House impeaches Trump: Reuters
Pelosi may delay sending impeachment articles to Senate: Politico
Impeachment doesn’t worry investors: MW
Is North Korea preparing to test a long-range missile? CNBC
India detains thousands for defying ban on protests over citizenship act: BBC
Sweden’s Riksbank is first central bank to exit negative rates: RTE
Economists expect US expansion to continue in 2020 via new survey: WSJ
UK retail sales fell in Nov, 4th monthly decline–weakest run since 1996: BBG
10yr/2yr Treasury yld curve spread (via daily data) rises to 29bps, a 6mo high:

The US economy continues to reflect signs of stabilizing after a months-long period of downshifting. The possibility of a firmer expansion can’t be ruled out, but there are few convincing signs at this point. What is clear: recession risk remains low, as it has been all along (unless you cherry picked an indicator or two). As outlined below, reviewing a broad-minded data set still  shows that output is increasing at a moderate pace and near-term projections for the US macro trend point to more of the same.
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House set to vote on impeachment articles against Trump today: The Hill
Pondering Trump’s policy priorities if he’s re-elected: CNBC
German business sentiment improves in December: Ifo
Atlanta Fed’s Q4 GDP growth nowcast revised up to +2.3%: AF
US job openings rebounded in October after reaching 18-month low: Reuters
Industrial output in US rebounded sharply in November: MW
US housing starts’ 1-year gain accelerated to 1-1/2 year high in Nov: CNBC

Amid signs that 2019’s slowdown in the US economy may be stabilizing, the US Treasury market appears to be flirting with firmer inflation expectations. It’s too early to know if the latest dance with reflation is noise or a preliminary signal, but the recent U-turns in the market’s implied inflation estimates deserve close monitoring in the weeks ahead.

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Boeing will halt 737 Max production in January: CNBC
China and Russia seek to ease UN sanctions on N. Korea: Reuters
US budget proposal rises to $1.4 trillion: The Hill
Will slow job growth in Midwest threaten Trump’s re-election? NY Times
Is the US stock market poised for a ‘melt-up’ rally? MW
US homebuilder confidence jumps to 20-year high in December: CNBC
NY Fed Mfg Index continues to reflect soft growth in December: MW
US economy shows signs of strengthening in December: IHS Markit

The recent bounce in emerging markets shares accelerated last week, delivering the strongest gain for the major asset classes over the five trading days through Dec. 13, based on a set of US-listed exchange-traded funds.

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Key details remain unclear on US-China trade deal: CNBC
Violent protests spread across India over new citizenship law: CNN
Why did economists misread the past decade? WSJ
Eurozone economy continues to stagnate in December: IHS Markit
No sign of recovery for Germany’s factory recession: Bloomberg
UK economy contracted again in December, PMI survey data shows: IHS Markit
US business inventories rose in Oct, boosting outlook for Q4 growth: Reuters
Oil lifted US import-price inflation in November: MW
US retail spending growth slowed in Nov but 1-year trend ticked up:

● Advances in Active Portfolio Management: New Developments in Quantitative Investing
By Richard C. Grinold and Ronald N. Kahn
Summary via publisher (McGraw-Hill Education)
From the leading authorities in their field—the newest, most effective tools for avoiding common pitfalls while maximizing profits through active portfolio management. Whether you’re a portfolio managers, financial adviser, or student of investing, this follow-up to the authors’ classic work on the subject delivers everything you need to master the concepts and practices of active portfolio management. Advances in Active Portfolio Management brings you up to date on the issues, trends, and challenges in the world of active management and shows how advances in the authors’ approach can solve current problems.
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Earlier this year a number of economic analysts were convinced that a US recession was imminent. So far, however, the economy has continued to expand, albeit at a slowing pace as the year unfolded. The breathless warnings have, once again, come to naught — par for the course in recent years. The culprit, as usual: misguided business-cycle analytics.

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Trump OKs partial trade deal with China: WSJ
China’s foreign ministry backs trade deal… sort of: SCMP
Vote on impeachment articles abruptly postponed: The Hill
UK’s Johnson wins big majority, lifting odds for Brexit: BBC
Will the Fed starting cutting rates again in 2020? CNN
Today’s US retail sales report for Nov expected to show slightly firmer 1-year trend
Soft US wholesale inflation in Nov points to weak pricing pressure: CNBC
US jobless claims spiked last week to a 2-year high: MW