Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Hong Kong Protesters Target Shopping Centers, Mainland Chinese.

• China to Scrap Benchmark Lending Rate in Shift to New System.  

• China’s Government Is Letting a Wave of Bond Defaults Just Happen.

• That Recession Everyone Was Scared of Got Priced Out By a Record Stock Rally.

• Apple Will Lead FAANG Performers Again Next Year, Loup Says.

• Treasuries Have a Hard Act to Follow in 2020 as Optimism Rises.

• Flying Cars, Hyperloops and the Other 2020 Tech Predictions That Didn’t Pan Out.

• Around the World, Luxury Real Estate Poised to (Mostly) Strengthen.  

• Hedge Funds Stay Bullish on Oil Amid Trade Truce, OPEC+ Cuts. 

• Chill, It Might Not Be That Bad: The Optimist's Guide to 2020.

• Year in Stocks Ending Just Like It Began, in Straight-Up Bliss.

• Rite Aid’s 138% December Surge Costs Short-Sellers $187 Million.

Wall Street Journal:

• The Top 6 Interior-Design Trends for 2020.

• Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2020.

• ‘Hong Kong’s Not Right.’ Protests Upend Life in a City on Edge.

• Violence Plagues Migrants Under U.S. ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program.

• As China’s Troubles Mushroom, Xi Collects a Special Title.

• Investors Push Tech Startups for Profits, Not Just Customers.

• ‘Aloha’ Increasingly Means Goodbye Thanks to High Taxes.

• More Workers Eligible for Overtime Pay in 2020.

CNBC:

• Russia claims its new hypersonic weapon is ready for war.

• These biomedical breakthroughs of the decade saved lives and reduced suffering.

• S&P 500 notches fifth straight week of gains as market rallies into end of 2019.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (AAPL), (VIAC), (NFLX), (KO), (AMAT), (ATVI), (SMAR), (DDOG), (TSM) and (ICPT).

• Had bearish commentary on (BA).

MarketWatch.com:

• The Secure Act changes the way people will inherit money — are you hit by the new rules?

• Here’s how the Dow and S&P 500 perform in years after they ring up gains of 20%.  

• Here are the best-performing Nasdaq stocks of 2019.

Fox News:

• Trump tells New York, California to tackle homeless crisis, says they can ‘politely’ ask for help.

Zero Hedge:

• An American Oligarch's Dirty Tale Of Corruption.

• Venezuela Is Fast Becoming World's Biggest Refugee Crisis.

• Visualizing Every Coal Power Plant In The World (1927-2019).

• Understanding Why There's No FBI Whistleblowers Outlining Institutional Corruption.

• Donald Trump Will Easily Be Reelected: There's Been No Repudiation Of What He Represents and There Won't Be.

• Media's Deafening Silence On The Biggest Scandal Of 2019 Is Chilling.

• Democrats Want To Outlaw 'Racist' Single-Family Housing In Virginia.

• Trump Exposes Pelosi And Son's Ties To Ukraine-Linked Energy Group.

• City Tells Church It Will Lose Religious Designation Because It Shelters Homeless People.

• Biden Attempts To Defend Hypocritical Subpoena Refusal (That Trump Is Being Impeached For).

• Somalia Truck Bomb Attack Rocks Capital During Rush Hour, At Least 90 Dead.

• Is Social Media The New Tobacco?

• Is Tesla Shoving It In Trump's Face By Producing Cars In China To Skirt Tariffs?

• Report Hyped By Climate Alarmists Warned: Millions Dead, Nuclear War, & Sunken Major Cities By 2020.

• Opioid Abusers Also Face Higher Risks Of Death From Suicide, Disease & Car Accidents.

• China Crackdown On Bitcoin Miners Sparks Concern.

• Demographic Armageddon: Japan's Births Drop To Lowest Since 1874 As Deaths Hit Highest Since World War II.

• Warren Campaign Sounds The Alarm As Q4 Fundraising Total Plunges 30%.

• Bonds, Stocks, & Silver Surge Over Xmas Week But Dollar Dives To 5-Month Lows.

Business Insider: 

• 14 incredible tech products that didn't exist 10 years ago.

• A truck bomb explosion killed at least 76 people in Somalia's capital.

• These are the 11 worst-performing S&P 500 stocks of 2019.

• TikTok reportedly wants a new HQ outside China to distance itself from its Chinese roots.

• 15 jobs no one knew about in 2010 that everyone will want in 2020.