| The political noise keeps blaring, merger mania continues, and there's some not great corporate news. Political noise at 11 Expect the political noise dial to be turned up to 11 today, as the House prepares for an expected vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Adoption of the measures would make him the third president in U.S. history to be impeached and would set up a Senate trial in January, in which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said he won't be "an impartial juror." Five Things is pretty sure he's supposed to be, but what do we know. Meanwhile on the other side of the pond, the fallout from the U.K. election continues. The pound is under pressure as Boris Johnson moves to do exactly what he said he would, while everyone is lining up to lambaste the Labour Party — which was punished by voters for having an unpopular leader and implausible policies — for having an unpopular leader with implausible policies. Good news Good news or bad news first? Oh go on then, since it's Christmas. The good corporate news is merger mania rolls on: PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have agreed to combine in a deal that will create the world's fourth-biggest auto manufacturer. Volvo Group agreed to sell its UD Trucks unit to Isuzu Motors Ltd. for about $2.3 billion and announced plans to forge a strategic alliance with its Japanese rival. Showa Denko K.K., Japan's No. 3 diversified chemicals supplier, agreed to pay more than double its own market value to buy its bigger rival Hitachi Chemical Co. Blackstone Group Inc. agreed to buy Hansteen Holdings Plc in a deal that values the U.K. warehouse owner at about $656 million. New York Life Insurance Co. has agreed to acquire a business from Cigna Corp. that sells non-medical insurance products in a transaction worth north of $6 billion, the Financial Times reported. Bad news Now while you may be thinking, "That's just news, who's to say if it's good or bad?" Well, contrast it with the bad news: FedEx Corp. plunged in late trading after cutting its profit forecast for the second straight quarter. In Europe, luxury TV and stereo maker Bang & Olufsen A/S tumbled after issuing its fourth profit warning in a year. Another one of Sweden's biggest banks may now be facing fines after the financial watchdog said it was exploring the option of imposing sanctions on SEB AB following allegations it was used for money laundering. Ipsen SA said David Meek will step down as CEO at the end of the month, just as the French drugmaker battles to keep the development of an experimental treatment for rare bone diseases on track. And some could-be-good-or-could-be-bad-news-who-knows: Tesla Inc. is considering cutting the price of its China-built Model 3 sedans by 20% or more next year. Markets Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped less than 0.1% while Japan's Topix index closed 0.5% lower. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1% higher at 5:47 a.m. Eastern Time as investors digested the flurry of corporate news. S&P 500 futures pointed to a firm open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.8662% and gold was slightly higher. Coming up… It's a super-light day for data, with just mortgage applications due at 7:00 a.m. and oil and related stockpile numbers coming at 10:30 a.m. There's an almost-as-light smattering of company results, with General Mills Inc. reporting this morning and Micron Technology Inc. among names due after the closing bell. Oh and there's that whole impeachment thing going on, if that floats your boat. What we've been reading This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. And finally, here's what Joe's interested in this morning It's been a rough stretch for Bitcoin, plunging about 50% since the summer. But hope springs eternal, and many die-hards see good news coming literally this spring. In May of 2020, the volume of new Bitcoin creation will be cut in half, and the theory (hope?) is that with the diminished supply, price will shoot up. You know, supply and demand and all that. Of course anyone who believes in even the weakest version of efficient markets would think this is nonsense. Markets move on surprises and unknown events, whereas the Bitcoin supply schedule is transparent for all the world to see. There's literally a public countdown clock to the event right here. As of typing this, we're 148 days, 9 hours, 56 minutes, and 48 seconds from the halving of new Bitcoin supply. Moreover, the fact that there will only ever be 21 million coins period is extremely well known, even among nocoiners. Nothing which is so telegraphed could make a difference to the price, yet prominent people in the community believe it's not priced in. Anyway, so the halving is unlikely to produce a big bull market. But it could produce a big bear market. Why? Well, if a bunch of people in the community are predicating their bull thesis on something magical happening on or around May 14, 2020, and it doesn't happen, that could lead to disillusionment and humiliation for many of the people making bold claims. If a key bull plank is refuted, it's easy to see that leading to sadness and selling. What many people see as a bullish catalyst could end up as a bearish one.  Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more. | 
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