- Russian Inflation Soars to Fastest Since 2009 After Ruble Rout. Russian inflation quickened to the fastest in more than five years after the country’s worst currency crisis since 1998 stoked price growth. Consumer prices rose 11.4 percent in December from a year earlier, compared with 9.1 percent in November, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said today in an e-mailed statement, citing preliminary data. That exceeded the median estimate of 14 economists in a Bloomberg survey for 11.2 percent. Prices jumped 2.6 percent from the previous month.
- Kremlin Foe Navalny Defiant at 'Filthy' Punishment as a Weakened Putin Stares Down Dissent. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny remains defiant after violating house arrest to reach a protest by the Kremlin, thumbing his nose at the system that spared him while locking up his brother. The 38-year-old lawyer poked fun as policemen remained stationed outside his apartment after he was escorted home from the rally, saying on Twitter today: “They themselves don’t know why they’re standing there. Don’t want water or tea.”
- Greek Polling Points to Coalition as Voters Reject System. Greek polling data suggest neither Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s New Democracy nor the main opposition Syriza party will win an outright majority in next month’s election, meaning coalition negotiations or even a repeat vote will be needed. Pollster Elias Nikolakopoulos said current projections of voting intentions for the Jan. 25 elections show the lower limit for securing at least 151 seats in the country’s 300-seat chamber is about 38 percent. Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza led New Democracy by 28 percent to 25 percent in a survey by Marc published on Alpha TV’s website this week.
- Emerging Stocks Slide for Second Year as Oil, Fed Curtail Demand. Emerging-market stocks headed for their first back-to-back annual loss in 12 years as sliding oil and bets for higher U.S. interest rates curbed the appeal of riskier assets. Chinese shares jumped on the final day of 2014. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.4 percent to 958.06 at 12:06 p.m. in New York, reducing the decline this year to 4.5 percent. While crude’s plunge into a bear market in 2014 dragged down stocks of oil exporters from Russia to Saudi Arabia, it supported shares of net energy importers including Turkey and India. Developing-country currencies and equities also fell amid bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates amid signs the U.S. economy is strengthening.
- European Stocks Climb, Trimming First December Drop Since 2008. European stocks advanced in the last day of the year, paring their first December decline since 2008. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 342.28 today, trimming this month’s loss to 1.4 percent. The gauge fell in December amid a slump in energy producers and in Greek equities as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed to get enough backing for his presidential candidate, leading to early elections. The Stoxx 600 has gained for a third year, up 4.3 percent in 2014.
- Commodities Head for Record Losing Run on Oil to Dollar. Commodities headed for the biggest annual loss since the global financial crisis in 2008, retreating for a record fourth year, as a global glut spurred a rout in oil prices and a stronger dollar cut the allure of raw materials. The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), which tracks 22 products from crude to copper, fell 0.9 percent to 105.1845 points at 8:53 a.m. in New York, after dropping to the lowest level since March 2009 earlier today. It’s lost 16 percent this year, with crude, gasoline and heating oil the biggest decliners. A fourth year of losses would be the longest since at least 1991.
- Oil Drops in Worst Year Since ’08. Crude oil fell, heading for its worst year since 2008 amid a global supply glut, dragging commodities to a fourth straight annual drop. U.S. equities fluctuated on the way to a 13 percent rally this year, while stocks rose in Europe to finish a third yearly increase. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.1 percent to $52.98 a barrel at 12:06 p.m. in New York and the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), which tracks 22 products from crude to copper, decreased 1.1 percent for a 17 percent slide in 2014.
- U.S. Easing of Oil Exports Challenges OPEC's Strategy. The Obama administration’s move to allow exports of ultralight crude without government approval may encourage shale drilling and thwart Saudi Arabia’s strategy to curb U.S. output, further weakening oil markets, according to Citigroup Inc. A type of crude known as condensate can be exported if it is run through a distillation tower, which separates the hydrocarbons that make up the oil, according to U.S. government guidelines published yesterday. That may boost supplies ready to be sold overseas to as much as 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2015, Citigroup analysts led by Ed Morse in New York said in an e-mailed report.
- Inflation No-Show Unlikely to Slow Fed Rate Liftoff: Economy. Economists are slashing U.S. inflation forecasts for 2015 as oil prices tumble. What’s not changing are predictions that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate anyway, probably around mid-year. “We’re still saying June with risks to September,” said Michael Gapen, the New York-based chief U.S. economistfor Barclays Plc. The Fed “can push rates higher in the middle of the year, even though visually that may look awkward if headline inflation is around zero.”
- Apple(AAPL) Customers Sue Over Shortage of Storage Space in iOS 8. Apple Inc. (AAPL) misleads consumers about the amount of storage space used by its iOS 8 operating system in iPhones, iPods and iPads, two users claimed in a suit targeting the software, adding a new wrinkle to a product introduction that has been riddled with hiccups and missteps.
- More Bodies Recovered From AirAsia Wreckage Amid Choppy Weather. Divers Stand By in High Swells; Seven Bodies Found.
CNBC:
ZeroHedge:
- What Wall Of Worry? 2014 Was The Least 'Bearish' For Investors Ever. (graph) Investors have never - ever - been less bearish about the stock market than they are in 2014...
- The Ruble Is Plunging. The ruble is getting slammed. At around 11:20 a.m. ET Wednesday, it got as weak as 62.03 rubles per dollar after closing 56.71 on Tuesday. This was a nearly 5% plunge.
Reuters:
- U.S. crude stocks decline, Cushing glut grows -EIA. Crude stocks at the Cushing delivery hub rose by 1.995 million barrels, EIA said.
- Oilfield housing firm's stumble may herald more oil industry pain. A nasty profit warning and deep job cuts. A gutted capital budget, a suspended dividend and shares tumbling by more than half on a single day. The retrenchment at Civeo Corp, which provides temporary housing for oilfield workers and miners, is the most-severe symptom of pain inflicted on the oil service industry by the slide in crude prices, and may presage similar steps by peers.
- Even $20 oil will struggle to save self–harming eurozone. Falling oil prices are unlikely to make much of a difference to a continent economically marooned by bad policy and an increasingly fractious political environment.
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