Aaaaaand, we’re back.  Hope all enjoyed a great holiday.

The financial world has been busy—and generally not in a great way—since we’ve been gone.  Luckily, we’re returning on something of a rare high note after a stronger-than-expected December jobs report and some reassurance from Fed Chair Powell – NYTimes and WSJ and Marketplace

Last week’s adjusted earnings expectations for Apple raised some questions about what the company’s up to right now and what the future holds. A couple thoughts on why it cut its numbers (and what China’s own phone game had to do with it) – NYTimes and WSJ

All in all, the news from Big Fruit is casting a bit of a pall over this week’s big CES gathering- Bloomberg

The Journal gives us this timely feature on the relationship between Amazon and JPMorgan CEOs Bezos and Dimon, two men whose companies’ fortunes are “increasingly entwined,” even as Amazon creep a bit into JPM’s space – WSJ

Eddie Lampert’s ESL has failed in its bid to buy several hundred Sears stores out of bankruptcy, leaving the iconic retailer heading for liquidation – Bloomberg

Elon’s in a spot of continuing legal trouble over his “funding secured” tweet, and you’d be right if you suspected he wasn’t being quiet about it – Law360

Biopharma giant Eli Lilly is acquiring cancer-treatment specialist Loxo Oncology for $235/share in a cash deal valued at roughly $8 billion – WSJ and Bloomberg

A New York state judge has refused to dismiss any of Ambac Assurance Company’s claims, including fraud, against Countrywide over RMBS that it sponsored and led to $2 billion in claims for the insurer – Law360

Ford’s in the midst of a massive recall of nearly a million vehicles, one of the largest in US history, to replace defective Takata air bag inflators – MarketWatch

The FDA is looking to bring something of a hammer down on Juul and Altria for allegedly “reneging on promises they made to the government to keep e-cigarettes away from minors” – NYTimes

Top Nissan exec Jose Munoz, the former head of the car company’s US strategy, is taking a leave of absence from the company is what’s generally regarded as the first “shake-up of top management in the wake of the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn” – WSJ

Hard to escape the focus on sleep in the world today—especially when you’re not getting enough of it.  A new potential thought? Embrace it – NYTimes