Europe Accuses Putin Of Faking Peace Talks With Trump Envoys

 After the American delegation sent by President Trump met some 5 hours with President Putin and his team in Moscow Tuesday night, but with no significant progress made (and with some observers declaring it a 'failure'), some European officials are trying to have an 'I told you so' moment.

Ukrainian and European officials on Wednesday have alleged Putin is faking a desire to achieve peace, and is intentionally wasting Washington's time while prolonging the war and intensifying strikes on the battlefield.

For example, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared immediately after the Moscow discussions that Putin should "stop wasting the world's time." The Zelensky government, it should be noted, has also been quietly frustrated with the White House for largely sidelining its long-running objection to territorial concessions. But the US plan is truly "new" in that it offers Russia de facto control of land in the Donbass and Crimea.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper voiced similar criticism, saying Putin "should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace."

Baltic and northern European states have continued in their rhetoric challenging the Kremlin, with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna responding, "What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. He's pushing more aggressively on the battlefield." The top diplomat said, "It's pretty obvious that he doesn't want to have any kind of peace."

And Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said similarly, "So far we haven't seen any concessions from the side of the aggressor, which is Russia, and I think the best confidence-building measure would be to start with a full ceasefire."

While the Kremlin has called the Tuesday Moscow talks "constructive" - it conceded that little actual progress was made toward a deal, given Russia is demanding nothing less than full legal and international recognition of the territories under its control. 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meanwhile is calling on allies to ensure Ukraine is in its strongest possible position as negotiations proceed. Of course this involves flooding Kiev with more money and weapons. "The peace talks are ongoing. That's good," Rutte said.

"But at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians. But also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table," he added.

More allegations of feigning interest in a peace process out of Western pundits:

Meanwhile mutual strikes on energy infrastructure continues to escalate. President Putin has also warned his military is readying to expand strikes on Ukrainian ports, in retaliation for a spate of drone attacks on tankers transporting Russian oil to global markets.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europe-accuses-putin-faking-peace-talks-trump-envoys

'9 In 10 College Students Think 'Words Can Be Violence': Survey'

 by Gabrielle Temaat via The College Fix,

Nine out of ten undergraduate students think that “words can be violence” at least “somewhat,” according to a new Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression survey. 

The poll also showed that ideological gaps between left-leaning and right-leaning students are widening.

When respondents were asked how much the statement “words can be violence” describes their thoughts, 47 percent answered with “completely” or “mostly.” Twenty-eight percent said it describes their thoughts “somewhat,” and 15 percent said “slightly.”

Additionally, around 59 percent of students said “silence is violence” describes their views at least “somewhat,” though only 28 percent said it describes their thoughts “completely” or “mostly.” 

“When people start thinking that words can be violence, violence becomes an acceptable response to words,” FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens said in a news release following the poll. 

“Even after the murder of Charlie Kirk at a speaking event, college students think that someone’s words can be a threat. This is antithetical to a free and open society, where words are the best alternative to political violence,” Stevens said. 

The poll also showed that moderate and conservative students have grown less supportive of disruptive or violent tactics to stop campus speakers, while liberal students’ support for those tactics has stayed the same or risen slightly compared to the spring. 

At the same time, moderate and conservative students have become more open to allowing controversial speakers, while liberal students have maintained or increased their opposition to those speakers.

In particular, opposition among liberal students “increased considerably” to a speaker who previously said “The police are just as racist as the Ku Klux Klan” and “Children should be allowed to transition without parental consent,” according to the survey report. 

FIRE conducted the survey in collaboration with College Pulse to evaluate campus free speech after Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination at Utah Valley University. The poll contained 21 questions and was given to 2,028 undergrads to gauge their comfort with a range of sensitive topics.

Half of the students surveyed said Kirk’s assassination has made them less willing to attend or host controversial events on campus, and about 20 percent reported feeling less comfortable even going to class.

A majority of students said the incident made no difference in their willingness to speak up on controversial political topics in class. However, 19 percent said they felt a “great deal” less comfortable 26 percent said they felt “slightly” less comfortable.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/9-10-college-students-think-words-can-be-violence-survey

Strategy's Saylor in talks with MSCI over potential exclusion from indices

 Strategy (MSTR) is engaging with MSCI (MSCI) over a possible exclusion from the index provider's indices, Michael Saylor told Reuters in a Binance event in Dubai on Wednesday.

Michael Saylor has served as Strategy's executive chairman since August 2022, according to the company website.

MSTR shares were +2.71% pre-market to $186.25, while MSCI was +0.19% to $548.35.

MSCI reportedly said it plans to decide by January 15 on whether it will remove crypto treasury companies, whose business model resembles investment funds that are currently not eligible for index inclusion.

Strategy is a part of the MSCI USA and MSCI World indices, the report noted.

"It won't make any difference, in my opinion," Saylor reportedly said about a potential exclusion from MSCI's indices.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/strategy-s-saylor-in-talks-with-msci-over-potential-exclusion-from-indices-report/ar-AA1RDaJz

White House to ramp up robotics agenda in ’26; here are the most-shorted robotics ETFs

 The Trump administration is intensifying its focus on robotics as a part of its broader initiative to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, Politico reported Wednesday.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is actively engaging with leaders of the robotics industry and is considering an executive order to advance this sector’s growth, the report said. This push aligns with efforts to compete with China, which leads the world in industrial robotics deployment with 1.8 million robots—four times the U.S. total.

Here are the top robotics-related ETFs ranked by short interest 

• ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) – 3.68%
• Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) – 1.50%
• Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ) – 0.90%
• First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robotics ETF (ROBT) – 0.64%
• iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) – 0.62%
• Robo Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (ROBO) – 0.57%
• iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY) – 0.51%
• Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ) – 0.39%
• WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund ETF (WTAI) – 0.19%

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/white-house-to-ramp-up-robotics-agenda-in-26-here-are-the-most-shorted-robotics-etfs/ar-AA1RDWZR

Pharvaris clocks a pivotal win in race for rapid HAE relief, teeing up filing to challenge KalVista

 A phase 3 trial of Pharvaris’ deucrictibant has hit its primary endpoint, positioning the biotech to file for approval of a challenger to KalVista Pharmaceuticals’ Ekterly in a rare genetic disease.

Investigators randomized 134 people with hereditary angioedema (HAE) to receive deucrictibant or placebo. Participants took oral, immediate-release capsules of bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist deucrictibant for the on-demand treatment of episodes of swelling and related symptoms that affect people with HAE.

Patients on deucrictibant experienced symptom relief 1.28 hours after taking the medicine, compared to more than 12 hours for their counterparts on placebo. The result met the trial’s primary endpoint and the base case of Guggenheim Securities analysts.

In a November note to investors, the analysts said their base case was that deucrictibant would provide symptom relief in 1.2 to 2 hours. While the primary endpoint fell slightly short of the analysts’ 1.1-hour bull case, the available data are toward the upper end of their expectations for the readout.

Pharvaris CEO Berndt Modig said on a call with investors Wednesday that the data position deucrictibant to provide the fastest symptom relief and achieve complete attack resolution, “offering beginning-to-end control of HAE attack treatment.”

Time to substantial symptom relief by PGI-S, a measure of disease severity, was 2.41 hours on the study drug. Guggenheim analysts said any time under 2.5 hours would meet their bull case. Time to complete symptom resolution was 11.95 hours, putting the result in the middle of the analysts’ base-case range. A single deucrictibant dose resolved 83% of attacks. The result fell just short of the 86% bull-case threshold. 

The analysts assigned a 60% probability of success to their base case and predicted the company’s stock would land in the $24 to $30 range in that scenario. Pharvaris’ share price increased 10% to $26.50 in premarket trading. 

No participants had treatment-related serious adverse events nor discontinued deucrictibant because of treatment-emergent adverse events. Pharvaris said the safety and tolerability profile to date is consistent with completed and ongoing studies of deucrictibant for the treatment of HAE attacks.

Pharvaris plans to file for approval of deucrictibant in the first half of 2026. If approved, deucrictibant will give HAE patients an alternative to KalVista’s Ekterly, an existing oral HAE attack treatment. Patients taking Ekterly in a phase 3 trial experienced symptom relief within 1.61 hours. Patients on placebo had symptom relief in 6.72 hours in the Ekterly trial.

While cross-trial comparisons can be unreliable, the available data suggest deucrictibant may have an edge in some areas. Modig named time to complete attack resolution as an area in which deucrictibant could be differentiated, telling investors that the endpoint is important to patients because it determines when they can resume normal life.

Guggenheim analysts predicted in October that deucrictibant could achieve peak penetration of up to 66% in the on-demand setting if the phase 3 readout replicated the advantage over Ekterly that the drug candidate appeared to have in a midstage study. The analysts estimated peak annual revenue potential of up to $800 million.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/pharvaris-clocks-pivotal-win-race-rapid-hae-relief-teeing-filing-challenge-kalvista

Lutnick pushes back on tariff blame for negative ADP jobs print

 U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday rejected claims that tariffs were responsible for the weak November ADP jobs report.

Private companies shed 32K jobs in November, compared with the +5K consensus and October's +47K, ADP reported earlier.

In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick pointed to the recent government shutdown and a surge in deportations as the main drags on private sector employment.

He added that small business employment will" rebalance" and "regrow." I think this is just a near term event, and you’ll see as the numbers come through.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/lutnick-pushes-back-on-tariff-blame-for-negative-adp-jobs-print/ar-AA1RDTzu

Bessent calls for change in how regional Fed presidents are chosen

 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called for a change in how regional Federal Reserve president are selected, amid his broader effort to reshape leadership at the monetary authority.

The 12 Fed district bank chiefs "were meant to be from their district,” Bessent said in a discussion at the New York Times DealBook Summit. Now, “there’s this idea of importing a bright, shiny object.”

He said he will "start advocating going forward, not retroactively, that regional Fed presidents must have lived in their district for at least three years," a proposal that may require approval from Congress. Bessent reiterated a recent claim that three Fed presidents do not meet his standards.

Under the current selection process, regional Fed presidents are picked by their bank's board and then must be approved by the Fed's board of governors in Washington. They serve five-year terms, which can be renewed multiple times.

In a CNBC interview last week, Bessent said the Fed needs to streamline its operations, arguing that its approach to overseeing money markets has grown more complex than it needs to be.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bessent-calls-for-change-in-how-regional-fed-presidents-are-chosen/ar-AA1REa8x