President Donald Trump has handicapped the odds of him shutting down the government as "pretty good" unless he gets money for his wall. Markets reacted by tanking. The proportion of stocks hitting annual lows rivals 1987 and 2008. And the new year may bring no relief. —Josh Petri

Here are today's top stories

Trump was dealt a blow on a signature issue when the U.S. Supreme Court blocked him from automatically rejecting asylum bids by people who cross the Mexican border illegally. In other high court news, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had two cancerous growths removed.

The world counted on Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to hold firm against Trump’s more extreme tendencies. His abrupt resignation is provoking fears that there are no adults left in the room. In Bloomberg Opinion, Eli Lake argues that Trump's presidency is collapsing.

Trump was supposed to tell his Turkish counterpart to stop testing his patience with military threats in Syria. That is, if Trump stuck to the script. (Spoiler alert: He didn't.)

"Canada's Warren Buffett" still drives his own pickup truck at age 90. We hit the road with billionaire Jim Pattison. 

As if Facebook didn't have enough problems. The embattled social media platform is working on making a cryptocurrency. 

Flooding from storm surges is forcing more people to put their homes on stilts. For the elderly and immobile, it's a problem.

What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is chewing over Jay Powell's recent statement that the contraction in the Fed's bond holdings would continue “on automatic pilot.” The reaction from stocks suggested investors aren't happy with the pilot.

What you'll need to know tomorrow

• Trump's tax cuts have boosted bottom lines, but not much else.
• What putting $10,000 into these assets would have gotten you.
• The drone industry fears political attack after the Gatwick shutdown.
• As anchor tenants vanish, pop-up stores are taking over malls.
• Wealthfront was fined in the SEC's first action against robo-advisers.
• The global demand for batteries is skyrocketing.
• Here, in all their overpriced glory: The worst luxury cars of 2018.

What you'll want to read tonight

The Next Dining Hotspot Few Are Talking About

Moscow is known for many things: the Bolshoi, election tampering, being really cold. But it's not known as a fine dining destination. That may be starting to change.

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