According to Facebook you no longer need to know someone’s phone number in order to make video and voice calls. Facebook Messenger renders the old phone number obsolete. It can send messages in all formats. Trusted Reviews reports: Facebook’s vice president of messaging products David Marcus claims users of the app no longer need to know a contact’s phone number in order to use the full communication spectrum. When speaking about the death of flip phones, which brought texting to the fore, Marcus wrote: “Old communication styles are disappearing too.

• U.S. jobs market seen fairly healthy despite slowing economy (Reuters)
• China State Funds Said to Buy More Shares After Market Rout (BBG)
• Global Stocks Gain Some Respite (WSJ)
• U.S. Jobs Data Take on Added Importance With Markets in Turmoil (BBG)
• GOP Health Plans Are Works in Progress (WSJ)
• For economy czar of crisis-hit Venezuela, inflation 'does not exist' (Reuters)
• Germany Says Asylum Seekers Among Suspects in Cologne New Year’s Eve Assaults (WSJ)

As quick primer on China: the more something is "liberalized", the worse it is for local - and global - risk assets since all risk "assets" in China are so grotesquely manipulated, the resulting price discovery is always violent and spills over to the rest of the world as 2016 has so far demonstrated; alternatively, the more the government intervenes to stabilize any given asset, the better it is for local - and global - risk assets, as it means the distortion in price levels and capital allocation will continue at least a little longer, i.e., the proverbial can ki

When we previewed yesterday's Chinese trading session, which far more important to the US market than today's Nonfarm payrolls report (Exp. +200K, 4.9% Unemployment rate), we said to "keep an eye on the Yuan fixing around 8 pm: if the USDCNY sees another substantial jump (i.e., Yuan decline) from last night's 5 year low rate of 6.5646, this could suggest further turbulence and as all self-fulfilling prophecies go, unleash another pukefest which not even the circuit breaker adjustment will fix.

A retired officer has revealed that a civilian containment FEMA camp is currently being set-up in California in preparation to imprison civilians en masse. These camps are going to be used to gather political dissidents and activists who speak out against the government. Currently, there are hundreds of FEMA camps across the US which are fully operational and ready to take in prisoners at any moment. They are staffed by full time guards and usually empty.