This week the Federal Reserve raised its interest rates. The Italian government decision to present a higher than expected budget deficit rattled the markets. Italy is one of the major economies in the Euro-area and it has a massive public debt issues. Another week with more drama in the Tesla saga. SEC sued Elon Musk for fraud, and the stock took a dive. Otherwise, trade issues continue to linger between US and China. Earnings are around the corner and the markets eager to see if all these macro issues have had any effect on the earnings.      

Economy, Trade & Fed

Fed Raises Interest Rates, Signals One More Increase This Year from WSJ

The Fed’s Not Backing Off: Powell’s Standouts & Zingers at the Press Conference via Wolf Street

As Fed Raises Rates, Consumers Have Yet to Feel the Sting by WSJ

Italy’s government agrees sharply higher public spending plan from FT

Investors Should Call Italy’s Bluff via WSJ

Euro zone lending growth edges higher to fresh post-crisis high via Reuters

Eurozone Economic Growth Rate Falls Further Behind U.S from WSJ

President-Elect of Mexico’s Bombshell: Economy in “Situation of Bankruptcy” by Wolf Street

One of Global Finance’s Biggest Doctors Warns: The World Economy Is About to Get Very Sick from Common Dreams

Chinese household debt hits record high, study shows via FT

Year of the Pricey Pig: Investors Fret About Chinese Inflation from WSJ

How China Systematically Pries Technology From U.S. Companies by WJ

American creditors say China should honour pre-Communist debts from The Economist

EU Plan to Sidestep Iran Sanctions Won’t Keep Oil Flowing from Bloomberg

 

Markets / Companies

SEC hits Elon Musk with fraud suit, demands ouster from Tesla via Politco

Bezos Unbound: Exclusive Interview With The Amazon Founder On What He Plans To Conquer Next by Forbes

Amazon Is Opening New York Store to Sell Highly Rated Products via WSJ

No Sex Please, We’re Apple: iPhone Giant Seeks TV Success on Its Own Terms from WSJ

Facebook Is Giving Advertisers Access to Your Shadow Contact Information by Gizmodo

An internal war is raging over Google’s China search engine, says the man who walked out over the plans via Business Insider

Tech Giants Spend $80 Billion to Make Sure No One Else Can Compete from Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank ordered to do more to prevent money laundering from Reuters

What Is Spotify Doing? By Vulture

Crypto and Cannabis Are the Perfect Post-Crisis Bubbles from Bloomberg

Uber drivers and other gig economy workers are earning half what they did five years ago via Recode

Lyft Shows Financial Improvement Ahead of IPO Filing from The Information

Monsanto’s global weedkiller harms honeybees, research finds by The Guardian

Special Report: Juul copycats flood e-cig market, despite FDA rule via Reuters

Ruble Rides Renewed Oil Liaison as Russia Looks the Other Way from Bloomberg

Lumber prices fall 45% this year, sending macro message? By Kimble Charting Solutions

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, and the $100 Billion Blitz on Sand Hill Road via Bloomberg

 

Crypto

Crypto Meets Wall Street as Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain Files for IPO from WSJ

What Bitcoin’s dominance says about the state of the crypto market via VentureBeat

Cryptocurrency Coalition to Pay D.C. Lobbyists in Digital Coins by Bloomberg

Oil and Water: Crypto Index Investing by Medium

Gemini dollars: The most promising thing to happen to crypto in months from VentureBeat

Bitmain sponsors NBA’s Houston Rockets as cryptocurrency goes mainstream via SCMP

 

Research / Interesting Reads

A stats-based look behind the venture capital curtain via Medium

True Overlords Don’t Work This Hard by Law and Liberty

Driverless Hype Collides With Merciless Reality from WSJ

A Trend Equity Primer by Flirting With Models

FOMO in China is a $7 billion industry from MarketPlace

How tensions with the West are putting the future of China’s Skynet mass surveillance system at stake via SCMP

Make Hay While The Sun Shines by White Coat Investor

Lay Down the Law from Humble Dollar