ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/JAMES MATTIS/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s been a wild ride in Washington, D.C., this week and the turmoil has roiled stocks. The Federal Reserve increased a benchmark interest rate again, upsetting investors who fear that higher borrowing costs will crimp corporate growth. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned after President Trump unexpectedly announced the pullout of U.S. troops from Syria. And by midday Friday [12-21-18], there was not yet a resolution to keep the federal government open after midnight. That uncertainty is weighing on stocks Friday. All the major indexes were down in midday trading, and have lost 5 percent or more from last week as investors lurch from one worry to the next. Gains for the year have been totally wiped out. But what has happened to the ‘Trump Bump,’ the stock rally following Trump’s election and inauguration? It turns out this year’s slump has yet to erase Trump’s bump. The Standard & Poor’s 500 is 15 percent higher than the day after the election in 2016 and almost 9 percent higher than inauguration day.”
–Janna Herron, “What has happened to the Trump Bump after a bad December for stocks?,” USA Today, December 21, 2018 2:00 pm