Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - It’s finally over

After a banner year for stocks in 2021 that saw the S&P 500 climb to consecutive record highs, few foresaw the selloff that would follow in 2022. And sell they did, right up until the end. Even after a surge in dip-buying in the last hour of trading, the S&P ended Friday lower, leaving the benchmark down almost 20% for the year. The Nasdaq 100 also closed down, shedding a third of its value in 2022 as tech stocks displayed deep vulnerability to rising rates. It was the worst year in more than a decade for global equities and bonds—but it’s finally over. “The good news is that we will soon put the year in the rearview mirror,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “The bad news is that 2023 could be a bumpy ride, at least for the first few months.” —David E. Rovella 

During those months and perhaps beyond, global markets can expect a lot of potholes, too. These include more tech sector carnage to widening fallout from China’s Covid surge—and no central banks riding to the rescue if and when things go wrong. Reeling from a record $18 trillion wipeout, global stocks must surmount all these hurdles and more if they are to escape a second straight year in the red. 

In Europe, the worst year of inflation in euro-zone history probably ended with a touch of respite, as the pace of cost increases returned to single digits. The initial reading for December will likely show annual consumer-price gains slowing to 9.5%, from 10.1% the previous month, according to the median of 28 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

Wealthy American retirees seem to have scored big in Congress’ sweeping year-end spending package. The legislation signed by President Joe Biden Thursday includes changes to retirement plans that will push up the age people are required to start withdrawing from their IRAs and 401(k)s. But Alexis Leondis writes in Bloomberg Opinion that just because you can delay withdrawals doesn’t mean you should.

It’s been a very bad year for Roman Abramovich. When Russia invaded Ukraine, UK lawmakers (after decades of looking the other way) set out to pressure prominent Russian billionaires perceived as having ties to Vladimir Putin—and no one in Britain was as high profile as Abramovich. He also suffered a suspected poisoning, was sanctioned by the European Union, and saw $6 billion in hedge fund investments effectively frozen. He even had to sell his most prized possession.

Roman Abramovich  Photographer: Simon Dawson

Tesla illegally coerced Florida employees by restricting them from discussing workplace issues, US labor board lawyers alleged in a complaint. The agency alleged that the automaker broke the law when it “told employees not to discuss their pay with other persons” and not to discuss another employee’s termination.

Donald Trump’s tax returns are out, and six years of them show how the former president used a range of write-offs in the US tax code to pay little or no federal income tax. You can see them all here. Too early to look at tax forms? Here are the big takeaways.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s sweeping orders to restrict women’s rights have exacerbated divisions in the militant group to the point where rival factions are pushing back—and surrounding themselves with loyal troops.

Afghan women protest in Kabul on Dec. 22 against a new Taliban restriction barring women from accessing higher education. Source: Getty Images 

Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates.

• Putin backtracks on his demand that natural gas be paid for in rubles.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Europe’s weather is Putin’s winter of discontent.
• Putin meets with China’s Xi Jinping as they hail “strategic partnership.”
• Elon Musk becomes the first person ever to lose $200 billion.
• Bloomberg Opinion: The hunt for a cancer vaccine is making progress.
• Greta Thunberg trolls Andrew Tate after his arrest in trafficking case.
• Bookkeeper embezzles $29 million from a prominent Texas family.

Back in March, “the Fed is behind the curve” was  the prevailing narrative of too little, too late when it came to containing inflation. The only problem with that, Matthew Winkler writes in Bloomberg Opinion, is that the $30 trillion US bond market disagreed. The people who buy and sell Treasury securities around the world were obviously aware of the surging cost of living and bet their fortunes and reputations on the Federal Reserve fulfilling its data-dependent mandate to bring down inflation. The bond market’s relative confidence in the Fed, Winkler writes, shows no signs of flagging.

 The Evening Briefing will return on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

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