Xi's speech did not help (with no growth measures revealed) but oil markets seem extremely fragile this morning having broken below $50 and flash-crashed for the second time in a few hours.
“The oil market has come under renewed pressure� and “a large part of the move is due to a broader market sell-off,� said Warren Patterson, commodities strategist at ING Bank NV.
“Specifically for the oil market, there are no clear signs yet of the market tightening.�
WTI is trading extremely ugly this morning...

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-12-18_6-51-22.jpg?itok=dkHNwSvZ

Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.