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A trader works at his post at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 19.Mark Lennihan/The Globe and Mail

A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web

Markets look great, enough so that some prominent strategists are worried about euphoria.

Global growth is strong, inflation still, for now, muted, and the Financial Times cites experts who believe that the outlook for credit markets is the healthiest in a decade.

Citi chief equity strategist Tobias Levkovich is generally bullish but also voiced concern that investors are becoming overly optimistic, noting that his panic/euphoria model shows "worrisome" signs,

"Citi's Panic/Euphoria Model remains a sticky point as current readings imply caution. While we never ascribe our investment strategy solely on one input, it is something investors need to keep in mind when considering potential upside relative to risk."

"@SBarlow_ROB Citi's Levkovich is bullish, but concerned about euphoria" – (research excerpt) Twitter

"Global credit outlook brightest since financial crisis (for now) – Fitch" – Financial Times

"World stock rally rolls on with best start in eight years" – Reuters

"Global Stocks Start Year With a Bang, S&P 500 is Well Into a Five-Wave Advance" – StockCharts

"@SBarlow_ROB More Levkovich: Too Late to Buy Tech" – (research excerpt) Twitter

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Maclean's provided an outlook for the domestic housing market and finds things are far more healthy than most believe,

"According to Robert Hogue, senior economist with RBC Economics, there is "limited downside risks to prices in the near term in Canada" as the majority of housing markets, including Toronto, are "in balance." Based on the sales-to-new listings ratio — where 50% is a balanced market — the overall Canadian market appears to be balanced, according to RBC Economics December Monthly Housing Market report. Toronto and Calgary are also in balanced territory while Montreal and Vancouver are still leaning towards a seller's market… Hogue's outlook for the New Year suggests that further moderation of home sales activity across Canada will cool any price increases in the upcoming year. "Near-term volatility will be followed by a generalized softening in 2018.""

"Canadian real estate market outlook 2018" – Maclean's

"Montreal real estate market has best sales growth in a decade" – BNN

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Bloomberg's Gadfly site notes record bullishness in crude futures markets that could for a three billion barrel overhang for the commodity price,

"With Brent and WTI trading at about $63 and $58 a barrel, respectively, further gains require catalysts beyond business-as-usual from OPEC and its associates. These could come from stronger demand or lackluster U.S. production growth -- something OPEC appears to be counting on, especially -- or more geopolitical tremors. The latter may well help define 2018, given the pace of change in the Middle East and the mixed messages coming out of Washington when it comes to diplomacy in the region. Absent such impetus, those billion barrels could turn from rising tide to deluge."

"The Billion Barrels That Make or Break the Oil Market" – Gadfly

"Oil approaches 2015 highs on fewer U.S. rigs, OPEC" – Reuters

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Tweet of the Day: "@GuyMazzeo Today, the Berlin Wall has been down longer than it was up." – Twitter

Diversion: My pick for best read of the weekend has a science fiction author describing corporations as an early and powerful form of Artificial Intelligence,

"Dude, you broke the future!" – Charlie's Diary

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