U.S. futures rise as traders mull virus, China vow
U.S. equity futures rose Monday and the dollar was steady against major peers as traders weighed spiking coronavirus cases and a weekend pledge from China's central bank of greater economic support.
$S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ and $NASDAQ 100 Index(.NDX.US)$ contracts gained, while those for Japan earlier pointed to a muted start. Crude oil and gold slipped. Bitcoin was trading at about $51,000 after a steady period over Christmas.
Meme madness, 68 new highs: superlatives abound in 26% S&P rally
Superlatives followed one after another in 2021's wild ride for U.S. stock investors. The most all-time highs in 26 years. Triple-digit rallies in some small caps thanks to retail-trader frenzies.
S&P 500's steady march higher has helped push it to a fresh record 68 times this year, the second-most ever, topped only by 1995. Put another way, the S&P managed a record close on nearly 30% of all trading days in 2021.
Holiday sales jump 8.5% as U.S. consumers return to retailers
U.S. holiday sales jumped 8.5% from last year, a report from $MasterCard(MA.US)$ SpendingPulse showed.
Sales surged 47% for apparel, 32% for jewelry and 16% for electronics compared with 2020, with all three categories up at least 20% from their pre-pandemic levels in 2019 as well. Department stores saw a 21% jump from last year and gained 11% from two years ago.
Online shopping surged 11%, according to the report, which tracks retail sales across all payment types. E-commerce now accounts for roughly 21% of all holiday sales.
Omicron drives Christmas weekend flight cancellations above 1,500
U.S. airlines have canceled hundreds of flights over the Christmas holiday weekend, citing an increase in Covid cases among crews. Airlines offered flight crews extra pay to pick up trips.
Carriers have asked the CDC to lower its recommended quarantine period for fully vaccinated staff.
'Bubblicious' used car prices are rising faster than bitcoin, market researcher Jim Bianco warns
Used auto prices are rising faster than bitcoin and other assets, according to market researcher Jim Bianco.
"In the last four months, they've gone up in price more than 20%. Not only is that more than the S&P, but over the last four months that's more than bitcoin itself," he said. "As of December 15, the latest set of data we've got, they're just accelerating higher and higher right now. There's no peak at least as of now."
In hot job market, salaries start to swell for white-collar workers
U.S. professionals toward the end of this year saw their compensation jump at the fastest rate in nearly 20 years, federal data show. Wages for all private-sector workers grew 4.6% year over year in the third quarter, according to federal data, with the biggest gains going to workers in service occupations and industries such as retail and hospitality.
For management, business and financial occupations, wages rose 3.9% in the quarter, slower than overall wage growth but still the fastest pace on record since 2003 for this bucket of workers.
Bill Gates: People's distrust of governments is the most worrying issue into 2022
In a 2019 poll of American adults, 75% of respondents said their fellow citizens' trust in the federal government was shrinking. And about four in ten respondents thought the mistrust made it harder to handle issues like health care, immigration and gun violence.
In Gates' blog post, he noted that 24-hour news cycles, politically incentivized headlines and social media have each played a role in the "growing divide" — and that governments may need regulate online platforms to effectively dispel misinformation.
Temasek-backed Vertex wins nod for SPAC listing in Singapore
Vertex has become the first blank-check company sponsor in Singapore to receive an eligibility-to-list letter from the local exchange.
Vertex Venture plans to invest S$30 million ($22 million) in the SPAC through the subscription of units and intends to contribute up to S$10 million of "at-risk" capital by purchasing warrants in a private placement, the statement said.
Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ

Spoiler:
Nice to see you all again！ Welcome back to Talk to PM, where share your thoughts with product managers~
Just a quick question!
Part I: Recap of the lovely moomoo PM stories
We interviewed five moomoo PMs this season to talk about themselves and their products. Do you like them?  Did you ask them any questions? Please feel free to leave your comments below!
We had PM George. He is passionate about user-friendly features and strives to deliver the best services to our mooers. His personal experiences made him to understand the underlying needs of mooers better.
We had PM Jane. She constantly optimizes the features as if she is polishing diamonds.
PM Jason believed that “Art comes from life, so does a great product.” The secret of developing an excellent product is to capture the small changes in our daily lives. Our competitiveness lies in the pursuit of innovation.
We had our "Leopard," PM Arlene. She is a highly efficient PM who pursues the ultimate user experience and quickly responds to the request of others.
Last but not least, we had PM Ivy, who claimed herself as the "guardian" of Moo. She loves freedom and advocates that all mooers are free to talk, share, and connect in our community. We will always be there for each other, and together we are one.
If you want to talk to our PMs, you will find them in the "Talk to PM" zone (under the "Moo Features"). Don't hesitate to share your opinions and new ideas with us!
Part II: Awarding and Thanks Moment
The time has come to award our dedicated mooers. Congrats to the following winners!
Innovation Reward: 10,000 points! for the innovative mooers!
@Moo to Moon FTWYour suggestions are  fantastic!
" Communication issue with CS agents;
a lists to show moomoo related accounts;
a system can track the "Discussions" with rewards
the new referrer can know his/her referee ID/name
buttons with info in the app." View more...
@winblessingYou really think out of the box, man! Keep up the good work!
"more accurate diluted costs;
profit picture truly reflects the costs and commission fee."
View more...
Pragmatic Suggestion Reward: 10,000 points! for the practical mooers!
@Dadacaiis an advanced user of Moo who offered in-depth suggestions. You are totally qualified for the Senior user badge.
"HK and CHN market guide in respective markets;
able to copy the URL of individual video tutorials;
courses searchable;
rules and functions available of paper trade futures;
video tutorial is created for Money Plus." View more...
@Mars MoooPlease continue to provide us with valuable product feedback. Maybe we can give you a special badge? Would you like it?
" interest on cash balance;
treasures box event held quarterly;
Sub-account for Fractional tradings for US stocks, ETFs, ENTs;
Zero fees for trading US stocks and ETFs;
Portable moomoo trading platform without installation."
View more...
Valid suggestion Reward:
Congratulations to all mooers who participated in this event! All mooers who posted their suggestions in the Talk to PM zone will get 177 points. We do appreciate all your sincere and precious ideas! Please continue to offer them.
Note: Rewards will be distributed within this week. Please feel free to contact us if there is any question.
Part III: Superpower of mooers:  changes are happenning
We appreciate all your great insights! Let's read the top comments!
Your supperpower is working!
@apkiong: Can crypto trading happen in moomoo?
PM George: Crypto trading is under planning, we will let you knoe when it is launched.
@protraderx: Is "Batch Closing" safe？
PM George: Yes, it is. We have done some measures, like trading password confirm and the confirmation pop-up window.
Currently, we can only choose ONE order type for ALL selected stocks at each batch closing submission. The defaults order type is market type, but you also can choose the limit type with the latest price.
More about batch closing>>Click here
@Syuee: How to apply moomoo widget on Apple devices?
PM Arlene: we have already developed ios Widget for mooers,  you can view this article to add widgets on your apple devices>> View more...
@Dadacai: Can a vedio tutorial be created for the new poduct Money Plus?
PM pannpan: Thanks for your advice in our products. Our video is still in production, we'll try our bests to finish it as soon as possible.
@mooboo: Can I sell covered calls on shares I already own?
PM George: We're currently working on offering option strategy capabilities to Universal Account users. A roughly estimated time would be Q1 2022.
What a great image! We hope your superpower will come true in moomoo!
@71645568:
"the superpower I wish I had would be the power to create world Peace I would be called The peacemaker with just a snap of my fingers they would be world peace and then no need for superpowers because everybody would get along this Halloween and everything would be wonderful world peace would be great"
More sweat words worth spreading!
@Br0o:
"awesome insights, and also brought new ideas. very interesting. Myself personally became homeless during the pandemic over a clerical error, and trying to learn new things on the market and find this platform especially beneficial. thank all of you."
@Jamesim:
“At present, I am learning to review, master more knowledge, and share more papers and experiences.  Everyone is not professional at the beginning.  You must study hard and understand carefully before majoring!  In the moomoo community, you can master a lot of information and communicate with moomoo friends.  I'm still a beginner, I hope everyone will work hard and stick to it. Just get my free stock from loving moomoo. Thank you.”

Maybe the superpower you want to have in the real world is still far away, but at least you have the superpower to change moomoo! We value every piece of your feedback. Your ideas and opinions do matter to us. Now changes are happening within moomoo. Can you see them? Let's look forwad to a better moomoo!

Happy holidays to all mooers!
$S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$
Source: Carter Braxton Worth@twitter

U.S. stock indexes closed higher in the holiday-shortened trading week, with the  $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$  notching a new high.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, or 29.23 points, to 4725.79, its 68th
record close in 2021. Thursday's rise, its third consecutive dailyincrease, followed a Wednesday session during which strong 
economic data helped ease investors' concerns about the risks posed by Covid-19 and inflation. 
The tech-focused  $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$  rose 0.85%, or 131.48 points, to 15653.37. The  $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ added 0.55%, or 196.67 points, to 35950.56.