W Retail: Walmart’s Secret Weapon to Fight Off Amazon: The Supercenter W Tech: Industry of the decade: Chipmakers C Tech: Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is on pace to sell his entire stake C Corporate finance Aramco Stocks Give Up About Half of Gains Since Debut: Inside EM B 2019 Was a Strong Year for IPOs, Even Without WeWork BR Technology How AI ruled our lives over the past decade NN Stock-Trading Computers Profit on Human Errors. How to Fight Back. BR Offbeat Move Over, Santa! Kids Are Asking Alexa to Bring Them Presents W Now fake Facebook accounts are using fake faces NN Master Stockpicker Peter Lynch: If You Only Invest in an Index, You’ll Never Beat It BR YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 21 (Saturday) Markets S&P 500 posts biggest weekly percent gain since September amid data, trade optimism R Trump and Xi sparked a year-end rally that should continue into new year C The best year financial markets have ever had? R The World Is Days Away From Booking the Best Asset Returns in a Decade B US U.S. consumers put economy on moderate growth path in third quarter R U.S. consumer spending rises; inflation tame R Europe U.K. Parliament Backs Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal, Clearing Major Hurdle W Japan Japan Tries to Thwart Collapse of Iran Nuclear Deal W US politics Pelosi says she’s inviting Trump to deliver the address ‘In the spirit of respecting our Constitution’ NN Trump Accepts Pelosi’s State of Union Invite Despite Impeachment B After Trump’s Impeachment, Pelosi Ends Year With Strong Hold on Party W Impeachment Battle Lines Drawn for 2020 Campaign W After fiery debate, Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls return to campaign trail R Sign-ups for 2020 Obamacare insurance on HealthCare.gov fall to 8.3 million: CMS R Geopolitics & trade In phone call with Trump, China’s Xi says U.S. interfering in internal affairs R Ross Says Tariffs Working Despite U.S. Steel Plant Layoffs B Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing’s failed Starliner mission strains ‘reliability’ pitch R Autos: Tesla Shorts in ‘Winter of Despair’ With Stock at Record B Biotech: Behind the Biotech Stock Rally: New Deals and Easing Political Worries W FAANGs: Data on Hundreds of Millions of U.S. Facebook Users Exposed B FAANGs: France Fines Google for Mistreating Search Advertisers W Retail: Ulta Tops Amazon as Decade’s Best Performing Large Retail Stock B Corporate finance SEC reportedly investigating Slack and other unicorns’ market debuts on the NYSE C IAC to Buy Care.com in $500 Million Cash Deal W Aramco, Alibaba rescue sluggish 2019 global ECM market R Technology Exclusive: U.S. talks with GM over deploying self-driving cars without steering wheels R Offbeat A Genetic Test Led Seven Women in One Family to Have Major Surgery. Then the Odds Changed. W YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 20 (Friday) Markets S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq Notch New Records W Art Cashin’s predictions for 2020, including more wins for stocks C Heard of bitcoin’s ‘halving’? It’s set to shake crypto markets in 2020 R Central banks Fed’s Bullard Sees No Reason Now to Change Rates in 2020 Bank of England Keeps Powder Dry as Brexit Moves Into Next Stage B Riksbank Hike Ends Subzero Experiment in Global Test Case B US Declining Labor Share and U.S. Industries | St. Louis Fed FRB-SL U.S. weekly jobless claims fall; mid-Atlantic factory activity almost stalls R Economic Expectations of U.S. Consumers Climb to a One-Year High B Online returns this holiday season to hit record $41.6 billion C US home sales tumbled 1.7% in November C U.S. Companies’ Repatriated Cash Hits $1 Trillion Under Tax Law B Europe Cautious UK shoppers send retail sales growth to 19-month low R Exclusive: The Brits who won’t Brexit R After Winning Over Blue-Collar Voters, Boris Johnson Lays Out Pledges to Keep Them W Emerging Emerging-Market Junk Bonds Sell at Record Pace W India Temporarily Pulls Plug on Mobile Services in Delhi to Curb Protests W US politics Trump has been impeached by the House. Here’s what happens next C After House Impeaches Trump, Timing of Next Steps Is Unclear W Pelosi threatens to delay Trump impeachment trial to press McConnell C Nancy Pelosi won’t commit to sending articles of impeachment to Senate NN Giuliani Keeps the Hustle Going, Even as Trump Is Impeached B Split-screen America: Alternate realities on display as House votes to impeach Trump R Biden holds lead over Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg in 2020 race: NBC-WSJ poll C Senate Bill Includes Significant Changes to Retirement System W Geopolitics & trade China announces new tariff exemptions for US chemical and oil products C China says in touch with U.S. on signing of Phase 1 trade deal R Germany closely monitoring Chinese shareholdings in Daimler R EU Makes Deeper Economic Ties With China a Priority W EU extends economic sanctions against Russia for six months R Industries & companies Consumer: Conagra Tops Sales Expectations W Energy: Energy stocks (XLE) show signs of life, but don’t buy yet: Trader C FAANGs: Apple Held Early Talks With Pac-12 Conference, MGM Over TV Service W FAANGs: Facebook to Advertise in the Super Bowl for the First Time W Industrials: GM issues two recalls for more than 900,000 new vehicles R Pharma: Novartis to Offer World’s Most Expensive Drug for Free Via Lottery W Restaurants: Chipotle is testing a new restaurant design to maximize digital growth C Tech: EU Legal Opinion on Facebook Case Spells Trouble For Data Transfers W Tech: Uber Hit With Fresh German Ban W Corporate finance Broadcom Looks to Sell Unit That Could Fetch $10 Billion W Goldman Sachs Is in Talks for Asia Unit to Admit Guilt in 1MDB B TiVo, Xperi to Combine in All-Stock Deal W YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 19 (Thursday) Markets I U.S. Stocks Finish Little Changed W A Decade of U.S. Market Exceptionalism Will Be Difficult to Repeat W Options Traders Eye Insurance Even as Stocks Soar W Markets II A $10 trillion debt burden coming due one day could hit the stock market and Amazon, UBS proposes C U.S. SEC proposes allowing more investors access to private companies R Hong Kong Dollar Surges After Rough Patch W Central banks Fed’s Evans says U.S. economy doing well but inflation too low R Muller Says ECB Review Should Start With Inflation Deep Dive B US The Demographic Threat to America’s Jobs Boom W Europe Anti-Brexit Campaign Faces Up to Brexit, Amid Recriminations W China A Tale of Two Former Colonies: Headstrong Hong Kong and Mild-Mannered Macau W Chinese Academics Protest Demand for Absolute Loyalty to Beijing W Young Carefree Buyers in China’s Small Towns Are Powering Growth B US politics House begins final debate over Trump impeachment vote C Pelosi calls Trump threat to democracy ahead of impeachment vote R Trump ‘Has Broken’ His Oath, Nadler Says B Trump’s economic approval hits highest level in a year as Americans remain split on impeachment C Why Congress Just Can’t Kill ‘Zombie’ Tax Breaks W Geopolitics & trade Uncertainty remains on Wall Street about China-US phase one agreement: ‘More trade truce than deal’ C Trump’s China Buying Spree Unlikely to Cover Trade War’s Costs B Automakers to pay $3 billion in new U.S. tariffs under USMCA: budget estimate R Trump proposes rule for importing drugs from Canada; industry says it won’t cut costs R U.S. files appeal into WTO system it has broken R Industries & companies Aerospace: After Boeing Halts Max Production, Suppliers Wait for Fallout W Aerospace: Boeing hit with another lawsuit over troubled 737 Max NN Autos: Tesla is on a tear and reaches a 52-week high C Autos: Daimler to Pay Up To $20 Million For Mercedes Recall Lapses B FAANGs: Imitating Amazon: E-Commerce Battle Bolstered by Companies Mimicking the Market Leader W Media: ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Unlikely to Top Recent Star Wars Releases W Shipping: FedEx Stung by the Shift to E-Commerce W Shipping: FedEx CFO: Our profit drop was ‘horrific’ NN Shipping: FedEx says it will ‘start lapping’ Amazon in 2021 C Wireless: The Smartphone Changed. Then It Changed Us. W Corporate finance New York Life to Buy Cigna’s Life and Disability Insurance Unit for $6.3 Billion W Broadcom Looks to Sell Unit That Could Fetch $10 Billion W Despite IPO flameouts, 2019 sets record for U.S. unicorn births R Broadcaster, Private-Equity Firm Express Interest in Buying Univision W Intel Deepens AI Push With $2 Billion Purchase of Habana Labs W Offbeat YouTube burnout is real. Creators are struggling to cope NN YRI Daily Markets Overview

December 18 (Wednesday) Markets Stocks Hang On to Extend Winning Streak (W) Good Year for Corporate Bonds Gets Better as Threats Fade (W) Pound Sees Biggest Drop in a Year Amid Brexit Trade Worries (W) Natural-Gas Shorts at Highest Level Since Financial Crisis (W) Central banks ‘Decade of the central bank’ ends with the Fed and its global cohorts in need of some new tricks (C) Fed Risks Creating an Environment For Another Financial Crisis, Ex-Officials Say (B) US U.S. Factory Production Rebounds in November (W) Why You Shouldn’t Believe Those G.D.P. Numbers (N) Europe Johnson Pledges Full U.K. Exit From EU by End of 2020 (W) US politics House passes $1.4 trillion spending plan to prevent shutdown, sending it to Senate (C) Trump slams impeachment as an ‘illegal, partisan attempted coup’ in angry 6-page letter to Pelosi (C) ‘Trump totally unchained’: Second term could mean more trade wars, Powell exit, new tax cuts (C) Lawmakers Reach Late and Narrow Tax-Break Deal (W) FISA Court Rebukes FBI Over Trump Aide Surveillance (W) Geopolitics & trade House committee approves USMCA trade deal, setting up vote on Thursday (C) U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement does not deliver on what the moment demands Industries & companies FAANGs: Amazon sellers are the latest casualty from the company’s spat with FedEx (C) FAANGs: You Might Be Buying Trash on Amazon—Literally (W) Financials: Regulators Find Shortcomings in Resolution Plans at Six Large U.S. Banks (W) Industrials: GE’s 737 MAX Problem Just Got Bigger (W) Retail: Bed Bath & Beyond’s new CEO just blew up his executive circle — in the midst of the holiday season (C) Shipping: FedEx shares slip after second-quarter earnings miss (C) Corporate finance Carlyle, Others Buy Stake in AmEx Corporate-Travel Business (W) WeWork Clinches $1.75 Billion in Financing With Goldman’s Backing (B) Offbeat It Isn’t Just Uber: California Prepares for New Gig Worker Rules…and Confusion (W) Cramer: Many billionaires might have actually supported Elizabeth Warren, but she blew it (C) YRI Daily Markets Overview