“First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.” — Dale Carnegie

1. Saudi Arabia Forms Coalition Against Terrorist Group — Saudi Arabia has announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement published on state news agency SPA. A long list of countries including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were mentioned, although Iran was absent from the participants.
2. Disney’s StarWar ‘The Force Awakens’ to open in 4,100+ theaters this Past Weekend — the Force Awakens, the first film from Disney (NYSE:DIS) in the Star Wars series, will debut in more than 4,100 theaters this past weekend, a record number for a December opening. BoxOffice.com is forecasting $223M in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales in the first weekend, topping Jurassic World from Universal Pictures (NASDAQ:CMCSA), which brought in $208.8M in its debut weekend in June.
3. Junk Bonds Sell-Off Pickup Steam — after junk-bond prices posted their largest drop since 2011, investors say they are bracing for another difficult week, likely featuring hectic trading and large splits between buy and sell orders. Hedge-fund and mutual-fund managers feel that gaps as wide as 10% between the price bondholders are willing to accept and buyers are willing to pay are likely to be commonplace until at least the conclusion of the Fed’s two-day meeting.
4. Fed Hikes Interest Rates — the central bank raised rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Policymakers signaled that they ‘ll hike 4 times in 2016. Fed chief Janet Yellen said wage gains seem to be strengthening, but isn’t ready to call that a “firm trend”. She also said policymakers are aware of “important spillovers into emerging markets”.
5. Congress Extends Solar Tax Credits and Ends Oil Export Ban — congressional leaders backed a 5-year solar investment tax credit extension as part of a $1.15 tril spending deal that also ends the oil export ban. Projects set to start by 2019 will get the current 30% subsidy, with incremental cuts until 2024. Companies effected are Solarcity (SCTY), FirstSolar (FSLR), SundEdison(SUNE) and SunPower(SPWR).

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: