Oil ends 2015 in downbeat mood; hangover to be
long, painful - (www.reuters.com) Oil
prices rose on Thursday but were still headed for a second year of steep
declines after a race to pump by Middle East crude producers and U.S. shale oil
drillers created an unprecedented global glut that may take through 2016 to
clear. Global oil benchmark Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) futures were up about 3 percent on the day on short-covering and buying
support in a thinly-traded market. But Brent and WTI were on track to finish
2015 down 30 percent or more after another year that showed the helplessness of
Saudi Arabia and other members of the once-powerful Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in boosting oil prices.
Chinese
Company Blames Upcoming Default On Gangsters, Mysterious Loss Of
"Important Documents" - (www.zerohedge.com) Two
days ago we said that the explanation provided by China's latest corporate
fraud, China Animal Healthcare, for "losing" its books, may well be
the greatest official reason provided by a management team for cooking the
books. As we summarized,
"China Animal Healthcare said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock
exchange that a truck loaded with four years’ worth of its original financial
documents was on its way to Beijing. However, while the truck driver was taking
a lunch break, the truck was stolen. One week later the truck was found... but
the four years of financial documents were gone." Today we encounter
another insolvent Chinese company (one which soon be revealed as the next in a
long series of mainland corporate frauds) Shandong Shanshui Cement Group, which
is the domestic subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed China Shanshui Cement Group, and
which defaulted on a bond payment in November. It is about to default again
after earlier this week the company said "it was at risk" of defaulting
on another bond for 1.8 billion yuan, maturing on Jan 21, 2016.
China cracks whip on foreign banks with forex
shut-out - (www.reuters.com) Chinese
authorities are starting to police the nation's foreign exchange market in a
way currency traders have rarely seen before, levying penalty payments for
aggressive trading and prompting some banks to turn down business. Reuters
reported on Wednesday that China's central bank had suspended at least three
foreign banks from conducting some of their foreign exchange business until the
end of March. China's past willingness to tolerate some capital flight has
paved the way for locals to take billions from the country for funnelling into
assets such as French vineyards and luxury properties in the world's leading
cities. But with the country's growth at its weakest in 25 years and the
currency heading for a record fall this year, China is aiming to stem the
capital outflows, which can be exacerbated by the widening gap between onshore
and offshore exchange rates for the yuan, or renminbi.
Warren
Buffett faces worst year on stock market since 2009 – (www.cnbc.com) Investment guru Warren Buffett is
headed for his worst year relative to the rest of the US stock market since
2009, with shares in his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway down 11 per cent with two more trading
days to go. The underperformance comes in Mr Buffett's Golden Anniversary year at the helm, when he told investors
for the first time that they should judge his record based on Berkshire's share
price, rather than just the book value of the company, which had been his
preferred yardstick for decades.
Clinton
Foundation Donors Got Bonanza of Weapons Deals From Hillary Clinton's State
Department – (www.ibtimes.com) The 143 percent increase in U.S. arms sales to
Clinton Foundation donors compares to an 80 percent increase in such sales to
all countries over the same time period... The State Department formally
approved these arms sales even as many of the deals enhanced the military power
of countries ruled by authoritarian regimes whose human rights abuses had been
criticized by the department. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, Oman and Qatar all donated to the Clinton Foundation and also gained
State Department clearance to buy caches of American-made weapons even as the
department singled them out for a range of alleged ills, from corruption to
restrictions on civil liberties to violent crackdowns against political
opponents.
China Fires a Warning Shot at Yuan Speculators With Bank Bans - (www.bloomberg.com)
Battered Yuan Posts Worst Year Since 1994 as HSBC Preaches Calm - (www.bloomberg.com)
More Pain Seen for Emerging Stocks, Currencies as China Slows - (www.bloomberg.com)
European Stocks Pare Annual Gains With Worst December Since 2002 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Here Are the Best- and Worst-Performing Assets of 2015 - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Year the Hedge-Fund Model Stalled on Main Street - (online.wsj.com)
Iraqi PM says Turkey not respecting agreement to withdraw troops - (www.reuters.com)
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