Wednesday's News Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Stocks Steady as S&P 500 Record Stays In Sight: Markets Wrap

[Reuters] Dollar touches five-month low on rate cut hopes in thin market

[Reuters] World stocks sail to highest in over a year on rate cut hopes

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Houthi Attacks and US Strikes Heighten Risk of Wider Middle East War

[CNN] Fears are rising of a widened Middle East war and US troops are in the firing line

[Reuters] Fed liquidity drains moves spotlight to usage of new lending facility

[AP] Americans ramped up spending during the holidays despite some financial anxiety and higher costs

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] SPAC Mania’s Ugly End Yields $46 Billion of Investor Losses

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] BOJ Summary Suggests Ueda Can Wait for Wages Before Hiking

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Xi Touts Alternative to Western Capitalism in Speech on Mao

[Reuters] China threatens more trade sanctions on Taiwan as election nears

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Shipper Hapag-Lloyd Says Red Sea Route Still Too Dangerous

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Prices of a Vital Food, Rice, Just Surged to a Fresh 15-Year High

[Reuters] Russia exports almost all its oil to China and India - Novak

[Reuters] Russia to deploy newest howitzers close to Finland's border - Rostec

[Bloomberg] A Detour of 8,000 Kilometers Highlights Shipping’s Chokepoints

[Bloomberg] Wall Street Quants Warm Up to Zero-Day Options Amid Trading Boom

[NYT] A Look Back at the Top Business Stories of 2023

[WSJ] How Can Spending Be Up When People Feel Down?

[WSJ] Banking Crisis Plays Out at America’s Smallest Lenders

[WSJ] How China Manages Its Currency—and Why That Matters

[FT] Big Tech outspends venture capital firms in AI investment frenzy

[FT] JPMorgan takes almost a fifth of total US bank profits

[FT] Wolfgang Schäuble, former German finance minister, dies at 81

Tuesday Evening Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Asia Stocks Rise as US Peers Hover Below Record: Markets Wrap

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Oil Holds Large Gain as Fresh Red Sea Attack Puts Market on Edge

[Reuters] Gaza war to last months, Israel says, as fears of conflict spread rise

[Reuters] US buys 3 million barrels of oil for strategic reserve

[Reuters] Some in BOJ called for debate on future exit from easy policy -Dec meeting summary

Tuesday Afternoon Links

[Reuters] Wall Street extends rally as rate-cut bets strengthen

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Oil Rises After Red Sea Ship Incidents Keep Tensions in Focus

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Inches Higher on Expectations for Fed Rate Cuts Next Year

[Reuters] Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for Red Sea container ship attack

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] US Home Prices Extend Records, Rising for a Ninth Straight Month

[WSJ] Iran Adds to Pressure on U.S. With Nuclear Program Acceleration

[FT] Israel warns of regional conflict risk as Iran tensions increase