El-Erian Says Sustaining Trump Rally Depends on Germany, China

The global stock surge tied to Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. has a better chance of enduring if the president-elect can coax nations such as Germany, Japan and China to embrace reforms, said Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz SE’s chief economic adviser. “In order for this Trump rally to be sustained, it’s not just about implementing policies at home,” El-Erian said Tuesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Obama Said to Use 1953 Law to Restrict Offshore Oil Drilling

President Barack Obama is preparing to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights in most of the U.S. Arctic and parts of the Atlantic, a move that could indefinitely restrict oil production there, according to people familiar with the decision. Obama will invoke a provision in a 1953 law that gives him wide latitude to withdraw U.S. waters from future oil and gas leasing, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Pentagon Refutes Trump on F-35’s – Out of Control’ Costs

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter jet isn’t spiraling out of control as President-elect Donald Trump has said, according to Pentagon officials preparing to making their case to the new administration. Critics of the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons system ignore the progress made since the program was reset in 2011, when it was six years behind schedule and $13 billion over budget, Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, who heads the office responsible for developing and acquiring the fighter jet, told reporters Monday.

Ex-U.S. Attorney Yang Said to Be Trump’s Top SEC Contender

President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating ex-U.S. attorney Debra Wong Yang to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, positioning her to be the second consecutive former federal prosecutor to lead Wall Street’s top regulator, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. While Trump and his transition team have spoken with a handful of candidates, Yang is the top contender to be SEC chairman, said the person, who asked not to be named because the incoming president hasn’t announced his pick.

SoftBank Inks First Deal After Trump Talk Spurs 3,000 Jobs

SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son told President-elect Donald Trump this month he would create 50,000 jobs in the U.S. Money for the first 3,000 positions was announced on Monday. Satellite startup OneWeb Ltd. said it raised $1.2 billion from SoftBank and existing investors, with the Japanese technology company providing $1 billion.

Obama Said to Use 1953 Law to Block Drilling in Arctic, Atlantic

President Barack Obama is preparing to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights in much of the U.S. Arctic and parts of the Atlantic, a move that could indefinitely restrict oil production there, according to two people familiar with the decision. Obama will invoke a provision in a 1953 law that gives him wide latitude to withdraw U.S. waters from future oil and gas leasing, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Obama Sets Up Water Clash With Mining Rule Trump Opposes

The Obama administration issued new regulations to protect streams and groundwater from coal mining, which congressional Republicans swiftly vowed to reverse. The industry says the U.S. Interior Department’s so-called stream protection rule will strand billions of dollars worth of coal in the ground.

Softbank invests $1bn in space satellite startup OneWeb

Softbank founder Masayoshi Son said it was the “first step” in a pledge made to US President-elect Donald Trump about US investment. Earlier this month Mr Son met Mr Trump and said he would put $50bn into US businesses and create 50,000 jobs over the next four years, Florida-based OneWeb, which is a direct rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is now estimated to be worth around $2.5bn following its latest funding round.

Air Force Cautions Trump Team on Defense Costs

The U.S. Air Force general in charge of the F-35 fighter jet program disputed President Elect Donald Trump’s contention that costs have run out of control, saying the days of price and schedule overruns in development of the new fighter jet largely ended in 2011. Air Force Lt.

Trump Passes 270 Electoral College Vote Count For Presidency

Donald Trump cleared the bar of 270 cast electoral college votes late Monday, putting him on track to become the nation’s 45th president. With 306 electoral college votes pledged in the Nov. 8 election, Trump surpassed the needed 270 votes to secure the presidency following votes cast in Texas, according to a tally by the Associated Press .

Net Neutrality Rule to Get Scrutiny From FCC Republicans – Soon’

Republicans poised to control the Federal Communications Commission next month said they’d revisit the net neutrality regulation “as soon as possible,” laying out plans to address a rule they’ve opposed and that Democrats support. The statement Monday from Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly indicates that opponents of the rule such as top broadband providers AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. may not need to wait for Congress to grapple with the regulation that requires equal treatment of web traffic.

With No Remaining Governors, the U.S. Postal Service Delivers Itself Into Uncharted Waters

You could soon have a legitimate reason for why those cards and packages never got to where they were supposed to go. A governance crisis has put a big question mark on the future of the United States Postal Service just in time for the holiday mail season, which is expected to peak Monday as Americans scramble to send off millions of greeting cards, letters, and packages ahead of holiday shipping deadlines later this week.

FCC Chair Wheeler To Step Down

The Federal Communications Commission is about to get a big shakeup in terms of personnel and quite likely in policy. On Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler [seen here], who pushed through controversial rules protecting net neutrality and guarding consumer privacy, announced he will step down from the commission on Jan. 20, the same day that Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president.

China to Return Seized U.S. Drone

China’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday it plans to return an underwater U.S. drone seized this week by a Chinese naval vessel in the South China Sea, but complained the United States was “hyping up” the incident. The drone was taken on Thursday, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory.

Tillerson’s Foreign Prowess Said Aided by Exxon Intelligence Arm

Even before Donald Trump tapped him to be the top U.S. diplomat, Rex Tillerson already had his own State Department. Behind the walls of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s secluded corporate headquarters in suburban Dallas, a little-known intelligence unit works to keep top executives informed on economic, social and political situations around the world so they never walk into a foreign negotiation unprepared.

Scaramucci Says Greg Fleming Advising on Possible SkyBridge Sale

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, says he has a team in place to explore the sale of his firm and discussions with possible buyers are underway. Scaramucci, who serves on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, told Bloomberg Television Friday that Greg Fleming, who previously led Morgan Stanley’s retail brokerage, is helping with the sale.

McCormick Said to Be Trump Front-Runner for Defense Deputy

Hedge fund manager and former Army officer David McCormick is the front-runner to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s deputy defense secretary, according to three people familiar with the presidential transition. McCormick, president of Bridgewater Associates Inc., the world’s biggest hedge fund, was eyed earlier as a possible Treasury secretary, a post that ultimately went to former hedge fund investor Steve Mnuchin.

VW Gets Weekend for – Intense’ Talks on Diesel-Cheating Case

A federal judge said Volkswagen AG has made “substantial progress” toward a settlement to get about 80,000 Audi, VW and Porsche vehicles with emissions-cheating 3.0-liter diesel engines fixed or off U.S. roads. Lawyers for the carmaker, consumers and the Justice Department have assured the court that negotiations are ongoing, but VW may be headed to trial if an agreement isn’t reached.

Pentagon Demands China Return Intercepted U.S. Naval Drone

The Pentagon demanded that China return a U.S. Navy underwater drone captured in international waters in the South China Sea, a confrontation likely to exacerbate tensions in a region where China is asserting greater control and expanding military installations. A Chinese naval ship unlawfully seized the small unmanned vehicle Thursday while the USNS Bowditch, a U.S. Navy survey ship, was collecting it in a routine operation 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to a Defense Department statement.

Giuliani Withdraws Consideration for Position in Trump Administration

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has removed his name from consideration for a position in President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration, the Trump transition team said on Friday. Giuliani, once considered a possible choice as Trump’s secretary of state, had told the Republican of his decision during a meeting on Nov. 29, the team said in a statement.