Month: November 2018

One of the latest allegations of sexual assault to emerge against disgraced Hollywood producer (and Clinton and Obama power-donor) Harvey Weinstein is one of the most sickening yet. According to court documents cited by the BBC and New York Post, a former model and actress identified only as Jane Doe is alleging that Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she was a 16-year-old virgin who had just moved to the US from Poland.

Doe, the tenth Weinstein victim to join a class-action lawsuit against the former mogul, alleged in her complaint that Weinstein invited her for what she thought would be a business lunch back in 2004, but instead he took her to his apartment in SoHo, where he angrily demanded that she sleep with him, even going so far as to pull off his pants and force the young woman to stroke his exposed penis. Terrified, she says she refused his demands that she have sex with him. He initially wouldn’t let her leave his apartment, but eventually relented. The woman had met Weinstein only three days earlier at a party hosted by her modeling agency, Next.

During the encounter, Weinstein allegedly boasted that he had ‘made’ the careers of actresses like Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow.

“…Weinstein wasted no time in aggressively and threateningly demanding sex,” the suit alleges. He told the distraught starlet that if she wanted to be an actress she had to give in to his perverted desires.

“Weinstein threatened and pressured Jane Doe, saying that he had ‘made’ the careers of Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and that neither would be working without him,” the suit alleges.

“He then took off his pants and forcibly held Jane Doe while taking her hand and making her touch and massage his penis,” the filing states.

Weinstein continued to pursue the model for the next decade, even getting her a small part in “The Nanny Diaries” even as she continued to refuse his demands for sex. Eventually, Weinstein let it be known that she shouldn’t be hired and “ensured that she never received work.”

The complaint also includes lewd details about sexually aggressive comments made by Weinstein, who once remarked that he’d like to “f**k that P***y” in front of Doe after seeing a video of Christina Aguilera. He then unzipped his pants and started pleasuring himself.

In a 2008 after-hours meeting in his Greenwich Street office to arrange for her to sign with the modeling agency Marilyn, Weinstein spotted Christina Aguilera on a nearby TV and allegedly said, “‘Wow, I’d really like to f—k that p—-y’ then unzipped his pants and began touching his penis,” the filing states. Jane Doe fled the room.

The claim represents the first time that the woman has come forward with allegations against Weinstein, who has been accused of rape of sexual assault or harassment by more than 80 women. Weinstein’s lawyer called the accusations “preposterous”. The class action suit formed when a federal judge ordered three women (Melissa Thompson, Caitlin Dulany and Larissa Gomez, to combine their suit with six other plaintiffs including Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Thomas, Melissa Sagemiller and Nannett Klatt. The women are suing Weinstein and his former production company, the Weinstein Co., Weinstein was indicted in New York earlier this year on charges of rape and criminal sexual acts. Even if he escapes prison, which is looking increasingly unlikely after the successful conviction of Bill Cosby, it’s likely that the scandal will leave Weinstein bankrupt.

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In the latest move to pressure Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, Donald Trump signed an executive order enabling new sanctions on Venezuela’s gold sector, in a bid to disrupt trade with Turkey which U.S. officials believe is undermining efforts to cripple Venezuela’s economy and force Maduro and members of his government out of office.

“I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order with respect to Venezuela that takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015,” Trump wrote in his letter to the leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate.

According to Bloomberg, the order which was signed by Trump on Wednesday and will be announced at a speech Thursday by National Security Adviser John Bolton, targets those “operating corruptly within the gold sector” and will have a “fairly significant” effect on the country’s economy.

New US sanctions on #Venezuela target gold exports. pic.twitter.com/U0OsKGYgBU

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 1, 2018

“The new sanctions will target networks operating within corrupt Venezuelan economic sectors and deny them access to stolen wealth,” Bolton will say, according to an advanced copy of his speech seen by Bloomberg. “Most immediately, the new sanctions will prevent U.S. persons from engaging with actors and networks complicit in corrupt or deceptive transactions in the Venezuelan gold.”

While it was not initially clear what form the sanctions will take, the Treasury Department is will announce details of how the latest sanctions will be implemented later on Thursday. And while the initial effort will focus on Venezuela’s gold sector, whose exports Venezuela allegedly uses to circumvent financial sanctions, Trump’s order gives the State and Treasury departments authority to target additional industries in the future.

Bolton, speaking at Freedom Tower, the symbolic building where the federal government received many refugees fleeing Fidel Castro’s Cuba, framed the plans as part of a broader effort by the U.S. to promote democracy in the Americas.

Venezuela’s gold reserves have declined sharply in the past four years, and according to the IMF were just above 5MM troy oz most recently, down from a recent peak just below 12 million. Much of this decline is due to what some have speculated has been payment for imports in gold, and is what the US is hoping to curb going forward.

The sanctions are likely to have a particular effect on trade with Turkey, with tons of gold sent there annually for refinement and processing. Officials have also voiced concern that some of the gold may be making its way to Iran in violation of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Venezuela’s gold industry has been under scrutiny by U.S. officials in recent weeks, with the Treasury Department noting that many mines are run by criminal gangs.

Separately, Bolton will also suggest that the U.S. is preparing sanctions against the government of Nicaragua after the violent political crisis sparked earlier this year by President Daniel Ortega’s announced changes to the country’s social security program. The U.S. wants free and fair elections in the country, the Trump administration official said.

“This Troika of Tyranny, this triangle of terror stretching from Havana to Caracas to Managua, is the cause of immense human suffering, the impetus of enormous regional instability, and the genesis of a sordid cradle of communism in the Western Hemisphere,” Bolton will say. “Under President Trump, the United States is taking direct action against all three regimes to defend the rule of law, liberty, and basic human decency in our region.”

As Bloomberg adds, Bolton’s Thursday speech in Miami is not expected to announce any changes in the U.S. posture toward Central American countries that have recently drawn the ire of Trump after the formation of a pair of migrant caravans joined by thousands of individuals who say they are traveling to seek refugee status in the U.S.

While Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut aid to the caravan’s origin countries – Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador – the official said the U.S. has had a productive dialogue with those governments since the formation of the migrant groups.

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So much for all that US-China trade truce talk.

Just hours after a presidential tweet expressing optimism about US-China trade talks helped save US stocks from turning red on the first trading day of the month (with an assist from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who later told Chinese media that he would be “willing” to meet with Trump at the G-20 summit later this month), the DOJ has unveiled an indictment filed in California against a Chinese state-owned company and three Taiwanese nationals for allegedly stealing trade secrets from Micron Technologies.

• *U.S. SAYS CHINA STATE-OWNED CO. STOLE MICRON TRADE SECRETS
• *U.S. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT ALSO NAMES THREE TAIWAN NATIONALS
• *UNITED MICROELECTRONICS, FUJIAN JINHUA INDICTED IN U.S.

Allegations about the alleged theft of chip designs from Micron were first detailed in legal documents filed in the US and Taiwan, which were cited by the New York Times in an investigation published back in June detailing  China’s efforts to acquire by either legitimate – or, failing that, illegitimate – means trade secrets that the Chinese government saw as vital to its Made in China 2025 initiative.

Micron has been the subject of punitive measures, including an investigation in China, one of its biggest foreign markets, since spurning a $23 billion takeover offer from a Chinese company. Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company, one of the companies facing indictment, was accused by the NYT of being behind the elaborate technology theft, while Taiwan-based UMC reportedly helped Fujian carry out the heist, claims that both companies denied. The indictment will almost certainly escalate tensions between the US and China, which has been enraged by President Trump’s demands that the Chinese government roll back its support for initiatives tied to Made in China 2025.

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Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via Oilprice.com,

Tesla has shelved plans to open a store in Turkey after orders for the U.S. company’s electric vehicles have come to a halt following hefty tariff hikes for American imports in Turkey, local newspaper Dünya reports.

In May this year, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on Twitter, replying to a follower, “Btw, planning to launch Tesla in Turkey later this year. Love your country & will be there in person for the launch.”

However, at the height of the U.S.-Turkish diplomatic and trade row this summer over the detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, Turkey slapped steep import tariffs on American goods, including on cars. The pastor was released earlier this month, but in August Turkey had raised the import tariffs on U.S. cars to 120 percent a week after the U.S. imposed additional tariffs on Turkish steel imports.  

New orders for Tesla in Turkey have come to a halt in light of the additional customs tax, Ferhat Albayrak, General Manager of luxury car sales market leader S&S Motors, told the Turkish Dünya newspaper.

Last November, Musk met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discussed cooperation between Tesla and SpaceX and Turkish companies.

But Tesla and Musk’s affair with Turkey took a negative turn early this September, after the EV maker’s CEO appeared on live podcast and smoked marijuana.

Following the viral podcast, a Turkish municipality that was planning to work with Tesla on electric buses and charging infrastructure scrapped those plans. Mehmet Gürbüz, board chairman at the municipal transportation company in the western Bal?kesir province, told Turkish media after Musk’s podcast:

“We would be signing a serious deal for Tesla too as it would involve charging stations and infrastructure conversion. However, we find that Elon Musk’s behavior live on air would serve as a negative example for the youth, unacceptable for the fight against drugs. That’s why we give up on our goal to work with Tesla, and we retract our invitation to Elon Musk.”

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Democratic lawmakers are licking their chops for the opportunity to settle a few scores and ensure that “Russiagate” follows President Trump into the 2020 election. 

California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters told a group of constituents last week what she would do after the November 6th election, which she said “may be the most important one that you’ve ever had to experience.”

The 80-year-old Rep. will chair the Financial Services Committee if Democrats regain control of the House. 

“I will be the first African-American, the first woman to chair the powerful Financial Services Committee,” Waters said. “That’s all of Wall Street. That’s all the insurance companies, that’s all the banks. And so, of course, the CEOs of the banks now are saying, ‘What can we do to stop Maxine Waters because if she gets in she’s going to give us a bad time?'” 

She then threatened Republicans: 

“I have people who are homeless who have never gotten back into a home. What am I going to do to you? What I am going to do to you is fair. I’m going to do to you what you did to us,” Waters vowed. 

Adam Schiff and Russia, Russia, Russia

Another California Democrat, Adam Schiff, told CNN‘s Wolf Blitzer last week that if Democrats take back the house he will instigate investigations into Russian money laundering as well as President Trump’s businesses. 

Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” that Russian money laundering is one area he wants to probe tied to Russia’s 2016 election interference. Schiff said it’s one issue where he didn’t know whether special counsel Robert Mueller had been given authority to look into the matter. –CNN

“The question, though, that I don’t know whether Mueller has been able to answer — because I don’t know whether he’s been given the license to look into it — is were the Russians laundering money through the Trump Organization?” said Schiff. 

“And that will be a very high priority to get an answer to. For the reason that if they were doing this, it’s not only a crime, but it’s something provable,” Schiff continued, suggesting that the Russians had found an issue they “could hold over the head” of Trump, and that they “that might be influencing US policy in a way that is against our national interest.”

Schiff added that while the “Republicans walked away from the investigation, the Democratic minority has continued” their investigative efforts, adding “And that work won’t stop when we take the majority.”

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With stocks erasing yesterday afternoon’s plunge, the hope (and the hype) is back that the worst is behind us. As the turn of a page on the calendar has its usual ‘bullish’ impact on newsletter writers and sell-side analysts, self-reinforcing anecdotes are running amok (despite the fact that FANG stocks are sliding today as The Dow surges).

And while it is is easy to quickly jump to fading yet another dead cat bounce, we have seen how far these short-squeezes can run before, and as former fund manager and FX trader Richard Breslow notes, “it’s time to respect the market, not disdain it,” although he’s not buying the f**king dip yet…

Via Bloomberg,

It’s a new month and a loudly proclaimed surge of renewed optimism is being exhibited all over my screens. Equities, emerging markets and global yields are up. Traders are espousing newfound faith that solutions will be found. Doesn’t matter to what. Everyone is saved. If you believe that, you should be chasing the market rather than just getting stopped out of what has been working.

It’s tempting, I know, to want to fade these bounces. It was the first thing I thought of. After all, I haven’t changed my opinions on anything. But it feels like a low-probability trade. The market just doesn’t feel like it’s ready to reassert itself and the longer it takes, the greater will be the pull to lock in any profits that remain. And the feedback loops get stronger and stronger.

Levels like 1.13 in EUR/USD and 7 in USD/CNY, which felt like they were just begging to be taken out, may remain close in terms of pips, but a little too far away given positioning and traders’ risk averse state of mind when it comes to ceding P&L.

And if both these levels hold, there is a strong possibility that the allure for carry will prove strongly, even if fleetingly, more than can be resisted. Old habits really do die hard.

The economic news in South Africa has been bad. Just this week headlines have highlighted a bad government bond auction in response to a poorly received budget. A trade deficit that yesterday sent the rand to a new three-week low. And today a manufacturing PMI which was a train wreck. What’s the currency doing? Flying. Strongest performer on my launchpad.

If you eyeball it with the price action of China’s offshore yuan, you would be hard-pressed not to think they were twins. It took S&P 500 futures a little time to wake up, but then they quickly followed suit.

Should this carry on, commentaries will take a very different tone in sympathy. Compromises and truces will out word count seeing reason and intractable differences. And this will last until October becomes a distant memory. Which could be anywhere from this afternoon to sometime in January when the world is bulled up for the new year.

It’s important not to change your world view based on short-term asset price movements. But it’s also folly to ignore them or not take them seriously. Snowballs have been known to cause avalanches. Sticking with your guns has been a discipline that should be selectively employed. Because it’s hard to do that with tight draw-down constraints and market flightiness. I think the U.S. economy is strong. Europe and China are weak. But that is irrelevant for the moment.

The latest string of liquidity measures from the PBOC is getting a lot of attention. Forgotten for the moment is how many previous policy shifts have yet to kick-start things for them.

And if they come at the expense of deleveraging efforts, that is long-term quite negative. Compare European and U.S. numbers and it really is a stretch to trade based on some spurious argument that the relative economic growth will converge to the euros advantage. That’s some form of mean reversion run amok.

I’m usually an advocate of getting in there and seeing how it feels. That is what we get paid for. But there are times when patience really is a virtue. Even if it is just to wait until the rest of the market comes to what you think are its senses.

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After publicly decrying the journalist’s death as a “terrible mistake” and a “terrible tragedy,” The Washington Post is reporting that – according to people familiar with the discussion – that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a dangerous Islamist days after his disappearance in a phone call with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton.

WaPo reports that during the call, which occurred before the kingdom publicly acknowledged killing Khashoggi, the crown prince urged Kushner and Bolton to preserve the U.S.-Saudi alliance and said the journalist was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group long opposed by Bolton and other senior Trump officials.

However, the crown prince said during a panel discussion last week.

“The incident that happened is very painful, for all Saudis… The incident is not justifiable.”

Additionally, the Saudi ambassador to US, Khalid bin Salman, described Khashoggi last month as a “friend” who dedicated “a great portion of his life to serve his country.”

In a statement released to The Washington Post, Khashoggi’s family called the characterization of the columnist as dangerous Islamist inaccurate.

“Jamal Khashoggi was not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He denied such claims repeatedly over the past several years,” the family said.

“Jamal Khashoggi was not a dangerous person in any way possible. To claim otherwise would be ridiculous.”

Finally, and unsurprisngly, a Saudi official on Wednesday denied that the crown prince made the allegations, saying “routine calls do exist from time to time” with the young leader and top U.S. officials, but “no such commentary was conveyed.”

Just as the dust is starting to settle (at least in the media’s goldfish-like news cycles), Turkey’s statements on acid-dissolving Khashoggi’s body and this reported ‘bombshell’ will likely push the US-Saudi relationship back to the front pages. The timing on the leak makes one wonder whether it is designed to put pressure on Trump to act against the Saudis, and/or whether this implied more pressure on the Saudis to spread the cash and payoff a few more raised voices to get back to the normal despotic regime they are used to.

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