Financial Markets and Economy
OPEC Says Supply Cuts Won’t Re-Balance Market Until Second Half (Bloomberg)
OPEC said its agreement to cut production, while speeding up the re-balancing of the global oil market, won’t result in demand exceeding supply until the second half of next year.
Manhattan apartment sales prices top $2 million for first time: survey (Reuters)
The average sales price of an apartment in Manhattan is expected to top $2 million this year for the first time, but prices are seen leveling off in 2017 after nearly doubling over the past decade.
The Bond Selloff in Five Charts (The Wall Street Journal)
Investors have sold off government bonds in recent months, pushing yields sharply higher after they had fallen to record lows earlier this year. The shift has been particularly hard for investors in long-dated debt, who have gone from raking in meaty returns to nursing hefty paper losses.
Wholesale Prices in U.S. Rose 1.3% in November From Year Ago (Bloomberg)
Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose from a year earlier by the most since 2014 as food costs and retail margins increased, helping bring inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s goal.
China clears key hurdle to buy Chicago Stock Exchange (CNN Money)
China just moved a step closer to acquiring one of America's oldest stock exchanges, despite security concerns raised by some in Congress.
Bill for Pre-Trump Debt Binge Worst for Emerging Borrowers: S&P (Bloomberg)
A sharp rise in global bond yields similar to that seen in the global financial crisis would leave companies in Asia and Latin America most exposed after they loaded up on cheap debt in the past decade, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Leaving carbon: Divestments from fossil fuels top $5.2 trillion (Climate Central)
A network of local governments, pension funds, faith organizations, philanthropies and wealthy individuals representing $5.2 trillion in assets have committed to — and in some cases already started — divesting from fossil fuel companies, according to a report released on Monday.
Asian markets take a hit on Fed’s hawkish outlook (Market Watch)
Asian markets were down across the board Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve overnight indicated it would raise interest rates faster than expected in 2017.
Dollar surges against yen, other Asian currencies after Fed’s move (Market Watch)
The U.S. dollar was sharply higher in early Asia trading, with the yen hardest hit after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its first interest-rate increase of 2016 and signaled it expects to increase rates more quickly than previously anticipated in 2017.
The latest risk for stocks (Black Rock Blog)
Equities continue to grind out new record highs, leaving U.S. stocks expensive relative to both history and other countries. Many investors believe the high valuations are justified given still historically low interest rates and inflation.
Zew Survey Steady, but Looks More Like 2007 than 2013 (Value Walk)
The economic expectations component of Germany’s Zew Survey came in slightly lower than expected at 13.8 (steady, but undershooting consensus of 14.0).
Industrial Production declined 0.4% in November (Calculated Risk)
Industrial production declined 0.4 percent in November after edging up 0.1 percent in October. In November, manufacturing output moved down 0.1 percent, and mining posted a gain of 1.1 percent. The index for utilities dropped 4.4 percent, as warmer-than-normal temperatures reduced the demand for heating.
WTI Tumbles To $51 Handle After OPEC Warns Glut May Continue Longer Than Expected (Zero Hedge)
On the heels of last night's big crude build, OPEC's overnight report stating that supply cuts won’t re-balance the market until the second half of 2017 has sparked further losses in oil prices, almost erasing the entire OPEC/NOPEC/Saudi cut ramp.
Dow Now Overbought 24 Trading Days and Counting (Bespoke)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has now closed in “overbought” territory (more than one standard deviation above its 50-day moving average) for 24 consecutive trading days, which is also the number of trading days we have seen since Election Day.
Industrial Production Disappoints For 15th Straight Month – Longest Non-Recessionary Streak In 100 Years (Zero Hedge)
For the 15th straight month, US Industrial Production has decline YoY (by 0.6%). This is the longest streak in US history without a recession.
Jeff Gundlach Warns 10Y Yields Above 3% Will "Punish Markets", Would Mark End Of Bond Bull (Zero Hedge)
Having previously noted the 10Y yield bogeys by SocGen, Goldman and JPM, above which the S&P would start to groan, which are at 2.60%, 2.75% and 2.75%, respectively, overnight we got yet another datapoint to add to this series: that of Jeffrey Gundlach, who during yesterday's webcast to DoubleLine investors said 10Y rates may climb to 3% by next year as deficits and inflation rise under the Trump presidency, "a move that would hurt markets." The 10Y is currently trading just below 2.50%
How Soon Can You Become Profitable? (Forbes)
In June 2016, I began to speak with venture capital groups about financing for my company, EVENTup. We were considering fundraising in 2017 and wanted to connect with potential investors early. Interestingly, almost all the VCs posed a question they had never asked before: “How soon can you become profitable?”
Companies
Yahoo says data stolen from 1 billion accounts (CNN)
Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) disclosed a new security breach on Wednesday that may have affected more than one billion accounts. The breach dates back to 2013 and is thought to be separate from a massive cybersecurity incident announced in September.
JPMorgan hacker fugitive arrested at JFK (CNN)
An American hacker fugitive accused of hacking into JPMorgan Chase in the "largest theft of customer data" from an American bank was arrested on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Technology
Uber Rolls Out Self-Driving Cars in San Francisco Without DMV Approval (Bloomberg)
Starting Wednesday, Uber will let customers in San Francisco hop in a self-driving car, if they're lucky enough to hail one. There's a lot the company won't say about the launch, like how many cars they plan to roll out, but it will gradually introduce self-driving Volvos in its hometown.
BMW invests in VR-based professional training company (Road Show)
BMW i Ventures regularly invests in fledgling companies and technologies that can enhance its own offerings. That continues today with a strategic investment in Strivr Labs.
Video shows a self-driving Uber running a red light on the day of its launch in San Francisco (Business Insider)
A cab driver in San Francisco appears to have caught a self-driving Uber on film running a red light on the first day that the autonomous cars are shuttling passengers around town.
The Octobot Is Just the Beginning for Soft Robotics (Singularity Hub)
Roboticists have long turned to nature for inspiration, but their creations have generally been conspicuously un-lifelike. Now, breakthroughs in the design and manipulation of soft materials have allowed them to start replicating the remarkable abilities of some of nature’s squishier creations.
Apple TV universal search now supports Apple Music, TBS and more (Engadget)
As Apple continues to improve the one-stop streaming experience of Apple TV and its standalone TV app, the much-hyped universal search has finally added enough partners to make it a robust and useful feature.
Car sharing network Turo launches in the UK (Tech Crunch)
A lot of us have cars, but not a lot of us use cars – estimates suggest our cars are sitting unused as much as 95 percent of the time, which is kind of insane if you think about it. That’s why things like Turo exists, which lets people rent out their vehicles on-demand via an app, Airbnb style.
Politics
For China’s State Media, Trump Victory Can’t Cure ‘American Disease’ (NY Times)
BEIJING — Donald J. Trump isn’t Mr. Popular in Beijing lately. But China’s ruling elite seems to be consoling itself with the idea that the American president-elect will take charge of a country staggering into decline and disunion.
Fountainhead of bad ideas: Ayn Rand’s fanboys take the reins of power (Salon)
For a man who ran for president on a supposedly populist platform, Donald Trump sure has appointed a lot of extremely wealthy businesspeople to his administration. He explains to his followers at his ostentatious victory rallies that he’s doing this because he wants people “that made a fortune because now they’re negotiating with you,” adding, “It’s not different than a great baseball player or a great golfer.”
Harvard professor says 20 GOP voters may flip against Trump (The Hill)
Harvard University law professor Larry Lessig said Tuesday that 20 Republican Electoral College voters are considering flipping to vote against Donald Trump, more than half the number of anti-Trump votes needed to stall the president-elect from being sworn into office.
Donald Trump has lost popular vote by greater margin than any US President (Independent)
Donald Trump lost the popular vote in last month’s US presidential election by a bigger margin than any other US president in history.
Trump announces McDaniel as his pick for RNC (Politico)
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Michigan GOP chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel is his choice to succeed incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus as chair of the Republican National Committee.
Report Says Putin Was Directly Involved With Russian Interference In U.S. Election (The Huffington Post)
U.S. intelligence officials say they believe Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved in efforts to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election, NBC News reported Wednesday.
It’s Hard To Overstate How Anti-Environment Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks Are (The Huffington Post)
WASHINGTON – Rex Tillerson at the State Department. Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency. Rick Perry at the Department of Energy. Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice.
Are Higher Ed Professionals a Resource or Part of “The Swamp” (The Huffington Post)
One of the striking features of the new presidential administration appears to be the difference between fact and perception. On most levels, it seems that optics matter more than words. It also seems that facts are an afterthought to the positions floated.
Health and Biotech
Fasting could slow the development of a common type of childhood leukaemia (Science Alert)
Based on tests in mice, going without food on a regular schedule was enough to halt the progress of two types of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), and there's hope that the findings could be used to develop treatments for cancer in humans, too.
Life on the Home Planet
If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ religious beliefs and practices (Pew Research Center)
About 218 million of the United States’ roughly 245 million adults say they believe in God. Such deeply personal views might seem abstract or distant when expressed as large numbers, but this is not the only way to look at religious belief in the U.S.
America’s First Offshore Wind Farm Spins to Life (NY Times)
But in a first for America, the ocean breeze is now generating clean, renewable power offshore — electricity that will supply a small island community off the coast of Rhode Island. Renewable energy, including from offshore wind, is crucial to the effort to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change, according to environmentalists and some elected officials.
Rebel officials say Aleppo evacuation plan back on track (Reuters)
Syrian opposition groups said an evacuation of rebel-held areas of Aleppo was back on track and expected to begin early on Thursday, but uncertainty persisted as a media outlet run by Lebanon's Hezbollah said truce talks faced "big complications".
