* US 7-day average for reported Covid-19 cases rises to record high
* Covid-19 cases are surging again but hospitalization rate is lower this time
* Omicron is a new risk factor for the economy
* Many states avoiding strict measures to manage Omicron spread
* US and Russia will hold security talks on tension over Ukraine
* Valuations on stocks in China look ‘very, very attractive,’ says UBS analyst
* Richmond Fed Mfg Index strengthened in December
* US home price 1yr-trend growth decelerated again through October:

The year is set to end on a bright note for the upcoming US GDP report for the fourth quarter, based on several nowcasts. The outlook for early 2022 is shaky, thanks to the spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus. But there’s a relatively high degree of confidence that the end of 2021 will at least provide a tailwind as the country moves into the third calendar year of the pandemic.

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* US health officials recommend shorter quarantine period for Covid
* Economists cut economic forecasts for early 2022 due to Omicron variant
* Bad weather blamed as a factor that’s lifted inflation
* China expected to add stimulus to stabilize economy in 2022
* UK and Germany consider fourth Covid shot (second booster)
* US stocks (S&P 500) close at record high on Monday
* Texas factory activity continues growing at solid pace in December
* Policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield rises to new pandemic high, 0.76%:

Most of the major asset classes posted gains during the holiday-shortened trading week through Thursday, Dec. 23, based on a set of ETFs. But with several risk factors lurking in the final trading days of the year, investors are wondering if last week’s recovery in asset prices will extend to the closing bell for 2021.

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* US holiday spending rose at fastest pace in 17 years, credit card data shows
* Rethinking Goldman’s forecast of slower growth based on demise of BBB bill
* Many food manufacturers say they plan to hike prices in 2022
* Flight cancellations continue to mount due to rise in Covid cases
* Jobless claims for US remain near multi-decade low
* New US home sales rose 12.4% in Nov–biggest monthly gain in more than a year
* Durable goods orders for US rose more than forecast in November
* US consumer sentiment revised up slightly for December
* US personal income and spending rose for a second month in November:

2021 has been full of surprises, for good and ill, but the stream of new books this year didn’t disappoint. Before we turn the calendar, let’s roll out a quick recap of highlights from CapitalSpectator.com’s weekly Book Bits column over the past 12 months. Here are ten titles from the archives in 2021 – titles that for one reason or another caught your editor’s eye. Five today, with another five on Jan. 1. Happy reading!

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I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
“Christmas Bells”, Henry Wadsworth

Christmas! ‘Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.
Washington Irving

Trading Down: The Effects of Active Trading on One-Month ETF Returns
Ian Gray (Loyola Marymount University)
December 15, 2021
Ark Investment Management (ARK), led by CIO Cathie Wood, has risen to prominence over the past few years because of its remarkable performance. Because of requirements for active ETFs to publish daily holdings, market participants have gained unprecedented access to following the path to market-beating performance. ARK is celebrated for both its stock picking and active trading abilities. In this paper, I study how active trading affects alpha from ARK’s funds, and I create static synthetic portfolios to strip out the effects of active trading. I find that active trading on average reduces ARK’s one-month returns by 1.36 percentage points.

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* New studies show Omicron infections appear to be relatively milder
* Biden says he’ll run for re-election
* Russia and Ukraine restore a 2020 ceasefire deal in eastern Ukraine
* Saudi Arabia building ballistic missiles with China’s help, intel shows
* Reducing inflation may raise recession risk, predicts economist Larry Summers
* Chinese yuan is having a greater influence on emerging-market currencies
* US GDP growth in Q3 revised modestly higher
* Existing home sales continued rising in the US in November
* US growth moderate in Nov via Chicago Fed Nat’l Activity Index
* US Consumer Confidence rose in December to highest level since July: