Alphabet Inc (GOOG) VP Amie Thuener O’toole Sells 80 Shares
https://theolympiareport.com/2019/01/06/alphabet-inc-goog-vp-amie-thuener-otoole-sells-80-shares.html
Exclusive: PG&E talking to banks on multibillion dollar bankruptcy financing - sources
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp (PCG.N) is in discussions with investment banks about a multibillion-dollar financing package to help navigate bankruptcy proceedings, a sign that Chapter 11 filing preparations are intensifying in the wake of potentially staggering liabilities from deadly wildfires, sources said on Sunday.
The California utility owner is in touch with large banks about so-called debtor-in-possession financing that could total between $3 billion and $5 billion, though the exact figure remains in flux and could end up being higher, said the sources, who are familiar with the matter.
PG&E Corp declined to comment.
The company may alert employees as soon as Monday about its preparations for a potential bankruptcy filing in compliance with a state law about providing notice at least 15 days before such an event, one of the people said.
The plans have not been finalized and the communication could come later, the source said. Bloomberg first reported that the notice could come as soon as Monday.
Companies negotiate debtor-in-possession loans, often with existing lenders, when they are seriously considering bankruptcy protection so they can continue operations while working through court proceedings.
PG&E’s existing lenders include Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N).
A bankruptcy filing is not assured, the sources said. PG&E’s discussions with banks about financing are in the early stages and part of contingency planning if other efforts to address woes from last year’s wildfire fail, they said.
A bankruptcy filing would represent a last resort if the company is unable to get government relief that would allow it to pass on liabilities to customers, a maneuver enacted into law to help the company grapple with 2017 fires, the sources added.
If it seeks bankruptcy protection, the new money could prove critical for PG&E, which spends roughly $6 billion annually serving millions of electric and natural gas customers in California.
PG&E, which carries a hefty debt load of more than $18 billion, is expected to soon disclose a large financial charge related to liabilities resulting from catastrophic November blazes. One, the Camp Fire, swept through the mountain community of Paradise and killed at least 86 people, the deadliest and most destructive blaze in state history.
PG&E faces widespread lawsuits from that fire and one in 2017. In November, the company warned it could face “significant liability” in excess of its insurance coverage it its equipment was found to have caused last year’s blazes.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ascendas-singbridge-capitaland/capitaland-to-buy-real-estate-units-from-temasek-for-4-4-billion-idUSKCN1P8014
Urging Gulf states to heal rift, U.S.'s Pompeo lands in Riyadh
DOHA/RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that a rift between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors had gone on for too long and was threatening regional unity needed to counter Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran - something Doha denies.
The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni Muslim GCC, sees the rift as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united Gulf front.
“When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” Pompeo, who is on a tour of the Middle East, told a news conference in the Qatari capital, Doha.
“They never permit you to have as robust a response to common adversaries or common challenges as you might,” he added.
Gas-rich Qatar says the boycott is aimed at undermining its sovereignty and it has started charting a course away from its Gulf neighbors, including forging new trade partnerships, strengthening ties with Turkey and quitting OPEC. Those moves have deepened expectations that the dispute will not be resolved quickly….
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pompeo-qatar/urging-gulf-states-to-heal-rift-u-s-s-pompeo-lands-in-riyadh-idUSKCN1P70EB
U.S.-backed Syrian force: Islamic State in its 'final moments'
QAMISHLI, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State militants are “living their final moments” in the last enclave they hold near the Iraqi border, where U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are attacking them, an SDF official said on Sunday.
A defeat of the jihadists in the enclave would wipe out Islamic State’s territorial foothold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said the SDF were making “great progress … but the fight continues”.
The SDF, a coalition of militias led by the Kurdish YPG, have driven Islamic State from a swathe of northern and eastern Syria with the help of the U.S.-led coalition over the last four years.
Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, said its fighters had stepped up attacks in the last two days and taken control of the area between the Islamic State enclave and the Iraqi border, cutting an escape route.
“They are living their final moments and realize that this battle is the battle to eliminate them,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced he would withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, declaring they had succeeded in their mission to defeat Islamic State and were no longer needed.
Since then, U.S. officials have given mixed messages. On Friday, the U.S.-led coalition said it had started the pullout, but officials later said it involved only equipment, not troops.
Colonel Sean Ryan, the coalition spokesman, said: “The SDF is making great progress and continues to liberate more territory once held by ISIS (Islamic State), but the fight continues.
“The lasting defeat of ISIS is still the mission and they still present a very real threat to the long-term stability in this region, so it is not over yet.”…
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-islamicstate/u-s-backed-syrian-force-islamic-state-in-its-final-moments-idUSKCN1P70KG?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c3be3cf04d30170c3e8c6b6&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1084627408760664065
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1084633230467309569
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