…..Russia sanctioned for hacks. Unemployment claims down. Trade deficit up. Sprint’s not-so-big job announcement. SEC in-house courts won’t fly. Alere has problems with Medicare billing. Sears continues a long, slow descent. Toshiba continues a fast, sharp descent. Airpods on backorder. Madrid minus cars. A tipping point for solar. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 12-29-2016 DOW – 13 = 19,819 SPX – 0.66 = 2249 NAS – 6 = 5432 RUT + 2 = 1363 10 Y – .03 = 2.48% OIL – .29 = 53.77 GOLD + 16.70 = 1159.40   As expected, the Obama administration is fighting back against Russia for its hacking efforts to influence the election. The operation was broad, involving not only hacking the Democratic National Committee but scanning and intruding into state voter databases. The hackers leaked the pilfered e-mails in a bid to damage Clinton’s campaign, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. The administration sanctioned 2 Russian intelligence services, ejecting 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the US. The FBI and Homeland Security Department also released a report with technical evidence intended to prove Russia’s military and civilian intelligence services were behind the hacking to expose some of their most sensitive hacking infrastructure; a more detailed report will be released in 3 weeks, including malware and computer addresses. Members of both parties in Congress have expressed alarm about the campaign hacking and vowed to conduct hearings into Russia’s role.   The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the week before Christmas fell by ...