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Forewarned is forearmed: three factors that will drive right-wing politics in 2016 | Jason Wilson
Jason Wilson
The
right had a very good run last year. It’s not just the election victory
in the UK and the continued ascendancy of the Turnbull government in
Australia. There has also been a discernible shift in our political
discourse that has brought previously marginal views a greater audience
and greater attention.
The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced its approval of
the application by Taiwan Business Bank, Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan, to
establish a branch in New York, New York.
Attached is the Board's order relating to this action.
Stocks close lower; worst year for S&P, Dow since 2008
Evelyn Cheng
U.S.stocks closed lower Thursday, the last day of trade for 2015, despite some stabilization in oil prices.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average both ended lower for
the year, their worst since 2008. The Nasdaq composite closed up more
than 5 percent for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average traded more than 150 points lower.
Europe stocks close lower on last trading day of 2015
Kalyeena Makortoff
European shares closed lower on Thursday, with volumes thin in a shortened trading session on the last day of 2015.
The U.K.'s benchmark FTSE 100 finished the session down 0.5 percent when it closed early at 12:30 p.m. London time. At 1:00 p.m., the French CAC closed down by 0.86 percent while the Spain's IBEX posted steeper losses, finishing 1.01 percent lower for the day.
German, Italian, Irish, Swiss and Russian markets were closed for New Year's Eve.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, the last day of 2015, which will determine whether the benchmark S&P 500 squeezes out any gains for the year.
As of the market close on Wednesday, the index was up 0.2 percent for 2015, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2 percent for the year and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite was nearly 7 percent higher.
Asia stocks close lower, Shanghai still up 9% in 2015
Saheli Roy Choudhury
Asian markets had an uninspired finish on the final trading day of
2015, as investors kept an eye on oil prices for further clues going
into 2016, after a turbulent year for stocks.
The Australian
market, which closed early, shed over 2 percent for the year as lower
commodity prices hit many stocks on the main index.
Malcolm Turnbull willing to ‘fight an election’ on industrial relations
Shalailah Medhora
The
prime minister has vowed to curb the influence of trade unions by
introducing two previously rejected bills, paving the way for the
government to call a double dissolution election.
Alejandro Garcia Padilla,
governor of Puerto Rico, in Washington this month. He said Wednesday
that two groups of Puerto Rico's bondholders would be denied interest
payments due to them Jan. 1.
Sait Serkan Gurbuz/Associated Press
The
governor of Puerto Rico said on Wednesday that two groups of its
bondholders would be denied more than $35 million of interest due to
them Jan. 1, but in fact the island was defaulting on a much larger sum.
In
a briefing with journalists, Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said the
government could not pay $35.9 million due to the holders of bonds
issued by its Infrastructure Financing Authority, or $1.4 million due to
holders of its Public Finance Corporation’s bonds. The money has been
diverted to pay investors in Puerto Rico’s general obligation bonds, he
said. General obligation bonds have a top priority under the Puerto
Rican Constitution.
But
in fact, Mr. Garcia Padilla said further, the island’s total bond
default was much larger, roughly $163 million. That was because he had
“clawed back” that much money from a variety of lower ranked bonds. The
investors who hold those bonds will still receive the full amounts they
expect on Jan. 1 because Puerto Rico had previously sent enough money to
bond trustees to cover the imminent payments. Once money has been sent
to a trustee it cannot be clawed back.
Even
though the bondholders in this group will not feel any difference,
their bonds will generally be considered in default because the flow of
additional funds to the trustees has ceased. That means the number of
bondholders who go unpaid is likely to grow in the coming months.
Mr.
Garcia Padilla said that he had been forced to claw back money
dedicated to pay debt service because Congress had failed to give the
island access to an orderly restructuring process, such as Chapter 9
bankruptcy.
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced its approval of the
application filed by Chemical Bank, Midland, Michigan, to establish a
mobile branch in several counties in Michigan.
Submitted by cpowell on December 30, 2015. By Olga Kharif
Bloomberg NewsWednesday, December 30, 2015
Bruce Fenton, executive director at the Bitcoin Foundation, opened
its Dec. 15 board meeting with a sense of urgency: "We need additional
funds if we wish to retain employees."
The numbers didn't look good. In two years the foundation had seen at least $7 million evaporate. As of Nov. 30 its total assets stood at $12,553.06.
U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday in low volume trade as a decline in oil prices weighed.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down more than 110
points as selling accelerated into the close. The S&P 500 closed
about 0.7 percent lower, clinging to a year-to-date gain of about 0.2
percent.
"The real story of the day is oil's down 3 percent and
that's been weighing all day. Not much to be read into this light volume
(trading session)," said Peter Coleman, head trader at Convergex.
Energy
declined nearly 1.5 percent to lead most S&P 500 sectors lower in
afternoon trade. Materials briefly fell 1 percent as the second-greatest
laggard in afternoon trade.
The year of fear: Republicans and media stoked bigotry and anxiety in 2015
Chris McGreal
This was the year the threads came together.
Spectres
of mass shootings, jihadis and immigrant hordes have grown to haunt
parts of 21st century America as communists and the atom bomb once did.
But each fear, rational or not, generally held its own as a distinct
threat.
Good Wednesday morning. As we will not be publishing on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s
Day, we have come to the last newsletter of 2015. After several debates
and months on the trail, the candidates have only a few weeks before
the actual voting begins, time enough for a fond look back and a renewed
focus on the frenzied weeks ahead.
U.S. stock futures on Wednesday signaled a lower open, as sentiment was hit by a drop in oil prices.
The market is slated to take in a fresh reading on home sales, along with government data on U.S. supplies of crude, which rallied on Tuesday and helped stocks close higher.
World in Turmoil Parks Its Cash in Canada Bonds for Safe Keeping
Allison McNeely allisonmcneely
Even
with the nation’s economy struggling to rebound from recession, the
Canadian government is still the safest bet in the developed world.
Canada’s
government bonds have posted the biggest return among nine developed
countries this year, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch
World Government Bond Index, as its central bank twice cut rates to help
an economy succumbing to slowing global growth.
Asian stocks, led by Australia, mostly gain as oil prices rebound
Cheo Deng
Markets in Asia rose Wednesday as a recovery in oil prices lifted energy shares.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO, +1.00%
was up 0.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI, -0.53%
and the Shanghai Composite Index
SHCOMP, +0.26%
were flat.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average
NIK, +0.27%
gained 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi
SEU, -0.25%
was down 0.2%.
Stalling UK wage growth set to revive debate over migrant workers
Heather Stewart
Average
pay growth for Britain’s workers is likely to stall at about 2% in
2016, as the ready availability of migrants makes it easy for employers
to fill vacancies, according to a forecast of the labour market.
In
its annual assessment, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and
Development (CIPD), which represents the human resources profession,
says job creation will remain strong over the next 12 months, but wage
growth has reached a plateau.
Can Twitter turn stagnation into progress, or has it hit the wall?
Alex Hern
In 2015 Twitter
lost one chief executive, gained another, and nearly tossed them too,
before eventually settling down with him – incidentally, one of the men
who had founded the company way back in 2006.
Malcolm Turnbull loses two ministers but the stench of one could linger
Gabrielle Chan
The
Turnbull ministry is three and a half months old and already there are
two casualties. One looks fairly straightforward. The other, not so. In
both cases, Malcolm Turnbull is well rid of them under the circumstances.
Isis jihadi linked to Paris terror attacks killed in US-led airstrikes, says Pentagon
David Smith
US-led airstrikes have killed a French jihadi based in Syria who was linked to the chief planner of November’s Islamic State atrocities in Paris and was “actively planning” new attacks, the Pentagon has said.
Chemical maker DuPont Co (DD.N)
said it would cut 1,700 jobs in Delaware, as part of a previously
announced plan to reduce its workforce before combining with Dow
Chemical Co (DOW.N) in a $130 billion megamerger.
Dow closes up triple digits; S&P 500 green for year as tech leads
Evelyn Cheng
U.S. stocks closed more than 1 percent higher in light volume trade
Tuesday, as the tech sector led broad gains amid some stabilization in
oil and commodity prices.
The major U.S. averages gained more than 1 percent in afternoon trade to climb above their 50-day moving averages.
Mike Kosares: Gold a safe harbor on an ocean of excess reserves
Submitted by cpowell on December 29, 2015December 29, 2015
USAGold's Mike Kosares today muses about what may become of the $2.4
trillion in "excess reserves" -- bailout money -- parked by commercial
banks at the Federal Reserve and concludes that when it moves and
creates inflation, investors may want to be cushioned by gold. But even
if the money doesn't move, Kosares adds, big players are acquiring gold
as insurance against the next big financial disaster whatever it turns
out to be. His commentary is headlined "Gold a Safe Harbor on an Ocean
of Excess Reserves" and it's posted at USAGold's Internet site here:
Six Factors That Could Make a Difference for Republicans in 2016
Sahil Kapur
@sahilkapur
Just
four weeks before the first votes of the 2016 presidential contest are
cast in Iowa's caucuses, a bizarre, unpredictable year in American
politics comes to an end on Thursday night. With billionaire reality TV
star Donald Trump and Tea Party U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
leading the Republican field, the big question is whether the 2016
election will change American politics as we know it or whether there
will be a return to the familiar in the final stretch.
Here are six factors that could make a difference.
When Academia Nurtures Entrepreneurs|
The foundational stories
of successful tech companies - at least the ones people like to tell over and
over again - always include an unlikely and humble place: The family garage, a
rented garage, even a playground.
by Andrew Johnson Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC
As the year comes to a close, you might be getting lots of requests
for charitable donations. If a cause tugs at your heartstrings, but the
charity is unfamiliar to you, take a few minutes – and a few steps –
before giving.
Deutsche Bank to sell stake in China lender for up to $4 billion
By Maria Sheahan and Daria Hsu
FRANKFURT/HONG KONG Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) has agreed to sell its entire 20 percent stake in Beijing-based Hua Xia Bank (600015.SS) to Chinese insurer PICC Property and Casualty Co (2328.HK) - a deal worth up to $4 billion that will help lift its capital ratios.
Iraqi PM visits Ramadi after declaring Isis will be 'terminated' in 2016
Kareem Shaheen
The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has arrived in Ramadi a day after his government declared the city liberated from Islamic State.
Abadi
kicked off his tour with meetings with security and provincial
officials, reports said. The recapture of the city, where the Iraqi flag
was raised on Monday over government buildings that had served as
Isis’s base in Ramadi, marks a key victory against the jihadis.
