Barring a last-minute Yuletide calamity, stocks are poised to finish the year strong. Like a relentless boxer, the rally beat back a flurry of assaults and stayed on its feet.

As of this writing Monday morning, the S&P 500 has posted 31 all-time highs, driven by a resurgence in the technology sector, resilient strength in the U.S. jobs market, and progress (perceived, anyway) in the Sino-American trade war. During the past week alone, the S&P 500 racked-up four record closes.

The past week also witnessed the worst political crisis in Washington, DC since Watergate. The civil war deepened between Democrats and Republicans, resulting in Donald J. Trump being only the third president in history to get impeached by the House.

The stock market’s response to impeachment? Meh.

Positive economic data and better-than-expected corporate operating results have trumped (pun intended) the president’s travails. As the table shows, global assets closed the week on a positive note and they’re on track for a stellar year (see table, with data as of market close Friday).

The MSCI EAFE Index represents the performance of large and mid-cap securities across 21 developed markets, including countries in Europe, Australasia and the Far East, excluding the U.S. and Canada.

Despite concerns about global growth, the MSCI EAFE index has turned in an impressive performance so far this year. Manufacturing activity has slowed in developed markets across the board, but recent unexpected upticks are giving investors new hope for 2020.

In early trading today, stocks continued their winning ways, with all three main U.S. stock market indices firmly in the green and on track for yet another round of record highs. Santa Claus has arrived early.

Feeding investor exuberance is renewed hope for a resolution of the trade war, with the U.S. and China supposedly close to forging a mutually beneficial “phase one” trade deal. Sorry to sound like Scrooge, but as I’ve written in previous columns, I think this deal is a bunch of humbug.

It’s my job to be a skeptic. Unlike the news “analysts” on cable television who act as government propagandists, I’ve actually read the phase one trade deal. It represents America’s capitulation to China. (Remember my mantra: Do your homework.)

Here’s the essence of the phase one deal: In return for once again buying U.S. agricultural goods that they had been purchasing before the trade war, the Chinese can continue selling us sophisticated manufactured goods. If you believe that’s a great deal for the United States, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Read This Story: Are We Witnessing a Market Melt-Up?

In other news on the trade war front, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) was approved by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives during Thursday’s legislative session. The Senate is expected to consider the trade legislation in early January.

I’m skeptical of USMCA as well. Many experts contend that USMCA barely differs from NAFTA. The facts support that view. I prefer to think of USCMA as “NAFTA Lite.”

In return for cosmetic changes to trilateral trade relations, trust among North American allies was badly damaged. Turn on CNBC, though, and you’ll hear the usual shills portraying USMCA as a great triumph.

Until the adverse consequences of these flawed trade deals become obvious, investors remain content with the appearance of progress. The rise of stocks this year has occurred in defiance of policy shenanigans.

To be sure, the road along the way has been bumpy. Pessimism occasionally flared in 2019, like a Greek chorus warning of doom. The yield-curve inversion earlier this year sparked fears of an imminent recession, which obviously hasn’t happened (yet). Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and rising 10-year rates have steepened the yield curve, pointing to continued expansion in 2020.

Congress last Thursday also passed a $1.4 trillion spending bill, averting a federal government shutdown. That’s the good news.

The bad news is, the massive federal deficit poses a long-term threat to investors. The deficit will drive up interest rates and tie the hands of policymakers when the next recession hits. The 2017 tax cuts that caused the deficit only provided a short-term stimulus, mostly in the form of stock buybacks (with little in the way of business investment).

Several mounting risks are likely to come to fruition in 2020. The Wall Street consensus is that 2020 will prove a generally positive year for stocks, but with gains considerably more modest than those of 2019. For one thing, high valuations and meager earnings growth represent an untenable combination.

Headwinds for Big Pharma…

Certain sectors face headwinds in 2020, notably large-cap drug companies. As the presidential election campaign gets into full swing, analysts fear that reimbursement constraints and regulatory oversight will weigh on major drug makers.

Case in point: Last week saw a worsening of the opioid scandal. We’re witnessing an historic wave of opioid-related lawsuits against Big Pharma that’s funneling billions of dollars in reparations into 46 U.S. states.

The opioid scandal is real and it’s not going away anytime soon. However, as I’ll explain, therein lays an investment opportunity.

According to news reports last week, the Sackler family withdrew more than $10.4 billion from their company Purdue Pharma, which has been embroiled in the opioid scandal.

The Sacklers distributed the money among trusts and overseas holding companies, to shield their personal wealth and avoid massive settlements. More than 2,800 lawsuits seek to hold Purdue accountable for fueling the opioid crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 70,000 Americans die every year from drug overdoses. About 75% of all drug overdose deaths are now caused by opioids, a class of drugs that includes prescription painkillers as well as heroin and dangerous synthetic versions like fentanyl.

The Sacklers and other Big Pharma payers now face a $1.5 trillion day of reckoning.

The investment strategists at Investing Daily continually hunt for new ways to make money. We especially covet unconventional methods that fly under the radar.

Along those lines, our experts have discovered a way to collect high-dollar monthly payouts from state governments whether there’s an opioid settlement or not. It doesn’t even matter which state you live in. Click here to get your share.

Questions about investment moves for 2020? I’m here to help: mailbag@investingdaily.com

John Persinos is the managing editor of Investing Daily.