Eurozone

• China stocks tank, triggers circuit breaker (Reuters)
• Stocks Slump Across Europe and Asia Following Shanghai's 7% Crash (BBG)
• China Halts Stock Trading After 7% Rout Triggers Circuit Breaker (BBG)
• Iran says Riyadh thrives on tension after relations cut (Reuters)
• Saudis and Bahrain Face Off With Iran in Worst Clash Since 1980s (BBG)
• Syrian rebel group backs Saudi move to cut ties with Iran (Reuters)

It all started off relatively well: oil and US equity futures were buoyant on hopes Iran and Saudi Arabia would break out in a bloody conflict any minute boosting the net worth of shareholders of the military industrial complex, and then, out of nowhere, like a depressed China in a bull shop, the "mainland" crashed the party and it all well south very, very quickly...

We believe the Credit Cycle has turned and with it will come some massive unexpected shocks. One of these will be the fall out in the Bond Market, centered around the dramatic growth explosion in Bond ETFs coupled with the post financial crisis regulatory changes that effectively removed banks from making markets in corporate bonds.  It is a ‘Witch’s Brew’ with a flattening yield curve bringing it to a boil.

For those wondering what comes to mind for the average Chinese web surfer with regard to nations in Europe, we present the following map from Foreign Policy who “plotted the most common Chinese-language Baidu query for each European nation.” Highlights include "likes to fight" for Russia, "why doesn't it annex Portugal" for Spain, and "beautiful women" for Ukraine.

• The Year Nothing Worked: Stocks, Bonds, Cash Go Nowhere (BBG)
• Oil falls toward $37, near 11-year low, as excess supply weighs (Reuters)
• End of easy money for mini-refiners splitting U.S. shale? (Reuters)
• Shale's Running Out of Survival Tricks as OPEC Ramps Up Pressure (Reuters)
• 'Safe’ Puerto Rican Debt Stirs Worries (WSJ)
• These Will Be Wall Street's Most In-Demand Jobs Next Year (BBG)

"If, as seems possible, the ECB will increase, in H1 2016, the scale of its monthly asset purchases from €60bn to, say, €75bn, and if these additional purchases are concentrated on public debt, the euro area will benefit from a ‘backdoor’ helicopter money drop –something long overdue."

Speaking to Slovak news agency TASR on December 15h, President Milos Zeman said that he was "extremely disappointed that the summer negotiations between Greece and creditors did not ultimately lead to Greece’s exit from the euro area, although it looked quite possible." Greece had an immediate response: it recalled its ambassador to Prague. 

“To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely mysterious, but the stupid have an answer for everything.” ~Edward Abbey

"The solution to uncertainty is cheaper valuations. If problems are priced in, investors can afford to look through near terms concerns and focus on the longer term. Worryingly, we have exactly the opposite situation today. Average stock valuations are close to historical highs – so we have lots of risk and little in the way of valuation cushion.... Time for a US rate rise then?"

"In short, the age of unconventional monetary policy begun by the 2007-09 financial crisis might not be ending."

- Jon Hilsenrath

"The move would arguably represent the biggest transfer of sovereignty since the creation of the single currency."

"2015 was like commuting by rollercoaster. There were heart-stopping drops, there were nearly vertical ascents, and when it was all over you got off just about where you started and it cost you money."