Volkswagen

What happens if Shkreli's plan is indeed to rerun the "Volkswagen" scenario and unleash an epic short squeeze that sends the price of the company into the stratosphere, unlinked from any fundamentals, but merely soaring ever higher as desperate shorts pay any price just to get out.

For the second straight day, France hit ISIS "targets" in Raqqa while domestic security personnel conducted more than 120 fresh raids across the country in a frantic effort to head off further attacks. Meanwhile, President Hollande is making a bid to change the constitution in what some are billing as a French "Patriot Act." 

As the third day after the Paris attacks dawns, and hours after France launched an unprecedented blitz airstrike on the Islamic State "capital" of Raqqa (located in the sovereign state of Syria), here are the latest developments following the worst European terrorist attack in the past decade.

"Do not intervene yourself.."

Overnight Goldman released a report titled simply enough "Copper poised to move even lower" which confirmed everything we said a month ago when we warned that the latest "production cut" initiatives by Glencore would have absolutely no impact on the longer-term price dynamics of the metal which has achieved "doctor" status. We were right:

COPPER FALLS 1.8% TO $4,856/TON, REACHING LOWEST SINCE 2009

• Stock futures little changed as Yellen comments awaited (Reuters)
• Draghi stimulus hint underpins stocks, knocks euro (Reuters)
• Black Friday's Losing Its Mojo and Retailers Might Be Relieved (BBG)
• Macy’s Fights Downward Spiral With Bet on Off-Price Backstage Stores (WSJ)
• Greece Comes to a Standstill as Unions Turn Against Tsipras (BBG)
• Euro zone production falls more than expected in September (Reuters)
• Valeant played a key role in building, operating Philidor RX (Reuters)

• Bonds Rise as China Drags Down Metals, Selloff in Stocks Resumes (BBG)
• European Stock Rally Runs Out of Steam Amid China Growth Concern (BBG)
• Obama's immigration action blocked again; Supreme Court only option left (Reuters)
• Ukraine: Cyberwar’s Hottest Front (WSJ)
• With $170.4 Million Sale at Auction, Modigliani Work Joins Rarefied Nine-Figure Club (NYT)
• IEA Sees OPEC Market Share Growth in 2020 as Rivals Stagnate (BBG)

• Global Stocks Slip Lower (WSJ)
• Dollar sits pretty, bond yields rise as Fed bets firm (Reuters)
• Takeover Loans Have Few Takers on Wall Street (WSJ)
• Chinese Buyers Seek Dollar Assets as Promise of Yuan Gains Fades (BBG)
• Banking Giants Learn Cost of Preventing Another Lehman Moment (BBG)
• Eurozone Finance Ministers Won’t Release $2.15 billion Loan to Greece (WSJ)

In the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions manipulation scandal, things for the giant German car maker appear to be going from bad to worse with every passing week.

If Angela Merkel wants to get rid of one of her major headaches, we suggest she should tell Volkswagen to move its operations from Wolfsburg to China. It may seem a strange thing to do at first blush, with 750,000 German jobs on the line, but bear with us here, because this could well be the only way to preserve at least some value for VW’s stock- and bondholders.

• BOE Stays Cautious on Rate-Hike Timing as Inflation Outlook Cut (BBG)
• China Enters Bull Market (WSJ)
• Britain says Islamic State likely brought down Russian plane (Reuters)
• Dollar jumps as markets fix on December rate expectations (Reuters)
• Activist Investor Bill Ackman Plays Defense (WSJ)
• BOJ Survey Data Reveals Signs of Growing Inequality in Japan (BBG)
• UAW Warns of General Motors Strike If Workers Fail to Approve Contract (WSJ)

• Euro zone growth weak in October, China services rally (Reuters)
• Stocks Rise With European Bonds on Stimulus Outlook; Euro Falls (BBG)
• VW Sinks Deeper Into Crisis as Scandal Spreads to More Cars (BBG)
• Republicans ask IRS to audit Clinton charity's finances (Reuters)
• PBOC Inadvertently Boosts Stocks With Dated Zhou Comments (BBG)
• As China’s Economy Slows, Consumers Pick Up Some of the Slack (WSJ)
• Plane crashes in South Sudan, witnesses say dozens killed (Reuters)

"VW is leaving us all speechless."

“This can get pretty ugly.”

The most entertaining overnight story has to do with the latest farcical development in the Chinese "market" when just after open, it was reported that PBOC Governor Zhou said a trading link with Shenzhen will start this year which promptly sent all Chinese brokerages soaring, and the Shanghai Composite jumped over 3%. And then, out of the blue, the PBOC said the undated comments were actually as of May. As Bloomberg put it, "China’s central bank unintentionally sparked a surge in the nation’s stock market by publishing five-month-old comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan that said a link between exchanges in Shenzhen and Hong Kong would start in 2015."

• S&P 500 Futures Slip as Aussie Gains on Rate Outlook; Oil Rises (BBG)
• Xi Says China Needs at Least 6.5% Growth in Next Five Years (BBG)
• Ben Carson Vaults to Lead in Latest Journal/NBC Poll (WSJ)
• World's Biggest Banks Still Not `Truly Resolvable,' FSB Says (BBG)
• Keystone XL's builder faced darkening prospects (Reuters)
• Merkel Says Germany Must Step Up World Role in Refugee Crisis (BBG)