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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Biden Pokes the Bear

by James Rickards 

With just 2 months left in office, President Biden and his handlers have decided to poke the bear once again.

The New York Times reports that the Biden admin has given Ukraine the greenlight to strike deep into Russian territory using American missiles. The new rules will apparently allow Ukraine to strike into the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukraine has invaded, and possibly beyond.

On Tuesday, the first strikes were completed. Ukraine launched a number of missiles at an arsenal in Russia’s Bryansk region, reportedly destroying it.

The strike was conducted using US ATACMS ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 190 miles. In the next few weeks or months Ukraine may also receive Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), according to a Reuters report from last month.

JASSMs are American air-launched cruise missiles with a large 1,000-pound warhead and range of up to 575 miles in the extended-range version. The standard version has a range of approximately 260 miles. It is unclear which version of the JASSM Ukraine will receive.

Even before the Bryansk strikes, Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed the NYT reporting on deep strikes, stating, “Attacks are not carried out with words; these things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves – they certainly will.”

Last month, President Putin made his opinion on the matter clear. He said that such long-range missile strikes would mean direct NATO involvement in the conflict, as US personnel would ultimately need to target and fire the missiles into Russia.

To be clear, Ukraine already is firing such missiles at Russian targets in formerly Ukrainian areas such as Crimea. But these areas have proven to be hard targets, as they are well-defended by Russian surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and electronic warfare (EW) systems.

Now Russia will be forced to defend a much larger area from missile threats. Staging areas and ammo depots would come under greater threat. Several Russian cities would also be in range.

Putin may retaliate against NATO members in times and places of his choosing. Retaliation may include cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, interdiction of shipping traffic in the Black Sea and the use of proxies in Syria, Lebanon and North Korea to attack U.S. forces or to stir regional animosities. Putin can also turn off oil and natural gas shipments to Europe at will. Iran and China stand ready to assist Russia in her efforts. Most importantly, he also leaves the nuclear option open. In all events, Biden’s blunder and Putin’s response keep the world on a path toward World War III.

Trump will be sworn in soon, and only then will a true negotiation process begin. Had Kamala won, however, there would be a much greater cause for concern.

But even with Trump incoming, the immediate result of this escalation will be more bloodshed and hardship on both sides. Russia is advancing all along the frontline and is carrying out devastating attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid. The country may accelerate its attacks if missiles are fired deep into Russia.

The approaching winter is set to be a hard one for the citizens of Ukraine.

Deep State Kicks and Screams

Trump will enter office with the expectation that he will end the war in Ukraine. In a recent Newsweek poll, 67% of Trump voters said the US should “stop” or “reconsider” support for Ukraine.

On numerous occasions, Trump has said he would bring a rapid conclusion to the war.

And I continue to believe he will begin the process as soon as possible. But the war may not end immediately, as this last-minute provocation by the Biden administration will hamper the process.

It’s clear that the deep state is not ready to concede the war in Ukraine. They mistakenly believe it can still be won. But the truth is America hasn’t won a war in a long time.

Recent American interventions have mostly been stalemates or failures. America has lost its industrial edge, exporting the bulk of our manufacturing capacity. And while we focused on fighting rebels and extremists, the rest of the world has been preparing for peer-to-peer conflicts.

We are behind on hypersonic missiles and drones. America’s advantage in strategic intelligence assets such as satellite networks is intact but eroding.

The US retains the advantage when it comes to AI and microchips. We’ve cut off adversaries’ access to high-end AI hardware. But this advantage won’t last forever. China and others now have strong incentives to develop their own technology. The restrictions will slow them down by up to a decade, but will ultimately fail.

A Multipolar World

The world is entering a multipolar era, meaning that America’s time as the lone hegemon is ending. This applies to both the military and financial worlds.

The BRICS are expanding and constructing their own parallel financial system, complete with SWIFT, IMF, and World Bank equivalents.

Eventually, the BRICS will launch their own currency, but as I’ve mentioned, this will take time to play out. They are currently building the foundation of a parallel system.

For now, they are making progress on becoming “dollar-resistant”. Their goal is to eventually become “dollar-proof”. If Trump plays his cards right, the Global South may be slowed or even dissuaded from this path.

Regardless of how it plays out, the period we are entering promises to be disruptive. It’s a good thing that Trump will oversee it. He’s a tough negotiator capable of dealing with foreign leaders. Look what he did with North Korea during his first term. His diplomacy backed us off from a dangerous collision course.

Today Trump is set to reintroduce statesmanship to the White House, and we’ll all be better off for it.

https://dailyreckoning.com/biden-pokes-the-bear/

China-based biotech Laekna teams up with Lilly to develop muscle preserving obesity drug

 Eli Lilly (LLY) and Hong Kong-listed Laekna (2105.HK) will collaborate to develop an experimental obesity drug that aims to help patients lose weight while preserving muscle, the biotech said on Wednesday.

Lilly is aiming to strengthen its position as a leader in the obesity treatment market, which is expected to hit $150 billion in revenue by the next decade. Last year, the company spent about $2 billion to acquire Versanis' drug that acts directly on fat cells, without prompting lean mass loss.

Several other drugmakers including Regeneron and Scholar Rock are testing treatments that could help preserve muscle, which is often lost when patients lose weight through lifestyle changes, bariatric surgery or the use of GLP-1 treatments such as Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk (NVO)'s Wegovy.

The collaboration will accelerate the development of Laekna's experimental drug, LAE102, which belongs to a class of drugs that play a key role in muscle regeneration as well as the breakdown and storage of fat for energy.

Lilly will fund the development of the drug and share its resources and expertise, but Laekna will retain the global rights for the drug and plans to advance the early-stage trial of the drug in China.

Laekna said the drug has shown to increase lean mass and decrease fat mass in lab studies. In combination with a GLP-1 treatment, it could further reduce fat mass and help patients significantly regain the lean mass lost during weight loss.


https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/china-based-biotech-laekna-teams-151059263.html

Jazz OKd on Biliary Tract Cancer Treatment

 Ziihera is the first and only dual HER2-targeted bispecific antibody approved for HER2+ BTC in the U.S.

Ziihera received accelerated approval based on results including a 52% objective response rate and median duration of response of 14.9 months as determined by independent central review (ICR) from the HERIZON-BTC-01 clinical trial

Company to host investor webcast on Dec. 11, 2024

The company will host a webcast on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. GMT to provide investors an overview of clinical data, patient need and commercialization strategy for Ziihera. The webcast will include commentary from a leading BTC expert and the company's senior management. 

Audio webcast/conference call: 
U.S. Dial-In Number: +1 800 715 9871
Ireland Dial-In Number: +353 1800 943 926
Additional global dial-in numbers are available here.
Passcode: 4898380 

A live webcast of the presentation may be accessed from the Investors section of the Jazz Pharmaceuticals website at www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com. Please connect to the website prior to the start of the presentation to ensure adequate time for any software downloads that may be necessary to listen to the webcast. An archive of the webcast will be available for at least one week following the presentation on the Investors section of the company's website at www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jazz-pharmaceuticals-announces-us-fda-approval-of-ziihera-zanidatamab-hrii-for-the-treatment-of-adults-with-previously-treated-unresectable-or-metastatic-her2-positive-ihc-3-biliary-tract-cancer-btc-302312216.html

Hamas: No hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Gaza war ends

 Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended.

"Without an end to the war, there can be no prisoner swap," Hayya said in a televised interview with the group's Al-Aqsa television channel, reiterating the group's position on how to bring the war to an end.

"If the aggression is not ended, why would the resistance and in particular Hamas, return the prisoners (hostages)?" he said. "How would a sane or an insane person lose a strong card he owns while the war is continuing?"

Efforts to negotiate a truce for Gaza have stalled, and the U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional permanent ceasefire. Washington's U.N. ambassador said the U.S. would only support a resolution that explicitly calls for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire.

Hayya, who led the group's negotiating team in talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, blamed the lack of progress on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in turn holds the Islamist group responsible for the stalled talks.

"There are contacts under way with some countries and mediators to revive this file (negotiation). We are ready to continue with those efforts but it is more important to see a real will on the side of the occupation to end the aggression," said Hayya.

"The reality proves that Netanyahu is the one who undermines it (negotiations)," he added.

Speaking during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had destroyed the Islamist group's military capabilities.

HAMAS WELCOMES EGYPT'S GAZA POST-WAR PROPOSAL

Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave, and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of each one.

Hamas wants a deal that ends the war and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held captive in Gaza as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.

Qatar, a key ceasefire mediator alongside Egypt, said it had informed Hamas and Israel that it would stall its mediation efforts unless the two warring parties showed "willingness and seriousness" to reach a deal.

On Nov. 19, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said the political office of Hamas in Doha had not been permanently closed.

Earlier this month, Reuters quoted a U.S. official saying Washington had asked Qatar to expel the group and that Doha had passed this message on to Hamas.

Al-Ansari said the Hamas office had been created to facilitate mediation efforts to end the Gaza war.

Hayya said Hamas had welcomed an Egyptian proposal for Hamas to form an administrative committee with the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas to run the Gaza Strip, a move that addresses the outstanding question of how the enclave would be run when the fighting stops.

But an agreement has yet to be finalised, Hayya said. Israel rejects any Hamas role in governing Gaza after the war and neither does it trust Abbas' Palestinian Authority to take over running the enclave.

The 2023 attack on Israel, which shattered Israel's aura of invincibility, marked the country's bloodiest day in its history, with 1,200 people killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with its most destructive offensive in Gaza, killing nearly 44,000 people and wounding 103,898, according to the Gaza health ministry, and turning the enclave into a wasteland of rubble with millions desperate for food, fuel, water and sanitation.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hamas-no-hostages-prisoners-swap-183537158.html

France's Le Pen threatens to topple government on cost-of-living concerns

 France’s Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) party has threatened to topple the country’s fragile coalition government if her party’s concerns over the cost of living are not included in the country’s 2025 Budget.

Ms Le Pen said that RN opposes increasing the tax burden on households, entrepreneurs or pensioners and that these demands were not yet reflected in the upcoming budget.

Her warning shot comes despite her facing a major setback, with Paris prosecutors seeking a two-year prison sentence and an additional five-year ban from public office for suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds. She denies the allegations. Analysts say Ms Le Pen‘s legal woes could accelerate her plans to bring down the government.

Prime minister Michel Barnier has suggested the divided government could use a controversial article in the constitution to ram the budget bill through legislature without a vote. But the move would likely trigger a no-confidence vote, which the RN and the left could use to topple the government.

“We will not accept that the purchasing power of the French be once again hit. This is a red line and if this red line is crossed, we will vote no-confidence,” Ms Le Pen told RTL radio.

The RN has traditionally focused on anti-immigration and security issues, but cost of living concerns have become a key part of Ms Le Pen’s election platform following inflation fears.

Asked about Ms Le Pen‘s threat, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: “Those who would topple the government will deprive the country of a budget and create disorder and chaos.”

Ms Le Pen also said on Wednesday the RN would vote for the far-left LFI party’s proposal to scrap President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Left-wing lawmakers have said they would trigger a vote of no-confidence in the government.

To survive, Mr Barnier would need the RN to abstain from the vote.

While some RN lawmakers have been quick to wave the flag of non-cooperation, its head – and Le Pen protege – Jordan Bardella has said the decision will depend on whether the final cut of the budget reflects their demands.

https://www.aol.com/france-le-pen-threatens-topple-141142690.html

Comcast to spin off some cable TV networks as streaming dominates

 Comcast said on Wednesday that it plans to spin-off the bulk of its fading NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, as the company said it is repositioning itself for growth in the streaming era.

Shares of the company were off less than 1% after the announcement that Comcast would separate its entertainment and news channels, including USA Network, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel, into a new, publicly traded company.Comcast will retain the core of NBCUniversal's entertainment assets, including its NBC broadcast network, sports and news, its film and television studios, and the Bravo network, which are seen as fueling growth for its Peacock streaming service. It also plans to keep the expanding theme park business.

Cowen & Co analysts in a note said the spin-off may well be a precursor to Comcast combining with another pay TV provider, such as Charter Communications, by shedding "toxic" cable channels that might be an obstacle to regulatory approval under the incoming Trump administration.

Cable television pioneer John Malone earlier this month told investors that Charter should merge with one of its larger media or telecom rivals to remain competitive.

The new, stand-alone company, whose cable networks generated $7 billion in annual revenue, would similarly be positioned as an acquirer, or a target, sources said.

The tax-free spin-off is expected to take a year to complete.

"The most likely buyers of these cable channels are private equity firms or other media conglomerates," said Emarketer analyst Ross Benes.


"PE would have an easier time hiding financial losses from a purchase than public companies would. PE buyers would cut costs and wrangle out what value is left of the networks, attempting to squeeze out quick profits," Benes added.

'STREAMING WON'

Comcast's decision comes more than a decade after it secured full control of NBCUniversal in a series of deals with General Electric, transforming the company from a cable operator to a media behemoth when such assets were attractive.

It marks an inflection point for Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who earned the nickname "the builder" for the series of acquisitions that grew the cable business his father founded.

Comcast's cable networks have declined from their heyday, as millions of viewers migrated to internet streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.

"The pay TV bundle had a great 30-year plus run," said Jon Miller, CEO of Integrated Media which specializes in digital media investments. "Things change. Streaming won. That reality is now setting in."

Still, Comcast's cable networks reach 70 million U.S. households, making the new company attractive to investors, distributors and potential partners.

"The company will have significant cash flow, a strong balance sheet and the financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, both organically and through acquisitions," Comcast President Mike Cavanagh wrote in a memo to employees seen by Reuters.

Activate CEO Michael Wolf predicts the pay TV business will stabilize at about 50 million U.S. households, and continue to throw off cash.

"This is a smart move," said Wolf. "It allows Comcast to continue to get value out of these cable networks and focus the rest of the business on other areas which have a lot of growth prospects".

In yet another deal underscoring the changing landscape of the media industry, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon owner Paramount Global agreed to merge with streaming-era upstart Skydance Media earlier this year.

Mark Lazarus, who currently serves as chairman of NBCUniversal's media group, will lead the new venture as CEO, while Anand Kini, CFO of NBCUniversal, will be the operating chief and finance head of the new company.

Donna Langley will become chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment & Studios, an expanded role that will give her oversight of all entertainment programming. Matt Strauss will become chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, where he will continue to oversee the company's steaming business as well as NBC Sports, ad sales and content distribution.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/comcast-moves-ahead-cable-network-130929757.html

Mexico lower house votes to end 'autonomous' regulatory agencies

 Mexico's lower house of Congress on Wednesday approved a reform to abolish most of the country's autonomous bodies that regulate some economic sectors and ensure government transparency, a measure that could deepen tensions with the U.S. and risk potential credit rating downgrades.

Lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies voted for the measure with 347 votes in favor to 128 against, with no abstentions, after hours of at times heated debate, some lawmakers exchanging jeers and personal insults.

A final vote on objections raised about details of the reform is expected to take place on Thursday. It would then move to the Senate, where ruling party Morena holds a large majority.

The measure is one of several constitutional reforms presented by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in February - and backed by current President Claudia Sheinbaum - which he said was aimed at cutting back public spending by centralizing the state apparatus.

The reform proposes scrapping autonomous public bodies including antitrust watchdog Cofece, telecommunications regulator IFT, energy regulator CRE, hydrocarbon regulator CNH and public information and data protection office INAI.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-11-20/mexicos-lower-house-votes-to-abolish-autonomous-bodies