"Wall Street closed at record highs amid sustained optimism about the likelihood of lower corporate tax rates as the Republican tax bill moved closer to passage"

1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 140.46 points, or 0.57 percent, to 24,792.2, the S&P 500 .SPXgained 14.35 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,690.16 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 58.18 points, or 0.84 percent, to 6,994.76.
2. The three indexes set record closing highs, as did the small-cap Russell 2000 index , up 1.21 percent to end at 1,548.93. - Reuters

Fintech and cryptocurrencies are spurring other valuation bubbles perhaps. Perhaps it has been the tremendous recovery period the US demanded. The DOW, at its systematic core, is compiled of outstanding enterprises - Intel, Apple and Goldman were leaders today. It will be more prudent to discuss today's price of the Dow in three months time. Nasdaq lead with Akamai (7.91%) and Alcoa (1.96%), and the S&P gained despite heavy the losses from CSX last week. CSX CEO Hunter Harrison stepped down - after many rumors about his health throughout the summer, when CSX was backing up trains in Central Appalachia.  

CPI - Consumer Price Index - 12 Month
Energy prices are up 16.4% which is driving the price increase in energy.

From the BLS: CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – NOVEMBER 2017 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.2 percent. The energy index rose 3.9 percent and accounted for about three-fourths of the all items increase. The gasoline index increased 7.3 percent, and the other energy component indexes also rose. The food index was unchanged in November, with the index for food at home declining slightly. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent in November. The shelter index continued to rise, and the indexes for motor vehicle insurance, used cars and trucks, and new vehicles also increased. The indexes for apparel, airline fares, and household furnishings and operations all declined in November. The all items index rose 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending November. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent, a slight decline from the 1.8-percent increase for the period ending October. The energy index rose 9.4 percent over the last 12 months, and the food index rose 1.4 percent.

Kuwait ? Kuwait is quite the powerhouse now.  Investment has been pouring into the gulf country at a rapid pace. From Bloomberg - Kuwait’s graduation to emerging-markets classification by index compiler FTSE Russell could prompt inflows of as much as $700 million from investors, according to the money manager run by the nation’s largest lender.

MSCI Kuwait Index Constituents:

NATIONAL BANK OF KUWAIT - Financials 

KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE - Financials 

MOBILE TELECOM CO - Telecom Srvcs 

AGILITY - Industrials 

MABANEE CO SAKC - Real Estate 

BOUBYAN BANK - Financials 

BURGAN BANK - Financials 

KUWAIT PROJECTS CO HLDGS - Financials

From Focus Economics: Kuwait’s economy, which has suffered from weaker oil production this year, faces political instability as the year draws to a close. On 30 October, the prime minister and his entire cabinet resigned. Re-appointed by the emir, the prime minister is now in the process of forming a new cabinet. On 15 November, following a staff visit, the IMF highlighted that the country’s fiscal position remains vulnerable and dependent on transfers from its financial reserves. However, it also noted the non-oil sector stands to improve this year, moderating the expected economic contraction due to a weaker oil sector. On 21 November, Iraq agreed to resume compensating Kuwait for costs related to the 1990–1991 Gulf War, which should provide a slight fiscal dividend over the coming years.


A pick-up in the oil sector on higher oil prices should benefit the economy next year, which will also be boosted by resilient private consumption. Our panel expects GDP to increase 2.5% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s estimate. For 2019, panelists see GDP growth of 3.2%.
Inflation rose from a 13-year low of 0.5% in September to 1.4% in October as a result of a positive base effect. Panelists expect inflation to average 3.0% in 2018 and 3.3% in 2019.

Official name: State of Kuwait
Capital: Kuwait City (0.6m)
Other cities: As Salimiyah (0.15m)
Sabah as Salim (0.14m)
Area (km2): 17,818
Population (million, 2016 est.): 4.2
Population density (per km2, 2016): 237
Population growth rate (%, 2016 est.): 2.8
Life expectancy (years, 2016 est.): 78.0
Illiteracy rate (%, 2015): 3.7
Language: Arabic
Measures: Metric system
Time: GMT+3

It’s been a little over nine years since Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator (or creators) of Bitcoin, published the paper entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Written off for many years, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have since risen to prominence and economists, traders, financial gurus, central bankers and other financial authorities around the world are taking notice. Bitcoin, the most famous of the seemingly now myriad cryptocurrencies floating around the internet, recently rose to above USD 10,000 for the first time. In fact, Bitcoin has grown from USD 1000 in January 2017 to over USD 10,000 in November 2017. That right there is what you call a tenbagger. Peter Lynch would be proud. Although Bitcoin and its skyrocketing price tend to get all of the headlines, perhaps its greatest contribution is the technology behind it. The creator(s) of Bitcoin originally sought to create an electronic currency that would allow electronic payments to be sent from one party to another without the need of a central intermediary and that is where blockchain technology comes in.

Read more at Focus Economics