United States

Before heading to a NATO summit in Brussels where she would meet with President Donald Trump and a host of other world leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel indulged in an exercise of mutual praise with her “dear friend" former U.S. President Barack Obama as the pair appeared in public during a gathering at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate meant to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the Associated Press reports.

In the first unofficial challenge to Beijing over China's domination of disputed waters in the South China Sea since President Trump took office, a US navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea according to the WSJ.  The navy vessel, the USS Dewey, traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The USS Dewey

The OPEC Vienna meeting has not officially concluded just yet, but moments ago a delegate told the WSJ and Reuters that the oil producing cartel had decided to do what had been widely telegraphed previously, and merely extend output cuts by nine months to March 2018. While the full quota breakdown has not been released yet, the cuts are likely to be shared again by a dozen non-members led by top oil producer Russia, while several nations like Iran and Nigeria will remain exempt from production caps.

It has been a seesion of violent, volatile gaps, starting with sharp gap up in S&P futures on Wednesday night, just around 10pm, which saw ES spike and rally to new all time highs on no news...

Via TheAntiMedia.org,

There’s no denying that Venezuela is deeply embroiled in a significant crisis. While most are aware of the country’s recent string of violent protests, food shortages and government crackdowns on opposition protesters, few are aware of the opposition’s use of underhanded and downright illegal tactics, as well as the United States’ role in funding opposition forces.