Hong Kong

You thought gold was "only" for wealth preservation? You ain't seen nothing yet.

• Fall of the Bond King: How Gross Lost Empire as Pimco Cracked (BBG)
• Hong Kong 'Occupy' leaders surrender as pro-democracy protests appear to wither (Reuters)
• Ashton Carter, Ex-Pentagon No. 2, Emerges as Obama Favorite for Defense Secretary (WSJ)
• Oil, the Ruble and Putin Are All Headed for 63. A Russian Joke -- for the Moment (BBG)
• New U.S. oil and gas well November permits tumble nearly 40 percent (Reuters)
• Swedish government on brink of collapse (AJ)
• China says Britain has no moral responsibility for Hong Kong (Reuters)
• Indian Labs Deleted Test Results for U.S. Drugs, Documents Show (BBG)

Those wondering why European stocks are higher but off earlier highs, the answer is simple: the latest Service ISM was bad but it wasn't a complete disaster. And while RanSquawk notes that "the particularly disappointing slew of Eurozone Service PMI’s from France and Spain capped any potential upside seen across the European indices" stocks are clearly green on hopes Europe's ongoing economic devastation accelerates enough for the ECB to finally start buying Stoxx 600 and various other penny stocks. This is what happened, in Goldman's words: the November Euro area final composite PMI came in at 51.1, 0.3pt below the flash (and Consensus) estimate. Relative to October, the composite PMI fell by 0.9pt. The weaker final composite PMI was driven by flash/final downward revisions to the German manufacturing PMI and the French services PMI. Today’s data also showed some improvement in the Italian services PMI, and a deterioration in its Spanish counterpart.

• DAX’s ‘Brilliant’ Run Sends Red Flag as German Index Tops Record (BBG)
• U.S. military warned of possible Islamic State attacks at home: report (Reuters)
• Russia Faces First Recession Since 2009 as Banks Add to Oil Pain (BBG)
• Dodgy Home Appraisals Are Making a Comeback (WSJ)
• U.S. Corporate Bond Sales Pass $1.5 Trillion for Annual Record (BBG)
• Basic Costs Squeeze Families (WSJ)
• China Orders Stricter Checks on Local Debt as Sales Surge (BBG)
• Draghi Powerless on ECB Path Toward QE Without Reforms (BBG)

"This is a golden time window to acquire more strategic oil at lower costs," notes one Hong-Kong based analyst, as Bloomberg confirms what we have noted here and here, that China is emerging as the winner from OPEC’s battle with rival oil producers as the world’s biggest energy consumer stockpiles crude.

Following last week's holiday-shortened week, which was supposed to be quiet and peaceful and was anything but thanks to OPEC's shocking announcement and a historic plunge in crude prices, we have yet another busy week of macroeconomic reports to look forward to.

• Moody’s Downgrades Japan’s Credit Rating (WSJ)
• China Factory Gauge Drops as Shutdowns Add to Slowdown (BBG)
• Euro zone factory growth stalls in November as new orders sink (Reuters)
• Espírito Santo Faces Money-Laundering Investigations (WSJ)
• Oil at $40 Possible as Market Transforms Caracas to Iran (BBG)
• Hong Kong warns protesters not to return after clashes close government HQ (Reuters)
• Bond Secrets Decoded 9,539 Miles From Wall Street in Lot (BBG)
• Ruble Rally Turns to Rout as Fortunes Tied to Sinking Oil (BBG)
• Loans Made in Blink as Banks, Funds Vie for LendingClub Clients (BBG)

If you ever needed proof that the financial press has been completely indoctrinated in the cult of Keynesian central banking consider the following...

• Oil Seen in New Era as OPEC Won’t Yield to U.S. Shale (BBG)
• Alberta Producers With World’s Cheapest Oil Face Cascading Woes (BBG)
• Bundesbank’s Weidmann Rejects Calls for German Stimulus Plan (WSJ)
• Google Should Be Broken Up, Say Euro MPs (BBC)
• Calm comes to troubled Ferguson; protests dwindle across U.S. (Reuters)
• Russia’s Banks Feel Capital Squeeze in Grip of Sanctions (BBG)
•  Italian Unemployment Rate Rises to Record, Above Forecasts (BBG)

Gold spiked higher in many price feeds overnight and was $270 higher or more than 22% higher to $1,467.50/oz at one stage in what appears to have been some form of computer glitch.  It was not manipulation, a short squeeze, or a modern Chinese or Russian ‘Goldfinger’ sending a pointed message to Washington.

• National Guard, police curb Ferguson unrest as protests swell across U.S. (Reuters)
• Ferguson Reaction Across U.S. Shows Complex Racial Split (BBG)
• Democratic senator Schumer: Democrats Screwed Up By Passing Obamacare In 2010 (TPM)
• Veto threat derails Reid tax deal (Hill)
• Justice Department Investigating Possible HSBC Leak to Hedge Fund (WSJ)
• Merkel hits diplomatic dead-end with Putin (Reuters), and yet...
• Merkel Said to Reject Ukraine NATO Bid as Rousing Tension (BBG)
• HSBC, Goldman Rigged Metals’ Prices for Years, Suit Says (BBG)

“Ordinary people are unnerved about how money works in a bottomless cyber space. Gold seems tangible, clear and timeless”

As the debate regarding whether or not Switzerland should keep the bulk of its gold reserves at home on Swiss soil reaches it's climax - the referendum takes place on Sunday - it is telling that the Dutch announced on Friday that they have just secretly repatriated 122 tonnes of their sovereign gold reserves from New York back to Amsterdam.

• Grand jury expected to resume Ferguson police shooting deliberations (Reuters)
• PBOC Bounce Seen Short Lived as History Defies Bulls (BBG)
• Home prices dropped in September for the first time since January (HousingWire)
• UPS Teaches Holiday Recruits to Fend Off Dogs, Dodge NYC Taxis (BBG)
• US oil imports from Opec at 30-year low (FT)
• Hedge Funds Bet on Coal-Mining Failures (WSJ)
• Putin Woos Pakistan as Cold War Friend India Buys U.S. Arms (BBG)
• How the EU Plans to Turn $26 Billion Into $390 Billion (BBG)
• The $31 Billion Bet Against Brazil’s New Finance Minister (BBG)