Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Brussels Extends Lockdown as Paris Terror Suspect Eludes Police. (video) The Belgian government extended its lockdown for Brussels into a fourth day, saying terrorists were planning attacks on shopping malls and public transport, as Belgian police continued their hunt for a key suspect in the Paris terror assaults. Brussels will stay on its highest state of alert on Tuesday with schools and the subway network remaining closed for another day because of a continued “serious and imminent” threat, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told a press conference late Monday in Brussels. “We are still confronted by the same type of threat as I laid out yesterday,” Michel said. “The potential targets remain the same.”
• Paris Terror Attacks Act as Drag on French Hotels, Restaurants. Growth in France’s services sector slowed this month, with hotels and restaurants reporting that the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris had a negative impact on business. An index of activity slipped to 51.3 -- the lowest in three months -- from 52.7 in October, Markit Economics in London said in a monthly report published on Monday. The survey was conducted from Nov. 12 to Nov. 20, with about 60 percent of responses received after the attacks, which killed 129 people and injured another 352. “While the longer-term economic impact following the attacks remains uncertain, PMI data suggest that GDP is on course to post another modest expansion” this quarter, said Jack Kennedy, an economist at Markit.
• EU Said to Be Set to Extend Russian Sanctions for Six Months. European Union countries will probably extend Ukraine-related economic sanctions against Russia for another six months at the end of January despite improved cooperation in Syria, three European diplomats said. Lack of progress in implementing this year’s Ukrainian peace accord means the trading bloc has no choice but to prolong the measures, diplomats from pro- and anti-sanctions nations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The EU’s 28 leaders are set to discuss the issue at a Dec. 17-18 summit, German Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters in Berlin on Monday.
• Sub-zero debt increases to $2 trillion in euro region on Draghi. Investor expectations of expanded monetary easing from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi have pushed the amount of euro-area government securities that yield below zero to more than $2 trillion. Bonds across the region climbed last week when Draghi said the institution will do what’s necessary to rapidly accelerate inflation. The statement recalled the language of his 2012 pledge to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro and it solidified investor bets on further stimulus at the ECB’s Dec. 3 meeting. While 10-year bonds fell Monday, the two-year note yields of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands all dropped to records.
• Traffic jam. Chinese Carmakers Run Out of Road. Booming Chinese car sales look to have hit a speed hump. The period of exponential growth is over, according to executives at last week's Guangzhou Auto Show. Slower growth rates are a ``new normal'' for the country, according to IHS Automotive. Vehicle sales will expand at a 3 percent pace this year, compared with a 36 percent average over the previous decade. 
• Ruble Falls Most in Emerging Markets as Oil Reversal Short Lived. The ruble fell the most among emerging markets as Russia and the U.S. differed on goals in Syria and a rebound in crude prices was short-lived. Russia’s currency weakened 1.2 percent to 65.5280 against the dollar as of 5:50 p.m. in Moscow, the biggest decline among 24 peers tracked by Bloomberg. Oil prices failed to hold gains after Saudi Arabia said it’s ready to work with producers to stabilize prices.
• Chinese Stocks Fall on Restart of IPOs as Guotai Junan Slumps. Chinese stocks fell as Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. plunged in Hong Kong after the brokerage said it can’t contact its chairman, while technology companies slumped in Shanghai as the securities regulator gave the green light to initial public offerings following a five-month freeze. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.7 percent to 10,229.43 at the close. Guotai Junan, one of China’s biggest securities firms, slid 12 percent after it said it failed to reach Yim Fung since last week. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6 percent as software companies slumped amid speculation investors are selling the priciest stocks to raise funds for new share offerings.
• European Stocks Decline as Commodity, Leisure Companies Retreat. Concerns over the strength of the global economy took over once again, dragging European stocks down from a three-month high. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent at the close of trading in London, paring losses of as much as 0.9 percent. Miners fell with metals as the prospect of a U.S. rate increase sent the dollar higher.
• Commodities Feel the Pain of Long-Term Deflation. (video)
• Saudi Arabia Edges Out Russia in China Oil Sales as OPEC Digs In. Saudi Arabia reclaimed its position from Russia as the largest crude supplier to China as OPEC members extended their global fight for market share. The world’s biggest oil exporter sold 3.99 million metric tons to China in October, 0.8 percent more than in September, data from the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Angola, another member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, also surpassed Russia in shipping crude to the Asian nation.
• Deepening Metals Rout Sends Copper Below $4,500 as Nickel Slumps. Copper fell below $4,500 a metric ton for the first time in six years and nickel touched the lowest in more than a decade on concern producers aren’t doing enough to trim a glut of metal. The retreat in commodities helped send a gauge of mining companies to near the lowest in almost seven years. The London Metal Exchange’s index of six main contracts has slumped 27 percent this year, the most since the global financial crisis in 2008, as a slowdown in top user China cut demand. Expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon raise U.S. interest rates have boosted the dollar and made metals more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. At the same time, that’s lowering production costs of companies outside the U.S. and encouraging them to maintain output, according to T-Commodity, a Milan-based consultancy. “Chinese demand is still weak,” Gianclaudio Torlizzi, a partner at T-Commodity, said by phone. “The bearish action is to force the local producers to cut production. What’s making people negative is the fact that the production costs of many metals has been holding pretty well.” Copper for delivery in three months fell 2.3 percent to $4,474 a ton at 4:05 p.m. on the LME, after falling to $4,443.50, the lowest since May 2009. Copper futures also dropped on the Comex in New York. Nickel slid as much as 6.4 percent to $8,175 a ton on the LME, the lowest since 2003. Zinc lost as much as 4.3 percent, reversing its advance on Friday after Chinese smelters announced they planned to cut production next year.  
• The Analyst Who Expects a 25% Market Correction in 2016. (video)
• Shrinking Takeover Premiums Show Bearish Case in U.S. Stocks. The biggest wave of takeovers ever to sweep the U.S. is failing to ease investors’ anxieties about rising stock valuations. While a booming market for mergers and acquisitions is often viewed as good for equities, the impact may be diminishing. Caution can be seen in how much the stocks of takeover targets rise the day after deals are announced. In 2015, the average increase is 16 percent, the smallest gain for any year since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on deals of at least $200 million. Share price reactions are closely tied with the premium companies are willing to offer, which is also at its lowest since 2007.

Breaking News:

• Paris Attack/Belgium Updates.

MarketWatch.com:

• Goldman Sachs(GS) forecasts four rate hikes next year. 

Fox News:

• Paris terror suspect slips Brussels dragnet as trail goes cold. (video) The trail of the world's most-wanted man was getting colder Monday after a flurry of raids in Brussels and an international dragnet led to nearly two dozen arrests and even more rumors, but no sign of Salah Abdeslam. The baby-faced 26-year-old jihadist, who served as wheel man in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130, was believed to be hiding in his native Brussels as recently as Sunday, when Belgium's beleaguered law enforcement authorities mounted raids throughout the city. But despite reports that were later discounted that Abdeslam had slipped through a police dragnet for the second time in 10 days and was seen speeding toward Germany, police acknowledged that they don't know where he is.

CNBC:

• Don’t buy Chinese stocks with ‘worst enemy’s money’. (video)
• New mortgage rules: A 'Y2K' panic that didn’t happen. (video)

Zero Hedge: 

• Belgium Charges Paris Attack Suspect, Extends Highest Threat Level For Capital. (graph)
• Markets Swoon On News Terrorist's Explosive Belt Was Found In Paris Trash Can.
• Treasury Curve Flattest In 7 Months As 30Y Yield Drops Under 3.00%. (graph)
• What Recovery? Spanish Wages Tumble To Weakest Since 2007. (graph)
• Valeant(VRX) Dead-Cat-Bounce Dies As Stock Plunges 10% Off Morning Highs. (graph)
• Shorts Executed As KaloBios(KBIO) Goes Full Volkswagen: Here's Why. (graph)
• Dollar Index Tops 100 As EURUSD Tumbles To 1.05 Handle, 7-Month Lows. (graph)
• Credit Market Erases Post-Terror-Attack Gains As Stock Surge Continues. (graph)
• "How Is This Possible" Deutsche Bank Asks, Looking At The Canary In The Junk Bond Mine. (graph)
• US Manufacturing PMI Collapses To 2 Year Low As New Orders, Employment Slow. (graph)
• "High Profile" CEO Of China Brokerage "Disappears": "Company Says Can't Find Him".
• National Economic Activity Contracted For 3rd Month In A Row, Chicago Fed Signals. (graph)
• Is Santa Poised To Fill Christmas Stockings With Coal? (graph)

Business Insider:

• The Apple(AAPL) TV is lagging behind its biggest rivals.
• These economic 'swans' could rock the global markets.
• Hedge funds' top stock picks haven't been smoked this badly since the financial crisis.
• Metals are getting smashed — nickel, copper and silver are all flirting with multi-year lows. (graph)

Reuters:

• GameStop(GME) revenue misses as gamers pause for new games, deals. GameStop Corp, the world's largest retailer of video games and related products, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit due to a fall in sales of new gaming software and hardware. The company's shares fell as much as 16 percent to $33 in early trading on Monday. Bartel said demand for "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" and "Fallout 4" was strong, while sales of "Star Wars: Battlefront", which released on Nov. 17, were weaker than the company's expectations. Shares of Electronic Arts Inc, the company behind "Star Wars: Battlefront" were down 4.5 percent at $69.13.

Financial Times: 

• Global debt defaults near milestone. Global debt markets are on the cusp of an unwelcome development with the number of companies defaulting on their obligations set to reach the century mark, driven largely by struggling US shale gas providers. Currently, 99 global companies have defaulted since the year began, the second greatest tally in more than a decade and only exceeded by the financial crisis which saw 222 defaults in 2009, according to Standard & Poor’s. US companies account for 62 of this year’s defaults.