Economy
Stocks climb new peaks on trade deal, oil slips on demand worries (Thomas R.)
Key world equity indexes climbed to new records on Wednesday on hopes a U.S.-China trade deal will reduce harmful tensions, but oil prices slid on doubts the pact will spur world growth and boost crude demand.
Race to refine: the bid to clean up Africa’s gold rush (Thomas R.)
ENTEBBE (Reuters) – In a refinery just outside Uganda’s main airport, workers slip bars of freshly refined gold into clear plastic bags sealed with a sticker of the national flag – black, yellow and red – and the label “Ugandan’s Treasure.”
Putin engineers shake-up that could keep him in power longer (Sparky1)
President Vladimir Putin engineered a surprise shake-up of Russia’s leadership Wednesday, proposing changes to the constitution that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024.
Hours after he made the proposals, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev resigned and Putin named the little-known head of Russia’s tax service to replace him.
Trump tax cut hands $32 billion windfall to America’s top banks (Thomas R.)
Savings for the top six U.S. banks from President Trump’s signature tax overhaul accelerated last year, now topping $32 billion as the lenders curbed new borrowing, pared jobs and ramped up payouts to shareholders.
The US Air Force is fixing up a remote base that could help keep an eye on Russia (Thomas R.)
US airmen ventured north to the island of Jan Mayen in the Norwegian Sea in November to survey the isolated island’s airfield.
Members of the 435th Contingency Response Squadron “assessed runway surfaces, glideslope obstructions and firing capes,” the Air Force said in a release.
On the Money: Confronting fresh health insurance deductibles (Sparky1)
The new year often starts harshly for people with high-deductible health insurance.
Many deductibles reset Jan. 1, forcing patients to pay thousands of dollars for care or prescriptions before most insurance coverage starts. Such a financial hit can be brutal for patients with cancer or a chronic condition, some of whom may have just satisfied the previous year’s deductible the month before.
18 Signs That The Social Decay In America Is Worse Than It Has Ever Been Before (thc0655)
In recent years, so many Americans have become completely obsessed with the ups and downs of the political world, but meanwhile our nation as a whole continues to swirl even further down the toilet with each passing day. Virtually any measure of social welfare that you want to look at tells us that the fabric of our society is rapidly deteriorating, and there is no future for us if we stay on this highly self-destructive path.
Energy
Trump Says U.S. Troops Stayed in Syria ‘Because I Kept the Oil’ (Sparky1)
At a Wisconsin rally on Tuesday, President Donald Trump lauded his decision to retain troops in eastern Syria to control oil fields there, despite warnings that such a move could constitute a war crime.
The president delivered a characteristically bombastic speech in Milwaukee, touching on multiple foreign policy issues that have come to the fore in recent months.
Environment
NASA predicts that the massive bushfires devastating Australia will produce enough smoke to make at least one full circuit around the planet and return to Australia.
NASA’s Goddard research center said the smoke had already “traveled halfway around Earth” as of January 8, “crossing South America, turning the skies hazy, and causing colorful sunrises and sunsets.”
Man caught a 350-pound fish believed to be at least 50 years old (Thomas R.)
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently posted a photo on Facebook of a 350-pound Warsaw grouper that a man caught off the coast at the end of December.
‘Amazing’: New embryo made of nearly extinct rhino species (Sparky1)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Researchers say they have successfully created another embryo of the nearly extinct northern white rhino in a global effort to keep the species alive. Just two animals remain, and both are female.
Gold & Silver
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