Reuters

Russia set to retailiate "heavily and militarily"...

Unnamed Lebanese sources claim US spec ops are now operating near Latakia, and while we must consider the source, that would mean direct combat between American troops and Iranian ground forces is virtually a foregone conclusion and would also help to explain why the Pentagon has reportedly sent in the dogfighters to patrol the skies. 

Trucks, Trains and now Ships: suddenly everything seems to be in freefall.

The production structure has long since adapted to ZIRP and “short-term gambling, punting on momentum-driven moves, on levered buybacks” are further lifting the opportunity costs of abandoning it. In order to try to rescue its credibility, the Fed may decide to try some timid, quarter-point increases. But what will they do if markets really crash?

"As more information has come to light, we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device."

the case really boiled down to just one thing: not whether it is legal to spoof, which it is and yet massive, well-connected HFT firms get away with it every single day, but whether it is legal to take advantage of HFT algos programmed to do just one thing - frontrun orders, and activity which leads to massive losses for the algos and the Citadels behind them, when the spoofer realizes just how dumb his counterparty truly is. The verdict was clear: nobody is allowed to outspoof the spoofers.

• 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.”

In an interview on CNBC's "Trading Nation," the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report editor revealed he may not be as bearish as some may think and that he is actually a “great optimist.”

"A large number of body parts may indicate that a powerful explosion took place aboard the plane before it hit the ground."

Following a recent report documenting the surge in empty malls littering China, many suggested that this is indicative of a shift to online shopping and migration to platforms such as Alibaba. That may well be the case, but unlike in the US where one is assured at least some quality control and has a rational expectation that what was ordered online is what will be delivered, in China the reality is far different. According to China's official news agency, Xingua, more than 40% of goods sold online in China last year were either counterfeits or of bad quality, illustrating the extent of a problem that has bogged down the fast-growing online sector.

Russia is reportedly set to host negotiations between the Assad government and the Syrian opposition in Moscow next week, although it isn't at all clear that the invitees play a meaningful role in the conflict. Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova is out with comments about Syria's political future which the Western media are interpreting as an admission that Russia is willing to let Assad go.

• 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)

Call it an example of an abbreviated public lifecycle. After IPOing at $22.50 just last March and then promptly tumbling, Candy Crush maker King Digital was stuck in no man's land: demand for its products was promptly waning and the organic growth its underwriters had promised was nowhere to be found. The fundamentally savvy hedge funds sniffed this out and promptly jumped on board what seemed like a royal flush slam dunk to zero. And then, overnight, out of nowhere Activision decided to crush the Candy Crush shorts, who had built up a short stake amounting to 25% of the float, when it announced it would acquire the company for $5.9 billion or $18/share, a 16% premium to the previous day closing price... and also a 20% discount to the IPO price.

So far today's trading session has been a repeat of what happened overnight on Monday, when following a weak start on even more weak Chinese data, US equities soared on the first trading day of the month continuing their blistering surge since that dreadful September payrolls report, which as we showed was mostly catalyzed by a near record bout of short's being squeezed and covering, which accelerated just as the S&P broke the 2100 level.