Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• A Wild Week in China Roils Tech Stocks, Debt Markets, Hong Kong.
• Asian Borrowers Close In on Record for Dollar Bond Issuance.
• World Clamps Down as Covid-19 Refuses to Cede: Virus Update.   
• Germany Plans Hundreds of Vaccine Centers in December, Welt Says.
• Crucial Vaccine and Treatment Data Only Days Away.  
• Covid Long Haulers Describe the Devastating Aftereffects of the Disease.
• Got Lucky, Got It Right: How Newbie Stock Jocks Beat the Market.  
• GM Recalls Thousands of Electric Vehicles, Warning of Battery Fires.  
• DoorDash Got a Big Pandemic Lift. Can It Deliver Again? 
• Vaccine Bursts Bubble of Concern Over Dot-Com Level Valuations.
• Traders ‘Keep Head on Swivel’ With VIX Bets Rising Into Year-End.
• Elon Musk Says He ‘Most Likely’ Has Moderate Case of Covid.

 Wall Street Journal:

• Alito Defends the Courts.
• Thanksgiving in a Pandemic Means Smaller Birds, Fewer Leftovers.
• Last Chance for the 2016 Truth?
• P&G Launched a 24-Hour Disinfecting Spray Just as Covid-19 Hit the U.S.
• Judge Negates Trump Administration’s DACA Rollback.
• Parler Makes Play for Conservatives Angry at Facebook and Twitter.
• Trump Lawyers Pressured to End Role in Election Challenges.

CNBC: 

• Walmart resumes counting customers in stores and grocers reinstate limits on toilet paper as coronavirus cases surge. 
• ‘It’s time to come home’ — acting Pentagon chief wants to end America’s wars in the Middle East.

IG:

• Weekend Markets Trading Live.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (JPM), (TGT), (INTC), (MU) and (GS).

MarketWatch.com:

• These are the 14 value stocks that top-performing investment newsletters like the most.

Fox News:

• Huge pro-Trump crowds descend on DC for marches in support of president.

Newsmax:

• Rep. Nunes Tells Newsmax: Conservatives, Focus on the Voting Machines. ''The . … concern is if the [voting] machines aren’t secured,'' he said. "For [Joe] Biden’s own presidency, he ought to want to count every vote,'' Nunes asserted. ''I think the fact that the Biden campaign is not doing that and the media is continuing a major cover-up, that’s a problem,'' Nunes said.  
• Dick Morris to Newsmax TV: Georgia Recount 'a Sham and a Hoax and a Fix'.  
• Trump Laments Georgia Recount's Signature Verification Block.
• Rep. Doug Collins to Newsmax TV: Georgia Sec. of State Caused This Problem. 
• 'Stop the Steal!': MAGA Marchers Support Trump in DC Streets.
  

Zero Hedge:

• FEC Chairman Says He Believes 'There Is Voter Fraud' In Key States.
• BLM/Antifa Thugs Attack Trump Supporters, Including Children, After D.C. "Million MAGA March".
• Collateral Damage? CDC Admits COVID Lockdowns Sparked Surge In Children's Mental Health Issues.
• Pelosi Apologizes, Cancels Dem Dinner Party As She And Newsom Skewered As Hypocrites.
• Shorting The Robinhood "Herd" Can Produce Consistent Returns, New Paper Finds.
• Donald Trump's Likeliest Path To Staying In Office.
• Lori Lightfoot Tells Chicago: Cancel Thanksgiving, Avoid Family, Days After Hosting Crowded Biden Street Party.
• The Georgia Recount May Be As Corrupt As The Election Itself.
• NJ Reports New Record Jump In Daily COVID-19 Cases: Live Updates.
• America's "Stimulus Era" Will Be Loathed For Generations.
• Commercial Loan Demand Plunges To New Post-Lehman Low Even As Lending Standards Ease.
• Fauci Showed Breakthrough Pfizer COVID Vaccine Results To Biden Before Trump, Azar Confirms.
• Las Vegas Columnist Ran A Test And County Officials Accepted Fake Signatures On 8 Different Ballots.
• Time To Go All-In The "Big Short 3.0"? 80% Of New York Hotels On Verge Of Default.
• Fed Chair Powell Admits The Truth: "We're Not Going Back To The Same Economy".
• Why A COVID Vaccine Won't Invigorate The Oil Market.
• "Lockdowns For Thee, But Not For Me" - Newsom, Pelosi Attend Dinner Parties While US COVID Cases Explode.
• The Racial-Justice War On Merit-Based Schools: It's an Injustice Against Excellence, Critics Say.
• Trump Must Out The Deep State.
• Watch: Are Phone Networks Now Censoring Links About Election Fraud?
• Energy Stocks Soar To Best Week Ever As Vaccine Hope Vanquishes Fear.

The Epoch Times:

• Trudeau Says China Has Escalated Its ‘Coercive Diplomacy’ Toward Canada, Allies.
• Australia Warns China to Stop Interfering in Hong Kong Democracy.
  

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 3,581.22 +1.9%

 

 

 

 

The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.  

Indices

• DJIA 29,437.84 +4.1%

• NASDAQ 11,801.80 -.75%

• Russell 2000 1,745.80 +6.0%

• S&P 500 High Beta 49.44 +10.9%

• Goldman 50 Most Shorted 190.05 +4.1%

• Wilshire 5000 36,761.18 +1.16%

• Russell 1000 Growth 2,272.80 -1.6%

• Russell 1000 Value 1,280.15 +1.9%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 691.08 +3.29%

• MSCI Cyclicals-Defensives Spread 1,313.20 -1.85%
  

• NYSE Technology 3,244.11 -2.79%

• Transports 12,064.15 +3.9%

• Utilities 909.74 +3.19%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 56.36 +15.6%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 48.37 +1.50%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,263.70 +.29%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 897.71 +.29%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 424,468 +.18%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index 177 -239

• Crude Oil Commercial Bullish % Net Position -42.52 +5.2%

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 442,460 -6.3%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 2,013,491 +.09%

• Total Put/Call .78 -13.1%

• OEX Put/Call 1.83 +10.4%

• ISE Sentiment 112.0 -22.0 points

• NYSE Arms 1.26 +85.1% 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 1,070.0 +499.0 points
  

• Volatility(VIX) 22. -14.7%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 37.6 -15.7%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 6.89 -5.37%
  

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 10.56 +.38%

• Smart Money Flow Index 12,806.87 -4.0%

• ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $4.327 Trillion -.19%

• ICI Domestic Equity Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows -$11.723 Million

• AAII % Bulls 55.8 +47.1%

• AAII % Bears 24.9 -21.0%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 151.86 +2.06%

• Crude Oil 40.21 +7.2%

• Reformulated Gasoline 108.83 +2.79%

• Natural Gas 2.98 +5.88%

• Heating Oil 120.54 +4.7%

• Gold 1,884.20 -3.0%

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 194.58 +.59%

• Copper 317.75 +.73%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 311.0 USD/Metric Tonne +4.36%

• China Iron Ore Spot 118.86 USD/Metric Tonne +.52%

• Lumber 579.60 +10.6%

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 954.88 +1.58%

Economy

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +3.51% unch.
  

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate 7.4% +.9 percentage point
  
• Bloomberg US Recession Probability Next 12 Months 25.0% -5.0 percentage points
  

• NY Fed Real-Time Weekly Economic Index -2.68 +15.7%

• US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 134.19 -71.5%

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 162.58 +.52%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 77.60 -40.4 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 92.9 -1.8 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 59.3 +5.3 points

• Fed Fund Futures imply 100.0% chance of no change, 0.0% chance of rate hike on 12/16

• US Dollar Index 92.76 +.62%

• MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,680.67 +.15%

• Bitcoin/USD 16,258.63 +2.87%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 128.15 +.82%

• Yield Curve 69.5 +3.0 basis points
  

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield .90% +8.0 basis points

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $7.136 Trillion +.25%

• U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 15.82 -3.4%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 361.30 +3.3%
  

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 121.0 -5.0 basis points
  

• China Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 31.87 -4.2%
  

• Brazil Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 181.23 -4.6%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 48.35 -6.05%

• South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 21.74 -6.7%

• Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 81.94 -9.2%

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 180.82 +.12%

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.73% +8.0 basis points

• TED Spread 13.5 +.75 basis point

• 2-Year Swap Spread 8.5 unch.
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -16.5 -2.5 basis points

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 54.36 +1.59%
  

• America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 510.0 -1.4%

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 66.66 -3.76%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 175.04 -7.4%
  

• MBS 5/10 Treasury Spread 73.0 -1.0 basis point
• Markit CMBX BBB-6 70.31 +2.93%

• M1 Money Supply $5.635 Trillion +.98%

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 961.50 +1.10%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 755,250 -4.22%

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 4.6% -40.0 basis points
  

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 2.84% +6.0 basis points

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 833,900 -.51%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 48.0 +.5 point

• Weekly Retail Sales +1.1% -90.0 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $2.12/gallon -.05/gallon

• Baltic Dry Index 1,124.0 -6.0%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 1,110.70 +3.40%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 15.0 unch.
• Truckstop.com Market Demand Index 108.04 +3.0%

• Rail Freight Carloads 293,746 +.14%

Best Performing Style

• Small-Cap Value +7.9%

Worst Performing Style

• Large-Cap Growth -1.9%
  

Leading Sectors

• Energy +18.4%

• Oil Service +15.3%
  

• Airlines +14.2%

• Banks +10.7%

• Gaming +7.6%
  

Lagging Sectors

• Semis -.9% 

• Software -3.7%

• Internet -4.6%

• Video Gaming -5.4%

• Gold & Silver -7.4%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (16)

• KCAC, FSR, NTLA, XPEL, JWN, SAVE, CSCO, PSX, CCL, SPG, PLTR, CUK, APPN, GRWG, XRAY and LNTH
  

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (9)

• STMP, DDOG, DLTH, PLMR, ZM, CYTK, BIGC, AMWL and MGEN
  

ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change

 

Stocks Rising into Final Hour on Dollar Weakness, Short-Covering, Vaccine Optimism, Energy/Airlines Sector Strength

Broad Equity Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Substantially Higher
  

• Sector Performance: Almost Every Sector Rising
  

• Volume: Above Average

• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• Volatility(VIX) 23.2 -8.4%
• Bloomberg Global Risk On/Risk Off Index 1,037.0 +84.0 points

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 128.15 -.27%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 10.56 -1.1%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation %

• ISE Sentiment Index 114.0 +104.0 points
  

• Total Put/Call .76 -18.3%

• NYSE Arms 1.13 -12.4%

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 54.30 -.88%
  

• US Energy High-Yield OAS 737.27 +.60%

• European Financial Sector CDS Index 66.63 -1.48%

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 121.0 -1.0 basis point
  

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 59.64 +2.47%
  

• Emerging Market CDS Index 174.99 -1.42%
  

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 180.82 -.02%

• 2-Year Swap Spread 8.5 unch.

• TED Spread 13.5 +1.0 basis point
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -16.5 -1.75 basis points
  
• MBS  5/10 Treasury Spread  72.75 -2.25 basis points
  
• IHS Markit CMBX BBB- 6 70.25 -.25 basis point

Economic Gauges:

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.86 +.13%
• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .09% unch.

• Yield Curve 69.5 -5.75 basis points
  

• China Iron Ore Spot 118.05 USD/Metric Tonne -.95%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 77.60 -8.9 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 92.9 +.6 point
  

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 59.3 -3.6 points

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.73 +1.0 basis point
• 100.0% chance of no change at Jan. 27th meeting, 100.0% chance of no change at March 17th meeting

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +160 open in Japan 
• China A50 Futures: Indicating +12 open in China

• DAX Futures: Indicating +19 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Slightly Lower: On losses in my index hedges and emerging market shorts
  

• Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges and some of my emerging market shorts
  

• Market Exposure: Moved to 50% Net Long

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Large-Cap Growth +.3%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Software +.2% 2) Telecom +.4% 3) Restaurants +.5%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• STMP, TDOC, NSTG, DLTH, ARCT, ONEM, DDOG, ZM, PEN, FPRX, CINF, PLMR, RVLV, DNLI, SPH, ADVM, WKHS, CYTK, BIGC, KOD, AMWL, MGEN, REV and GFF
  

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) RRC 2) HST 3) FCEL 4) PANW 5) OPK
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) AMWL 2) REV 3) SFT 4) KOD 5) CCMP
  

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume