Bedugul Coffee: 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.