Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• U.S. Says Russia Arms Ukraine Rebels, OSCE Wary on Truce. Ukraine’s parliament began approving a new cabinet that must fix the country’s economy and tackle a rebellion that has ignited the worst standoff between Russia and its Cold War enemies since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Lawmakers voted to keep Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak in their posts and debated the rest of the cabinet proposed by the new five-party ruling coalition. With fighting against pro-Russian separatists hammering Ukraine’s economy, President Petro Poroshenko granted citizenship to three foreigners to let them lead ministries. 

• Russian Woes Worsen as Recession Looms With Banks in ‘Panic'. (video) Russia’s economic crisis deepened as the government acknowledged it’s heading for recession and a former central banker spoke of “some panic” in the financial system as oil prices plunged. Speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Russia is scrapping a proposed $45 billion pipeline to Europe, the government predicted the economy will contract next year and canceled a bond auction. It was also forced to pledge 39.95 billion rubles ($740 million) to support OAO Gazprombank, at least the third lender to secure a capital injection since U.S. and European Union sanctions curbed their ability to borrow.

• Putin, Oil and Ruble All Headed for 63 May Be No Russian Joke. Heard the one about Vladimir Putin, the oil price and the ruble’s value against the dollar? They will all hit 63 next year. That’s the joke doing the rounds of the Kremlin as the Russian government digs in to weather international sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. According to at least five people close to Putin, pressure from the U.S. and Europe is galvanizing Russians to withstand a siege on their economy. The black humor is part of an image of defiance not seen since the Cold War. As the economy enters its first recession in more than five years, the ruble depreciates to records and money exits the country, Putin’s supporters are closing ranks and say he’s sure to run for another six-year term in 2018. 

• Iran-Backed Hackers Target Airports, Carriers: Report. (video)

• China Orders Stricter Checks on Local Debt as Sales Surge. China is tightening checks on local bond sales in its latest bid to reduce risks as debt loads surge to a record amid slowing economic growth. 

• China Loan Data Understates Exposure to Property Risks, S&P Says.

• Port Hedland Iron Ore Shipments to China Drop to Seven-Month Low. Iron ore shipments to China from Australia’s Port Hedland declined to the lowest level in seven months as the world’s biggest buyer ordered some mills to curb output to cut pollution before a global summit in November. Shipments from the world’s biggest bulk-export terminal totaled 29 million metric tons last month, the lowest since April, according to port authority data. That compares with 31.7 million tons in October and 22.3 million a year earlier, data showed. Total exports were 34.4million tons from a record 37.5 million in October and 28.1 million in November 2013.

• Japanese Workers See Wages Drop for 16th Month on Inflation. Japanese wages adjusted for inflation dropped for a sixteenth straight month as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces an election focused on his efforts to spur economic growth. Earning declined 2.8 percent in October from a year earlier, the labor ministry said today, following data last week showing households cut spending for a seventh month. 

• Oil Investors May Be Running Off a Cliff They Can’t See. (video) A growing minority of investors and regulators are probing the possibility that untapped deposits of oil, gas and coal -- valued at trillions of dollars globally -- could become stranded assets as governments adopt stricter climate change policies. 

• Oil Rally Fizzles; Kurds Reach Deal on Exports With Iraq. WTI for January delivery fell $1.17, or 1.7 percent, to $67.83 a barrel at 12:34 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 5.6 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day. Futures climbed 4.3 percent yesterday, the biggest gain since Aug. 3, 2012, after earlier touching $63.72, the least since July 2009. Prices are down 31 percent this year. 

• Copper Falls for Fifth Time in Six Sessions on Dollar, Economies. Copper futures for March delivery fell 0.2 percent to settle at $2.8915 a pound at 1:18 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Yesterday, the price jumped 1.8 percent, the most since Sept. 16, after touching $2.7775, the lowest since June 9, 2010.

CNBC:

• Here's the HFT paper that has Wall St freaking out.

ZeroHedge:

• Images From A Dark Detroit: "Major Cable Failure" Sparks Widespread Power Outage.

• Close Encounter Between NATO F-16 And Russian MiG-31 Caught On Tape. (video)

• Citi Shutters Lavaflow - 5th Largest 'Dark Pool' In America.

• Government Construction Spending Surges Most Since 2006. (graph)

• Russian Ruble Crashes To New Record Lows - Intervention Imminent? (graph)

• After Abysmal Thanksgiving Spending, Cyber Monday Is Latest Dud, Rising Less Than Half 2013 Pace. (graph)

Business Insider:

• This Drone Footage Of A Desolate Detroit Looks Like Something Out Of 'The Walking Dead'. (video)

• The US Army Is Sending Another 100 Tanks To Eastern Europe As Ukraine Unrest Continues.

• The Oil Crash May Be About Something Much Worse Than A Supply Glut. (graph)

Telegraph:

• OPEC: Saudi Prince says Riyadh won't cut oil unless others follow. Saudi Arabia's former spy chief Prince Turki said world's biggest oil exporter won't surrender market share to anyone.

interfax-Ukraine:

• Russian GDP to contract 0.8% in 2015 - Econ Ministry forecast. The Russian Economic Development Ministry now forecasts that GDP will decline 0.8% in 2015 compared with GDP growth of 1.2% contained in the forecast prepared in September, Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Vedev said at a briefing on Tuesday. The main cause for the significant change in the forecast is the reduction in the assumed average price of Urals crude oil next year to $80 per barrel from $100 previously.