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Frontrunning: December 18
- Oil heads for third straight weekly loss as supply weighs (Reuters)
- BOJ's $2.5 Billion ETF Boost Seen Having Little Impact on Stocks (BBG)
- Japan core CPI seen flat in November, household spending down (Reuters)
- Dollar gets altitude sickness as BOJ disappoints (Reuters)
- Fed Hikes, but Some Rates Veer Lower (WSJ)
- White House calls for 'common sense steps' to help Puerto Rico (Reuters)
- Martin Shkreli, Pharma Executive, Arrested on Fraud Charges (WSJ)
- Vilified for drug pricing, CEO Shkreli busted for securities fraud (Reuters)
- Japan's far-flung island defense plan seeks to turn tables on China (Reuters)
- Hedge-Fund Casualties Jump to 257 in Third Quarter Amid Rout (BBG)
- From Russia with love: Putin, Trump sing each other's praises (Reuters)
- Manhunt for Texas affluenza teen after he apparently goes missing (Reuters)
- Swiss Regulator Bars 6 Former UBS Workers in Currency Inquiry (NYT)
- The U.S. Pays a Lot More for Top Drugs Than Other Countries (BBG)
- Judge Faults Uber for Confusing Drivers With New Contract (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli - who gained notoriety earlier this year for significantly raising prices on drugs - was arrested on charges of securities and wire fraud based on his former work at a hedge fund. (http://on.wsj.com/1UExWgM)
- Apple Inc, facing renewed questions about its growth prospects, named Senior Vice President Jeff Williams its chief operating officer, filling a role that has been vacant since Chief Executive Tim Cook assumed his post in 2011. (http://on.wsj.com/1IbcQoC)
- Cancer-care giant 21st Century Oncology Holdings Inc agreed to pay $19.75 million to settle allegations that its doctors performed a bladder-cancer test on Medicare patients more often than medically necessary, according to people close to the investigation. (http://on.wsj.com/1NAKNvH)
- Morgan Stanley plans to trim as many as 5 percent of its stock-trading employees early in 2016, part of an annual exercise to cull some of its less critical staff. (http://on.wsj.com/1YomPZA)
- Apple Inc said it plans to bring its mobile-payments service, Apple Pay, to China "as soon as early 2016," securing agreements with the country's state-run UnionPay and 15 Chinese banks. (http://on.wsj.com/1Zf7JrF)
FT
A proposed two-day ban on messaging service WhatsApp in Brazil lasted for half a day before a higher court overturned the ban.
Brazilian financier Andre Esteves was released from prison on Thursday in relation to an investigation into corruption at Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
Pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli was arrested on charges of operating a ponzi-like scheme.
The family of Sheldon Adelson has confirmed they were the buyers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Montreal-based music provider Stingray Digital is pushing its international expansion deeper into Asia, acquiring Swiss-based iConcerts, a television station devoted to live music that reaches 250 million households, most of them in the vast Chinese market. (http://bit.ly/1IYbnlN)
** Canadian oil producers should benefit from more favorable pricing over the long term as the United States moves to scrap a four-decade ban on crude oil exports, although the change will not provide relief from the industry's current painful downturn. (http://bit.ly/1ObrRD9)
NATIONAL POST
** Building the Energy East pipeline will cost almost C$4 billion ($2.9 billion) more than expected, the result of hundreds of tweaks to the project's design and an expanded terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick, TransCanada Corp said. (http://bit.ly/1ObuF2R)
** PrairieSky Royalty Ltd may have solidified its position as Canada's premier oil and gas royalty company after its recent deal with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, but the weak commodity price environment will probably still lead to a dividend cut. (http://bit.ly/1Obuyo0)
Britain
The Times
Chris Ronnie, the former chief executive of JJB Sports and a former business partner of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, on Thursday was ordered to pay 633,000 pounds ($943,486.50) for his role in one of the retail industry's most notorious frauds. (http://thetim.es/1IcdKkN)
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has been ordered to stand trial on negligence charges over her handling of a 403 million euros ($436.85 million) payout to tycoon Bernard Tapie when she was French finance minister. (http://thetim.es/1Ice4jn)
The Guardian
Google enlisted members of the U.S. Congress, whose election campaigns it helped fund, to pressure the European Union to drop a 6 billion euros antitrust case which threatens to decimate the U.S. tech firm's business in Europe. (http://bit.ly/1IceiHg)
George Osborne is preparing to hand the Bank of England extra powers to rein in the rapidly growing buy-to-let market, in an attempt to prevent landlords exacerbating movements in house prices and threatening financial stability. (http://bit.ly/1Ices1w)
The Telegraph
Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of Heathrow Airport, has accused ministers of putting politics before the economy by delaying a decision on a third runway, in a scathing attack that came shortly after he announced his shock retirement from the airport. (http://bit.ly/1IceEhc)
Solar panel subsidy cuts could result in 18,700 job losses, UK ministers have admitted, as they confirmed payments to homeowners would be slashed in the new year. (http://bit.ly/1IceKoT)
Sky News
The EU is to hold an inquiry into the scandal that saw Volkswagen caught rigging emissions tests. The wide-ranging inquiry could last up to a year and will look into whether the regulatory monitoring of the car industry was too lax amid claims that EU regulators ignored suspicious pollution testing of diesel cars. (http://bit.ly/1IceWVp)
British retail giant Marks & Spencer is to open its first store in Beijing on Friday. Opening the 1,500-square-metre store in the Chinese capital is part of the brand's strategy to concentrate on flagship branches in large cities while expanding online. (http://bit.ly/1IceWo8)
The Independent
The last batch of round pound coins has been produced at the Royal Mint. Round pound coins are being phased out to make way for a new 12-sided 1 pound coin that will enter circulation in 2017. (http://ind.pn/1Icf7jr)
Guus Hiddink is to be handed the task of rescuing Chelsea's disastrous season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho, who signed a new 10 million-pound-a-year four-year contract in August after leading Chelsea to the Premier League title last season, was informed of his dismissal at lunchtime in a 10-minute meeting with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy at the club's Cobham training ground. (http://ind.pn/1IcfjPH)
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wh calls for common sense :roll:
Why would a Wookiee, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a major record company, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests. [/Chewbacca Defense]
well talking of crime & theft, nothing gets much bigger than this: another 2000 page bill nobody but K street knows what's in it: when you are talking trillions , billions are nothing, Putin meet the kings of crime:
The Omnibus spending bill in Congress is over 2,000 pages and spends another $1.1 trillion we don’t have. A handful of members of Congress and their staffs, the White House and insider lobbyists wrote it over the past six weeks, and outside this small circle, no one had seen it until Wednesday.
In other words, business-as-usual in Washington again. Merry Christmas, Donald Trump.
Americans are sick and tired of the way Washington operates. Outsiders like Trump, Cruz, Carson and Paul are polling at two-thirds of the Republican presidential primary voters. Regardless of how reliable you believe the polling is, there is no doubt: Republicans voters are looking to change the Washington status quo.
In 2014, Americans entrusted Republicans with Senate and House majorities to stop the Obama agenda, but Republicans refused to get in the driver’s seat of Congress. Instead, they offer this back-room, bloated bill to hike spending by another $50 Billion. It is strongly supported by Obama, Pelosi, and Reid – and strongly opposed by nearly every major segment of the Republican Party.
Look no further than the clear ISIS threat to infiltrate the ranks of Syrian ‘refugees’ with stealth terrorists. While Obama’s FBI and Department of Homeland Security admit they cannot screen these “refugees,” this Omnibus funds his plan to resettle thousands of them in America’s homeland even after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Plus, remember his unconstitutional amnesty, currently hung up in court – it is fully funded by this bill.
Or how about the trafficking in baby body parts by Planned Parenthood? After a dozen shocking videos and nationwide outrage across the entire spectrum of America, they fully fund Planned Parenthood. I repeat – fully fund Planned Parenthood. In your face, social conservatives.
And airdropped into the Omnibus – even as a Member of Congress, I have no idea who inserted this into the 2,000 page text – is a provision to quadruple the number of low-skilled workers who can come here and steal the blue-collar jobs of American dads and moms. Now that fits exactly into what the Trump voting bloc believes: Washington has left them behind.
Don’t like the Obama Administration snooping into your email, phone records, Internet activities without a warrant? An entire bill – not debated in either the House or Senate – was added to expand the authority and ability for Washington to spy on law-abiding Americans. Tough luck, civil libertarians.
Those concerned about Obama’s pursuit of leftist global warming agenda to drive up our utility bills, harm our small businesses, and chase jobs away from America find little help in this budget. This president cares more about his standing on the Washington and Paris cocktail circuits than your ability to make a living and feed your family, and the Omnibus lets him keep right on going.
So whether you care about life and liberty, about national security and our borders, jobs and even stopping ObamaCare, Washington has a message for you: Donald Trump is right.
On issue after issue, this Omnibus spending bill proves Donald Trump’s point – Washington is not working for the American people, especially conservatives in the heart of the Republican Party. This country needs a strong leader who is not afraid of fighting against the status quo, business-as-usual, America-be-damned attitude in the Capitol.
The Washington Establishment wishes you a Merry Christmas, Donald Trump. May you have a blessed, successful New Year.
Congressman
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)
91%
represents the First Congressional District of Kansas. He serves on the Small Business and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. He is Whip of the Pro-Life Caucus, and he is a member of the influential Republican Steering Committee.
The E-GOP symbolically just slit their throats en masse and made it practically a certainty that Donald Trump is the next POTUS.
From Trump's perspective...knowing what he will inherit, I'm not so sure that is anything to be congratulated about...but it does spell the end for the GOP, so, one down...one more to go.
Any tyrant can rule in good times.
Terry Pratchett/QuotesThe trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/terry-pratchett-best-quotes/
- Morgan Stanley plans to trim as many as 5 percent of its stock-trading employees early in 2016, part of an annual exercise to cull some of its less critical staff. (http://on.wsj.com/1YomPZA)
Jobs have been lost to algorithms.
Sniff, tear, sigh.
morgue and stanley shouldn't even exist
One in five Americans say they'll die in debt: report
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/americans-die-debt-report-artic...
Moar of Barry's "Leagcy" for ya.