No rest for Premier League players this week with a slate of midweek fixtures. Thomas Woods picks the scores of each match. Click or swipe through for more.
Everton 0 Arsenal 1
Arsenal fans may be growing concerned by the amount of football Alexis Sanchez is playing at the moment, but then how can manager Arsene Wenger rest him when he is in such good form? Arsenal are on a roll going into the Christmas period, Everton aren’t. Away win.
Bournemouth 1 Leicester City 2
Claudio Ranieri’s squad rotation could pay off for once, with Leicester having more resources to give players a break. Bournemouth have shown they can be a match for any team on their day, but are hardly rock solid at the back, and Leicester have just put four past Manchester City.
Middlesbrough 1 Liverpool 1
This feels like a banana skin for Liverpool. The short turnaround this week will catch some teams off guard. Liverpool take on one of the better defences in the bottom half of the table and this could be a match where the absence of injured Philippe Coutinho shows itself in a lack of spark up front.
Sunderland 1 Chelsea 4
Sunderland have had some good results recently, but Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Swansea City showed that their defence is far from solid. Swansea’s Spanish striker Fernando Llorente found plenty of space against Sunderland’s centre-backs and Chelsea have a much better striker in Diego Costa. He will find the net.
West Ham United 3 Burnley 1
This is must-win for West Ham and they will come good at home. Burnley are still without a league victory on the road, they have scored just once and let in 15. As long as West Ham’s forward players perform to their potential, this is three home points.
Manchester City 2 Watford 1
City need a convincing win after their shambolic defensive display in the 4-2 defeat at Leicester. They won’t get that, but they will get three points. Watford beat Everton 3-2 on Saturday but their defence gave up quite a few chances, enough to suggest City will cut through them. The home side only have two clean sheets all season though, so expect Watford to score.
Stoke City 1 Southampton 0
The visitors will be hurt by the absence of top scorer Charlie Austin. He is set to miss three months and this could result in a slump in form for Claude Puel’s side. In a tight game, home advantage will be the deciding factor.
Tottenham Hotspur 3 Hull City 1
Despite losing 1-0 at Manchester United on Sunday, Spurs performed pretty well. Their passing in particular was concise and they dominated United at times. Against Hull they should be able to do as they please. Dele Alli got into some fine positions between midfield and defence and he could be a key player.
West Bromwich Albion 3 Swansea City 1
Tony Pulis has managed to add attacking quality to and already rock-solid defence to turn West Brom into contenders for a European spot. Even though Swansea are slowly improving, their defence isn’t good enough to hold Salomon Rondon and Matty Phillips at bay.
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester United 2
Palace have been among the goals — 10 in their last three games — but United have the weapons to keep them at bay. Eric Bailly against Palace striker Christian Benteke is going to be an enthralling battle, as is whoever plays at left-back for United against the in-form Wilfried Zaha.
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
The specs
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What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
