• Job Creation Hot in December - Job creation surged by 312,000 in December though the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%.

• A New Exchange, MEMX - Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Citadel Securities & a group of other financial companies have agreed to jointly launch a new low-cost “bourse” that will compete with the NYSE & Nasdaq.

• Eli Lilly to Buy Loxo Oncology - Eli Lilly and Co. announced Monday it will acquire Loxo Oncology for about $8 billion in cash.

• Trade Agreement Truce - Markets rallied on news that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, had reached a “truce” in the trade battle.

• Car Sales Fall - Several carmakers including Ford, Honda and Toyota reported a drop in new car sales in the U.S. in November.

• Qtar Pulling Out of OPEC - The small, “gas-rich state” of Qatar said that it will leave OPEC on January 1 after nearly 60 years.

• Wall Street’s Concerns about Jobs Report - A “near perfect” jobs report was delivered last week with more than 200,000 Americans per month finding jobs.

• Lowe’s Closing Underperforming Stores - In an announcement today, Lowe’s will close 51 underperforming stores in North America.

• Iranian Oil Sanctions Start - The U.S. reintroduced sanctions against Iranian oil while giving some of America’s closest allies exemptions that allow Tehran’s biggest customers to keep buying oil for now.

• Economy Looks Good - Following Jerome Powell’s description of the U.S. economic outlook as “remarkably positive”, people are wondering how long this “rosy” period might last.

• Canada, Mexico, U.S. New Trade Deal - Canada has agreed to join the U.S. and Mexico in a trade deal that will replace NAFTA, according to officials.

• Honda Takes Stake in GM - Honda Motor Co will invest $2 billion & take a 5.7% stake in General Motors' Cruise self-driving vehicle unit, to jointly develop self-driving vehicles for deployment in ride services fleets around the world.

• New NAFTA Deal without Canada? - The Canadian dollar fell against the U.S. dollar after President Trump said the U.S. and Mexico could move forward without Canada in a new NAFTA deal.

• China Lures Talent from Taiwan - A veteran engineer of one of Taiwan’s top-tier chipmakers took an offer from a Chinese state-backed chipmaker last year and now oversees a small team in eastern China.

• Tesla’s Stock Price Forecast Slashed - JP Morgan Chase cut its price target on Tesla, causing its shares to briefly tumble.

• 5% Treasury Yield Warning - JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer, Jamie Dimon, warned investors that they should get ready for U.S. yields of 5 percent.

• Oil Rises after Production Falls - Oil rose on Monday after Saudi crude production fell in July and U.S. drilling appeared to slow down, although the price is still almost 10 percent below its 2018 high of more than $80 a barrel.

• Pepsi Co. CEO Stepping Down - Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo. CEO, is stepping down but will remain as chairwoman of the board of directors until early 2019.