Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:     

• Dire Situation in China Is One Reason for Honda, Nissan Merger. 
• Germany’s SPD Calls for Antitrust Act to Clip Elon Musk’s Power. 
• Liberal Push to Oust Trudeau Gains Momentum in Ontario: CBC.
• Netanyahu Vows to Act Against Houthis After Missile Strike. 
• Bankruptcies, Suicide Rise as Japanese Struggle With Mounting Debt.
• Europe’s Big Stocks Are Shrinking Deeper Into US Megacaps’ Shadow.
• Panama’s Leader Takes Up Feud With Trump Over Control of Canal. 
• Asian Stocks Eye Cautious Gains as US Worries Ease.
• Hedge Funds Cut Nuclear Technology Exposure After ‘Hard’ Rally.
• Masayoshi Son’s Quest to Become the Next Nvidia.
• The 11 Wild Trades of 2024: Booms, Busts and a 2,900% Windfall.
• Some 2025 Surprises: Hong Kong Tycoons, Luckin Coffee, Vietnam.
• Bond Traders Turn to 2025 Amid Most Agonizing Easing in Decades. 
• For Emerging Markets, ‘Better Luck Next Year’ Is Hard to Believe. 
• ‘God Bless America’ Fund Beats Political Rivals with 33% Gain.
• Woman Burnt to Death in New York Subway Car as Suspect Watched.
• Five Key Charts to Watch in Global Commodity Markets This Week.

Zero Hedge: 

• US Fighter Jet Shot Down Over Red Sea In Disastrous 'Friendly Fire' Incident.
• Trump Threatens To Take Back Panama Canal As He Declares "Golden Age Of America Is Upon Us".
• AI Drone Swarms And Autonomous Vessels: Palantir Co-Founder Warns How Warfare Is About To Change Forever.
• The FBI Deserves Kash Patel.
• DoorDash By Drone: Google's Wing Subsidiary Now Delivers In Dallas-Fort Worth.
• In Latest Threat To German Democracy, Dangerous Fascist Elon Musk Tweets Six Words About AfD.
• Disney Abandons Transgender Storyline In New Pixar Show.
• Weekend News Round Up - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open.
• Waymo Robotaxi Still Has Some Kinks To Work Out.
• The Dominoes Are Falling Fast Over The Biden Mental-Health Cover-Up.
• "Prank TikToker" Busted After Filming Himself Spraying Walmart Produce With Poison.
• Berberine: One Of The Most Powerful Tools We Have To Regulate Insulin.
• Biden Considers Commuting Sentences Of 40 Men On Federal Death Row.
• "We Have A Serious, Serious Problem On A Global Scale" - Martin Armstrong Warns Neocons "Scared To Death Of Trump".
• Is 'Dronegate' A Chinese Psyop?
• Something Is Seriously Amiss In The Labor Markets.
• Make Monroe Doctrine Great Again? Trump Threatens To Take Back Panama Canal Amid Chinese Takeover Fears.
• Senate Republicans Create 'Make America Healthy Again' Caucus As RFK Jr. Continues Capitol Hill Tour.
• US Congresswoman Missing For Six Months Found At Dementia Care Home.
• All I Want For Christmas... Is Another False Flag.
• Visualizing $102 Trillion Of Global Debt In 2024.
• Make Europe Great Again.
• Aide To California Politician Arrested, Accused Of Conspiring With Chinese Spy To Infiltrate US Politics.
• Death By A Thousand Talents: University Pays $700,000 To Settle With NASA Over Lead Researcher's Undisclosed China Ties
• Winners And Losers From Last Night's Government Funding Package.

Wall Street Journal:

• The Sanctuary State Migrant Boom.
• Goldman Sachs Economist Jan Hatzius on His 2025 Economic Outlook.
• Private Prisons Gear Up for Deportation Bonanza Under Trump.
• The Week the GOP’s High Hopes Collided With Reality.
• More Teens Are Using Dangerously Potent Pot for Intense Highs.
• Paramount’s Media Heiress Will Leave the Stage After Last Act in a Chaotic Drama.
• Inside the Monthlong White House Effort to Quell New Jersey Drone Frenzy.
• The Investing Cult Fueling MicroStrategy’s Ascent: ‘Have Fun Staying Poor’.
• Donald Trump’s Agenda Has New Enforcers: Charlie Kirk and a Legion of Influencers.
• The Not-So-Secret Way Around U.S. Tariffs.
• How Scammers Are Using AI This Holiday Season to Steal Your Money.
• Cloud AI Startup Vultr Raises $333 Million at $3.5 Billion Valuation.
• What’s Behind the Meltdown in Brazil.

CNBC:  

• Behind Amazon’s quiet launch of Haul, which competes with Temu in ultra-low-price items from China.
• What Google’s quantum chip breakthrough Willow means for bitcoin’s future.
• Amtrak temporarily suspends Northeast Corridor service days before holiday.
• Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin wants a meeting about the war with Ukraine.
• Scams, trolls and impersonators: Bluesky faces dark clouds in battle to be the new Twitter.
• Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says.

MarketWatch.com:  

• Wall Street’s ‘Santa Claus rally’ window is about to open with the Dow down in December.
• More than $125 million is stolen every year on Zelle. The feds say little is done to stop it.

NewsMax:

• Trump Vows 'Largest Tax Cuts' in US History by Next Year.
• China Threatens US 'Playing With Fire' Over Taiwan Military Aid.
• Trump Tariffs Redefine Free Trade in Face of China Threat.  
• Trump: 'We're Being Ripped Off at the Panama Canal'. 
• Fetterman 'Potentially' Voting for Hegseth, Patel.

Fox News:

• Guatemalan migrant allegedly set train passenger on fire, watched her burn to death.
• Trump previews string of executive actions to tackle ‘the transgender lunacy’.
• Congresswoman who hasn’t voted in months has been living in retirement facility.
• Republicans under pressure to eliminate Democrats’ ‘last tool’ to obstruct bold Trump agenda. 
• Top Biden ally reacts after Musk announces plan to target ‘heavily Democrat districts’.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Horrific Video Shows Man Sitting on Bench Watching Woman Burn to Death After He Lit Her on Fire in NYC Subway. 
• CNN’s Van Jones Just Gave a Perfect Analysis of Why The Liberal Media is Dead (VIDEO).
• Canadian Singer Drops Fiery ‘Let It Snow (Screw The Woke)’ Remix That’s Sending Woketards into a Total Meltdown.
• Trucks Continue Hauling Unused Border Wall for Auction Amid Trump-Backed Lawsuit and Calls From Lawmakers to Stop Biden From Selling Materials (VIDEO).
• WATCH: Outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin Says Democratic Party is ‘So Toxic’ — ‘This Country is Not Going Left’.
• Donald Trump Puts ‘Disgusting’ Liz Cheney on Notice – Says She Committed ‘Egregious and Unthinkable Acts of Crime’.
• Disgusting: Race-Obsessed Rep. Jasmine Crockett Insults Hispanic Voters for ‘Slave Mentality’ Who ‘Can Barely Vote’.
• Ken Paxton Teases Possible Primary Run Against RINO Senator John Cornyn (Video).
• ‘Saturday Night Live’ Audience Cheers and Applauds Wildly When Host Mentions UnitedHealthcare CEO Murderer Luigi Mangioni (VIDEO).
• After Musk Public Support, AfD’s Alice Weidel Overtakes CDU Warmonger Friedrich Merz in the Race for Next German Chancellor: POLL.
• Coast Guardsman Blasts Biden Regime for ‘Making Sh-t Up’ After Vessel Tailed by Fleet of Drones.
• TOM RENZ: The Omnibus CR Funding Bill —The WHO Treaty in Disguise.
• You Can’t Make This Up: U.S. Navy Shoots Down Its Own F/A-18 Super Hornet Fighter Jet in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident in Red Sea.
• Biden Withdraws Plan to Cancel Student Loan Debt For 38 Million Americans, Blames “Operational Challenges”.

The Epoch Times:

• US Indicts Chinese National Accused of Selling Pill Press Used to Make Illicit Drugs.
• 63 Human Rights Groups Urge Continuation of House Select Committee on CCP.

Around X:

• @elonmusk

• #BREAKING: The man who set an innocent woman on fire on the New York Subway, Sebastian Zapeta, is a recent “MIGRANT” from Guatemala. The Biden regime REFUSED to deport him, and an innocent woman lost her life as a result. MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW! Enough is enough. (pic)
• New York City is experiencing insane gridlock surface traffic, because people are legitimately afraid to take the subway or walk. (pic)

• @WallStreetMav

• German protesters chant: :"Anyone who doesn't love Germany, should leave Germany!" The German media is not showing these protests. They are hiding it. The only way to know what is happening is on X. The German elite don’t want AfD to win the election. (video)

• @JohnStossel
  

• Biden promised 500,000 EV charging stations. 2 years later, only 7 have been built… When politicians spend your money, they don’t have an incentive to spend it carefully. So they fail, over and over: (video)

• @MarioNawful

• CHINA’S WEALTHY PROVINCES ARE BROKE — AND EVERYONE’S FEELING IT. Suzhou and Zhejiang, once economic powerhouses, are now playing the world’s saddest game of “Where’s My Money?” Suzhou’s exports are tanking, foreign companies are thinking about bailing, and local governments are so broke they’re slashing salaries, delaying projects, and even cutting back on office supplies. (pic)

• @ricwe123

• Can you imagine, just two days after the attack in Magdeburg, muslims march through Hanover's Christmas market shouting, "Germany, sons of whores". (video)

• @WallStreetApes

• The FBI is showing up on Americans doors who are filming “drone / orb” videos and posting them on TikTok. They’re demanding the videos be deleted. “So apparently, the feds show up if you post those lights on TikTok. Last week, I posted a video about those 12 lights that I saw fall out of the sky on my way home. Not at the same time, they fell individually. Well, my boyfriend's coworker also saw them, and he caught them on film, and he posted them on TikTok. And apparently, they showed up to his door, and he was asked to delete the video.” (video)
• WOW! Governments are purchasing Spyware to monitor citizens phones and illegally surveillance them. You’re never going to guess who two of the purchasers are… The FBI and Department of Homeland Security. “Big spyware companies say they sell this tech only to governments. But this multi-billion dollar industry is mostly unregulated. The most advanced spyware can turn your smartphone into a spy — It can copy everything and record you without you ever knowing”. (video)
  

• @BGatesIsaPsycho

• Dear Keir Starmer, “I have spent the last 17 years in my own prison - I was ten” “I was not the only girl on that Island - there was a constant stream of Girls being r***ed over & over again”. This is a Jeffrey Epstein Island survivor - now you have decided to appoint his close confident & friend Peter Mandelson as ambassador to America. Do you see the problem here? (video)

• @Overton_news

• NOW - Stephen A. Smith Shocks in Fox News Interview, Says He Would Likely Vote For Trump in Another Election. |@stephenasmith "I voted Democrat and I got to tell you something right now. I don't like the fact that I did." Holy smokes. The Democrats are cooked. American sports personality Stephen A. Smith was just asked if he would support Donald Trump if there was a hypothetical election in the future. His answer was brilliant and will likely shock many of you. (video)

• @CollinRugg
  

• NEW: Senator John Fetterman says Trump won because he protects the American way of life, says Trump is not a fascist like Kamala Harris claimed. Fetterman says he knows a lot of Democrats in Pennsylvania who voted for Trump. "A lot of Democrats, especially in my state that I know and I happen to love people that [voted] for Trump and they are not fascists." "I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that's going to protect and project my version of the American way of life. And that's what happened." (video)
  

• @ShadowofEzra

• Over a four-year period, an extensive review of cell phone, laptop, and vehicle GPS data reveals that second Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh visited Fort Bragg, a major military base, 147 times, staying overnight on 29 occasions, according to Tony Seruga. (video)

• @atensnut
  

• Why has Communist China been allowed to purchase so much US farm land next to 17 of our Military Bases? I hope this will investigated by the Trump Administration. They shouldn’t own one foot of US soil. (video)

• @BillAckman

• With drones in the headlines, a modern war in @Ukraine, and Chinese drone shows in the air, it has become increasingly apparent that we have been overinvesting in F-35s and underinvesting in military drone technology. (video)

• @SaiKate108

• Things are moving fast. Senator Ron Johnson is already in talks with RFK jr to release the redacted documents exposing Fauci and the Biden Admin. plan to cover up the fact the shot was causing heart damage in young people. They knew yet still pushed mandates. Criminal!! (video)
  

OpenVAERS: 

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 1,021,130 Reports(+5,083 from prior report) Through November 29th, 2024.
  

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.25% to +1.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 76.75 +.5 basis point.
  
• China Sovereign CDS 65.0 -.75 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 101.0 USD/Metric Tonne +.3%.
  
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 37.1 -.01%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 67.0 +1.0%.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 17.8 -2.5%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.22%.
• S&P 500 futures +.25%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.32%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by commodity and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Chinese Vessel Linked to Broken Baltic Sea Data Cables Sails Off. 
• Tiny But Vital Metal Markets Rush to Adjust to Chinese Clampdown. 
• Starmer Is Deepening China Ties While the UK’s Allies Turn Away.
• Iran Is Hiring Children to Attack Israeli Targets in Europe.
• ECB Rate Cuts Will Continue Next Year, Vujcic Tells HRT1.
• Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill.
• Credit Quality Shows Signs of Having Peaked.
• Why Companies Like OpenAI and SpaceX Are Staying Private Longer.
• Musk’s Trump Trade Makes Tesla a Winner With $570 Billion Rally.
• Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk's Plunge Echoes Nokia Risk.
• Biden Gets Record 235th Federal Judge Confirmed in Waning Days. 
• Hedge Funds Boost Bullish WTI Bets Most in a Year on Sanctions.

Zerohedge:

• In Latest Threat To German Democracy, Dangerous Fascist Elon Musk Tweets Six Words About AfD.
• Strange (Convenient) Narrative Emerges In Horrific Christmas Market Attack...
• Massachusetts Is The Most Expensive State To Raise A Kid In, Mississippi Cheapest.
• Santa Claus Rally Or Did The Fed Steal Christmas?
• Ukrainian Drones Pummel Russian City Over 600 Miles From Front Line.
• Dem Rep. Crockett: Hispanic Voters Have "Slave Mentality" And "Can Barely Vote".
• Chinese Ship Suspected Of Undersea Baltic Cable Sabotage Sails Off .
• US Had Foreknowledge Of HTS Offensive To Topple Assad, Prepped Its Proxies To Join.
• Government Shutdown Averted As Biden Signs Stopgap Spending Bill.
• Houthi Hypersonic Missile Renders Iron Dome Useless, Slams Into Tel Aviv Area.
• Trump Reportedly Plans To Continue Aid To Ukraine But Will Raise NATO Spending To 5%.
• "He Has Good Days & Bad Days": WSJ Exposes Concerted Effort To Conceal Biden's Mental Decline.
• "Almost All Sectors Are Considering Job-Cuts" – German Bankruptcies Growing By Double-Digits.
• Diddy, Deadpool, & The Donald: 2024 In Google Searches.
• Trump Could Tariff NATO Allies That Do Not Pay Up.
• Never Underestimate The Power Of Unfinished Business.
• Trump-Era Official Blasts Canada Over Fentanyl Super Labs & Transnational Crime Gangs .
• Parents' Rights Group Reveals Dept Of Ed Spent $1 Billion On DEI Since 2021.
• Check Your WiFi Router Brand... US Mulls Ban On Chinese-Made TP-Link.
• Eggflation: Dozen-Pack At Supermarket Hit Record Highs As Bird Flu Ravages Farms.
• Stoking Fears Of Rape By Coyotes, Texas To Use Mexican Billboards To Scare Migrants Off.
• CNN Reveals "Troubling" Poll: American Trust In Vaccines Is Plummeting.
• Florida Officials Say Federal Government Has "Stonewalled" State Investigation Into Would-Be Trump Assassin.
• US Reveals It Has More Than Twice As Many Troops In Syria Than Previously Disclosed.
• Judge Rejects Federal Government Request, Allows Derek Chauvin To Examine George Floyd's Heart.
• Et Tu Jagmeet? Trudeau Game Over Looms As Key Ally Vows To Topple Him.
• Bonds and stocks gain as Dollar gives back some recent strength in wake of PCE - Newsquawk US Market Wrap.
• Dove-Driven Dead-Cat-Bounce Fails To Save Bonds, Stocks, & Crypto In 'Bad Data' Week.

WSJ.com:  

• How a Routine Spending Bill Turned Washington Upside Down.
• Americans Are Still Moving South.
• The Fed Admits an Inflation Mistake.
• For Many People in This Small Town, Deportations Can’t Come Soon Enough.
• The Next Great Leap in AI Is Behind Schedule and Crazy Expensive.
• For These Real-Estate Brokers, Family Drama Is Part of the Business.
• The Unlikely Ingredient That Could End U.S. Dependence on Chinese Batteries.
• America’s Chip War with China Will Spread.
• Eli Lilly Gets FDA Approval for Zepbound for Certain Sleep Apnea Patients.
• Canada’s Trudeau Is Losing Grip on Power.
• Biden Weighs Commuting Sentences of Death Row Inmates.
• On the Ground With the ‘Sky Watch’ as Drone Hysteria Grips New Jersey.
• Consumer Confidence Climbs Driven by Republican Sentiment.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (WMT).
• Had bearish commentary on (COST).

CNBC:

• Cruise line to offer unlimited pass for $120,000—and you can pay in bitcoin.
• Government shutdown crisis averted after Biden signs stopgap funding bill.
• CFPB sues JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over Zelle payment fraud.
• Malls are using new restaurants to draw consumers as shopping centers reinvent themselves.

MarketWatch.com:  

• Forget the stock-market tumble, the Fed made the right move in a wild week.
• Cocoa’s the best-performing commodity in 2024 — and even beat bitcoin. What’s next.
• Could the S&P 500 close at 7,000 by the end of next year? How investors should read rosy 2025 projections. 
• Materials are the worst performer in the S&P 500 this year. What 2025 holds for this beaten-down sector. 
• 20 fintech companies expected to grow rapidly through 2026, including Upstart 
• Nvidia fears may be overdone — and this analyst offers a simple reason why.
• Netflix expected to broaden subscriber base after winning Women’s World Cup bid.

NewsMax:     

• Biden Signs Funding Bill, Ducks Crisis.
• Speaker Johnson: Bill Bridges Gap Until GOP Control in '25.
• Gordon Chang: 'There Is Something to See' With Drones.

Fox News:

• Blake Lively files explosive legal action against co-star with slew of allegations.
• Fauci has been employed as professor at prestigious school — there’s just one big problem.
• Far-left pundits may see big change to paychecks as ratings nosedive.
• Volleyball player details recovery following life-altering injury by trans opponent.

TheGatewayPundit.com: 

• RINO Mitch McConnell Delivers His Farewell Speech as Senate Republican Leader — A Legacy of Betrayal and Compromise.
• After Lying That Trump Wants to Cut Social Security, Dems Rush Bill That Will Cut Benefits – Need Biden to Sign Before Trump Arrives.
• Here We Go Again: California Declares State of Emergency In Response To Bird Flu.
• Wisconsin High School Allows Biological Male to Use Girls’ Locker Room – Boy Allegedly Stares at Girls, Exposes P*nis, Rubs Himself With Lotion to “Prevent Chafing” and Threatened to “Shoot up School”.
• Britain’s Incoming U.S. Ambassador Called Trump a ‘White Nationalist’ – Trump Campaign Manager Chris LaCivita Says He Should ‘Stay Home’.
• Socialist Bernie Sanders Calls America an ‘Oligarchy’ Because Elon Musk Dared to Oppose Bloated Spending Bill,
• Coalition of Over 30 Attorneys Representing Over 1,500 Remdesivir Victims Blast ABC with Cease and Desist Over Dangerous ‘Miracle Cure’ Claim in New Show.
• Trudeau on the Brink of Losing Power After NDP Moves to Call a No-Confidence Vote, Bring down His Minority Liberal Government and Trigger Early Election.
• Senator Roger Marshall Announces Formation of “Make America Healthy Again” Caucus for Next Congress.
• WATCH: Ukrainian Drones Strike Civilian High-Rise Buildings in Russia’s Kazan Region.
• New York Congresswoman Warns Removing Mike Johnson as Speaker Could Block Certification of President Trump on January 6th.
• American Ufologist Dr. Steven Greer Raises Concerns on ‘False Flag Operation’ Amid Mysterious Drone Sightings: ‘This is Psychological Warfare—a PSYOP’.
• Suspect in Magdeburg Terror Attack is Saudi Activist Who Helped Migrants Flee to Germany — Once Featured in BBC Interview Renouncing Islam.
• George Mason University Student Charged With Planning ‘Mass Casualty Attack’ Against Jews in New York.
• Based Actress Justine Bateman Celebrates End of ‘Mob Mentality’ of the Last Four Years: ‘Never Want to Go Through Anything Like That Again’ (VIDEO).
• CNN’s Scott Jennings: When is ‘Accountability’ Coming for Those Who Lied to the American People About Biden’s Condition? (VIDEO). 
• Joe Rogan Slams Democrats, Media, Deep State, for ‘Insanely Dangerous Precedent’ of Using Judicial System Against Trump (VIDEO). 
• Update: NJ Residents Near Drone Hot Spots Reporting Strange Tasting, Weird Smelling Water.
• Glenn Beck: ‘They’re going to try to kill Trump. They’re going to assassinate him if they can’ (VIDEO).

Epoch Times:

• Republicans Urge Ending Science and Tech Pact With China.
• The Threat of China’s Secret Police Stations on Our Soil.
• China Drone Swarms and US Lasers: The Coming Revolutions in Warfare.
• China Weaponizes Rare Earth Metals.

Around X:

• @elonmusk

• It took over 200 years for the U.S. debt to reach $12 trillion. $12 trillion is how much we added in 4 years between 2020 and 2024. Unsustainable (graph)
• MILEI DELIVERS: ARGENTINA’S POVERTY PLUMMETS UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP Big win for @JMilei as Argentina’s poverty rate drops to 38.9% in Q3, a dramatic improvement from 54.8% in Q1 and 51% in Q2, according to INDEC. Shifting people from the government sector, which is low productivity, to the private sector, which is high productivity, results in greatly increased prosperity. Deregulation helps tremendously too.
• Percentage of Congress over the age of 70. Wow. (graph) 
• JUST IN: A bomb has just exploded in central Stockholm, per @visegrad24 There were a RECORD 149 confirmed explosive attacks in Sweden in 2023, the vast majority of which are carried out by immigrant gangs. THIS is why we need mass deportations in America. Can ANYONE imagine 149 explosive attacks in New York City in a single year? Because that’s what’s coming. 149 attacks with explosives in Sweden last year?

• @Bennyjohnson
  

• BREAKING: Donald Trump says he may demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States.

• @Inevitablewest

• BREAKING: Thousands of Germans shout “Germany for the Germans” following the massacre at a Christmas market. The media won’t show you, but Europe is waking up. (video)
• BREAKING: German men demand immediate deportations as word gets out and numbers increase. Very tense situation tonight. (video)

• @KoibeissiLetter

• Panic selling has returned: US equity funds posted $50.2 BILLION of outflows in the week ending December 18th, the largest since September 2009. Meanwhile, the volatility index, $VIX, posted its 2nd largest daily gain in history. Here's what you need to know.
• This is interesting: The Walmart Recession Signal has jumped to the highest level since the 2020 pandemic. This is a recession indicator measured by Walmart's stock price, $WMT, divided by the S&P Global Luxury Index of luxury goods stocks. (graph)
  

• @ShadowofEzra

• Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, appear to have funneled a staggering $28 million in unreported pandemic grants into their personal investments. Among the beneficiaries of this taxpayer-funded windfall was the luxurious Auberge du Soleil, a five-star hillside hotel and spa in which the Pelosis hold significant stakes. For decades, Paul Pelosi’s investment in the hotel struggled to turn a substantial profit—until 2021. That year, pandemic relief funds, including PPP loans, COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and a special grant program for restaurants, suddenly boosted the resort’s fortunes. (video)
  

• @CollinRugg

• NEW: Liberal influencer Luke Beasley sits in total silence for over three minutes as Tim Pool excoriates him in defense of J6 prisoners. One of the best rants I’ve heard in a long time. “You don't care what the facts are. You don't care if this is unjust. You only care that the machine state has decreed, you are now to be locked up.” (video)

• @MarioNawfal

• TUCKER: THE CORE SIN THAT'S DESTROYING AMERICA IS DEBT. "I really think the fastest way to destroy the United States is connected to a few key issues. I think the reason we're trillions of dollars in debt, the reason our social cohesion is frayed, and the reason we opened the borders—it’s all connected. (video)

• @joma_gc
  

• INSANE! Kamala campaign advisor Lindy Li quits the Democrat Party: I don’t want to be part of this tent anymore. I don’t want to be part of this craziness. I want to be part of the team that treats me with common decency. Li says she’s been the target of a smear and cancel campaign because she dared to ask questions about Kamala’s mismanagement of donor money that Li helped her raise. (video)

• @BGatesIsAPsycho
  

• “Really they are admitting that Bill Gates is there, doing something that influences Government Policy”. Bill Gates recently flew into London to meet the UK Prime Minister, a week before the most aggressive taxation on Uk Farmers ever seen. Journalist Lewis Blackpool submitted a FOI request for details of that meeting & has been denied. (video)

• @WallStreetApes
  

• The chemical azodicarbonamide is used in American bread but is banned in Europe It is used to make plastics, shoes and yoga mats. Companies that used it were McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A Companies that STILL use it - Arby's - Dunkin' Donuts - Burger King It’s also in your grocery store bread, with common brands like - Kroger - Little Debbie - Sara Lee - Five Roses, Robinhood, and MANY No Name Brands. (video)
• WOW! The FBI caught underreporting crime and even after being given the correct data won’t change it. “The Milwaukee Police Department reported a 7% increase in robberies, but the FBI showed a 13% decrease. Who's manipulating this data?” “You wonder why your agency is not trusted, why the FBI needs to have a a completely overhauled.” Baltimore homicides “They reported 262 murders in 2023 and you reported they only had 225. How does that happen?” (video)
• You literally can’t make this up. ‌ Oprah Winfrey took out 3 PPP loans during the COVID pandemic. ‌ Oprah Winfrey net worth $2.5 billion, took out PPE loans for $1 million, $97,694 and $193,366. ‌ All 3 loans were forgiven. Paid for by US Taxpayers. (video)

• @GeneralMCNews

• BREAKING: New York City has deployed its largest military presence in subways since the aftermath of 9/11. (pic)

• @TonySeruga
  

• Tucker Carlson Is About To Ruin Anthony Fauci's Life. Tucker Carlson Network’s new documentary, Thank You Dr. Fauci, is available now. Its creator, award-winning producer Jenner Furst, is worth hearing out to add important context to the film. Furst is far from your typical “right-wing conspiracy theorist” filmmaker. As a Brookline, Massachusetts native, he fits the demographic profile of the kind of person you’d least expect to grow suspicious of America’s authoritarian COVID response. But he did. Despite his town’s adoration of Anthony Fauci, masks, “social distancing,” and unnecessary vaccinations, Furst sees the government’s pandemic reaction for what it was: a deliberate and dystopian crackdown on our sacred civil liberties. Jenner Furst joined today’s Tucker Carlson Show to preview his groundbreaking film, explain why COVID was 100 times bigger than any crime he’d previously investigated, expose Fauci’s lies, and more. Click the image below to watch Thank You Dr. Fauci. (video)
  

• @WarClandestine
  

• Ready to have your mind blown? Flashback to May 2023. General Kirillov claimed Russia MIL obtained samples of deadly Avian Influenza, also known as BIRD FLU, from a conquered US DoD lab in the Kherson region, that could jump species, with a 40% kill rate in humans… Coincidence that Kirillov was just assassinated, and now CDC reports that Bird Flu is jumping to humans and causing states of emergencies? Too many connecting dots to be a coincidence. (pic)
  

• @IGSquawk 

• Weekend markets update: #DAX 19860 +0.01% #DOW 42826 +0.03% #NASDAQ 21270 +0.02% #FTSE 8070 +0.14% #HANGSENG 19809 0.00% #GBPUSD 12570 +0.01% #EURUSD 10430 +0.01% #USDJPY 15642 +0.01% #GOLD 2624 +0.05%.

OpenVAERS: 

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 1,021,130 Reports(+5,083 from prior report) Through November 29th, 2024.
  

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

Stocks Surging into Final Hour on More Dovish Fed Commentary, Lower Long-Term Rates, Dollar Weakness, Tech/Alt Energy Sector Strength

Economic Gauges:

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 37.2 +.2%
• 3-Month T-Bill Yield 4.32% -1.0 basis point
  

• China Iron Ore Spot 100.4 USD/Metric Tonne -.2%
• Dutch TTF Nat Gas(European benchmark) 44.1 euros/megawatt-hour +2.4%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 10.2 -2.6 points
  

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -5.9 +1.2 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -2.4 unch.
• S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(19 of 500 reporting) +21.2% -5.1 percentage points
  
• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 270.85 -.51:  Growth Rate +13.5% -.2 percentage point, P/E 22.0 +.2
  
• S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 12.55% unch.
  
• NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(0 of 10 reporting) n/a
  
• NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 386.68 +.14: Growth Rate +23.3% unch., P/E 34.7 +.4
  
• Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .38 +8.0 basis points
  
• Bloomberg Euro-Zone Financial Conditions Index 1.17 +15.0 basis points
  
• US Yield Curve 20.5 basis points (2s/10s) -4.75 basis points
  
• US Atlanta Fed Q4 GDPNow Forecast +3.08% -8.0 basis points
  
• US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 24.2% unch.
  

• Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast Core PCE YoY +2.87% -10.0 basis points: CPI YoY +2.86% unch.
  
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.30 -1.0 basis point
  
• Highest target rate probability for March 19th FOMC meeting: 48.3% (+3.3 percentage points) chance of 4.0%-4.25%. Highest target rate probability for May 7th meeting: 48.2%(+2.0 percentage points) chance of 4.0%-4.25%. (current target rate is 4.25-4.5%)
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +485 open in Japan 
• China A50 Futures: Indicating +37 open in China

• DAX Futures: Indicating +243 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher:  On gains in my tech/industrial/financial/consumer discretionary/utility sector longs
  

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

• Market Exposure: Moved to 755% Net Long