What I Am Reading

December 12 (Wednesday) Markets Market Volatility Leads to Fresh Focus on Machinery Beneath Trading (W) Here Are Nomura’s 9 ‘Gray Swans’ That Could Hit Markets in 2019 (B) Central banks The Death of Fed Funds? As Market Dries Up, FOMC Asks What Next (B) US Yellen and the Fed are afraid of a corporate debt bubble, but investors still aren’t (C) Producer Prices Edge Up in November (W) The Loneliest Generation: Americans, More Than Ever, Are Aging Alone (W) Europe Europe’s Divisions Pose Rising Threat to Governments (W) US politics Trump, Pelosi and Schumer get into a heated Oval Office fight over border wall and shutdown (C) Geopolitics & trade China reportedly plans to slash auto tariffs — a huge win for Trump — and auto stocks are moving (C) China, U.S. discuss road map for next stage of trade talks (R) Trump admin reportedly preparing to condemn China over trade secrets theft, hacking (C) Huawei’s Top Customer in Japan Reassesses Ties (W) Former Canadian Diplomat Held in China (W) Industries & companies Autos: Nissan-Renault Scandal Shows It’s Hard to Keep Car Alliances on Track (W) Autos: Tesla is seeking $167 million in damages from the former employee Elon Musk accused of sabotage (C) FAANGs: Netflix Awakens a New Bear as Disney, AT&T Threaten Its Dominance (B) Industrials: GE shares fall as low as $6.66, its closing price low during the financial crisis (C) Media: Verizon Takes $4.5 Billion Charge Related to Digital Media Business (W) Media: Sure, Verizon blew $4.6 billion on AOL and Yahoo, but at least it isn’t AT&T (C) Retail: Whole Foods Ranked Worst on Cancer-Linked Chemicals in Packaging (B) Corporate finance Vote Paves Way for Dell to Trade Publicly Again (W) Uber Selects Morgan Stanley to Lead 2019 IPO (B) Technology & cybersecurity Amazon Alexa can now help you monitor your blood pressure (C) Super Micro Finds No Malicious Hardware in Motherboards (W) Offbeat A Surprising Push By The Invisible Hand: Why More Companies Are Doing Better By Being Good (F) U.S. Investigating Fake Comments on ‘Net Neutrality’ (W) Proposal Could Let USPS Sell Access to Your Mailbox (W) Tasting the World’s First Test-Tube Steak (W)

December 11 (Tuesday) YRI Video: The Huawei issue will be ‘compartmentalized’: Ed Yardeni (C) Daily Markets Overview Markets Dow erases 500-point drop and closes higher in another wild session on Wall Street (C) Global Recession Alarms Aren’t Ringing, Despite Market Mayhem (W) The Economy Faces Big Risks in 2019. Markets Are Only Now Facing Up to Them. (N) The next worry for U.S. stocks: shrinking profit forecasts (R) Central banks Fear of interest rate hikes is fading as next Fed meeting approaches (C) Fed seen slowing, or even stopping, rate hikes next year (R) The Pros and Cons of a PBOC Rate Cut as China’s Economy Slows (B) US U.S. job openings data points to growing worker shortage (R) Unfilled Jobs Grow in Low-Skilled Fields (W) Businesses Less Optimistic About Coming Year Than 12 Months Ago (W) Small-business optimism dips over fears of an economic slowdown: Survey (C) China How Asia Fell Out of Love With China’s Belt and Road Initiative (B) Geopolitics & trade The Huawei case will finally force the US to prove some claims it’s made about Chinese companies (C) Arrest of Huawei CFO Hinges on an Offshore Puzzle (W) Judge in Huawei Hearing Not Satisfied With Meng Bail Conditions (B) Two British Banks Ensnared in Huawei Dispute (W) Industries & companies Energy: Cheaper Oil Ripples Through the Global Economy (W) FAANGs: Apple files appeal to overturn iPhone sales ban in China (C) FAANGs: Google to Accelerate Closure of Google+ Social Network (W) FAANGs: Amazon Cracks Down on Scams, Fires Employees Over Data Leak (W) Corporate finance In race to IPO, Uber is bigger but Lyft is friendlier, survey finds (C)

December 10 (Monday) YRI Dr. Ed’s latest video podcast Daily Markets Overview Markets The Market’s Latest Problem: Hesitation to Buy the Dip (W) A bruised stock market now looks to the Fed for relief (MW) Central banks Larry Kudlow Predicts Fed Could Rethink Rate Increases (W) US Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (BR) A new study shows 89 percent of millennials want to be homeowners—but this keeps them back (C) Europe Riots Resurface Across France, Piling Pressure on Macron (W) Emmanuel Macron’s problems are more with presentation than policy (E) Brexit redux? Lessons for the future from May’s deal (R) China China’s November export, import growth shrinks, showing weak demand (R) US politics John Kelly will depart White House by year’s end, ending fractious tenure as chief of staff (C) Geopolitics & trade U.S. says March 1 ‘hard deadline’ for trade deal with China (R) Details Emerge in U.S.’s Trade Truce With China (W) China Tries to Balance Huawei Arrest with Warmer Trade Ties (N) China says Canada’s detention of Huawei exec is ‘vile in nature’ (C) Industries & companies FAANGs: Can Subscriptions Pull Apple Out of its Tailspin? (BR) Industrials: Caterpillar Stock Looks Like a Buy Amid the Industrial Rubble (BR) Corporate finance Takeda’s acquisition of Shire is Japan’s biggest-ever foreign takeover (E) Wall Street is expecting a two-year pause in big media and telecom deals after a crazy 2018 (C)

December 08 (Saturday) Markets Dow tumbles more than 500 points, wipes out gain for the year to cap wild week on Wall Street (C) Trump is reportedly ‘glued’ to the stock market’s fluctuations and worried he’s causing them (C) Stocks’ Worst Week Since March Leaves Fund Managers No Room for Error (B) OPEC Cut Throws Wrench Into Record Oil Short-Selling Streak (B) Central banks Analysis: Jobs Report Keeps December Rate Increase on Track (W) Fed’s Bullard becomes first on central bank to suggest delaying December rate hike (C) Kudlow Says He Expects Fed Pause for ‘Quite Some Time’ After December Hike (B) Opinion: Paradox for Powell: The Fed should pause — and it shouldn’t (MW) Federal Reserve Officials Search for the Elusive ‘Neutral’ Interest Rate (B) US Job growth falls short of expectations in November: 155,000 payrolls created vs 198,000 estimate (C) U.S. Hiring Slows, With Wage Gains, Jobless Rate Steady (W) Europe Eurozone Economy Grew More Slowly Than Previously Estimated (W) Euro-Area Wage Growth Signals ECB’s Inflation Goal in Sight (B) Trade Drags Euro-Area Economy as Rebound Remains in Question (B) US politics Trump Vows Response to Mueller Report (W) ‘Stop Calling John:’ Kelly Is Expected to Leave White House Post (W) Trump Picks Ex-Bush Attorney General Barr to Succeed Sessions (B) Federal prosecutors in New York call for ‘substantial term’ in prison for Michael Cohen (C) Geopolitics & trade U.S. Alleges Huawei CFO Hid Ties to Telecom With Iran Business (W) China’s Huawei Raises New Security Concerns Among U.S. Allies (W) Huawei CFO could face sentence of up to 30 years per charge if extradited to US (C) Chinese Warn of Western ‘Iron Curtain’ After Huawei Arrest (W) American Entrepreneurs Who Flocked to China Are Heading Home, Disillusioned (W) U.S. Readies Charges Against Chinese Hackers (W) U.S. Companies Feel Pinch as Tariff Costs Mount (W) Industries & companies FAANGs: Apple and Alphabet erase their gains for the year (C) FAANGs: Alphabet cybersecurity group Chronicle is expanding to Spain with a growing team of virus hunters (C) Corporate finance Facebook increases stock buyback program by $9 billion (C) Offbeat 2019 Forecast: Predictions Will Be Wrong, Random or Worse (B) Are Millennials Different? (FRB)

December 07 (Friday) Markets Dow rebounds from 780-point plunge, ends day just slightly lower on report Fed may pause hikes (C) Markets are going haywire. Here’s why these sudden moves are here to stay (C) Central banks Fed Weighs Wait-And-See Approach On Future Rate Rises (W) Powell Says U.S. Labor Market ‘Very Strong’ by Many Measures (B) Tariffs have hit confidence, to slow U.S. economy: Fed’s Williams (R) The Fed is fighting 4 inflationary trends it can’t control, Cramer says (C) US Job market is strong and hiring robust, in contrast to market fears (C) U.S. Private Sector Adds 179,000 Jobs in November (W) U.S. Household Net Worth Rose by $2.07 Trillion in 3rd Quarter (W) What Explains the Trade Deficit Hitting a Decade-High? (W) Growth in U.S. Health-Care Spending Slows (W) US politics Congress to Drug Makers: Why Stock Buybacks Over Lowered Drug Prices? (W) Geopolitics & trade John Bolton ‘knew in advance’ about arrest of Huawei executive; official says Trump did not (C) Huawei is one of China’s most important tech companies — here’s what it does and why the US is wary (C) U.S. Pursued Huawei CFO’s Arrest Despite Risk to Trade Talks With Xi (B) Huawei’s Arrested CFO Rose Through Ranks Despite Father’s Rebuke (B) Founder’s Daughter Has Been Face of Secretive Company (W) HSBC Monitor Flagged Suspicious Huawei Transactions to Prosecutors (W) Huawei probe includes bank fraud accusations (R) Boeing Backs Out of Global IP Satellite Project Financed by China (W) Industries & companies Autos: Fiat Chrysler plans to open factory in Detroit to build new three-row, Jeep Grand Cherokee (C) Retail: Walmart to acquire home decor site Art.com, further extending its e-commerce push (C) Corporate finance Cell Service in Japan Goes Down for Hours, Clouding Year’s Biggest IPO (W) Lyft Sets Stage for 2019 IPO (W) Technology Alphabet’s self-driving car business could book $114 billion in revenue in 2030, says UBS (C) Microsoft Pushes Urgency of Regulating Facial-Recognition Technology (W)

December 06 (Thursday) Markets Global Stocks Drop as Hopes for Trade Truce Fade (W) A flattening yield curve has investors spooked – three experts weigh in on what happens next (C) Flatter Yield Curves Aren’t Always Bad News—but This One Is (W) Apollo’s Leon Black Says Credit Markets Are In ‘Bubble Status’ (B) Italian Bond Yields Fall to Five-Month Low as Budget Hopes Grow (B) Currencies & commodities EU Takes on Dollar’s Global Dominance in New Push For Euro (B) OPEC+ Recommends Oil Cuts, But No Deal Yet on Size of Curbs (B) US Tariff effects broaden across U.S., wage growth higher: Fed (R) Business’s Climate Challenge: Getting Customers to Pay (W) Slowing consumption makes economies more vulnerable to ‘negative shocks,’ St. Louis Fed says (C) Europe France Tops OECD Table as Most Taxed Country (W) Geopolitics & trade China Says There Is ‘Clear Timeline’ on Trade Negotiations (W) China confident on U.S. trade pact, Trump cites Xi’s ‘strong signals’ (R) It was a ‘mistake’ for Trump to agree on a trade cease-fire with China at G-20, researcher says (C) Foreign Steel Keeps Flowing Into U.S. Despite Tariffs (W) Huawei Loses Business From Top U.K. Carrier as Scrutiny Intensifies (W) Industries & companies Airlines: Behind Boeing’s Omission of Details on Safety in Manual (W) FAANGs: Facebook Wielded Data to Reward, Punish Rivals, Emails Show (B) Financials: Wells Fargo Firing Dozens of Regional Managers in Retail-Bank Cleanup (W) Offbeat ‘A Noble Man’: U.S. Honors George H.W. Bush (W) Mike Bloomberg says he’d try to sell Bloomberg LP if he becomes president (C)

December 05 (Wednesday) Markets Stock-Market Vigilantes Show Trump Who’s Boss (B) Dow plunges more than 700 points on fears of slowing economic growth, banks lead the decline (C) Bank stocks fall the most in more than a year, enter bear market (C) The same bond market move happening now occurred before the last three recessions (C) Central banks As markets turn, Fed says it is not fazed (R) Powell Didn’t Say His View of Neutral Rates Had Changed (W) Investors Are Starting to Price in Rate Cuts in 2020 (B) US The Economic Forecast for 2019: Less Growth and More Uncertainty (W) 3 charts suggest ‘bubble trouble’ in housing with a tech meltdown ‘yet to come’ (MW) Millennials spend less than previous generations because they literally have less money, Fed says (C) Geopolitics & trade ‘An Incredible Deal:’ Making Sense of Trump’s Overblown Take on the China Trade War Truce (Fortune) ‘I am a Tariff Man’: Trump threatens to restart trade war if China talks fail (C) Jamie Dimon doesn’t expect permanent China-US trade deal in just 90 days (C) Disengaging economically from China (Washington Times) Trump’s Policies Bring Not Just Energy Independence, But Energy Dominance (IBD) Industries & companies Autos: German Carmakers Head to Washington, Hoping to Dodge Tariffs by Offering Jobs (N) Autos: Foreign carmakers take on US sedan market as Detroit’s Big Three shift to SUVs (C) Energy: Big Fracking Profits at $50 a Barrel? Don’t Bet on It (W) FAANGs: Apple needs a winner besides the iPhone, and it’s got three possibilities in the pipeline, HSBC says (C) FAANGs: UPS, FedEx shares near bear market as Morgan Stanley sees rising competition from ‘Amazon Air’ (C) Retail: Kroger to Sell Groceries in Walgreens Stores (W) Cybersecurity Data Breach at Q&A Site Quora Affects 100 Million (W)

December 04 (Tuesday) Markets Dow rises 300 points after Trump and Xi agree to pause the US-China trade war (C) Citi: 90% probability market is higher at this time next year (C) The Flattening Yield Curve Just Produced Its First Inversion (B) Central banks Fed’s Quarles: Fed watching data but will not react to ‘every wavering’ (C) A Review of the Fed’s Unconventional Monetary Policy (FRB-SF) US December is usually the slowest month for home sales, but that might not be the case this year (C) US politics U.S. to end subsidies for electric cars, renewables: White House (R) Geopolitics & trade U.S. expects immediate action from China on trade (R) Trump’s trade talks with China are back on — but it’s not clear who will lead them (C) Trump and Xi’s Truce Risks Extending, Not Ending Trade War (B) Major Wall Street economists have their doubts trade cease-fire will lead to actual deal in 90 days (C) Kudlow says progress in US-China trade will happen ‘very quickly’ (C) Trump, citing ‘crazy’ defense spending, seeks talks with Xi and Putin about halting the arms race (C) Industries & companies Airlines: United launches new ‘premium economy’ class between coach and business for long flights (C) Autos: Morgan Stanley Predicts Ford to Cut 25,000 Jobs in Overhaul (B) Communications: JP Morgan upgrades AT&T and downgrades its better-performing rival Verizon (C) Communications: 5G smartphones are coming in 2019. What does that mean? (NN) FAANGs: AirPods are Apple’s ‘most popular accessory ever,’ shipments will skyrocket next year, analyst says (C) Retail: Ikea is downsizing and moving into Manhattan with its first ‘city center’ store in 2019 (C) Corporate finance Campbell launches sale of Bolthouse Farms business (C) Offbeat Wednesday’s U.S. Economy Data Delayed, Powell Hearing Canceled (B) Elon Musk pulls 80- to 90-hour work weeks — here’s how that impacts the body and the mind (C)

December 03 (Monday) Markets Dow futures surge more than 400 points after Trump and Xi agree to pause the US-China trade war (C) Closed-End Funds Are a Good Way to Invest in MLPs (BR) Central banks Fed Chair Powell survives a critical week. Here’s why he faces even bigger tests in the future (C) US Invesco warns that November’s jobs report could spark a major market sell-off (C) The Best Way to Save Social Security (BR) Europe France to consider state of emergency following fresh riots (C) China China Has Early Lead on Electric Commercial Vehicles (W) Geopolitics & trade US, China call a 90-day truce in trade war as Trump, Xi agree to continue wide ranging talk (C) U.S., China Face Thorny Obstacles to Lasting Trade Peace (W) Trump and China Called a Truce in the Trade War. Now What? (BR) Trump cites ‘great success’ of G-20, but postpones press conference after George HW Bush’s death (C) G-20 Agrees to Joint Statement, With Compromises by U.S., EU and China (W) Industries & companies FAANGs: Amazon Tests Its Cashierless Technology for Bigger Stores (W) FAANGs: Facebook Is Under Fire Again. Here’s What Could Come Next. (BR) Financials: How Progressive Is Driving Growth in Auto Insurance (BR) Media: Paywall for HuffPost? Verizon Hunt for Web Revenue Goes Beyond Ads (W) Tech: How Microsoft Beat Out Apple and Became the World’s Most Valuable Company (BR) Corporate finance US-China trade truce may breathe new life into the scuttled $44B deal between Qualcomm and NXP (C) Technology Mining software isn’t just for cryptocurrency — it could also be used to steal corporate secrets (C) The ‘Netflix’ model of car ownership is on the rise for drivers who need wheels–without the debt (C) The Boom in Big Data (BR) Offbeat George H.W. Bush, America’s 41st President and Father of 43rd, Dies (W) Here Come Some Big Tax Bills for Fund Investors (W)

December 01 (Saturday) Markets Dow ends volatile November with more than 150-point rally on hopes of a US-China trade deal at G-20 (C) Stocks Push Higher, but Outlook Across Market Dims (W) Yes, Market Moves Are More Extreme. But It’s Not the Apocalypse (B) Commodities Drop Looks Secular, Not Cyclical (B) Credit Treasurys Extend Rally, Pushing 10-Year Yield Back Toward 3% (W) CLOs Set Record With Annual Sales Topping $124 Billion (B) Central banks Fed Jumps Off Predictable Path and Into a Policy Wilderness (B) Europe Italian Workers Feel the Pain as the Eurozone Economy Sputters (W) Emerging China’s Worsening Economy Adds Pressure on Xi Heading to G-20 (B) India’s Growth Slowed in Latest Quarter (W) Geopolitics & trade Trump-Xi trade talks could spark ‘explosion’ higher for stocks like Apple – or lead to a bear market (C) Trump Sees ‘Good Signs’ Ahead of Saturday Dinner With China’s Xi (B) As Lighthizer predicts Trump-Xi dinner ‘success,’ here’s what that outcome might look like (MW) BRICS slam protectionism as China-U.S. spat overshadows G20 talks (R) U.S., Canada, Mexico sign trade deal, Trump shrugs off Congress hurdle (R) Steel and aluminum tariffs remain a headache despite Trump’s trade deal with Mexico and Canada (C) Industries & companies Consumer: One corner of the market is quietly making new highs (C) Facebook: Facebook’s story on Sandberg and ongoing obsession with Soros keeps evolving — here’s the latest (C) Health Care: The stock market’s best-performing sector in November also has a healthy future, strategists say (MW) Industrials: In GE Probe, Ex-Staffers Say Insurance Risks Were Ignored (W) Tech: Blowout earnings from Salesforce, Workday revive cloud rally and shake off concerns about economy (C) Corporate finance China to Allow UBS to Control Local Securities Business (W) Cybersecurity The huge Marriott hack started four years ago — investors should ask how the company missed it (C) Marriott Hit by Starwood Hack That Ranks Among Biggest Ever (B) Marriott breach: Here’s the risk of a compromised passport number (C) Offbeat Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Rocks Anchorage (W)