U.S. President Donald Trump is running out of options. Sanctions against North Korea have had limited impact on the regime’s economy. There have been no direct talks on its nuclear weapons for years. And a military strike is an unpalatable option for some of Asia’s biggest economies, given the risk of widespread devastation in the region from all-out conflict. Trump’s Options to Stop North Korea Narrowing with Every Missile (Bloomberg)

From Mike Allen of Axios this morning: Automation could take ⅓ of jobs. A McKinsey Global Institute study says that massive government intervention will be required to hold societies together amid labor disruption over the next 13 years. Up to 800 million people — including a third of the work force in the U.S. and Germany — could be made jobless by 2030, the study says. McKinsey: Automation May Wipe Out 1/3 of America’s Workforce by 2030 (Axios)

Negotiators have secured a tentative agreement on the amount Britain will pay when it leaves the European Union. The bloc was asking for at least 60 billion euros ($71 billion) but any final figure will be camouflaged to help Prime Minister Theresa May’s government sell the unpopular deal to voters. The U.K. has until Monday to present a proposal on the last major hurdle — how a hard border can be avoided with Ireland. U.K. and EU Agree on Outline Brexit Bill as Irish Block Remains (Bloomberg)

A decade after the financial crisis, the federal government is easing up its policing of Wall Street and the banking industry, even without actually repealing broad swaths of regulation. Casting Wall Street as a Victim, Trump Leads Deregulatory Charge (New York Times)

Bowing to pressure from shareholders and the Paris international climate accord, Royal Dutch Shell pledged on Tuesday to increase its investment in renewable fuels and to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2050. Pressured, Shell Vows to Cut Down on Carbon (New York Times)

We live in strange times, with an American president who panders to right-wing hate, in a world that seems to have taken several steps backward. And so in these times, when a British prince goes against both royal and societal norms to propose to his biracial girlfriend, it’s worth taking a moment to smile. Can Meghan Markle Save the Monarchy? (New York Times)

From Bloomberg Daybreak: Move over sushi, here comes the duck. DaDong, the Michelin-starred chain that has 14 locations around China, is set to open in New York on Dec. 11. The three-story, 450-seat behemoth at Three Bryant Park will be its first U.S. outpost. DaDong’s Peking duck is magnificently crispy but meatier than much of the competition. But good luck on getting a table — the place is fully reserved until February. (Bloomberg Daybreak)

Tweet of the day:

CNN’s decision to boycott the White House Christmas party prompted this response from Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

@PressSec: Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN.

Best of Late Night:

Trevor Noah reminded his audience that President Trump has been expressing tacit support for Roy Moore, the Republican candidate in the Alabama Senate race, accused of sexual misconduct with minors.

“So Trump’s danger-ranking system is: Democrat, then alleged pedophile. OK. Like, in his world, parents will be in the park grabbing their kids, like, ‘Sarah, stay away from that man! He’s a Democrat! Go get candy from the man in the van, I’ll handle this.’” — Trevor Noah

Budget Commentary:

Washington Post’s James Hohmann: Trump, who has declared bankruptcy several times, has made clear that he’s not a fiscal conservative. “I’m the king of debt,” he said on the campaign trail last year. “I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me. I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out I renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing. … You go back and you say, ‘Hey, guess what? The economy crashed. I’m going to give you back half.’” (This quote really should alarm anyone buying bonds issued by the Treasury Department…) When they last had unified control of the federal government under George W. Bush, congressional Republicans spent like drunken sailors. As vice president, Dick Cheney reportedly declared that Ronald “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”