1) The question of ‘monopoly’ for the large tech companies is starting to come to light as a results of congressional questions about the power and influence of such companies as Amazon, Facebook and Google.
2) There are four major retailers on ‘death watch’ for 2019, and they are Barns & Noble, Kmart, JC Penny and Sears. This is particularly important concerning the viability of a consumer based economy.
3) There are talks circulating around Washington of easing the tariffs on China. However, there has been little progress in negotiations, in particular issues of intellectual property.
4) 17 JAN 19 Stock market closings:
Dow 24,370.10 up 162.94
Nasdaq 7,084.46 up 49.77
S&P 500 2,635.96 up 19.86
10 Year Yield: up at 2.75%
Oil: up at $52.15