“Don’t blindly follow someone, follow market and try to hear what it is telling you.” “You never know what kind of setup market will present to you, your objective should be to find opportunity where risk reward ratio is best.” I do not know what you have received.” — unknown

1. China Makes Move Against Foreign Tech — China’s Communist Party has ordered all state offices to remove foreign hardware and software within three years, FT reported, in a move which could hit Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Dell (NYSE:DELL) and HP (NYSE:HPQ). Substitutions will take place at a pace of 30% in 2020, 50% in 2021, and 20% the year after, earning the policy the nickname “3-5-2.” Earlier this year, Washington banned U.S. companies from doing business with China’s Huawei, and expanded its blacklist in October to include a number of Chinese surveillance firms like Hikvision.
2. Chevron Gas Assets Take a $10 Billion Hit — in the largest write-down by an energy producer in years, Chevron said that it was cutting the value of a number of properties, notably its U.S. shale holdings in Appalachia, by a combined $10 billion to $11 billion.
3. Aramco Becomes World’s Largest Listed Company — in IPO history, Aramco (ARMCO) shares rose 10% (the daily limit) to 35.2 riyals in Riyadh, raising the company’s valuation to $1.88T and propelling the Saudi Tadawul exchange into the top ten global financial markets. The start of trading of the state-backed oil giant marks the end of a near four-year saga that’s been linked with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. The plan hopes to diversify the economy away from energy by pumping funds into mega projects and industries like tourism and entertainment. Aramco valuation hits $2 trillion target. The oil giant’s share price jumped on its second day of trading to reach Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s coveted valuation target.
4. U.K. Decides the Fate of Brexit — U.K. voters are heading to the polls for a general election that is being seen as a vote on Brexit and will likely shape the country for decades to come. Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party are aiming to win a majority in the 650-seat parliament that will enable them to pass their Brexit deal, formally known as the “Withdrawal Agreement,” and leave the EU by January 31, 2020. Strong short-term impacts are expected on trading floors, but the outcome will also have a long structural influence on U.K. financial asset classes like stocks, sterling and government bonds.
5. FOMC Meeting Recap — the Fed held rates steady and signaled little chance of a near-term move. “Our economic outlook remains a favorable one, despite global developments and ongoing risks,” Jerome Powell said in a statement. President Trump also meets his senior trade team in Washington today about planned Dec. 15 tariffs on nearly $160B in Chinese imports. Many had already expected a Phase One trade deal, but the question now appears to be whether Washington will delay the duties or let them take effect.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: