Likud party calls for de-facto annexation of Israeli settlements

Party supporters demonstrate during a Likud Central Committee meeting in Airport City, Israel December 31, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

December 31, 2017

By Rami Amichay

LOD, Israel (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party unanimously urged legislators in a non-binding resolution on Sunday to effectively annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians want for a future state.

By enacting civilian law over settlements, the move could streamline procedures for their construction and expansion. That land is currently under military jurisdiction and Israel’s defense minister has a final say on building there.

The settlers are subject to Israeli civilian law.

“We will now promote the recognition of our sovereignty of the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). … We must begin to enact this sovereignty, we have the moral right and obligation towards our settler brothers,” Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told a meeting of Likud’s Central Committee.

Netanyahu is not bound to follow the resolution. He did not attend the meeting, which attracted several hundred delegates including ministers, legislators and party officials. The Likud Central Committee is the party’s governing body.

At least two previous Likud Central Committee decisions have been ignored by party leaders:

In 2002, it voted against the creation of a Palestinian state, but then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would act as he saw fit and Netanyahu in 2009 voiced conditional support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in a landmark speech.

Political commentators said the decision might bolster right-wing support for Netanyahu, who could seek a public mandate in an early election as he awaits possible criminal indictments against him on corruption suspicions. He denies wrongdoing.

Although parliamentary elections are not due until November 2019, the police investigations in two cases of alleged corruption against Netanyahu and tensions among partners in his governing coalition could hasten a poll.

Most countries view settlements that Israel has built on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal. Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.

About 400,000 settlers and 2.8 million Palestinians live in the West Bank. The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In 1981, Israel enacted civilian law on the Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in 1967, a de-facto annexation of the strategic plateau. The move has not won international recognition.

Israeli settlements have been one of the main stumbling blocks in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that have been frozen since 2014. Efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys to restart them have not yet shown any progress. Trump this month recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing decades of U.S. policy.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Infineon not vulnerable to takeover: CEO in Boersen-Zeitung

Reinhard Ploss, CEO of German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon arrives for the annual news conference in Neubiberg near Munich, Germany, November 14, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

December 30, 2017

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German chipmaker Infineon does not see itself as vulnerable to a takeover despite mega-mergers in the sector led by Broadcom’s $103 billion offer for Qualcomm, its chief executive told Germany’s Boersen-Zeitung.

“Infineon is not a primary takeover target,” Reinhard Ploss told the markets daily in an interview published on Saturday. “We communicate externally very clearly that we can and want to stand on our own two feet.”

“My impression is that this is very well understood in the market, also by Chinese investors, who do not normally have a hostile takeover strategy with high-tech companies,” he said.

Ploss said shareholders should be happy with Infineon’s price-earnings ratio of around 27, giving it a market value of 26 billion euros ($31 billion) that a potential new owner would find hard to increase significantly.

He added that Infineon’s strong position in security technology in Germany and engagement in the United States could present regulatory difficulties for a suitor.

Ploss said Infineon had learned from its failed attempt to buy U.S. chipmaker Wolfspeed, which foundered on U.S. security concerns, and would be expanding its political network in the United States.

($1 = 0.8336 euros)

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Stephen Powell)

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Gunman kills 11 in attacks on Coptic church, Christian-owned shop in Egypt

Security forces stand guard at the site of attack on a church in the Helwan district south of Cairo, Egypt December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

December 30, 2017

CAIRO (Reuters) – A gunman killed at least 11 people on Friday in attacks on a Coptic Orthodox church and a Christian-owned shop near Cairo before he was wounded and arrested, the Egyptian interior ministry and church officials said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, in a statement carried out by its Amaq news agency, though it provided no evidence for the claim.

Police have stepped up security measures around churches ahead of Coptic Christmas celebrations on Jan. 7, deploying officers outside Christian places of worship and setting up metal detectors at some of the bigger churches.

Islamist militants have claimed several attacks on Egypt’s large Christian minority in recent years, including two bombings on Palm Sunday in April and a blast at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral in December 2016 that killed 28 people.

Earlier reports by security sources and state media said at least two attackers were involved in Friday’s attack, and that one was shot dead and another fled the scene. The interior ministry did not explain the reason for the different accounts.

The Coptic Church said the gunman first shot at a Christian-owned shop 4 km (3 miles) away, killing two people, before proceeding to the Mar Mina church in the southern Cairo suburb of Helwan. The Interior Ministry said he opened fire at the entrance to the site and tried to throw an explosive device.

The gunman killed at least nine people, including a policeman, at the church, according to Interior Ministry and Coptic Church accounts. The Church said a young woman had died later from her wounds, bringing the civilian death toll at the church to eight.

The ministry said security forces had “immediately dealt with the (attacker) and arrested him after he was wounded.” It added, “Legal measures have been taken,” without elaborating.

GUNMAN IDENTIFIED

Investigators have identified the gunman, it said, adding that he had carried out several attacks since last year. Egypt is also grappling with a deadly Islamic State insurgency in the North Sinai region.

The health ministry said five people had been wounded, including two women who it said were in a serious condition.

A joint funeral for eight of those killed was held on Friday evening at the Virgin Mary church in Helwan.

The head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, led mourning for the victims. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also offered his condolences to the families and ordered security forces to increase safety measures at sensitive sites, his office said in a statement.

Cairo’s state prosecutor said that an investigation had been launched into the incident.

“The shooting began at 10:30 a.m. and carried on for more than 15 minutes … There was more than one attacker,” Mohammed Hussein Abdelhadi, who lives close to the church, told Reuters.

A witness who did not want to give his name said the policeman was killed while he was closing the church gate to stop the gunman getting in.

(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Amr Abdallah and Mostafa Hashem; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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Jay-Z ‘confesses’ to Beyonce in ‘Family Feud’ music video

FILE PHOTO: Beyonce arrives with husband Jay-Z at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala 2015 celebrating the opening of “China: Through the Looking Glass,” in Manhattan, New York May 4, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

December 30, 2017

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Jay-Z released a music video on Friday that features the rapper addressing the pain of infidelity as he appears in a confessional booth opposite his wife Beyonce.

Set partly in a church and also featuring the couple’s 5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, the “Family Feud” video pays tribute to family ties and female empowerment.

“We all lose when the family feuds,” Jay-Z sings. “A man that don’t take care of his family can’t be rich.”

The video is the latest from Jay-Z’s hit album “4:44,” in which he responds to allegations of cheating revealed by Beyonce in her 2016 Grammy-winning album “Lemonade.” It briefly shows an unidentified couple having sex, until the woman stabs the man in the back.

Within an hour of its release, the video was the top trending item on Twitter.

Jay-Z, 48, confirmed in a New York Times interview in November that he had been unfaithful to Beyonce earlier in their nine-year marriage.

The rapper’s soul-baring “4:44” album on love, life and social issues was widely seen as an apology to his wife.

The couple, one of the richest and most influential in the music industry, have reconciled and Beyonce gave birth to their twins in June.

Heavy on symbolism, the eight-minute-long “Family Feud” video shows the musician walking into a church holding the hand of a white-clad Blue Ivy and taking a seat in the confessional booth.

Beyonce, dressed in a black, priestess-like robe, watches silently from a pulpit and later sits listening on the other side of the confessional screen.

Directed by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the video also envisions a future in which a grown-up Blue Ivy and other women of color, portrayed by actresses Mindy Kaling, Rosario Dawson, America Ferrera, Thandie Newton and Niecy Nash, appear to rule the world.

Jay-Z has a leading eight nominations for the Grammy Awards in January, including the top prizes of best album, song and record of the year.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Tom Brown)

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Gold soars toward largest annual gain since 2010 on dollar boost

FILE PHOTO: An employee sorts gold bars in the Austrian Gold and Silver Separating Plant ‘Oegussa’ in Vienna, Austria, December 15, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

December 29, 2017

By Chris Prentice and Jan Harvey

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Gold extended its rally to a three-month high on Friday, leaping toward its biggest one-year rise in seven years as a wilting U.S. dollar, political tensions and receding concerns over the impact of U.S. interest rate hikes fed into its rally.

Gold’s gains coincide with the greenback, in which gold is priced, sliding toward its worst year since 2003, damaged by tensions over North Korea, the Russian scandal surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign, and persistently low U.S. inflation. [FRX/]

The dollar index <.DXY> touched three-month lows on Friday, lifting bullion to its highest level since late September at $1,307.60 an ounce before paring gains.

Strong charts, the weaker dollar and expectations of bullish fundamental factors ahead have bolstered gold prices in year-end trade, said David Meger, director of metals trading for High Ridge Futures in Chicago.

Spot gold prices <XAU=> were up 0.67 percent at $1,303.37 per ounce by 2:05 p.m. EST (1905 GMT), poised to finish 2017 up 13 percent. Benchmark U.S. gold futures <GCv1> settled up $12.1, or 0.93 percent, at $1,309.30 per ounce, finishing the year 12 percent higher.

“Going back to the last Fed meeting with its slightly more dovish tone, commodities markets have gotten a bit of a green light,” Meger said, referring to indications this month that the U.S. central bank will keep its rate outlook unchanged in the coming year.

“This recent bout of weakness in the dollar certainly is fostering a commodities rally and we’ve seen a light downturn in equities as well.”

The metal will be vulnerable next year to a rebound in the currency, as well as any gains in yields, ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said. The opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing bullion increases when yields rise elsewhere.

Gold’s chart signals look positive after it broke above its 100-day moving average this week at $1,295 an ounce, ScotiaMocatta’s technical team said in a note, pointing to a target of October’s high at $1,306.

Among precious metals, palladium posted the strongest rise this year, climbing 57 percent as concerns grew over availability after years of deficit.

Palladium <XPD=> eased 0.31 percent to $1,062.05 an ounce, having hit its highest level since February 2001 at $1,072 in the previous session. It has held in a historically unusual premium to platinum this quarter.

Silver <XAG=> was up 0.51 percent at $16.926, paring gains from a one-month high of $17.111. Platinum <XPT=> was up 0.11 percent at $924 after touching a four-week high of $936.20. This year, the two metals have risen by 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

(Additional reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Jason Neely and Matthew Lewis)

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Two Romanians Charged In Hacking Scheme

Trump, Year One

President Trump accomplished a lot during his first year. He almost immediately ended the Trans Pacific Partnership, which was a bad deal for American workers, because their jobs were being sent overseas. He refused to go along with the Paris ‘climate change’ accord, which punished America in particular. Climate change is science purchased by globalists, who want to use fear to gain further control of our economy. Trump broke their spell. He’s for America first.

Under Trump, we now have a conservative justice added to the Supreme Court, with more appointees to come. Unemployment has been lowered along with illegal immigration—unvetted or otherwise. Trump is the only president who has had the nerve to actually transfer the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

Taxes have been lowered and the Obamacare mandate has been repealed. In fact, many of Obama’s so-called ‘accomplishments’ have been negated, which is no doubt very irksome to the former president and chief narcissist.

Previous presidents preferred to kick the can down the road when it came to North Korea, but Trump has signaled that he’s had enough. The little round tyrant in North Korea thought he can threaten us with nuclear annihilation and launch missiles over Japan without consequence. After all, previous presidents were always played for saps. They gave the hermit nation concessions every time the dear leaders rattled their sabers. Bill Clinton, with the help of Jimmy Carter, gave the Stalinist country nuclear reactors and billions of dollars in aid. The dictator hugging Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his effort, while the North Koreans went ahead with their nuclear weapons program without skipping a beat.

Regulations have been pared back and business are bringing jobs back to America. Work has been done to thwart Islamic terrorists. Obama’s Muslim prayer rugs have been removed.

Naturally, to those possessed with ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ all of his accomplishments are the acme of evil. This is to be expected. The left’s precious socialism and political correctness are finally getting the pushback they’ve long deserved, thanks to President Trump.

There remains much work to be done. Our infrastructure needs rebuilding. The wall needs to be built. The Deep State Swamp needs a lot more draining. Hillary still needs to be locked up. President Trump remains the best man for the job.

—Ben Garrison

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Trump targets Amazon in call for postal service to hike prices

U.S. President Donald Trump departs for holiday travel to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, from the White House in Washington, U.S. December 22, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

December 29, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday targeted online retailer Amazon<AMZN.O> in a call for the country’s postal service to raise prices of shipments in order to recoup costs.

“Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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IRS cautions U.S. taxpayers on prepaying property taxes

Officers’ housing for sale in Discovery Park, formerly known as Fort Lawton, are seen near a functioning FAA air traffic control radar dome in Seattle, Washington, U.S. February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

December 29, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday advised homeowners who are rushing to prepay their 2018 property taxes before a law signed by President Donald Trump takes effect next year that the payment may not be tax-deductible.

The law signed by Trump last week imposes a $10,000 combined limit on the deduction of state and local income and property taxes. There is no limit on that deduction for 2017.

In a notice on its website, the IRS said that, in general, a full deduction for the prepayment of state or local property taxes depends on whether the taxpayer makes the payment this year and whether the property taxes are assessed prior to 2018.

“A prepayment of anticipated real property taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017,” the IRS notice said.

“State or local law determines whether and when a property tax is assessed, which is generally when the taxpayer becomes liable for the property tax imposed,” it said.

The massive $1.5 trillion tax overhaul passed the Republican-controlled Congress with no Democratic support. It slashes the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and temporarily reduces the tax burden for most individuals as well.

Capping the deduction for state and local income and property taxes is seen as punitive to high-tax states such as New York, New Jersey and California.

On Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order allowing state residents to make either a partial or full pre-payment on their property tax bill prior to Jan. 1 in order to benefit from the federal tax deduction.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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OBAMA edges Trump for most-admired man in the world, and HILLARY beats Michelle — FINEMAN leaving HuffPo for NBCNews.com — CHRIS HUGHES and SEAN ELDRIDGE have a boy — B’DAY: ZACH MONTELLARO

U.S., Turkey mutually lift visa restrictions, ending months-long row

General view of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

December 28, 2017

By Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The United States and Turkey lifted all visa restrictions on Thursday after Washington said Ankara had kept to assurances no further U.S. mission staff would be targeted for performing official duties, following detention of two earlier this year.

But Turkey swiftly denied having granted such assurances in the affair that has tested relations since the two local employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul were held on suspicion of ties to last year’s failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan.

The United States suspended visa services at its missions in Turkey in October and Turkey reciprocated. In November, Washington said it was resuming limited services upon getting assurances on the safety of its local staff.

“Based on adherence to these assurances, the Department of State is confident that the security posture has improved sufficiently to allow for the full resumption of visa services in Turkey,” the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said on Thursday.

It said the United States continued to have concerns about the two employees detained.

Turkey, while announcing the end of restrictions on the issue of visas to U.S. citizens, took issue with the U.S. declaration.

“We do not find it right for the United States to claim it had received assurances from Turkey and misinform the U.S. and Turkish publics,” the Turkish Embassy in Washington said in a statement.

Turkey’s lira firmed to 3.78 against the U.S. dollar after the statement, its highest level since Oct. 31, and the main share index BIST100 climbed 2.08 percent to reach its highest closing level ever.

Relations between the two NATO allies have become strained in the last year with Turkey angered by what it sees as the U.S. reluctance to hand over Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the coup attempt in July of 2016.

Turkey was further annoyed by U.S. military support for Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, considered by Ankara to be an extension of the banned PKK which has waged an insurgency for three decades in southeast Turkey.

More recently, Turkey took a leading role in the United Nations to pass a resolution denouncing a U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

(Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Trump Ridicules Vanity Fair Hillary

 
TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump’s marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president’s strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / Lee Jin-man (Photo credit should read LEE JIN-MAN/AFP/Getty Images)

  

12:51 PM 12/28/2017

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President Donald Trump ridiculed Vanity Fair Thursday after both the magazine and its publisher apologized for a recently released video mocking Hillary Clinton.

Vanity Fair, which looks like it is on its last legs, is bending over backwards in apologizing for the minor hit they took at Crooked H. Anna Wintour, who was all set to be Amb to Court of St James’s & a big fundraiser for CH, is beside herself in grief & begging for forgiveness!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2017

The Vanity Fair video offered 6 tongue in cheek pieces of advice for Clinton including staying away from politics and perhaps taking up knitting.

Maybe it’s time for Hillary Clinton to take up a new hobby in 2018 pic.twitter.com/sbE78rA5At

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) December 23, 2017

The video sparked widespread backlash from Clinton supporters on social media including a campaign by some former operatives to get subscribers to cancel their Vanity Fair subscriptions. The magazine regretted the backlash in a Thursday statement saying “it was an attempt at humor and we regret that it missed the mark.”

The president also took aim at Conde Nast executive and Vanity Fair publisher Anna Wintour implying she would have been ambassador to the U.K. in a Clinton administration. Wintour was a prominent fundraiser and backer of Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

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China to ‘standardize’ market access for foreign lenders: regulator

December 28, 2017

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s banking regulator has issued draft measures for amending its licensing and oversight of some foreign-funded bank activities, a move it says is aimed at promoting investment in the country’s fast-growing financial sector.

In a statement on Thursday, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said it is preparing to implement amended administrative measures to “standardize market access” for foreign lenders, and cut red tape to create a level playing field for such activities as branch openings, debt fundraising and examination of senior executives.

The CBRC said the amended measures will also put in place procedures “to provide a clear legal basis” for foreign-funded banks to make equity investments in Chinese financial institutions.

A notification system also will be installed for four types of activities, including securities fund custody business and the provision of wealth management services for foreign customers, the regulator said.

China has vowed to further open up its financial sector to outside investors and level the playing field.

In November, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said China will raise foreign ownership limits in some joint-venture firms in the futures, securities and fund markets to 51 percent from the current 49 percent.

A month earlier, CBRC chairman Guo Shuqing said the country was preparing to further open up its banking system to foreign investors.

The market share of foreign banks in China has decreased to 1.2 percent from 2.4 percent 10 years ago, Guo said, which “is not beneficial for promoting competition”.

(Reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

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Dollar near 3-1/2 week lows; commodity currencies stand tall

FILE PHOTO: A packet of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln five-dollar bill currency is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo

December 28, 2017

By Masayuki Kitano

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar was on the defensive on Thursday, facing headwinds from a dip in U.S. 10-year bond yields, while commodity-linked currencies were bolstered by this week’s rally in metal and oil prices.

The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies last stood at 92.980 <.DXY>, languishing near Wednesday’s trough of 92.956, its weakest level since Dec. 1.

“Bond yields have pulled back from their peaks and the dollar is trading with a soft tone,” said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore, referring to a pullback in U.S. 10-year Treasury yields.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield stood near 2.42 percent <US10YT=RR>, having come off a nine-month high of 2.504 percent set last week. The U.S. 10-year yield had slipped on Wednesday as investors rebalanced portfolios before year-end.

The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1902 <EUR=>, having set a 3-1/2 week high of $1.1911 on Wednesday.

Against the yen, the dollar eased 0.2 percent to 113.19 yen <JPY=>, staying below a four-week high of 113.75 yen touched on Dec. 12.

Currencies of commodities exporters remained firm, in the wake of this week’s rise in oil prices <LCOc1> to 2-1/2 year highs and a surge in copper prices <CMCU3> to four-year peaks.

The Australian dollar touched a fresh two-month high of $0.7780 <AUD=D3> on Thursday, having gained 0.8 percent so far this week.

The Canadian dollar <CAD=D3> last stood at C$1.2639. On Wednesday, the loonie had touched a three-week high of C$1.2627.

A rise to levels beyond its early December high of C$1.2624 would send the Canadian dollar to its highest since late October.

(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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Creditors seek bankruptcy for U.S. media entrepreneur Sillerman

December 27, 2017

By Tom Hals

WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – Creditors of American media entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman are seeking to force the onetime billionaire into bankruptcy to try and collect on a $7.36 million judgment against him, according to court documents.

Two Chicago-based concert promoters on Wednesday filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition against Sillerman in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

They are seeking to collect a judgment they won last month against Sillerman over a promissory note he guaranteed on behalf of SFX Entertainment Inc.

Sillerman founded the company in 2012 to promote electronic dance music festivals, and in 2014 acquired React Presents Inc and Clubtix Inc from Jeffery Callahan and Lucas King. Part of the payment for the deal was in the form of a $10 million promissory note.

SFX Entertainment acquired festivals such as TomorrowWorld but had trouble bringing them together in one corporate family and filed for bankruptcy in February 2016. A month later, King and Callahan and the their two companies sued Sillerman in Chicago federal court to collect on the promissory note.

The creditors are represented by Michael Edelman of Vedder Price in New York, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sillerman could not be reached for comment.

Forbes Magazine in 2008 included Sillerman on its list of “poor billionaires,” or those who failed to crack the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. He appeared on the list in 2005.

Sillerman built his fortune over decades of well-timed deals consolidating the entertainment industry, involving radio stations, concert promoters and even Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion.

Sillerman can respond to the creditors’ involuntary bankruptcy petition by seeking to have the case dismissed or converting the filing to a voluntary bankruptcy, which would give him greater control over the case.

The involuntary bankruptcy is the latest legal headache facing Sillerman.

In September, ESFX Holdings LLC asked a New York state judge to issue an order permitting the forced sale of a property owned by Sillerman and his wife on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to satisfy a $14.6 million judgment.

ESFX obtained the judgment after a default on a promissory note that had been guaranteed by Sillerman.

Sillerman has asked the court to dismiss the case and said the filing was an attempt to pressure him by threatening him and his wife with the loss of their home.

A hearing is scheduled for March in the case.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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NYT Columnist Warns Of Liberal Hysteria

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni seems to have gotten the message that the way for Democrats to win in 2018 isn’t by acting like the end is nigh, but instead through more measured critiques of the president.

When it comes to the tax bill, Americans might think House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s screams of “Armageddon,” particularly when “millions of voters…notice withholdings from their paychecks and more money in their pockets,” according to Bruni in his Tuesday column.

Indeed, with wages set to increase in 2018 thanks to the GOP tax bill, how will readers square Bruni’s pleads for calm with his colleague Paul Krugman’s predictions that Trump would bring a “global recession?”

After The Times’ columnist’s predictions end up looking silly, “Some…Americans,” according to Bruni, “may decide that the prophets aren’t to be trusted — and that the president isn’t quite the pestilence they make him out to be.”

To be clear, Bruni hasn’t seen the light and is engaging in some left-to-right conversion. He doesn’t want to minimize “Trump’s capriciousness or cupidity,” but he is certainly scoffing at his fellow liberal’s predictions of the end of times. Bruni writes:

But the end of the world? Come on. That’s not par-for-the-course hyperbole. It’s peculiar-to-Trump hyperventilation, an understandable response to such an indecent president but quite possibly a tactical mistake. It could weaken the odds of hobbling him next fall, in the midterm elections, and of putting him far behind us in November 2020. And that’s where I, for one, want him: in the rearview mirror, growing tinier and tinier as we zoom, pedal to the metal, toward a saner, more dignified horizon.

Shortly after Trump’s election, the left seemed certain that hollering about collusion was one of the sure ways to bring down his presidency. Fast-forward to the end of 2017, and liberals like Bruno are asking others not to obsess over “clear ‘collusion’ and insisting on invisible puppet strings by which Vladimir Putin controlled Trump.”

Such a demand for temperance in rhetoric also contrasts with Bruni’s own rhetoric. Back in August of 2017, the restaurant-critic-turned-columnist said Trump “needs a soul.”

Looks like Bruni finally took some of his own advice.

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THE OVAL meeting on immigration — PRINCE HARRY talks to OBAMA — RYAN vs. MCCONNELL on entitlement reform — JANESVILLE newspaper begs RYAN to stick around — B’DAY: Savannah Guthrie

A One And Done This Week! – Daily Pfennig

Chuck Butler’s: A Pfennig For Your Thoughts

December 27, 2017

* All Three Anti-dollar assets rally!

* Kicking the can down the road again… 

* Tax Bill is ready to put in place… 

Good Day…  And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I hope your Christmas celebration was grand, mine was! And yesterday was Kathy’s birthday. We were celebrated out, and spent a quiet night at home. Alex has been here with us for the weekend, for now, it’s nice that he’s here. Gerry & the Pacemakers greet me this morning with their 60’s hit song: Ferry Cross the Mersey… I used to sing that song to Alex when he was a baby to help him fall asleep…  That was 22 years ago, and the song was old then! HA!

Well, remember when we came back from the Thanksgiving holiday and I talked about how nice it was that the NY traders were out for a few days, as the currencies and meals rallied in their absence?  Well, so far this week, this is a rinse and repeat of those days after Thanksgiving.

The currencies, led by the Big Dog euro, have all gotten off the porch to chase the dollar down the street. Yesterday, the first day back from the Christmas holiday, saw widespread dollar selling. The euro is knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door, no wait! The euro is knocking on the 1.19 handle this morning, and Gold found a way to carve out an $8.50 gain yesterday…

Friday, last week, I sent out a tweet, regarding the lawmakers once again, kicking the can down the road. They still don’t have a budget, and they are still playing around with a possible government shutdown. I told you when they “extended” the negotiations the last time for two weeks, that it was ridiculous to think that these guys and gals could come up with a budget in two week’s time, given they had all year up to that time to do it!

And, they didn’t! So, now we’re looking at the deadline being in two weeks… But what says that the negotiations will be finished by then? I just shake my head and wonder what it will take to bring the two sides together to make a budget? It’s a sad, sad state of affairs, if you ask me!

And this morning I came across an article on the Bloomberg that was titled: Subprime Auto Defaults Are Soaring…  Not that these Subprime Auto loans are any near the size of the problem with the subprime Home Loans back in 2007, when that meltdown began.

But yet, Consumer Confidence is soaring higher and higher with every new print… Man, this reminds me of 2000 all over again… The stock market led by the Tech stocks, was soaring, but there were all these problems going on that should have affected the stock market, but it didn’t, and Consumer Confidence was soaring back then like it is now…  And then we drove our Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry… And all the King’s horses and all the King’s Men couldn’t put the stock market back together again until all the excesses were cleaned out…

Can you imagine h9w nasty this correction will be given how high the stock market has run? OUCH! Now that’s going to leave a mark!  But a lot of pundits are waking around with egg on their faces right now, because they’ve been calling for this correction in the stock market for months now and it just hasn’t come to fruition…  I’m not putting any timeline on this thought, instead, I’m just saying that it will be nasty when it happens…

I’m already on the hook for saying that I thought the Fed’s rate hikes were over, and by now they would be talking about the reversal of their previous rate hikes… I still think it’s coming… sort of like the old 3 Dog Night song. Eli’s coming…  And as usual I’m out in front on this call, and my timing is ahead of the crowd…  I wouldn’t be a good comedian, because my timing has shown that it needs a lot of work!

The price of Oil hasn’t taken any passes on all this dollar selling, and has moved to the $49 handle. Last week’s supplies numbers were lower than expected, and that got the price of Oil moving in the right direction, and the momentum is moving in Oil’s favor right now…

So, all the anti-dollar assets, Gold, euros, Oil, are kicking some dollar tail this morning, and taking names later. It’s been awhile since I could talk about all three anti-dollar assets moving against the dollar at the same time.  As I said above, Gold carved out an $8.50 gain yesterday, and is looking ready to move past $1,300 to end the year…

I gave my grandkids some Silver coins for Christmas… Of course the coins didn’t match their legos and American Dolls, but one day… maybe when they’re going off to college, and need some dough, they’ll ask their parents for those coins, and find out that the present from me all those years ago, was something special…

Last week I was reading an article from Ted Butler (no relation that I know of) the Silver Guru, and he was talking about how JP Morgan got into the short paper trades in Silver… They inherited the business from Bear Stearns, when they bought the failing company back in 2007… Ted Butler’s thought was that the agreement to take on the short paper trades was a 10-year deal that would be expiring soon. And guess who probably has the largest holdings of physical Silver?  That’s right, JP Morgan…  Do, you see the reason they not only took over the short paper trades in Silver business but enhanced it?   Ah, said the blind man as he spit into the wind, “it’s all coming back to me now”…

Of course that’s Ted Butler’s opinion, of which I agree with wholeheartedly…  What do you think?

Well, the Tax Reform Bill did get sent to the President who signed it before Christmas.. I was shocked that it got done that quickly or so it seemed.  I’ve dived deep into the tax bill, and I just don’t see it turning around the economy like it’s billed to be… And it certainly isn’t revenue/ spending neutral like it was supposed to be. $1.8 Trillion and probably more once they get going, will be added to the National Debt in the coming years…  So, much for it being neutral, eh?  

So, it’s all finished, signed, sealed, delivered it’s yours…  Happy Days are here again, the… no wait! Let’s see what this does for us first, eh?  

There’s not much in the Data Cupboard this week for us to look forward to seeing. We will see the Consumer Confidence for the first two weeks of this month today, but besides that, it’s all non-market moving data, which is a good thing, because I’m convinced that the major players in NYC are still away, and we don’t need any wild swings going into the end of the year.  

We will see book squaring, and positions close outs going into the end of the year, but those shouldn’t cause too much volatility. So, it’s all about the currencies, Gold and Oil this week as far as I can tell, as the major players are still opening presents and filling their stomachs with pumpkin pie. 

And with that thought, it’s a good week to end early for me… Tomorrow morning is an infusion morning, so no Pfennig Tomorrow or Friday…  But check your Tweets, for you never know when I’m going to send out a Tweet! 

To recap… The U.S. lawmakers had to kick the can down the road again on Friday, as they avoided a Gov’t shutdown, but still couldn’t agree on a budget. This got the currencies and metals moving and yesterday they really took a pound of flesh from the dollar, and Chuck thinks this will be the theme for the week. All three anti-dollar assets, Gold, Oil and currencies are moving against the dollar for the first time in a while..   

For What It’s Worth… Longtime dear reader Bob, sent me this since I’ve been talking about China’s moves against the dollar for a long time he thought it played nicely in the sandbox with my previous thoughts… It’s about China’s petrol-renminbi move and can be found here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48497.htm   

Or, here’s your snippet: “Petrodollars have dominated the global energy markets for more than 40 years. But now, China is looking to change that by replacing the word dollars for yuan.

Nations, of course, have tried this before since the system was set up by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in tandem with the House of Saud back in 1974

Vast populations across the Middle East and Northern Africa quickly felt the consequences when Iraq’s Saddam Hussein decided to sell oil in euros. Then there was Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi’s pan-African gold dinar blueprint, which failed to create a splash in an oil barrel.

Fast forward 25 years and China is making a move to break the United States petrodollar stranglehold. The plan is to set up oil-futures trading in the yuan, which will be fully convertible into gold on the Shanghai and Hong Kong foreign exchange markets. ”  

Chuck again… nothing new to regular Pfennig Readers, but a good recap of what’s going on… 

Currencies today 12/27/17… American Style: A$ .7770, kiwi .7075, C$ .7917, euro 1.1894, sterling 1.3410, Swiss $1.0111, … European Style: rand 12.4303, krone 8.2926, SEK 8.2993, forint 261.41, zloty 3.5221, koruna 21.7173, RUB 57.82, yen 113.23, sing 1.3394, HKD 7.8146, INR 63.98, China 6.5448, peso 19.78, BRL 3.3248, Dollar Index 93.04, Oil $59.45, 10-year 2.47%, Silver $16.66, Platinum $922.75, Palladium $1,057.90, and Gold… $1,289.10  

That’s it for today, this week, and this year! Yes, when I come back next week it will be 2018! I’m getting around much better these days and the pain has, not gone away, but has weakened… YAHOO!  I heard from some longtime friends over the weekend.. Ed, and Jack, and Lauren, and Suzanne, and I can’t forget about Kathy G! Now, please be careful this weekend going out and about… Kathy’s dad used to call New Year’s Eve, “amateur’s night”…  And let’s all think a lot about how to make 2018, a better year…  I’m so ready for 2017 to end, I had some major steps backward with my health in 2017, and 2018 had better be better or I’ll not be here next year at this time! I’m just saying…  Steely Dan takes us to the finish line today with their song: Aja…  from my fave Steely Dan album of the same name…  I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday, and fun filled New Year’s Eve, and Be Good To Yourself!  

Chuck Butler

 

 

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Oil falls from 2015 highs as rally runs out of steam

A storage tank is pictured on the site of Canadian group Vermilion Energy in Parentis-en-Born, France, October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

December 27, 2017

By Dmitry Zhdannikov

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Wednesday after hitting a near two-and-a-half year high in the previous session as analysts said the rally was gradually running out of steam despite supply outages in Libya and the North Sea.

Brent crude futures dropped to $66.27 a barrel, down 1.15 percent, or 75 cents, at 1321 GMT after breaking through $67 for the first time since May 2015 the previous day.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $59.53 a barrel, down 44 cents from their last settlement. WTI broke through $60 a barrel for the first time since June 2015 in the previous session.

“This could now be the fourth year in a row when the period around the turn of the year offers a good opportunity to start fading the market,” JBC Energy said in a note.

JBC said it believed the market will gradually realize it had overshot: “We would have to argue that sometime over the course of January we will see a major turnaround.”

It said prices could fall below $60 a barrel sometime in February and could even test $55 a barrel.

On Tuesday, Libya lost around 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil supplies from a blast on a pipeline feeding Es Sider port.

Repair of the pipeline could take about one week but will not have a major impact on exports, the head of Libyan state oil firm NOC told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Libyan outage added to supply disruptions of recent weeks, which also included the closure of Britain’s largest Forties pipeline.

On Wednesday, Forties was pumping at half its normal capacity and its operator was pledging to resume full flows in early January.

The Forties and Libyan outages, which together amount to around 500,000 bpd, are relatively small in a global context of both production and demand approaching 100 million bpd.

“The net global impact of the (Libyan) pipeline explosion is relatively small and we will not blow out of proportion the impact of the incident on the supply and demand picture,” said Olivier Jakob from Swiss-based Petromatrix.

He said the market could be supported by a U.S. cold spell and expectations of greater heating oil consumption.

Oil markets have tightened significantly over the past year thanks to voluntary supply restraint led the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC Russia.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that following rampant oversupply in 2015, global oil markets gradually came into balance by 2016 and started to show a slight supply deficit this year.

EIA data implies a slight supply shortfall of 180,000 bpd for the first quarter of 2018.

A major factor countering efforts by OPEC and Russia efforts to prop up prices is U.S. oil production, which has soared more than 16 percent since mid-2016 and is fast approaching 10 million bpd.

Only OPEC king-pin Saudi Arabia and Russia produce more.

The latest U.S. production figures are due to be published by the EIA on Thursday.

For a graphic on global oil supply and demand, click: link http://reut.rs/2C9rqyC

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and David Evans)

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‘Comfort women’ row with Japan unresolved despite 2015 deal, South Korea says

FILE PHOTO: Students hold portraits of deceased former South Korean “comfort women” during a weekly anti-Japan rally in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

December 27, 2017

SEOUL (Reuters) – A 2015 agreement with Japan over South Korean women who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels failed to meet the needs of victims, South Korea’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Kang Kyung-wha apologized for the controversial deal as a public-private panel appointed by her unveiled results of an investigation into it.

The investigation concluded that the dispute over the “comfort women”, a Japanese euphemism for the women forced to work in wartime brothels, could not be “fundamentally resolved” because the victims’ demand for Japan’s legal compensation had not been met.

The South Korean government will review the result of the investigation and translate it into policy after consulting victims and civic groups that support them, Kang told a news conference.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Joy Villa Files Sexual Assault Complaint

Joy Villa said she will speak with Washington detectives next week after filing a sexual assault complaint against Corey Lewandowski for an alleged incident at a party last month in D.C.

“I didn’t know him [Lewandowski] at all. I only knew him by reputation. He broke my trust,” the 26-year-old singer told the Associated Press Tuesday. (RELATED: Joy Villa: I’m Here To Help Carry President Trump’s Message)

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 12: Singer Joy Villa attends The 59th GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Villa explained how she saw Lewandowski at a gathering at the Trump International Hotel the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s when she alleged that he hit her two times “extremely hard” on the buttocks even after she asked him to stop, calling the incident “disgusting and shocking and demeaning.”

She added that she wasn’t going to say anything about it fearing a backlash. However, she changed her mind and called the Washington Metropolitan Police Department on Christmas Eve, after a friend who allegedly saw the incident spoke about it and others encouraged her to come forward. Lewandowski was for a time Trump’s campaign manager during the election.

“I was initially fearful to come forward with this,” Villa explained, sharing that she hoped to avoid bringing any shame or embarrassment to either of their families.

“I did nothing wrong,” she added. “I realized if he’s not going to respond or apologize to me, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

“Here’s the photo of @CLewandowski_ seconds before he slapped my ass, I told him to stop, and then he did it again. I was shocked and embarrassed by his behavior,” Villa tweeted about the alleged incident along with a photo.

Here’s the photo of @CLewandowski_ seconds before he slapped my ass, I told him to stop, and then he did it again. I was shocked and embarrassed by his behavior. https://t.co/61EYvOG4e9 pic.twitter.com/a8NgLnvCEZ

— Joy Villa (@Joy_Villa) December 23, 2017

Earlier this month, the singer who wore a “Make America Great Again” dress to the 2017 Grammy Awards and has been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump. She’s also launched an exploratory committee for a possible “congressional run for the state of Florida.”

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Oil soars, U.S. crude hits $60/bbl for first time since mid-2015

ExxonMobil’s Hebron oil platform is shown off the coast of Canada’s Newfoundland & Labrador, in this June 13, 2017 handout photo. Courtesy ExxonMobil Canada/Handout via REUTERS

December 27, 2017

By Devika Krishna Kumar

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices surged to 2-1/2-year highs and U.S. crude touched $60 a barrel in light trading volume on Tuesday, boosted by news of an explosion on a Libyan crude pipeline as well as voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts.

Armed assailants blew up a pipeline pumping crude oil to the port of Es Sider on Tuesday, cutting Libya’s output by up to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to military and energy sources.

The state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement that output had been reduced by 70,000 to 100,000 bpd. The cause of the blast was unclear, it added.

The North African country’s output had been recovering in recent months after being held down for years amid armed conflict and unrest.

Brent crude <LCOc1>, the international benchmark for oil prices, settled at $67.02 a barrel, up by $1.77, or 2.71 percent. During the session, front-month prices touched a high of $67.10 a barrel, their highest since mid-May 2015.

U.S. crude <CLc1> climbed $1.50, or 2.6 percent, to end the session at $59.97 a barrel after touching a session high of $60.01, the highest since late-June 2015.

The impending restart of Forties, a key North Sea pipeline, limited the extent of the rally. Oil and gas flows through the pipeline will be increased gradually, its operator Ineos said on Tuesday, adding that the Kinneil processing plant was partially restarted.

“Keep in mind that the field and pipeline are old and it may have issues and it’s probably why the market isn’t selling off,” said Scott Shelton, a broker at ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.

Trading activity was thin following the Christmas holiday and London trading was muted during Boxing Day. About 72,000 contracts of front-month Brent futures changed hands on Tuesday, well below the typical daily average of more than 250,000 contracts.

In the United States, the energy complex was led higher by heating oil futures. Prices <HOc1> rose as much as 3.6 percent to a session high of $2.0410, the highest since early June 2015 on forecasts for cold weather.

Brent has risen 17 percent in the year to date while U.S. crude has rallied about 11 percent so far in 2017.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other non-members, have been withholding some output since Jan. 1 to relieve a glut. The producers have extended the supply cut agreement to cover all of 2018.

Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter, leading to a boost in prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level, he added.

That outlook is earlier than predicted in OPEC’s latest official forecast, which calls for a balanced market by late 2018. [OPEC/M]

U.S. shipments to China, one of the world’s biggest oil consumers, have benefited from the OPEC-led output cuts. Russia, however, was China’s largest crude oil supplier for the ninth month in a row in November, topping Saudi Arabia for the year so far, China’s customs data showed on Tuesday.

While the OPEC action has lent support to prices all year, market participants have said the unplanned shutdown of the Forties pipeline on Dec. 11 is what helped push Brent to its 2-1/2-year high.

Forties is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, the benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Still, rising production in the United States is offsetting some of the OPEC-led cuts.

The U.S. rig count <RIG-OL-USA-BHI>, an early indicator of future output, held steady at 747 in the week to Dec. 22, according to the latest weekly report by Baker Hughes.

U.S. crude oil inventories were likely down for a sixth straight week, while gasoline stockpiles saw a probable build last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Henning Gloystein; editing by G Crosse and Tom Brown)

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U.K. GOV’T pleads with Prince Harry: Don’t invite Obama to your wedding, because Trump will be upset — TRUMP’s hidden Cabinet — IMPEACHMENT debate divides Dems — DAVID BROOKS’ Sidney Awards

Bitcoin recoups some losses after its worst week since 2013

FILE PHOTO: Broken representations of the Bitcoin virtual currency, placed on a monitor that displays binary digits, are seen in this illustration picture, December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

December 26, 2017

By Vidya Ranganathan, Lisa Twaronite and Richard Leong

SINGAPORE/TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bitcoin rose 13 percent on Tuesday, recovering about half of the losses it sustained last week, its worst since 2013, as investors who missed out on earlier rallies bought the world’s biggest and best-known digital currency.

While bitcoin investors and analysts believe last week’s decline in its value was a natural correction after a heady run-up in prices, there have been further warnings from market regulators and central banks.

Bitcoin fell nearly 30 percent at one stage on Friday to $11,159.93. At 1:27 p.m. (1827 GMT), bitcoin <BTC=BTSP> was up 13 percent at $15,630.00 in light trading on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

“The latest price move shows bitcoin is still a speculative investment. There is enormous amount of volatility there,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist with Invesco in New York.

The digital currency had risen around twentyfold since the start of the year, climbing from less than $1,000 to as high as $19,666 on Dec. 17 on Bitstamp and to over $20,000 on other exchanges.

“There is no right current price which would reflect the right current valuation,” said Andrei Popescu, Singapore-based co-founder of COSS, which describes itself as a platform that encompasses all features of a digital economy based on cryptocurrency.

“Taking profit is right, while buying into a long term projection is also right. You don’t have to be right in this market, just less wrong than the rest,” Popescu said.

Meanwhile, critics have pointed to bitcoin’s design flaws and hacks of digital “wallets” in which bitcoins are kept as an alternative to traditional currencies.

“We therefore think that bitcoin is a product that is unable to fulfill the basic functions it is meant to fulfill. We therefore think it is likely a bubble, that will eventually fade, as other cryptocurrencies will take over,” Citi analysts wrote in a research published on Friday.

Shmuel Hauser, the chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, was the latest among regulators to voice his concerns. He said on Monday he will propose regulation to ban companies based on bitcoin and other digital currencies from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Singapore’s central bank last week issued a warning against investment in cryptocurrencies, saying it considers the recent surge in prices to be driven by speculation and that the risk of a sharp fall in prices is high.

Prices of other cryptocurrencies, which slid along with bitcoin last week, have also recovered, with Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market size, quoted around $771, up from Sunday’s low of $689 but still far from highs around $900 hit last week.

(Editing by Sam Holmes and Susan Thomas)

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