Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:              

• U.K. Takes a Leap Into the Unknown as Split From EU Is Completed.
• China Caps Bank Loans to Real Estate to Curb Systematic Risk.
• NYSE to Delist Chinese Telco Giants on U.S. Executive Order.
• From Tech to Tesla, Stocks Get $14 Trillion Boost in Covid Year.
• S&P 500 Rallies to Close the Year at Record High: Markets Wrap.
• Top Stock Pickers Crush S&P While Failing to Stem Outflows.
• Tumultuous 2020 Rewards Investors Who Stared Down Turmoil.  
• Millions of Americans Are Calling In Sick, Stunting the Recovery.  
• N.Y. and California End Year Shattering Records: Virus Update.     
• U.S. Consumer Comfort Gauge Drops to Four-Month Low.
• The Bloomberg 50: The People Who Changed Global Business in 2020.  
• The Bankrupt Companies of 2020.  
• Day Traders Put Stamp on Market With Unprecedented Stock Frenzy.  
• Snowflake and Palantir Slump Into 2021 With Worst Week on Record.

Wall Street Journal: 

• The U.K. Is Cutting Ties With the EU. Here’s What Changes.
• Stocks Defied Pandemic for Stellar 2020.
• Georgia Voters Prepare to Decide the Senate.
• States of Growth and Decline.
• Microsoft Hacked in Russia-Linked SolarWinds Cyberattack.
• New Strain Found in China.
• Yellen Earned Millions in Speaking Fees, Disclosures Show.After Covid,
• Plane Makers Are Even More Dependent on China.

CNBC:

• Politics could be front and center as a catalyst for stocks in the first week of the new year
• Tech’s top seven companies added $3.4 trillion in value in 2020
• McConnell refuses to budge on $2,000 checks as Schumer offers separate votes on other Trump demands.

MarketWatch.com:      

• These are the 20 worst-performing S&P 500 stocks of 2020 — analysts see double-digit rebounds for five of them in 2021.  
• These are the best performing Nasdaq and S&P 500 stocks of 2020.  
• Mortgage rates hover near record lows to close out 2020 — now here’s the bad news.

Fox News:

• What initial Georgia turnout data reveals about high-stakes Senate races as early in-person voting ends.

Newsmax:

• Pence to Judge: Throw Out GOP Lawmaker's Bid to Upend the Electoral Process.  
• McConnell: Jan. 6 Vote 'Most Consequential I Have Ever Cast'.
• 27 GOP Pa. Lawmakers Urge McConnell to Contest Electors.
  

Zero Hedge:

• 'At Least 140' House Republicans Plan To Object To Biden Electoral Votes.
• The Year In Review: 2020 In 20 Visualizations.
• Pfizer, GSK & Others Quietly Hike Prices On 100s Of Drugs.
• 2020: The Year Things Started Going Badly Wrong.
  
• The Lesson Of 2020: What's The Point Of Pointing Out The Hypocrisy?
• Charting 2020 – A Year Of Speculative Mania.
• $15 Trillion Cashnami Crashes Dollar In 2020, Sparks Gold's Best Year In A Decade.
• Human-Run Hedge Funds Beat Quants In Pandemic.
• China's Clampdown On COVID-19 Origins Exposed As AP Journalists Tailed, Samples Seized.
• The Greatest Short Squeeze In History.
• 20 Numbers From 2020 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe.

@kylenabecker:

• NEW YORK. "The streets will be full of criminals who should not only be in jail but who never even went to trial.” NY is hyper-vigilant about masks, not so much about burglaries, riots and violent crimes. Blue state insanity.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• There Are Over One Million Illegitimate Votes In Three States Alone That Woud Give the Election to President Trump If Addressed.
• MUST WATCH VIDEO: Jovan Pulitzer Reveals Electronic Voting Machines in Georgia Communicating with Vendor in China.
• BREAKING BIG: Jovan Pulitzer says Georgia Called in Trucks to Get Rid of the Evidence in Fulton County He is Supposed to be Scanning! (VIDEO).
• Report: At Least 140 Republican House Members Expected to Challenge Biden Electors.
• UPDATE: Arizona Citizens Investigation Discovers Thousands of Phantom Voters in State – Up to 30% of Addresses in Investigation Were Fraudulent.

The Epoch Times:

• China Insider: U.S. Intelligence Under Obama Weakened Amid China’s Data War.

Geller Report: 

• LOOK Who Owns Dominion Voting Systems: Politically Motivated PRIVATE Equity NY Hedge Fund.

The Atlantic:

• The End of the Filibuster—No, Really. Many activists will not tolerate a Democratic-controlled Senate that allows Republicans to block legislation next year.

Politico:

• AOC Lays Out Progressive Wish List for Biden.

Glenn Beck:

• Elizabeth Warren’s ‘progressive wish list’ will destroy America. (video)

Daily Caller:

• Trump Urges Supporters Not To Boycott Georgia Senate Elections. President Donald Trump urged his supporters not to boycott the upcoming runoff Senate elections in Georgia on Friday, saying a boycott would be “playing right into the hands” of Democrats.

ProtectTheVote.com: 

• Serious allegations of misconduct in the 2020 elections have resulted in unprecedented legal action to ensure our elections are -- and remain -- free and fair. Find out where we’re exposing fraud and how you can help.

HereIsTheEvidence.com:

• This is for aggregating publicly available items of voter fraud evidence in the US election that would be admissible in court.
  

Digital Blackboard:

• Daily New Cases by Region.

Worldometer:

• New Cases/Deaths by state.

Rt Covid-19:

• How fast virus is growing by state.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Weekly Scoreboard*

S&P 500 3,747.63 +1.13% 

 

The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com. 

Indices

• DJIA 30,597.20 +.83%

• NASDAQ 12,885.66 +.53%

• Russell 2000 1,980.71 -1.52%

• S&P 500 High Beta 56.87 +.84%

• Goldman 50 Most Shorted 235.69 -5.6%

• Wilshire 5000 39,163.73 +.54%

• Russell 1000 Growth 2,421.52 +.76%

• Russell 1000 Value 1,347.70 +.79%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 694.86 +.68%

• MSCI Cyclicals-Defensives Spread 1,381.83 +.21%
  

• NYSE Technology 3,708.43 +1.05%

• Transports 12,501.41 -.33%

• Utilities 860.17 +1.47%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 59.23 +2.16%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 51.72 +2.47%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,325.24 +.41%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 918.70 -.02%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 443,322 +.39%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index 794 -157

• Crude Oil Commercial Bullish % Net Position -44.45 unch.

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 525,702 +2.32%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 2,120,797 -1.57%

• Total Put/Call .81 unch.

• OEX Put/Call 1.12 -8.8%

• ISE Sentiment 113.0 +1.0 point

• NYSE Arms 1.43 +145.95% 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 1,492.0 +148.0 points
  

• Volatility(VIX) 22.6 -2.0%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 48.21 +1.88%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 7.1 +.71%
  

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 10.76 +3.2%

• Smart Money Flow Index 13,341.58 -1.64%

• ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $4.289 Trillion -1.25%

• ICI Domestic Equity Long-Term Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows -$7.535 Million

• AAII % Bulls 46.1 +5.8%

• AAII % Bears 26.8 +21.9%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 167.80 +1.06%

• Crude Oil 48.42 +.08%

• Reformulated Gasoline 140.84 +1.55%

• Natural Gas 2.54 -3.95%

• Heating Oil 147.63 -1.64%

• Gold 1,901.20 -.76%

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 210.07 -1.18%

• Copper 363.40 +2.74%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 423.0 USD/Metric Tonne -.94%

• China Iron Ore Spot 158.41 USD/Metric Tonne -1.12%

• Lumber 866.0 -.53%

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 1,047.11 +4.76%

Economy

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +10.4% -.61 percentage point
  

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate +15.2% +.7 percentage point
  
• Bloomberg US Recession Probability Next 12 Months 20.0% unch.
  

• NY Fed Real-Time Weekly Economic Index -1.32 +32.31%

• US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 246.04 +33.6%

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 165.97 +.59%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 48.2 -1.8 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 188.5 -11.7 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 69.9 -.7 point

• Fed Fund Futures imply 100.0% chance of no change, 0.0% chance of rate hike on 1/27

• US Dollar Index 89.93 -.41%

• MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,720.12 +.54%

• Bitcoin/USD 28,932.0 +23.2%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 130.47 -.19%

• Yield Curve 80.75 -1.0 basis point
  

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield .91% -1.0 basis point

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $7.364 Trillion +.56%

• US Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 14.18 -.35%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 322.75 -.05%
  

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 111.0 -3.0 basis points
  

• China Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 27.93 -1.94%
  

• Brazil Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 143.0 -2.2%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 46.22 unch.

• South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 21.98 -1.12%

• Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 85.41 -6.2%

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 184.38 +.30%

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.99% +3.0 basis points

• TED Spread 17.0 +1.25 basis points

• 2-Year Swap Spread 7.75 -1.25 basis points
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -3.5 +19.0 basis points

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 50.30 -1.89%
  

• America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 417.0 +.26%

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 58.76 +.25%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 150.82 -4.41%
  

• MBS 5/10 Treasury Spread 71.5 -3.0 basis points
• Markit CMBX BBB-6 73.13 +.65%

• M1 Money Supply $6.742 Trillion +2.39%

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,029.60 +3.2%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 836,750 +2.2%

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 3.6% -10.0 basis points
  

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 2.67% +1.0 basis point

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 863,900 +.77%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 44.6 -2.4 points

• Weekly Retail Sales +5.0% +130.0 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $2.21/gallon +.05/gallon

• Baltic Dry Index 1,366 +5.0%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 1,577.20 +5.94%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 17.50 unch.
• Truckstop.com Market Demand Index 121.16 +10.9%

• Rail Freight Carloads 220,082 -24.0%

Best Performing Style

• Large-Cap Value +.8%

Worst Performing Style

• Small-Cap Growth -2.7%
  

Leading Sectors

• Airlines +2.2%

• Semis +2.2%
  

• Papers +1.8%

• Disk Drives +1.8%

• Pharma +1.6%
  

Lagging Sectors

• Internet -2.3%
  

• Digital Health -2.5%

• Homebuliding -2.6%

• Biotech -4.1%

• Alt Energy -4.5%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (11)

• BTBT, CELH, MAXR, AVID, ODT, EIGR, ELF, BEEM, DXC, MU and FLGT
  

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (9)

• SNOW, BGS, RVMD, BBBY, VLDR, WGO, STMP, GOEV, EXPI, OPEN, BLI and NVTA
  

ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change

Stocks Reversing Modestly Higher into Final Hour on Year-End Window Dressing, Stimulus Hopes, Technical Buying, Financial/Utility Sector Strength

Broad Equity Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Lower
  

• Sector Performance: Mixed
  

• Volume: Light

• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• Volatility(VIX) 23.0 +.9%
• Bloomberg Global Risk On/Risk Off Index 1,458.0 +13.0 points

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 130.52 -.6%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 10.8 +.6%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 47.7 -1.1%

• ISE Sentiment Index 113.0 -18.0 points
  

• Total Put/Call .83 +2.5%

• NYSE Arms 1.54 +.73%

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 50.23 -2.02%
  

• US Energy High-Yield OAS 558.98 -.13%

• European Financial Sector CDS Index 59.05 +.37%

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 111.0 unch.
  

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 56.87 -.22%
  

• Emerging Market CDS Index 150.83 -1.15%
  

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 184.38 +.05%

• 2-Year Swap Spread 7.75 +.25 basis point

• TED Spread 17.0 +1.5 basis points
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -3.25 +.25 basis point
  
• MBS  5/10 Treasury Spread  71.0 -1.25 basis points
  
• IHS Markit CMBX BBB- 6 73.25 unch.

Economic Gauges:

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 62.98 +.21%
• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .06% -2.0 basis points
  

• Yield Curve 80.75 unch.
  

• China Iron Ore Spot 156.0 USD/Metric Tonne -1.46%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 48.20 +.4 point

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 188.50 -2.0 points
  

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 69.90 -.5 point

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.99 +3.0 basis points
• 100.0% chance of no change at March 17th meeting, 100.0% chance of no change at April 28th meeting

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +106 open in Japan 
• China A50 Futures: Indicating -62 open in China

• DAX Futures: Indicating +28 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Slightly Higher: On gains in my medical/consumer staple/industrial sector longs
  

• Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  

• Market Exposure: Moved to 75% Net Long