Wednesday Morning Briefing: Moonlighting military in Venezuela find new careers in oil

Top News

Oil output goes AWOL in Venezuela as soldiers run PDVSA President Nicolas Maduro turned heads in November 2017 when he named Major General Manuel Quevedo with no oil experience to lead PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. Quevedo’s actions have since raised doubts that he and the other military brass running the company have a viable plan to save it.

Another child dies in border detention: An 8-year-old Guatemalan boy died early on Christmas Day after being detained by U.S. border agents, the second child to die in detention this month.

Japan to resume whaling after pulling out of international group Japan will resume commercial whaling from July in its waters while ending its controversial hunts in the Antarctic, as it announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission.

Markets

The big uptick in stock market gyrations this year has made a surprise winner out of a trade that has rarely delivered a win - buying and holding volatility.

President Donald Trump expressed confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin amid worries over a weakening economy and a stock market slump. But the president repeated his criticism of the Federal Reserve, saying it has raised interest rates too quickly.

Oil rose to $51 a barrel on perceptions that a price slide to 2017 lows prompted by economic worries had been overdone amid an OPEC-led effort to tighten supply.

 

Two @Reuters journalists have been imprisoned in Myanmar for 380 days. Follow updates on the case: https://reut.rs/2EJJfFs

10:13 AM - Jan 10, 2018

Predictions

Trump in 2019

Who has the best chance of beating President Trump in 2020? Harold Evans handicaps the Democratic competition.

15 min read

The scramble for Europe's sheds

The march of the machines is heading for the continent as Amazon and others gobble up warehouse space. Given offices and retail are offering little in the way of returns, sheds will be the hot property of 2019.

2:07 MIN VIDEO

Trade woes

President Donald Trump may lose the support of American farmers, as his trade war has hurt export markets for a number of crops, leaving growers struggling even more than before.

2 min video

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