After November's furious meltup, which saw the S&P rise by 9% (the Nasdaq was up an even more ludicrous 11%), which was the best November for the stock market since 1980... {chart} ... all eyes were on Jerome Powell today to see if the Fed chair would say something to stem the surging stock market tide following the month which saw the biggest easing in financial conditions on record, equivalent to nearly 4 rate cuts. {chart} We got the answer shortly after 11am ET, when after what seemed to be otherwise balanced remarks with a dose of hawkish comments... "It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we ... (full story)