Business

Senate republicans took a major, if relatively easy, step toward passing Trump's tax plan on Thursday night with the critical passage of a budget blueprint that would protect a $1.5 trillion tax cut from a Democratic filibuster. Senators narrowly voted 51-49 to pass the fiscal year 2018 budget after a several hour-long marathon on the Senate floor. The budget resolution could also pave the way for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil exploration by ensuring that drilling legislation can pass with only Republican votes according to the NYT.

Since the addition of the Chinese renminbi (RMB), i.e. Yuan, to the IMF's SDR basket of reserve currencies last October, more than 60 countries and regions have added and adopted the renminbi as a new reserve currency, according to the latest report on renminbi internationalization by the People's Bank of China.

For anyone who wasn’t included on the 1.5 million person distribution list for Incrementum AG’s latest 160-page annual tome on the gold sector, “In Gold We Trust”, the authors/portfolio managers, Ronni Stoeferle and Mark Valek, helpfully condensed the report into a chartbook containing "only" mere 60 charts. This can be viewed below, and as a courtesy for those short on time, here is our pick of the 14 best charts. 

 Just one week after Chicago shockingly repealed their soda ban following a revolt from local business owners (see: Soda Tax Fizzles In Chicago As Cook County Officials Cast Decisive 15-1 Repeal Vote), it seems that Philadelphia's flirtations with forming a more perfect "nanny state" via the elimination of sugary drinks could be on a collision course with a similar fate.

After weeks of testimony, the fate of former HSBC trader Mark Johnson, who stands accused of orchestrating a massive international front-running scheme that netted his firm over $8 million in illicit profits, has been left in the hands jurors.