Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Pence-Xi Showdown Shows U.S.-China Divide Continues to Widen.

• This Year's Market Losers Turning Into Winners as 2018 Winds Down.  

• Nvidia(NVDA) Hands an $824 Million Windfall to Semiconductor Shorts.  

• Zuckerberg's Fortune Tumbles $17.4 Billion As Facebook Woes Continue.   

• Aussie Rebound Has Bulls Believing That Currency Has Bottomed.

• Trump Says It's ‘Good Time’ to Shut Down Government Over Border.  

• China's U.S. Treasury Holdings Drop to More Than One-Year Low. 

• 'I Didn't Sleep Well Last Night:' Analysts Predict Bitcoin Has Further to Fall.

• Trump Says He Will Hand in Answers to Mueller Queries Next Week.  

• J. Crew CEO Steps Down After 16 Months in Role.

Wall Street Journal:  

• The Gerrymander Excuse Implodes.

• Facing Deadlier Fires, California Tries Something New: More Logging.

• Beauty and the Backlash: Disney’s Modern Princess Problem.

• CIA Concludes Saudi Prince Ordered Killing of Journalist.

• Thousands of Brokers Purge Infraction Records.

• Upside Earnings Surprises Have a Downside.

• Victoria’s Secret: Sex Isn’t Selling.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (AMGN), (THS), (HXL), (CVS), (MS), (TGT), (KSS), (CVX), (XOM), (COG) and (EQT).

• Had bearish commentary on (M), (TIF), (SHLDQ) and (JCP).

MarketWatch.com:

• How the new 2019 tax rates could affect you

• Nvidia(NVDA) stock sees worst day in a decade as more than half of analysts cut price targets on crypto chip hangover.

CNBC:  

• Pfizer(PFE) to raise prices on 41 prescription drugs next year despite pressure from Trump  

• In bigger crackdown of crypto abuses, SEC goes after unregistered coin offerings

• S&P chart pattern points to breakout ahead, technician says.

• Cramer says 'the housing sector's a disaster,' knocks the Fed as ignoring the data.

• Cancer drug company Tesaro(TSRO) shares rise 39% following report that it will explore sale.

• Brexit: What could happen now and what it could mean for markets.

Zero Hedge:    

• Gillum's Dramatic Decision To Un-Concede Didn't Work Out As He Expected.

• Clemson Invites Students To "Create Your Own Gender".

• 60% Of Italians Think EU Is Bad For Italy.

• Why Politicians Love Deals Like The Amazon(AMZN) Deals.

• Sentiment Scale Reveals Which Words Pack The Most Punch.

• For The First Time Ever, Psychologists Warn Facebook(FB) Can Cause Depression.

• Foreigners Dump US Treasuries As They Liquidate A Record Amount Of US Stocks.

• Bridgewater's Dalio: 'Fed Rate Hikes Are Hurting Asset Prices'.

• "The Pain Trade Is Higher" - Kolanovic Quadruples Down On Bullish.

• Weekend Reading: Why This Isn't "THE" Bear Market...Yet.

• Crude & Credit Crash, Stocks Slide As Bonds See Best Week In 19 Months.

Business Insider:

• Facebook(FB) employees react to the latest scandals: 'Why does our company suck at having a moral compass'.

• Trump continues Twitter campaign for Pelosi: 'I can get her as many votes as she wants'.