Your Evening Briefing

David Rovella

25 Dec 2018, 02:48 AM IST

(Bloomberg) --

As bad as last week was for Donald Trump, the weekend was worse. Condemnation of his move to pull troops from Syria and fear over the departure of Jim Mattis still resonate, with only a few (led by Vladimir Putin) praising the retreat. At home, the president explored whether he could fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, news of which sent White House staff scrambling. Trump blames the Fed for spiraling indexes and makes it a big target of his Twitter ire. It turns out, though, that he has a very personal stake in every move the Fed makes.

Here are today’s top stories

It looks like Santa has some coal for your 401(k). Meddling with the Fed, the trade war, the shutdown—the news for Wall Street is all bad. Even a round of calls to banks and regulators by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, made from the Mexican resort of Cabo San Lucas, didn't help.

Oh, and just in case you were hoping for a Christmas miracle, the bloodletting will probably resume Wednesday. It was the worst Christmas Eve for markets on record, and the S&P 500 is one bad session away from ending the bull market.

Trump, however, is winning, his advisers say. To have a chance in 2020, he has to keep his base happy and make sure 34 Republican senators don't vote to convict him if he's impeached. His strategy aims at both.

Crypto evangelists say 2019 will witness a turnaround for the digital funny money. But Wall Street isn't so sure, as the big banks back away.

China moved to boost consumer spending with another round of tariff cuts on more than 700 goods.

OPEC hasn’t even started implementing a six-month deal to prop up oil prices and its already planning to extend, or even deepen, production cuts.

More than 3,000 people were evacuated after reports of cracking noises in a 36-story apartment high-rise at Sydney’s Olympic Park.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

Bloomberg Opinion: How one week sums up a failed presidency.
After a big win in Syria, Russia moves on to Libya with Qaddafi 2.0.
Turkey, Israel trade insults over human rights abuses as Iran looms.
China still has a treasure trove of expensive real estate holdings.
A Canada battery maker says it’s on the verge of a big price cut.
Bloomberg Businessweek reveals the miseducation of Macron.
Market dive? D.C. chaos? Last-minute shoppers spend anyway.

What you’ll want to read tonight

What are the top 10 wines of 2018? This year, it was surprisingly tough to choose only 10 top wines. Stars included vintages of fine Bordeaux, California cabernets and luxury Champagnes from the superb 2008 vintage. These are the best.