iPhone

European, Asian stocks and S&P futures all declined amid collapsing volumes, after the Wednesday drop in the S&P500, and after oil prices held losses amid an unexpected increase in supplies, as traders close out trades ahead of the holidays. Top overnight news include the imminent nationalization of Monte Paschi, the ongoing manhunt for the German Christmas market terrorist, Uber halting its self-driving car test in San Francisco, and the anti-China, anti-regulation moves in the Trump administration. 

• Electoral college expected to officially select Trump (Reuters)
• China says discussing return of undersea drone with U.S. military (Reuters)
• Neutral PBOC Sets Up First U.S.-China Tightening Since 2006 (BBG)
• Wall St sleepwalking into Trump volatility surge (FT)
• Ukraine's largest bank rescued by state, prompts call for calm (Reuters)
• U.S. Factories Are Working Again; Factory Workers, Not So Much (WSJ)
• Senators call for probe of cyber attacks (Reuters)

As Nick Colas writes, one thing is certain: 2016 was a truly historic year. 

From Donald Trump’s unorthodox but successful campaign for President to the Brexit vote, popular votes shifted the course of global politics in ways very few could have imagined a year ago. Here is a brief quiz that highlights the year’s politics, developments in technology, and changes in the U.S. labor market/economic policy. 

Fool me once...

For the umpteenth time this year, Facebook has come clean with an error in its advertising metrics. In November, Facebook said that after discovering several mistakes in its reporting methods, it would be more transparent about errors in the future. And so they have...

How many hours must you work to buy a new iPhone? It varies dramatically around the world, reflecting disparities in productivity and purchasing power.