Evening Briefing

The conflicting signals keep coming. December witnessed big gains in employment and even some wage growth. The Fed chairman expressed a willingness to modulate when it comes to rate hikes. The markets liked the news, but worries about what 2019 holds, especially thanks to the trade war, remain. And so the roller-coaster ride continues.—David E. Rovella

Here are today's top stories

The biggest red flag of 2019 (so far) was Apple's surprisingly sour iPhone forecast. For these prescient analysts, though, it wasn’t a surprise at all.

There are some optimists. Citigroup says recession fears are overblown and advises that you buy the dip in equities.

Investors looking to put their money into non-planet killing endeavors face at least ten challenges in 2019. Read how green Wall Street, which now includes a whopping 25 percent of U.S. investments, can cope.

Democrats are unified in opposition to the shutdown triggered two weeks ago by President Donald Trump's border wall funding demand. But Republicans aren't unified at all. Trump and his wall are unpopular, Jonathan Bernstein writes in Bloomberg Opinion, and the GOP knows it.

After a slow start, influenza is beginning to take hold across the U.S. The good news is that it’s unlikely to be as bad as last season, when almost 80,000 Americans died. The bad news is that there’s a long way to go.

Europe's airlines are facing a very cold winter, Bloomberg Businessweek reports, as mounting losses and weak balance sheets loom large.

What's Luke Kawa thinking about? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter is marveling at the relentless rally in long bonds. We’ve gone from "cash rules all" to "duration rules all" in record time.

What you'll need to know tomorrow

What you'll want to read tonight

These Are the Very Worst Luxury Cars of 2018

Yes, usually it's the "best of this" or "best of that," but not this time. Not all modern luxury car are created equal. Some have shoddy interior materials lining their walls, others lack the power and torque to make them equal to competitors. Others are just plain boring. We discovered the very worst offenders, and just have to share.

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Even before Trump's trade war, China was the world's biggest story. It's reshaping modern industries and has the most billionaires in the world— but its ascent hasn't come without major problems. Sign up to get our new China Rising email, a weekly dispatch starting this month on where China stands now and is headed next.