By Emann Charts
U.S. and Saudis in Growing Rift as Power Shifts
WASHINGTON — There was a time when Saudi and American interests in the Middle East seemed so aligned that the cigar-smoking former Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was viewed as one of the most influential diplomats in Washington.
Those days are over. The Saudi king and his envoys — like the Israelis — have spent weeks lobbying fruitlessly against the interim nuclear accord with Iran that was reached in Geneva on Sunday. In the end, there was little they could do: The Obama administration saw the nuclear talks in a fundamentally different light from the Saudis, who fear that any letup in the sanctions will come at the cost of a wider and more dangerous Iranian role in the Middle East.
U.S. Sends Two B-52 Bombers Into Air Zone Claimed by China
WASHINGTON — Defying China, two long-range American bombers flew through contested airspace over the East China Sea, days after the Chinese announced they were claiming the right to police the sky above a vast area that includes islands at the center of a simmering dispute with Japan.
Pentagon officials said Tuesday that the B-52s were on a routine training mission planned long in advance of the Chinese announcement on Saturday that it was establishing an “air defense identification zone” over the area. But the message was clear.
The World's Longest Commercial Flight Has Been Cancelled
On Monday, the world's longest commercial flight ended its run after nine years of shuttling passengers from Newark International to Singapore's Changi Airport.
According to the International Business Times, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ21 lasted 19 hours and covered nearly 10,000 miles. It operated on an Airbus A340 with only 100 seats, all of them business class.
U.S. Directly Challenges China's Air Defense Zone
The U.S. moved forcefully to try to counter China's bid for influence over increasingly jittery Asian neighbors by sending a pair of B-52 bombers over disputed islands in the East China Sea, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The B-52s took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and flew more than 1,500 miles northwest, crossing into what China has declared as its new air-defense identification zone, at about 7 p.m. ET Monday. The U.S. deliberately violated rules set by China by refusing to inform Beijing about the flight, officials said.
How Gold Price Is Manipulated During The "London Fix"
There was a time when the merest mention of gold manipulation in "reputable" media was enough to have one branded a perpetual conspiracy theorist with a tinfoil farm out back. That was roughly coincident with a time when Libor, FX, mortgage, and bond market manipulation was also considered unthinkable, when High Frequency Traders were believed to "provide liquidity", or when the stock market was said to not be manipulated by the Fed, and when the ever-confused media, always eager to take "complicated" financial concepts at the face value set by a self-serving establishment, never dared to question anything. Luckily, all that changed in the past several years, and it has gotten to the point where even the bastions of "serious", if 3-5 years delayed, investigation are finally not only asking how is the gold market being manipulated, but are actually providing answers.
Gold futures close near flat, hold above $1,240
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures settled little changed on Tuesday, with prices finding some support from a decline in U.S. consumer confidence and weakness in the dollar to hold ground above $1,240 an ounce.
Among the most-actively traded contracts, gold for February delivery fell 10 cents to settle at $1,241.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. December gold settled at $1,241.40 an ounce, up 20 cents.
NSA Infects 50,000 Computer Systems Worldwide
Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported it, headlining “NSA infected 50,000 computer networks with malicious software.”
It cited leaked Edward Snowden information. His revelations are the gift that keeps on giving. Activists representing him keep important information coming.
It’s vital. Everyone needs to know. Unchecked NSA spying threatens fundamental freedoms. They’re fast disappearing.
Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Drop for Fifth Month
The number of contracts Americans signed to buy previously-owned homes unexpectedly fell in October for a fifth consecutive month amid higher borrowing costs that are denting the real-estate recovery.
The gauge of pending home sales decreased 0.6 percent after a 4.6 percent drop in September, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 1 percent gain in the index from the month before.
Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia warns it will strike out on its own
A senior advisor to the Saudi royal family has accused its Western allies of deceiving the oil rich kingdom in striking the nuclear accord with Iran and said Riyadh would follow an independent foreign policy.
Nawaf Obaid told a think tank meeting in London that Saudi Arabia was determined to pursue its own foreign and policy goals. Having in the past been reactive to events, the leading Sunni Muslim nation was determined to be pro-active in future.
Seven loopholes favoring a nuclear Iran in deal signed by the world powers
The first preliminary nuclear deal the six world powers (US, Russia, China, UK, France and German) signed with Iran before dawn Sunday, Nov. 24, at the end of a four-day marathon, failed to address the most questionable aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, i.e. its clandestine military dimensions. The accord confined itself to aspects of uranium enrichment and stockpiles. UN inspections were expanded – but not applied, for instance, to Iran’s concealed nuclear sites - or even the Parchin military base where Iran is suspected of having tested nuclear-related explosions.
US-Iran: The ever-spinning deal
The 34-year Wall of Mistrust between the US and Iran started tumbling down on Sunday at 3 am local time in Geneva. Or has it?
It is, after all, only a mutually acknowledged "first step" - a deal to start negotiating a real deal. And the terms, for Iran, are harsh.
Iran will be allowed to trade again in gold, petrochemicals, car and plane parts, and will have some US$4.2 billion in oil sales unfrozen. Yet a fortune remains in permafrost - including $10 billion in European banks. And there is still $50 billion with Iran's Asian energy clients - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey - that still cannot be repatriated.
Bitcoin Is Moving Just Like South Sea Stock Before The Bubble Popped [CHARTS]
This is just for fun, I have no idea if or when the bitcoin train will ever get derailed. You could compare this to any speculation that has gone parabolic, I just like ones that are over 200 years old.
Chart 1 is actual bitcoin and South Sea Stock values plotted with SS peak lined up with current BC data.
How NSA Mass Surveillance is Hurting the US Economy
Privacy may not be the only casualty of the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance program. Major sectors of the US economy are reporting financial damage as the recent revelations shake consumer confidence and US trade partners distance themselves from companies that may have been compromised by the NSA or, worse, are secretly collaborating with the spy agency. Member of Congress, especially those who champion America’s competitiveness in the global marketplace, should take note and rein in the NSA now if they want to stem the damage.
Icahn Toots His Own Horn After Take-Two Sale, Touts Big Returns With His Reps On Boards
Activist investor Carl Icahn is out to prove his aggressive strategy produces results, and on Tuesday morning he went so far as to produce a chart that supports his claims, bragging about the performance of holdings like Herbalife, WebMD and Take-Two Interactive Software. Icahn also announced that he is selling his stake in Take-Two back to the company after three-and-a-half years of serving on its board.
Law firm Clifford Chance analyses Royal Mail's property portfolio
Clifford Chance, the "Magic Circle" City law firm with links to some of the leading investors in Royal Mail, has been privately analysing the newly floated company's portfolio of 2,000 UK properties.
News of the evaluation comes a week after MPs on the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills select committee probed bankers on the value of the newly privatised company's property portfolio, amid criticisms that it may have been undervalued and that Royal Mail sold off on the cheap. Vince Cable and Michael Fallon, the ministers who led the controversial flotation, are set to appear in front of the committee on Wednesday.
London Gold Fix Calls Draw Scrutiny Amid Heavy Trading
Every business day in London, five banks meet to set the price of gold in a ritual that dates back to 1919. Now, dealers and economists say knowledge gleaned on those calls could give some traders an unfair advantage when buying and selling the precious metal.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is scrutinizing how prices are set in the $20 trillion gold market, according to a person with knowledge of the review who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The London fix, the benchmark rate used by mining companies, jewelers and central banks to buy, sell and value the metal, is published twice daily after a telephone call involving Barclays Plc (BARC), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Societe Generale SA. (GLE)
Mark Carney: RBS allegations 'deeply troubling and extremely serious'
Mark Carney has described as "deeply troubling and extremely serious" allegations that Royal Bank of Scotland has been deliberately wrecking small businesses to make a profit.
The Bank of England governor told MPs on the Treasury select committee that if the claims about the bailed out institution proved to be true "this behaviour is a fundamental violation of the integrity of the banking relationship".
Bitcoin jumps to record of $947
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The virtual currency bitcoin jumped to a record of $947 Tuesday on the trading exchange Mt. Gox. In recent trade, one bitcoin bought $939.99 on Mt. Gox, the second-biggest exchange by volume, and $879 on BitStamp, the third-biggest exchange. Bitcoin had briefly pushed above $900 on Mt. Gox last week in the wake of a Senate hearing on virtual currencies.
U.S. Stocks Pare Gains Amid Rebalancing, Housing Data
U.S. stocks pared gains in the final minutes of trading before changes in MSCI indexes, offsetting a rally among homebuilders and technology shares. The Nasdaq Composite Index (CCMP) topped 4,000 for first time in 13 years.
Lennar Corp. and PulteGroup Inc. climbed at least 4.4 percent amid better-than-expected industry data. Apple rose 1.8 percent, pacing gains among technology companies. Tiffany (TIF) & Co. jumped 8.7 percent after profit topped analysts’ estimates and the jeweler boosted its forecast. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. 11 percent after Men’s Wearhouse Inc. offered to buy the apparel company for about $1.54 billion. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. fell 5.4 percent as the gaming company said it bought back all 12 million shares held by Icahn Group.
Nasdaq Composite closes above 4,000
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Tuesday after erasing gains in the final minutes of trading, but the Nasdaq Composite still scored its first close above 4,000 since September 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out another record close.
Encouraging housing data offset a weaker-than-expected reading on consumer confidence. Tech and consumer discretionary stocks also provided leadership on a low-volume day during a holiday-shortened week, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners.
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