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Frontrunning: December 23

Tyler Durden's picture




 
  • Oil up after U.S. crude stocks drop, still close to 11-year lows (Reuters)
  • Global Stocks Rally; Mining, Metals Shares Lead Gains (WSJ)
  • OPEC Sees Demand for Its Crude Oil Falling for Rest of Decade (BBG)
  • The Trouble With Sovereign-Wealth Funds (WSJ)
  • U.S. Calls for 256% Tariff on Imports of Steel From China (BBG)
  • Iraqi troops expected to drive ISIS from Ramadi in days (Reuters)
  • The Distressed-Debt Trades That Obliterated Bonus Checks in 2015 (BBG)
  • China to Extend Yuan’s Trading Hours, Widening Currency’s Appeal (WSJ)
  • Tighter Borders in Europe Create Migrant Bottleneck in Greece (WSJ)
  • Russian court orders arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky over contract killing (Reuters)
  • Spain's PM Rajoy meets Socialist leader over potential pact (Reuters)
  • African Firms Hit by Dollar Shortages (WSJ)
  • Zimbabwe to expand use of yuan as China cancels $40 million debt (Times Live)
  • In the Year's Final Indignity, Slime Coats Brazil's Pristine Beaches (BBG)
  • Actor Nicolas Cage returns stolen dinosaur skull he bought (Reuters)
  • Record highs predicted for bitcoin in 2016 as new supply halves (Reuters)
  • Kentucky governor orders clerks' names removed from marriage licenses (Reuters)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- As the clock counts down to Christmas, workers at United Parcel Service Inc are busy hustling packages along loading docks and conveyor belts at its Louisville, Kentucky, hub-part of a costly, intricate system built in part to cater to Amazon.com Inc, its biggest customer. But the symbiotic relationship between the two giants has come under increasing strain, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former UPS and Amazon executives. (http://on.wsj.com/1YA2uRe)

- Brazil is in the grip of yet another crisis: Zika, a fast-spreading virus some health officials are linking to thousands of cases of infant brain damage and 40 related deaths this year. (http://on.wsj.com/1MuY1YW)

- Altice NV's $10 billion deal to buy cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp is running into unexpected turbulence in New York City. (http://on.wsj.com/1REWw2j)

- Just one day after receiving an eight-year ban from FIFA, Sepp Blatter made a statement many in the world have been waiting to hear. "I've finished my work in football," he said. (http://on.wsj.com/22oQt5K)

 

FT

Royal Dutch Shell's pledged on Tuesday another $5 billion cut in spending next year to support a proposed $53 billion takeover of rival BG Group Plc.

Deutsche Bank AG found a total of $10 billion of potentially suspicious trades involving its Russian business, rather than the $6bn previously thought.

UK Tax officials have launched a crackdown on VAT evasion by overseas online sellers amid claims that Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc have been "collaborating" with them to defraud the exchequer of large sums.

 

NYT

- Ford Motor Co is recalling about 313,000 older Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans because the headlights may fail, the automaker said on Tuesday.(http://nyti.ms/1J3ToKK)

- Michael Hengel, editor of The Las Vegas Review-Journal, announced his resignation on Tuesday, less than two weeks after billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson bought the newspaper and days after it published an article that was indirectly critical of the new owners. (http://nyti.ms/1QKpqhe)

- On Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Alonzo Knowles, a young man from the Bahamas, with felony criminal copyright infringement and identity theft in a scheme that they say pried open the email accounts of a host of celebrities. (http://nyti.ms/1J3TCRW)

- Songkick, a concert listings and ticketing company based in New York, has sued Live Nation Entertainment in federal court, accusing the multibillion-dollar concert giant of abusing its market power to control the sales of tickets through musicians' websites and fan clubs. (http://nyti.ms/1mzoDTM)

- The Walt Disney Co is in talks with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Holdings Inc to sell its stake in Fusion, the joint venture started by the two companies two years ago, a person with knowledge of the discussions said Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1V5E1Tu)

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Ottawa will adjust its immigration loan program to ensure government-sponsored refugees receive more help covering the cost of medical exams and flights to resettle here without being indebted for years - a change made amid criticism that Canada is the only country in the world to charge interest on such loans. (http://bit.ly/1mzQXFL)

** Quebec's groundbreaking right-to-die law has cleared a major hurdle after the province's top court sided with the government in allowing doctors to legally end a patient's life. (http://bit.ly/1MtPzt6)

** Canada's business community is responding to the federal government's request for C$50 million to support Syrian refugees, but it is unclear whether the donation target can be reached amid weak economic conditions. (http://bit.ly/1kgFfhh)

NATIONAL POST

** Bank of Nova Scotia, along with a handful of international banks embroiled in a lawsuit in the United States over alleged manipulation of a key benchmark based on the gold price, is facing a fresh lawsuit filed in Canada. (http://bit.ly/1YwVcCY)

** A mixture of dread and determination has settled on the ranges of Ontario's jails, with warnings of inmates stockpiling drugs and weapons adding to the tension of a looming strike. (http://bit.ly/1J49t31)

 

Britain

The Times

The Egyptian government has appointed London-based security consultant Control Risks Group to enhance the security at airports in Egypt after the crash of the Russian Airbus A321 that took off from Sharm el-Sheikh in October. (http://thetim.es/1NBt2hL)

Bullish plans by employers to hire more staff next year could lead to a skills shortage in areas ranging from engineering to management, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. (http://thetim.es/1NBt4GF)

The Guardian

Tax officials are exploring whether Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc can be forced to foot the bill for ballooning VAT fraud associated with an army of small overseas sellers who are rapidly coming to dominate sales of many popular items on Britain's leading shopping websites. (http://bit.ly/1JsrJhf)

Fears were heightened on Tuesday that George Osborne will miss his deficit reduction targets after the latest official figures showed that the government's budget deficit was 10 percent higher last month than in November 2014. (http://bit.ly/1NBtcG1)

The Telegraph

Royal Dutch Shell is planning to slash $7 billion of costs, $8 billion of investment and 10,300 jobs in the next two years if shareholders approve its plan to buy BG Group , the energy giant has vowed. (http://bit.ly/1m6jLFY)

Tata Steel UK is in exclusive talks with Greybull Capital over a potential sale of its "Long Products Europe" business, offering a lifeline for several thousand jobs at UK steel plants currently earmarked for closure. (http://bit.ly/1O7IB2s)

Sky News

Pearson Plc has abandoned plans to buy the company which runs British citizenship tests after failing to agree on a compromise with the Competition and Markets Authority. Pearson and LDC, the private equity group, decided to call off a takeover of Learndirect's e-assessments business several days ago. (http://bit.ly/1ZnY4PA)

Energy giant Total SA has been fined a record 1.125 million pounds ($1.67 million) over a blow-out on a rig three years ago that saw 3,000 tonnes of gas released into the North Sea. (http://bit.ly/1PkvImz)

The Independent

The Scottish National Party claims the UK government has quietly scrapped a system which spared claimants from the worst hardship at Christmas - something the Department for Work and Pensions denies. (http://ind.pn/1NBtNro)

 

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Wed, 12/23/2015 - 08:31 | 6955839 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Zimbabwe to expand use of yuan as China cancels $40 million debt (Times Live)

 

Yup, that would be a deal lock for me too.

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 11:09 | 6956200 MrNosey
MrNosey's picture

Add this to the list......

There will be a rush for the exit in the new year as it has just been discovered that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel is allegedly ‘Hitler’s Daughter’ and therefore we will witness the rise of the 4th Reich......

http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2015/12/the-fix-is-in-franc...

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 14:29 | 6957062 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Hey, you are No Debt's groupie, take off Hoser!

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 08:59 | 6955872 NoPension
NoPension's picture

Interesting to me that US steel companies get to sue for tariffs because China, etc., dumped steel in the US.

Who do I sue, as a US born American construction worker, who has had his income decimated by illeagal invaders from other counties who are not in the system ( by political decree), do not pay taxes, Obama care, insurance, licensing , etc. In addition, living in an average American house, with windows, plumbing and electric, is like a suite at the Plaza. Even if it is shared by 8 more.

And no. He did not take my job. He couldn't. In his wildest dreams. But he did and has totally fucked up the cost/pay paradigm. Thanks you pieces of shit politicians ( Martin O'Malley is a perfect example) who have invited and allowed this. For votes. Fuck you, and rot in hell.
Go Trump. Now you know one little reason why.

And by the way, if you are a Black American. How does it feel to be used and in the bag ? Automatic Dem voters! Haha. You think they will work for YOUR vote? Idiots. They have it. It's automatic. Stupid asses.
And it's cheap. Little bit of EBT. Look at Black squalor across the country. Useful fucking moron idiots.
Trump would offer you more out of life. But it would require using your brains. And to date, you've shown you don't have one. Blacks are hurt the MOST by illeagals. And THEY get all the attention. Their votes are up for grabs!
Hey, how do they vote, anyhow? I thought you had to be a citizen?
Haha!

Go Trump.

Teabaggers For Trump!
Schlong The Opposition!

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 09:05 | 6955883 crackerjack_finance
crackerjack_finance's picture

Nike business in China absoultely on fire. At least the consumer/household part of the Chinese economy is holding up...

http://crackerjackfinance.com/2015/12/nike-business-on-fire-china-accele...

 

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 09:41 | 6955971 CheapBastard
Wed, 12/23/2015 - 09:52 | 6955994 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture
Existing Home Sales Tumble as New Loan Rules Take Effect

 

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in November fell 10.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million from a downwardly revised total of 5.32 million in October.The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in November fell 10.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million from a downwardly revised total of 5.32 million in October.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/existing-home-sales-tumble-loan-171553520....

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 14:10 | 6956992 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

From Simon Black: https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/the-other-big-news-out-of-colombia-18407/?inf_contact_key=1202bdb6dcb0991a4e35221c8bd41431ac1869e27e5554a15ca4295030eff00e

"Marijuana, human growth hormones, and raw milk are not OK. It doesn’t really make much sense. Colombia has finally seen past this absurdity. And in signing this decree, their government has effectively declared an end to an intensely destructive, costly, and useless war on plants. I can only imagine this will provide a huge economic benefit for the country."

I'm not a user, but this seems to me a big step in the right direction not only for Colombia but for the world.

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 14:22 | 6957035 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

I missed this first time around. There was an article on ZH but I don't think this is the same. I'm stunned that "snow" and "hurricane" are on this list.

https://www.sovereignman.com/lifestyle-design/uncle-sam-admits-monitoring-you-for-these-377-words-6832/

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!