(ZH) Houthis Say It's Not Over - Saudi Oil "Still Within Range"; Iraq Denies Its

Houthis Say It's Not Over - Saudi Oil "Still Within Range"; Iraq Denies Its Territory Used

While US officials were quick out of the gate to allege an Iranian attack on Saudi Aramco facilities launched from Iraq early Saturday, a theory which the WSJ said was focus of an ongoing US-Saudi investigation, Iraq's government issued a firm denial on Sunday, which followed Iran's own denial that condemned Washington's "maximum lies".
Saying there was no link to Iraqi soil and the attack which caused oil prices to spike to record levels the moment markets opened, initially surging to as much as 18% before retreating after President Trump authorized use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to "keep the markets well-supplied," the Iraqi government further vowed to “punish anyone who intended to use Iraq as a launchpad for attacks in the region.”
Fires rage after the attack on Abqaiq facility, screenshot via Reuters.
Despite Yemen's Houthis themselves claiming responsibility for the precision strike using ten drones, unleashing explosions that rocked Abqaiq facility and the Khurais field, US officials have long eyed Iraq's Shia paramilitary forces also as bad actors which Iran deploys as proxies from Iraqi soil.

Prior reports suggest Iran has indeed stationed ballistic missiles on Iraqi soil within the past year or so, within easy targeting range of key Saudi oil installations, as well as even Tel Aviv.
But crucially the Houthis have defiantly announced it's not over: "The rebel group said its weapons could reach anywhere in Saudi Arabia. Saturday’s strikes were carried out by aircraft equipped with a new type of engine, the Houthi rebel group said," Bloombergreports.
Ali Ahmadi@AliAhmadi_Iran

Seems to undermine a primary argument from US gov/media that Houthis dont have the capacity to pull this off, therefore it must have been Iran. https://twitter.com/osamabinjavaid/status/1173243511132393472 …
Osama Bin Javaid

✔@osamabinjavaid
Replying to @osamabinjavaid
This @WSJ map shows how "#Houthi" drone capabilities have increased with the support of #Iran - these drones can loiter but are not designed to return to base but can be controlled over long distances #Saudi #KSA via @andreas_krieg

1:36 PM - Sep 16, 2019
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See Ali Ahmadi's other Tweets


“We assure the Saudi regime that our long hand can reach wherever we want, and whenever we want,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said. The statement added threateningly:
“We warn companies and foreigners not to be present in the facilities that were hit in the strikes because they are still within range and may be targeted at any moment.”
Meanwhile, the official US position still seems to be Mike Pompeo's sentiment expressed soon after the attack that there was "no evidence" it was carried out from Yemen.
US and Saudi officials, still amid an ongoing investigation, told reporters over the weekend they are "certain" the attack actually originated from Iraq, especially as the debris and precision targeting show a level of "sophistication" which would link it to Iran's elite IRGC.
This as Trump said the U.S. is “locked and loaded depending on verification” of the source of the attack.
Of course there remains the possibility that the Houthis will again "prove" their capabilities by simply launching another devastating attack.

FT : DoJ charges three JPMorgan metals traders with market manipulation US prose

DoJ charges three JPMorgan metals traders with market manipulation
US prosecutors uncover ‘massive, multiyear scheme’ to defraud customers

The global head of precious metals trading at JPMorgan, one of the biggest bullion banks, has been charged by US prosecutors with running an eight-year conspiracy to manipulate the global precious metals markets and defraud its customers.

Michael Nowak, 45, a JPMorgan veteran who ran the bank’s global precious metals trading desk, was charged along with two traders of a “massive, multiyear scheme to manipulate the market for precious metals futures contracts and defraud market participants”, assistant attorney-general Brian Benczkowski said.

The indictment alleges the three traders engaged in “widespread spoofing, market manipulation and fraud”, while working at JPMorgan. They placed orders they intended to cancel before execution in an effort to “create liquidity and drive prices toward orders they wanted to execute on the opposite side of the market”, it said.

They placed deceptive orders for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, it alleges.

Along with HSBC, JPMorgan is one of the banks that dominates global flows of gold and silver trading.

JPMorgan declined to comment.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • NEWR -12.9% (lowers FY20 rev guidance)

Select financial related names showing weakness:

  • DB -2.2%, PUK -2.1%, BCS -2.1%, ING -2%, C -1.8%, HSBC -1.6%, MS -1.3%, BAC -1.2%, CS -1.1%, GS -0.9%

Select Chinese stocks trading lower:

  • JD -1.3%, WB -1%, BABA -0.9%, BIDU -0.7%

Other news:

  • ROAD -5.4% (announces that SunTx Capital Management intends to offer 5 mln shares of Class A common stock in an underwritten secondary offering)
  • AUPH -2.9% (entered into $40 mln open market sales agreement with Jefferies)
  • KDMN -2.9% (files for $200 mln mixed securities shelf offering and ~7.3 mln share common stock offering by holders) GM -2.7% (UAW union workers strike)
  • AVXL -2.4% (filed prospectus supplement registering shares of common stock issuable pursuant to its purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund)
  • REXR -1.8% (prices offering of 3 mln shares of 5.625% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock)
  • AAPL -0.6% (Cautious Barrons article)

Analyst comments:

  • ATRA -1.7% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies)
  • HPQ -1.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS)
  • JPM -1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research)
  • AINV -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Compass Point)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • N/A.

M&A news:

  • ALDR +80.1% (to be acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S (HLUYY) for $18.00/share in cash + CVR)
  • SEMG +63.4% (to be acquired by Energy Transfer LP (ET) for $17/share in cash and stock)

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher:

  • GFI +3.8%, HMY +3.7%, SBGL +3.3%, GDX +2.6%, SLV +2.4%, AU +2.3%, HL +2.2%, AUY +1.9%, NEM +1.8%, GOLD +0.5%

Select oil/gas related names showing strength:

  • YUMA +59%, DNR +27.9%, WLL +22.1%, CHK +21.3%, VAL +16.4%, AR +13.6%, NBR +13%, RIG +12.9%, DVN +12.7%, RRC +12.3%, BTE +12.2%, MRO +12%, SWN +10.3%, PTEN +10.1%, APA +9.7%, ECA +9.5%, CXO +9.2%, PXD +9.1%, NBL +9%, MDR +8.8%, CNQ +8.1%, HES +8%, COP +7.6%, SLB +7.6%, NOV +7.5%, HAL +7.1%, OXY +6.8%, BP +4.7%, XOM +3.9%, CVX +3.5%, RDS.A +2.7%, ENB +2.6%, HFC +1.9%, VLO +1.8%

Other news:

  • AIMT +14.5% (confirms positive FDA advisory committee vote)
  • ARWR +3.2% (presents initial top-line clinical data and preclinical data on RNAi candidates ARO-APOC3 and ARO-ANG3)
  • AZN +1% (FDA grants Fast Track designation for Farxiga in heart failure)

Analyst comments:

  • SM +15% (upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets)
  • ARQL +6% (initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $13 -- Aiming for success with precision drugs in both oncology and rare overgrowth disorder markets)
  • CARS +2.8% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Craig Hallum)
  • GBX +2% (upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets)
  • RTN +1.4% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
  • LYFT +0.9% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC Securities)
  • LOW +0.9% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush)
  • UBER +0.8% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC Securities)

>>> Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

  • ALDR +79.7%, DNR +38.5%, YUMA +32.5%, WLL +17.4%, CHK +16.3%, NBR +16.1%, SWN +12.6%, VAL +12.6%, RRC +12.5%, BTE +11.6%, MRO +10.6%, AR +10.5%, RIG +9.9%, DVN +9.9%, PTEN +9.8%, ECA +8.6%, NBL +8.6%, CXO +8.5%, MDR +8.3%, PXD +8.2%, APA +8.1%, HES +7.1%, COP +7.1%, CNQ +6.6%, NOV +6.1%, SLB +5.8%, OXY +5.3%, HAL +5.1%, GFI +4.9%, HMY +4.3%, BP +4.3%, SBGL +4%, HFC +3.7%, AU +3.4%, XOM +3.4%, RADA +3.3%, CVX +3.3%, AUY +2.8%, GDX +2.7%, RDS.A +2.6%, ENB +2.6%, SLV +2.3%, NEM +2.3%, HL +2.2%, VLO +2.1%

Gapping down:

  • TLRD -4.3%, CUK -3.1%, GM -3%, TTOO -2.8%, CCL -2.6%, DB -2.4%, SQ -2.4%, PUK -2.3%, C -2.1%, ING -2%, HPQ -1.9%, TEVA -1.9%, INFY -1.7%, BAC -1.6%, CS -1.5%, MT -1.5%, HSBC -1.5%, JPM -1.4%, MU -1.4%, TTM -1.4%, NVDA -1.3%, MS -1.3%, NOK -1.3%, INTC -1.2%, BCS -1.2%, GS -1.2%, WB -1.1%, JD -1.1%, BABA -1%, RCL -1%, ASML -1%, AMD -0.8%, AAPL -0.8%

FT : BenevolentAI gets cut in half

BenevolentAI gets cut in half

BenevolentAI, the tech company backed by Neil Woodford, is set to see its valuation halved in its latest funding round, reported the Sunday Times yesterday.

Valued at $2bn in April 2018 after it raised $115m, it is reported BenevolentAI is expecting its latest valuation to come in at just $1bn, following an investment from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

The news follows an FT Alphaville investigation from June that explored the business’s escalating valuation and its close relationship with Woodford, once a highly regarded fund manager. FT Alphaville analysis suggested that just under a fifth of BenevolentAI’s shares were owned by Woodford’s Equity Income Fund and the Patient Capital Trust, as of 16 September 2018.

Investors who will be taking a bath include the two Woodford investment vehicles, Goldman Sachs, Dragons’ Den’s Richard Farleigh, and various entities linked to Minnesota’s Evenstad family, who privately own Upsher-Smith Laboratories.

However, The Patient Capital Trust might already have written down its investment. Late Thursday its board announced that it had marked down a position, in the process taking a 4 pence per share hit to its net asset value. That sent the share price down as much as 5 per cent on Friday, though it later recovered a little. Although the investment has yet to be revealed, it is likely to be BenevolentAI, which constituted 8.4 per cent of its net asset value at the end of April.

At pixel time, the Patient Capital Trust’s shares were trading up 0.11 per cent to 45.55p, a discount to NAV of 38.05 per cent.

Woodford Investment Management, the Patient Capital Trust and BenevolentAI declined to comment.

BREAKINGVIEWS-Benettons’ credibility on the line in road fiasco - Reuters News

BREAKINGVIEWS-Benettons’ credibility on the line in road fiasco - Reuters News

16-Sep-2019 12:34:08

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Lisa Jucca

MILAN, Sept 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - An Italian road fiasco is slamming the credibility of one of the country’s most successful industrial dynasties. Atlantia ATL.MI, a $20 billion global infrastructure group that makes up nearly half the invested wealth of the Benetton family, is sinking deeper into a probe linked to a deadly bridge collapse in Italy. The damage risks infecting their sweaters-to-motorways empire.

Last year’s collapse of a bridge in Genoa managed by an Atlantia subsidiary killed 43 people, knocked Atlantia’s shares and turned the Benettons into figures of public disrepute. The situation worsened on Friday after police arrested three employees on charges that safety reports for some viaducts operated by Atlantia’s highways arm had been forged.

The probe’s turn comes at the worst possible moment for the Benettons, who rose to fame on colorful shirts and controversial advertising but earn most of their money today on infrastructure and restaurants. Italy’s new government softened threats made by the previous administration to revoke Atlantia’s lucrative motorway concession and spoke instead in support of a revision of the current terms. The new evidence may change that.

The Benettons, who own 30% of Atlantia, must quickly find a solution. Edizione, the family investment vehicle, is holding a board meeting on Monday. A first move might involve dismissing Chief Executive Giovanni Castellucci, the architect of the multi-billion acquisition of Spanish peer Abertis.

Change at the top would not, however, solve the Italian motorway headache: The judicial inquiry is likely to drag on for years and cloud the future of the toll concession. Selling the business now would also be difficult, as legal uncertainty would keep away buyers and warrant a deep discount.

There’s another option. Atlantia could spin off the Italian motorways to ring-fence the rest of its business. To appease Rome, the Benettons could also dilute their stake and make way for other shareholders, like Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an investment arm of the state.

None of these options are possible with Castellucci still at the helm. But even if the Benettons sack him, it will do little to improve their reputation, and the health of their empire. The Benettons don’t have an easy off ramp for their Italian toll dilemma.

(Middle East Eye) EXCLUSIVE: Iranian drones launched from Iraq carried out attac

EXCLUSIVE: Iranian drones launched from Iraq carried out attacks on Saudi oil plants
Iraqi intelligence official tells MEE the strikes were in retaliation for earlier Riyadh funded Israeli drone attacks on Iraqi militia

The strikes which paralysed the Saudi oil industry on Saturday morning, forcing it to halve its output of crude oil, were made by Iranian drones launched from Hashd al-Shaabi bases in southern Iraq, a senior Iraqi intelligence official has told Middle East Eye.
The attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais, two key Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia, were in retaliation for Israeli drone strikes on Hashd al-Shaabi bases and convoys in August, which were co-ordinated and funded by the Saudis, the official said.
“The latest attack comes for two reasons: another message from Iran to USA and its allies that as long as its siege on Iran continues no one will have stability in the region. However, the second more direct reason is a strong Iranian revenge for the recent Israeli attacks by drones launched from SDF-controlled areas in Syria against pro-Iranian Hashd bases,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Israeli strikes in Iraq launched from SDF-held Syria, Baghdad believes
Read More »
“These Israeli drone attacks were supported and financed by the Saudis. That is why the recent attack was the most devastating, while the previous attacks were more symbolic and inflicted little harm," the official said.
In August, five drone attacks on the Iranian-trained Hashd militia were launched from Kurdish bases under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) areas of northeastern Syria, MEE reported at the time.
The drones struck bases, weapons depots and a convoy belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi, killing one fighter and severely wounding another.
Iraqi intelligence said the strikes were planned when Saudi Minister of State for Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, visited the SDF in Syria in June.
Drone seen over Kuwait palace
The Iraqi intelligence official refused to say which bases Saturday’s drones were launched from.
However, he confirmed that the distance between southern Iraq and the Saudi oilfields was about half the distance the drones would have had to fly had they been launched from Houthi bases in northern Yemen.
He said the drones had to travel between 500km and 600km, where as if they had been fired from Houthi bases they would have had to cover a distance of between 1,100km and 1,300km.
Map showing the approximate route of the drones based on information from Iraqi intelligence
The flight path of the drones travelling south from Iraq to the eastern oilfields of Saudi Arabia would have taken them over the sea or through Kuwait’s airspace.
Kuwait media reported on Saturday that a three-metre drone was sighted flying above the Dar Salwa palace in the centre of Kuwait City.
Alrai newspaper said that a three-metre-long unmanned aircraft, which came from the sea, descended to an altitude of 250 metres above the palace.
The drone hovered near the beach of Al Badaa and headed to the city of Kuwait.
MEE was unable to confirm whether this was connected to the attack on the Saudi oil installations.
Kuwait's government said on Sunday that it was investigating the drone sighting.
"The security leadership has started the necessary investigations over the sighting of a drone over the coastline of Kuwait City and what measures were taken to confront it," the cabinet said on its Twitter account.
It said Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah directed military and security officers to tighten security at vital installations in the Gulf OPEC producer and to take all necessary measures "to protect Kuwait's security".
Iraqi denial
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, however the official said: “It was not the Houthis. These were Iranian drones launched from Hashd al-Shaabi bases.”
The embattled Iraqi government was forced on Saturday to issue a statement denying the drone attacks on Saudi facilities came from its territory.
'Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy'
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
The statement issued by the prime minister’s press office read: “Iraq denies what has been reported by the news media and the social media about the use of its territories to launch an attack on Saudi oil installations using drones.
"It asserts its constitutional commitment to preventing the use of its territories for aggression against its neighbours, brothers and friends.
“The Iraqi government will deal firmly and decisively with whoever attempts to violate the constitution.
"A committee composed of relevant Iraqi parties has been formed in order to pursue information and follow up developments.”
'Between the rock and a hard place'
For months, Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has been desperately attempting to prevent his country from being used as a battleground in a proxy war between the US and Iran.
Earlier this year, the US military signalled its intention to him to strike an airfield held by Iraqi Hezbollah after drone strikes on oil facilities in the Gulf.
Abdul Mahdi was reported by witnesses to the exchange to have told the Americans that he could not stop them striking wherever they wanted, but neither could he prevent retaliatory strikes by Iranian backed militias on US troops and bases in Iraq.
The US strike on Iraqi Hezbollah never took place. Instead, the US allowed Israel to use its drones from SDF bases in northeastern Syria.
In August, Abdul Mahdi came under huge pressure to publicly accuse Israel of launching drones to attack targets on Iraqi terrritory.
Iran says US bases and aircraft carriers within range of its missiles
Read More »
“Our prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi is between the rock and a hard place,” the Iraqi intelligence source told MEE.
“He told both the Iranians and the Americans Iraq is exhausted after decades of wars, conflicts and civil war.
"Dragging it into the centre of the proxy war between Iran on one side and the USA and its regional allies on the other will risk irreparable damage to its stability and unity with huge implications for the whole region."
However, the prime minister’s pleas have been in vain. “Neither side is listening,” the official said.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of leading the attacks on Saudi Arabia and denounced Tehran for engaging in false diplomacy.
"Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy," Pompeo said in a Twitter post, referring to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
"Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply," Pompeo tweeted, offering no evidence of the origin of the attacks, according to the Reuters news agency.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.