Business

Yesterday we laid out the reasons why French bank SocGen unveiled a surprisingly contrarian forecast, according to which the S&P would tumble from its current level over 2,600 to 2,000 in 2018, representing a more than 20% bear market drop...

... the drop catalyzed by rising interest rates pressuring P/E multiples, a late cycle economy nearing recession, equities trading at record valuations, and with everyone short vol begging for a vol short squeeze. Not surprisingly, SocGen's unspoken advice was to get out now.

After reassuringly positive Eurozone PMIs, US Manufacturing and Services disapointed with the composite PMI slumping to 5-month lows in November.

It's not exactly clear what message the following Black Friday offer from Royal Yacht Brokers is meant to send: that billionaires are becoming hesitant with their yacht charters, which would seem at odds with someone recently laundering $450 million using a rare Da Vinci painting, or that Credit Suisse's ultra high net worth clients who comprise the peak of this pyramid...

• Online sales surge, shoppers throng stores  (Reuters)
• A Split From Trump Indicates That Flynn Is Moving to Cooperate With Mueller (NYT)
• At least 85 people killed in attack on mosque in Egypt's north Sinai (Reuters)
• Germany’s SPD Softens Stance on Merkel Talks Amid Deadlock (WSJ)
• Irish government set to fall weeks before Brexit summit (Reuters)
• From Ducks to Trucks, Ireland’s Exporters Pivot for Brexit (WSJ)
• A $1 Trillion Wealth Fund Notes ‘Red Flag’ in Real Estate Market (BBG)

Earlier this month, newly minted Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made his first high-profile public appearance when he sat down for an interview with the New York Times’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.  Speaking in dulcet tones, Khosrowshahi laid out his vision for making Uber’s workplace culture more inclusive, for building out the product, working with regulators who famously chafed at some of the policies of his predecessor, while also discussing his relationship with Uber’s board members, including former CEO and founder Travis Kalahnick.