There Are Signs Africa’s Market Rout Is Not Over Yet

Risks abound from tense elections in the two biggest economies -- Nigeria and South Africa -- to low oil prices, potential credit-rating downgrades and the prospect of sovereign defaults. Here’s what investors should look out for: Angola The OPEC member is desperate to boost an economy that will contract for the third year running in 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund. This month, the government signed a $3.7 billion three-year loan with the Washington-based lender that it hopes will end severe shortages of foreign exchange, which have forced the central bank to devalue the kwanza by almost 50 percent against against the dollar since January.

Angry shareholders slap down National Australia Bank's executive pay plans

National Australia Bank shareholders delivered an unprecedented protest vote against the lender's executive remuneration plans on Wednesday, the latest display of investor disquiet over poor governance in the country's financial sector. NAB Chairman Ken Henry told the annual general meeting in Melbourne Australia's fourth-largest lender would change its pay structure next year, after taking into consideration investors' concerns and the recommendations of a public inquiry into the financial sector. Shareholder Chris Schott told the meeting NAB's board and its senior management were "failed capitalists, they have destroyed millions and millions of dollars of value.

• Australia's NAB readies for protest vote against exec pay

  Reuters
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  Australia bank NAB's CEO to take two-month holiday around inquiry report release

  Reuters

This is How Much Money You Should Have in Stocks — at Every Age

The solution: Invest just a little to get started. While setting aside money may be hard, it’s easier than ever to get in the market. Over the past decade, more and more 401(k)s have begun auto-enrolling participants.

Cramer says stocks are 'really oversold' after markets fell to a new low for the year

CNBC's Jim Cramer argues stocks are "really oversold" after markets fell to a new low for the year. "There are things that have come down so much," he says, as the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were bouncing in Tuesday trading. The "Mad Money" said Monday the market sell off has gone beyond concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth and the Fed.

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  What needs to happen for the market to bottom, according ...

  CNBC Videos
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  Cramer Remix: Johnson & Johnson has to stop dropping for the market to head higher

  CNBC

Top technician reacts to Micron earnings and makes a bold...

Todd Gordon, TradingAnalysis.com, reacts to Micron's earnings, and offers his take on where Amazon could be headed. With CNBC's Josh Lipton and Melissa Lee, and the Fast Money traders, Tim Seymour, Brian Kelly, Steve Grasso and Guy Adami.

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  Tilray shares soar on deal with Novartis. Here's what it ...

  CNBC Videos
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  The bulls are drowning, but will it be the Fed to the res...

  CNBC Videos

Warren Buffett suggests you read this 19th century poem when the market is tanking

The stock market has had a volatile year, and it's not over yet: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 520 points on Monday and the S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent. During times of volatility, seasoned investor Warren Buffett says it's best to stay calm and stick to the basics, meaning, buy-and-hold for the long term. Market downturns are inevitable, Buffett pointed out, using his own company as an example: "Berkshire, itself, provides some vivid examples of how price randomness in the short term can obscure long-term growth in value.

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  If Warren Buffett Loves Wells Fargo So Much, Why Is He Selling the Stock?

  Motley Fool
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  An Apple a Quarter Might Not Keep Berkshire Healthy

  Market Realist

Trump Tries to Halt Subpoenas for Tax Returns and Revenue Information in Anti-Corruption Case

The Justice Department asked an appeals court Dec. 17 to halt an anti-corruption lawsuit against President Donald Trump before tax returns and financial documents from Trump-connected businesses and people have to be provided under subpoena. Thirty-eight subpoenas have been sent so far to Trump associates and some federal officials. The trial court judge previously ruled that the case brought by the attorneys general of Delaware and Washington, D.C. could proceed, and authorized subpoenas that would give the plaintiffs insight into the financial operations of the Trump Organization, which operates a major hotel in D.C. that receives bookings from foreign officials and governments.

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  Fox News Legal Analyst Warns Trump Of ‘Doomsday’ Scenario In Mueller Probe

  HuffPost
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  Could a Grand Jury subpoena be issued for Trump by Mueller?

  FOX News Videos

When To Buy Growth Stocks: How Pyramiding Up Can Be As Easy As A Cup Of Coffee

For example, if you use $10,000 to buy 200 shares of a $50 stock, all of your initial investment is at risk. If the stock falls 8% and you adhere to the golden rule of investing, you'd lose $800. If you started with half of a $10,000 position, or $5,000, you'd lose less if you were forced to cut losses at 8%.

'The only way is down': Oil's slump could get much worse amid oversupply concerns, analysts say

The latest wave of energy market selling comes amid reports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record U.S. and Russian output. Heightened worries of a possible economic slowdown in 2019 have also added downward pressure to the value of a barrel of oil. Brent crude fell as much as 4 percent to as low as $57.20 a barrel on Tuesday, on track to register its third consecutive session of declines.

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  Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – API Report on Cushing Inventories Should Set the Tone Late

  FX Empire
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  Crude Oil Price Forecast – crude oil markets continue to fall

  FX Empire

Suze Orman: Here's how much money you should be saving for retirement

When that fear sets in, "you become totally hopeless," Orman says. For some, doing your best means making regular contributions that are matched by your employer: "If your corporation matches your contributions to your retirement accounts, you better be doing that," Orman says, because that's essentially free money. If you're looking for a more precise guideline, retirement-plan provider Fidelity Investments suggests you have 10 times your final salary in savings if you want to retire by age 67.

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  The Average American Starts Saving for Retirement at This Age

  Motley Fool
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  Here’s Your Do-or-Die Retirement Plan If You Have Nothing Saved

  GOBankingRates

Costco's CEO makes 191 times more than its median employee

Costco Wholesale Corp. CEO Craig Jelinek made 191 times more than the Issaquah-based company's median employee, according to a proxy disclosure filed Monday. It's the first time Costco has disclosed its pay gap since it became required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

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  Costco Stock Looks Good After Its Post-Earnings Plunge

  Motley Fool
• Costco Stock’s Drop Last Week Means It’s Time to Buy, JPMorgan Says

  Barrons.com

Blue Apron's 90% Drop Makes It Third Worst U.S. IPO This Decade

While it may be hard to believe, that’s not the worst first 18 months for a public company this decade on U.S. exchanges. Blue Apron can’t blame slumping oil prices for its woes -- the New York-based meal kit delivery service is the only non-energy company that finds itself within the bottom five debuts for U.S. based companies this decade. Blue Apron’s IPO in June 2017 was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

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  APRN: Blue Apron Stock Tumbles Below $1

  InvestorPlace
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  Blue Apron Falls Under $1 as Sell-Off Shows No Signs of Stopping

  Bloomberg

I was wrong on the sell-off, but this bull market isn't d...

Joseph Zidle, Blackstone, talks to the traders about why he's still bullish on the market. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Tim Seymour, Karen Finerman, Dan Nathan and Guy Adami.

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  Tilray shares soar on deal with Novartis. Here's what it ...

  CNBC Videos
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  The bulls are drowning, but will it be the Fed to the res...

  CNBC Videos

Jim Rogers, Former Duke CEO and Climate Advocate, Dies at 71

Rogers became CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke in 2006 following its merger with Cinergy Corp. of Cincinnati. Terms called for Progress CEO Bill Johnson to head the combined company, but Johnson lasted for less than a day before former Duke board members outvoted their new colleagues and replaced him with Rogers.

Stan Druckenmiller Says Algos Are Robbing Markets of Trade Signals

Now, we aren’t even in the same zip code, much less the same state,” he quipped of his recent returns in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I think the message over eight or nine months is still great," said Druckenmiller, who converted his hedge fund to a family office after closing Duquesne Capital Management in 2010. The return of volatility was long heralded as key to a rebound in hedge fund performance.

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  Hedge Fund Sentiment Is Stagnant On Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (DO)

  Insider Monkey
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  Even Stan Druckenmiller Doesn’t Know Where Markets Go Next

  Bloomberg

Rethink Holiday Plans and Buy U.S. Stocks Now, Citigroup Says

More than 55 percent of S&P 500 Index constituents are down 20 percent from their 52-week highs, nearing the level reached during the equity downturn in 2015 -- yet a similar widening in credit spreads isn’t evident, wrote chief U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich in a note Tuesday. Most of Citigroup’s metrics argue that taking advantage of the weakness is appropriate, he said. We are cognizant that many fund managers are reluctant to step up, especially given relatively light trading next week due to holiday vacations, but the opportunities are available now,” Levkovich wrote.

Is Gold Starting to Shine Again?

Every time stock markets are in trouble, gold price climb. From a technical point of view, the first target is $1,260, with space for further rallies to $1,300 if the Fed tightens more slowly. This seems more likely after the more dovish comments from Jerome Powell lately, but also after the latest nonfarm payrolls report, which showed 155,000 jobs were added, well below the expected 200,000.