* Political blowback is a risk for the Fed and its policy decisions in 2024
* Middle East crisis is starting to weigh on European economy
* Eurozone business activity contracts for eighth month in January: PMI survey
* Revenue surges for globally critical semiconductor firm ASML
* Tesla is forecasting a sharp sales slowdown this year
* US business activity picks up in January via PMI survey data:

Semiconductor stocks, a proxy for the business cycle, continue to set new record highs, based on VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH). The fund’s rally has accelerated recently, rising 10% year to date through Wednesday’s close (Jan. 24), far above the US stock market’s 2.1% rise so far in 2024 via the S&P 500 Index.