Bonds & Stocks
The start of a historically strong month on Wall Street saw stocks sliding as traders shunned riskier corners of the market amid a selloff in cryptocurrencies. A rout in Japanese debt rippled through global bonds. Caution prevailed as a rally that drove the S&P 500 to its longest streak of monthly gains since 2021 took a breather. Two areas that have recently underperformed the rest of the market — big tech and crypto — came under renewed pressure, with Bitcoin briefly falling below $85,000.
Economy
President Donald Trump said Sunday he has decided on his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair after making clear he expects his nominee to deliver interest-rate cuts. “I know who I am going to pick, yeah,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington, without naming his choice. “We’ll be announcing it.” Trump has frequently excoriated current Fed chief Jerome Powell for failing to lower rates.
World
Ukraine carried out record attacks on strategic oil infrastructure in Russia last month as the US attempts to broker a peace deal to end the near four-year war. Ukraine’s military used drones to attack Russian refineries at least 14 times in November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from public statements by both nations.