Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:        

• China's Ire Finally Flares as U.S. Opens Huawei CFO Case.     

• China's Copper Imports Slump as Economy Slows and Trade Stalls.

• ECB Heads for Crunch Time After Weeks of Holding Its Nerve.   

• Germany Willing to Merge Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Focus Says.

• Trump Taps Army General Milley to Lead Joint Chiefs of Staff.

• Madoff’s Victims Are Close to Getting Their $19 Billion Back.

• Contrarians Made the Right Market Calls in 2018. Here's What They're Saying Now.  

• Crypto Market Crash Leaving Bankrupt Startups in its Wake. 

• Recession Risk ‘Overpriced’ With Latest Sell-Off, JPMorgan Says.  

• China, Cars and Congress: Three Risks to the 2019 Trade Outlook.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump: Chief of Staff John Kelly to Leave Toward Year-End.

• U.S. Hiring Slows, With Wage Gains, Jobless Rate Steady.

• Vote Fraud Shouldn’t Be Easy.

• American Entrepreneurs Who Flocked to China Are Heading Home, Disillusioned.

• Police Clash With Antigovernment Protesters as Unrest Sweeps France.

• Huawei Offensive Is Acceleration of Yearslong Endeavor.

• CIA Taps First Woman to Lead Clandestine Operations.

• Larry Kudlow Predicts Fed Could Rethink Rate Increases.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (AAPL), (SLV), (LEN) and (CAT).

MarketWatch.com:

• These stocks suffered the biggest losses of the week.

• The stock market is overreacting because fears about the economy are overblown.

• Here are the S&P 500’s best and worst stock performers of 2018.

• Barron’s: How subscriptions are remaking corporate America.

Fox News:

• Beheadings by chainsaw, torturing children, body parts in streets all marks of El Chapo cartel's cruelty.

• VON SPAKOVSKY: 19 months on, and still no Trump-Russia smoking gun.

CNBC:   

• Germany avoids political winds of change after 'mini' Merkel win.

• China's November export, import growth shrinks, showing weak demand. 

• French police clash with 'yellow vest' protesters on Champs Elysees.

• Stocks are getting slammed — three experts weigh in on the selling.

• Fed's Bullard becomes first on central bank to suggest delaying December rate hike.

• Facebook increases stock buyback program by $9 billion.

• Huawei CFO could face sentence of up to 30 years per charge if extradited to US.

• Why are markets so volatile? JP Morgan's quant guru thinks 'fake news' is to blame.

Zero Hedge:  

• Beijing Threatens "Severe" Retaliation Against Canada If Huawei CFO Is Not Released.

• "I Know Where All The Bodies Are Buried": Clinton Foundation CFO Spills Beans To Investigators.  

• Over 1,300 Arrested As Violent Protests Grip France; Prime Minister Says "No Tax Worth Endangering National Unity".

• Chinese Imports From The US Plummet 25% As Trade War Takes Toll.

• May Unleashes 'Project Fear 3.0' As Brexit Vote Looms: Stockpile Food, Drugs, Prepare For The Worst.

• Italy Adopts Hardline Immigration Law.

• How To Be Invisible On The Internet.

• Who's Watching Whom? NYPD Will Monitor Americans With Fleet Of Chinese-Made Drones.

• Cohen To Get "Substantial Prison Time" For "Serious" Crimes Despite Cooperation With Mueller.

• Trump Proclaims "No Collusion!" As Supporters Highlight Inconsistencies In Cohen Testimony.

• Mueller Says Manafort Told "Multiple Lies" About Contacts With Trump Officials, Russian Intel Operative.

• US Consumer Credit Hits All Time High As Credit Card Usage Soars.

• North Carolina Prepares For "Historic Storm;" Fears Of "Impossible Travel Conditions",

• DOJ Readies More Cyber-Spying Charges Against Government-Linked Chinese Hackers.

• Trump Slams Obama's "Totally Biased, Corrupt" DoJ After "Leakin'" Comey Testimony.

• Weekend Reading: Which Yield Curve Really Matters?

• Goldilocks Is Dead: Stocks Slammed Despite Trade-Truce, OPEC Deal, & Jobs Gains.

Business Insider:

• Uber has confidentially filed to go public.

Weekly Scoreboard*

S&P 500 2,630.60 -3.98%

The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.

 
Indices

• DJIA 24,447.10 -3.88%

• NASDAQ 6,979.15 -4.23%

• Russell 2000 1,444.50 -5.45%

• S&P 500 High Beta 37.28 -5.88%

• Goldman 50 Most Shorted 148.85 -4.4%

• Wilshire 5000 27,085.50 -4.74%

• Russell 1000 Growth 1,370.14 -4.1%

• Russell 1000 Value 1,159.59 -3.85%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 558.18 -2.34%

• MSCI Cyclicals-Defensives Spread 987.12 -.64%
  

• NYSE Technology 1,627.44 -3.73%

• Transports 9,950.34 -6.9%

• Utilities 754.98 +3.49%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 74.58 -4.53%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 40.17 -2.05%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,195.40 -.36%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 977.98 +.50%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 321,029 -.34%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index -1,541 -1,304

• Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 53.66 +45.3%

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 348,121 -5.19%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 1,020,092 +1.06%

• Total Put/Call 1.10 +49.33%

• OEX Put/Call 1.77 -41.51%

• ISE Sentiment 82.0 -43.71%

• NYSE Arms 2.20 +52.33%

• Volatility(VIX) 24.33 +23.63%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 49.19 +10.74%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 8.25 +3.51%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 10.13 -.59%

• Smart Money Flow Index 13,551.70 -.21%

• ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $2.944 Trillion n/a

• ICI Domestic Equity Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows n/a

• AAII % Bulls 37.9 +12.0%

• AAII % Bears 30.5 -22.7%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 184.15 +1.90%

• Crude Oil 52.45 +5.4%

• Reformulated Gasoline 147.48 +6.77%

• Natural Gas 4.50 -2.52%

• Heating Oil 188.21 +4.49%

• Gold 1,255.50 +2.52%

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 182.02 +.26%

• Copper 275.70 -.67%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 301.50 USD/Metric Tonne -8.91%

• China Iron Ore Spot 65.2 USD/Metric Tonne +.37%

• Lumber 334.0 +1.36%

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 945.97 +1.14%

Economy

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +2.38% -24.0 basis points

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate -4.1% -10.0 basis points
• Bloomberg US Recession Probability Next 12 Months 15.0% unch.

• Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index -.1058 +7.27%

• US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 18258 +8.7%

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 174.95 +.23%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index -6.50 -1.2 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -49.20 +13.7 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -4.6 +.8 point

• Fed Fund Futures imply 26.0% chance of no change, 74.0% chance of 25 basis point hike on 12/19

• US Dollar Index 96.66 -.58%

• MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,606.33 -.10%

• Bitcoin/USD 3,245.45 -17.6%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 133.61 -.03%

• Yield Curve 14.5 -5.75 basis points
  

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield 2.86% -13.0 basis points

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $4.047 Trillion -.28%

• U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 18.11 -10.85%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 201.48 -.03%

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 288.25 -1.75 basis points

• Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 9.85 +1.18%
  

• Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt CDS Index 93.85 -1.64%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 70.77 +.2%

• South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 38.28 -3.1%

• Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 153,83 -7.8%

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 148.13 +.49%

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.91% -6.0 basis points

• TED Spread 37.25 -2.25 basis points

• 2-Year Swap Spread 16.70 -.75 basis point

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -15.25 +7.75 basis points

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 81.12 +7.04%

• America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 691.0 +2.50%

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 108.93 +4.78%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 206.05 -.78%
  

• CMBS AAA Super Senior 10-Year Treasury Spread to Swaps 180.0 unch.
  

• M1 Money Supply $3.696 Trillion +.03%

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,075.20 -1.4%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 228,000 +4,750

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 1.1% -10.0 basis points
  

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.75% -6.0 basis points

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 340.50 +2.04%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 60.3 -.2 point

• Weekly Retail Sales +6.80% +20.0 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $2.44/gallon -.05/gallon

• Baltic Dry Index 1,339.0 +8.77%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 856.30 -.13%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 42.50 unch.

• Rail Freight Carloads 293,530 +23.39%

Best Performing Style

• Mid-Cap Value -2.7%

Worst Performing Style

• Small-Cap Growth -4.7%

Leading Sectors

• Gold & Silver +4.6%

• Utilities +3.7%

• REITs +1.3%

• Coal +.4%

• Shipping -1.1%

Lagging Sectors

• Robotics -5.5% 

• Retail -6.0%

• Education -6.7%

• Banks -6.8%

• Oil Service -7.1%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (3)

• CLVS, CLR and GH

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (19)

• RAMP, GIS, NGVT, MAXR, DSW, OLLI, TLRD, FIVE, DOCU, MEI, HOME, HQY, SUPN, HA, ULTA, LE, MTN, BIG and UNFI

Weekly Charts

ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change