Boeing

• Gross Told El-Erian ‘Hell No’ Seeking to Stop Departure (BBG)
• How Caterpillar got bulldozed in China (Reuters)
• Davos Bankers Struggle to Convince Elite That Markets Are Safer (BBG)
• Lucrative Role as Middleman Puts Amazon in Tough Spot (WSJ)
• Arctic Air Blankets Northern U.S. as Texas to Get Snow (BBG)
• Lenovo buys IBM's server business in China's biggest IT acquisition (Reuters)
• SEC judge bars "Big Four" China units for six months over audits (Reuters)
• U.S. Accuses Security Background Check Firm of Fraud (WSJ)
• RIP BOE forward guidance: Bank of England rate rise is 'still some way off' - Fisher (Reuters)

Supporters of warfare, welfare, and Wonder Woman cheered last week as Congress passed a one trillion dollar “omnibus” appropriation bill. This legislation funds the operations of government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Wonder Woman fans can cheer that buried in the bill was a $10,000 grant for a theater program to explore the comic book heroine. That is just one of the many outrageous projects buried in this 1,582-page bill. Fortunately, in recent years more Americans have recognized that a constant defense of liberty requires opposing both war and welfare. The question facing Americans is not whether Congress will ever cut spending. The question is will the spending be reduced in an orderly manner that avoids inflecting massive harm on those depending on government programs, or will spending be slashed in response to an economic crisis caused by ever-increasing levels of deficit spending. Because politicians are followers rather than leaders, it is ultimately up to the people what course we will take. This is why it is vital that those of us who understand the dangerous path we are currently on do all we can to expand the movement for liberty, peace, and prosperity.

• Hilsenrath: Next Cut in Fed Bond Buys Looms - Reduction to $65 Billion Could Be Announced on Jan. 29 (WSJ)
• China Workforce Slide Robs Xi of Growth Engine (BBG)
• Obama pulls the race card: Obama Says Race May Blunt Poll Standing in Interview (BBG)
• Chinese firm's IPO deal switches banks as chairman's daughter moves from JPMorgan to UBS (SCMP)
• China and Russia may hold joint naval drill in the Mediterranean (RT)
• Iran invite to Syria talks withdrawn after boycott threat (Reuters)
• Seven Chinese IPOs Halt Trading After 44 Percent Share  (BBG)
• U.S. military says readying plans for Olympic security assistance (Reuters)
• Thank you Bernanke: Investors Most Upbeat in 5 Years With Record 59% Bullish in Poll (BBG)
• From His Refuge in the Poconos, Reclusive Imam Fethullah Gulen Roils Turkey (WSJ)

• NSA phone data control may come to end (AP)
• China to rescue France: Peugeot Said to Weigh $1.4 Billion From Dongfeng, France (BBG)
• China to rescue Davos: Davos Teaches China to Ski as New Rich Lured to Slopes (BBG)
• Hollande’s Tryst and the End of Marriage (BBG)
• Iran has $100 billion abroad, can draw $4.2 billion (Reuters)
• Target Hackers Wrote Partly in Russian, Displayed High Skill, Report Finds (WSJ)
• Nintendo Sees Loss on Dismal Wii U Sales (WSJ)
• Goldman's low-cost Utah bet buoys its bottom-line (Reuters)
• Royal Dutch Shell Issues Profit Warnin: Oil Major Hit by Higher Exploration Costs and Lower Oil and Gas Volumes (WSJ)
• EU Weighs Ban on Proprietary Trading at Some Banks From 2018 (BBG) - so no holding of breaths?
• Sacramento Kings to Accept Bitcoin (WSJ)

• Yellen’s Record-Low Senate Support Reflects Fed’s Politicization (BBG)
• Euro-Zone Inflation Rate Falls in December, even further below ECB's target (WSJ)
• Zambia politician charged for calling president a potato (AFP)
• Blame gold: India Savings Deposit Scam Collapse Leaves Thousands Penniless (BBG)
• Hedge Funds Raise Gold Wagers as Yamada Sees $1,000 (BBG)
• George Osborne limits cuts options with pensions promise (FT)
• Vietnam Raises Foreign Bank Ownership Caps to Aid System (BBG)
• But they said buy a year ago... Goldman to JPMorgan Say Sell Emerging Markets After Slide (BBG)
• SAC Trial Seen by Probe Convict as Latest Abusive Tactic (BBG)

•  'Life-threatening' cold bites Midwest, heads east (Reuters)
• Gold Analysts Get Most Bullish in a Year After Rout (BBG)
• Asian Stocks Fall Most in Three Weeks on China Services (BBG)
• Angela Merkel in skiing accident, cancels visits (Reuters)
• High-Speed Traders Form Trade Group to Press Case (WSJ)
• Toyota and Honda post record China sales (FT)
• China Shadow Banking Risks Exposed by Local Debt Audit (BBG)
• J.P. Morgan to Pay Over $2 Billion to U.S. in Penalties in Madoff Case (WSJ)
• Corruption trial of Trenton, N.J., mayor starts Monday (Reuters)
• Car Makers at Consumer Electronics Show Tout Ways to Plug Autos Into the Web (WSJ)

As usual, in 2013, sticking to facts was a mistake in a world fueled by misinformation, propaganda, delusion and wishful thinking. Those in power have successfully held off the unavoidable collapse which will be brought about by their ravenous unbridled greed, and blatant disregard for the rule of law, the U.S. Constitution and rights and liberties of the American people.

"There is no disputing the facts. The economic situation is deteriorating for the average American, the mood of the country is darkening, and the world is awash in debt and turmoil. Every country is attempting to print their way to renewed prosperity. No one wins a race to the bottom. The oligarchs have chosen a path of currency debasement, propping up insolvent banks, propaganda and impoverishing the masses as their preferred course. They attempt to keep the masses distracted with political theater, gun control vitriol, reality TV and iGadgets. What can be said about a society where 10% of the population follows Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga on Twitter and where 50% think the National Debt is a monument in Washington D.C. The country is controlled by evil sycophants, intellectually dishonest toadies and blood sucking leeches. Their lies and deception have held sway for the last four years, but they have only delayed the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. They will not reverse course and believe their intellectual superiority will allow them to retain their control after the collapse.”

• Americans on Wrong Side of Income Gap Run Out of Means to Cope (BBG)
• Michael Schumacher battles for life after ski fall (Reuters)
• Professors for hire: Academics Who Defend Wall St. Reap Reward (NYT)
• Chinese police kill eight in Xinjiang 'terrorist attack' (Reuters)
• How to Prevent a War Between China and Japan (BBG)
• Unemployment Benefits Lapse Severs Lifeline for Longtime Jobless (BBG)
• Japan's homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up (Reuters)
• China Local-Government Debt Surges to $3 Trillion (WSJ)
• How unexpected: Britons less inclined to pay down mortgage debt (Reuters)

Momentum stocks are the absolute best stocks to invest in from a risk and return standpoint, and there are 5 drivers for GM being a momentum stock 2014.

The chart below looks at the Year over Year change in Durables ex transports for the month of November across 4 different years. What immediately stands out is that while 2010 through 2012 acted just as expected, with SA and NSA data almost identical, in 2013 the data... diverged. In fact, the divergence between the SA and NSA was inexplicably over $2.2 billion. What does that mean? Well, if the SA number was accurate, and in line with what the NSA number predicted, Durables Goods ex-transports would have declined by -0.5% instead of rising by 1.2%. The same would apply to all other key categories from the report. In other words, when all else fails, and when Unadjusted data points to a decline, just do what the government's Arima X 12 model is so good at doing, and adjusted the data.

• Apple, China Mobile sign long-awaited deal to sell iPhones (Reuters)
• U.S. growth hopes help shares shrug off China money market jitters (Reuters)
• Rule Change on Health Insurance Rattles Industry (WSJ), Obamacare's signup deadline on Monday has its exceptions (Reuters)
• Tale of Two Polish Mines Shows Biggest EU Producer’s Woes (BBG)
• Probes See U.K. Market Manipulation Reports Rise 43% (BBG)
• Shoppers Grab Sweeter Deals in Last-Minute Holiday Dash (BBG)
• Banks Mostly Avoid Providing Bitcoin Services (WSJ)
• Secret Handshakes Greet Frat Brothers on Wall Street (BBG)

• China cash injection fails to calm lenders (AFP)
• European Union Stripped of AAA Credit Rating at S&P (BBG)
• Last-Minute Health-Site Enrollment Proves a Hard Sell (WSJ)
• Bernanke’s Recession-Fighting Weapon Developed by 1900s Banker (BBG)
• Asia Stocks Are Little Changed Amid China Funding Concern (BBG)
• Regulators' Guidance on Volcker Rule Gives Banks Little Relief on Debt Sales (WSJ)
• On one hand: Man Who Said No to Soros Builds BlueCrest Into Empire (BBG); on the other: Michael Platt's BlueCrest Capital Poised for Rough Close to 2013 (WSJ)
• BOJ Keeps Record Easing as Fed Taper Helps Weaken Yen (BBG)
• Bank of England becomes more cautious on economic predictions (FT)
• Gold Climbs From Lowest Close Since 2010 as Goldman Sees Losses (BBG)

First CSCO cited Government (NSA)-related cuts for its dismal results and now Boeing, considered the front-runner, has lost a $4.5 billion contract to provide jets to Brazil because, as officials exclaimed, "the NSA problem ruined it for the Americans." Sweden's Saab won the contract instead for 36 new fighters to be delivered by 2020. As Reuters reports, one U.S. source close to the negotiations said that whatever intelligence the spying had delivered for the American government was unlikely to outweigh the commercial cost of the revelations. "Was that worth 4 billion dollars?" the source asked.

• Traders Seek an Edge With High-Tech Snooping (WSJ)
• Gold Drops Below $1,200 an Ounce for First Time Since June (Bloomberg)
• SAC Manager Guilty as Insider Focus Turns to Martoma (Bloomberg)
• Why Ukraine spurned the EU and embraced Russia (Reuters)
• Target confirms major card data theft during Thanksgiving (Reuters)
• Zuckerberg is no suckerberg: Company to Sell 27 Million Class A Shares While CEO Will Offer 41.4 Million (WSJ)
• Facebook, Zuckerberg, banks must face IPO lawsuit (Reuters)
• Swiss Christmas Trees Feel Chill as Franc Helps Rivals (BBG)
• Iran, six powers to resume nuclear talks after snag (Reuters)
• Dolphins Suffering From Lung Disease Due to Gulf Oil Spill, Study Says (WSJ)

• Fed’s $4 Trillion Assets Draw Lawmaker Ire Amid Bubble Concern (BBG)
• Ex-Goldmanite Fab Tourre fined more than $1 million (WSJ)
• EU Banks Shrink Assets by $1.1 Trillion as Capital Ratios Rise (BBG)
• Japan to bolster military, boost Asia ties to counter China (Reuters)
• China condemns Abe for criticizing air defense zone (Reuters)
• Insider-Trading Case May Hinge on Phone Call (WSJ)
• Republicans Gird for Debt-Ceiling Fight (WSJ)
• Mario Draghi pushes bank union deal (FT)
• German Coalition Plans More Pension Money (WSJ)
• Oil Supply Surge Brings Calls to Ease U.S. Export Ban (BBG)