Business

• Futures rise as 'Trump rally' rolls on (Reuters), Oil Advances as European Stocks Extend Gains; Korean Won Slides (BBG)
• Syrian government forces press attack in east Aleppo (Reuters)
• Trump: China Will Have to ‘Play by the Rules’ (BBG)
• Trump’s Cabinet Picks Signal Coming Deregulation Moves (WSJ)
• Russia’s Military Buildup on the Baltic to Test Trump on NATO (WSJ)
• OPEC’s Historic Deal Won’t Be Enough to Drain Oil Stockpiles (BBG)
• OPEC Deal Faces Test as Cartel Seeks Russia Commitment (WSJ)

European and Asian shares rose again and S&P futures were little changed, as world stocks were set for a weekly gain and held near 16-month highs on Friday, while the euro steadied after swings following the European Central Bank’s decision to extend its stimulus program. Oil rose a second day before a meeting between OPEC and other major producers on output cuts, industrial metals gain.

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

“Trump saves jobs in Indiana before even being President. This is how you make ‘America Great Again.” 

Submitted by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog,

Our economy is a mystery to almost everyone, including economists. Let me explain the way I see the situation:

(1) The big thing that pulls the economy forward is the time-shifting nature of debt and debt-like instruments.

Back in February, the stock of Restoration Hardware crashed after it announced dreadful quarterly earnings and slashed its guidance, however it somewhat redeemed itself after the company came up with the most original of excuses heard in a long time: in an exercise of absurd reflexivity, RH blamed its own falling stock price on its poor results: "Historically, our business has a correlation to large movements in stock prices as we believe asset valuations influence our customers’ buying patterns." It also blamed various other things, all of which boiled down to one simple thing: the consume