* Fed minutes suggest possible rate hike set for March
* Rising bond yields take a bite out of tech stocks
* Russia sends paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to suppress uprising
* North Korea says it successfully expands at strongest rate since July
* US economy slowed in December but ended 2021 with strong upside bias
* US company payrolls rose much faster than expected in Dec, ADP reports:
The Global Market Index’s risk-adjusted performance continued to roar higher through the end of 2021, based on the trailing 3-year Sharpe ratio, a measure of return adjusted by volatility. GMI started looking a bit subdued in November, thanks to widespread selling. But the strong rebound for risk assets in December fired up risk-adjusted results for GMI, an unmanaged, market-value-weighted portfolio that holds all the major asset classes (except cash).
* North Korea reportedly fires ballistic missile into the sea
* Protests in Kazakhstan intensify: government declares state of emergency
* Stock market ignores rising bond yields, for now
* Global manufacturing expansion continued at end of 2021
* Can US regain some of mfg output lost to foreigners? Companies aim to try
* Toyota tops GM for US car sales–first time foreign firm leads
* US home prices set to continue surging in 2022, Zillow predicts
* Job openings in US fell in Nov, but remained near record high
* Small-company wages up 4%-plus in December, a record high estimates Paychex
* US mfg activity slowed in Dec to 11-month low via ISM Mfg Index:
The expected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) continued to hold at the 6.0%-plus level in December. Today’s 6.1% estimate (fractionally above the previous month’s forecast) marks the third straight month at 6.0% or higher.
* US sets new daily record of 1 million-plus Covid-19 cases
* Severe cases and hospitalizations due to Covid-19 have yet to soar
* Passive ETFs pay a high price for predictable rebalancing techniques
* China’s factory activity grew at fastest pace in 6 months in December
* Supply shortages kept US manufacturing constrained in December
* UK manufacturing expansion continued at 2021’s close
* US construction spending rose for ninth straighth month in November:
US real estate shares were the big winner for the major asset classes in December and for 2021 overall, based on a set of ETFs. Although several corners of risk assets rallied last month and for the year, real estate investment trusts (REITs) left the competition in the dust.
* Biden reaffirms ‘decisive’ support to Ukraine if Russia invades
* Hospitalization rate is the main stress test for Omicron, says Fauci
* Economists expect US employment to strengthen despite Covid-19 surge
* ‘Inflation’ is most frequently cited term in Wall Street firms’ 2022 outlooks
* Trading suspended in Hong Kong for troubled property developer Evergrande
* At least 20 US states set to raise minimum wage rate
* China manufacturing sector continued expanding in December via survey data
* BlackRock and Vanguard are cautious on US Treasury market outlook for 2022
* US 10yr Treasury yield starts 2022 at middling rate relative to 2021’s range:
