EIA forecasts U.S. shale oil output to climb by 49,000 barrels a day in December

Crude-oil production from seven major U.S. shale plays is forecast to climb by 49,000 barrels a day in December to 9.133 million barrels a day, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration released Monday. Oil output from the Permian Basin, which covers parts of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is expected to see the biggest increase, up 57,000 barrels a day in December from November. Shale oil output from the Anadarko and Eagle Ford regions, however, are expected to see monthly declines of 12,000 and 14,000 barrels a day, respectively, the report showed. The December contract for West Texas Intermediate oil CLZ19, -1.21%continued to trade lower, down 98 cents, or 1.7%, at $56.74 a barrel ahead of its settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Chick-Fil-A will no longer fund anti-LGBTQ organizations

Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is no longer funding two organizations that oppose same-sex marriage, the company said Monday.

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The Atlanta-based restaurant chain has come under fire from LGBTQ+ activists for donating millions of dollars to two Christian charities: The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“We made multi-year commitments to both organizations and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018,” a spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A told the Thomson Reuters Foundation Monday.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

Aurora stock plunges 16% in third-worst trading day in the past three years

Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB, -16.48%ACB, -16.43% stock had its third-worst trading day in the past three years Monday, falling 16.4% to close at C$3. Aurora had its worst trading day in the past three years Friday, after the company’s disappointing fiscal first-quarter earnings. Executives said last week Aurora had halted construction on a facility in Alberta and one in Denmark and planned to force the conversion of convertible debentures due in March, further diluting the stock. On Friday, analysts raced to cut their forecasts of the second-largest weed producer in Canada by sales. Aurora stock has lost more than half its value this year, as the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, -4.35% has fallen 36%.

Israel welcomes U.S. settlement move, Palestinians outraged

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel praised a U.S. decision on Monday to soften its position on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that upset the Palestinians who said it contradicts international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. decision “rights a historical wrong,” and called on other countries to take a similar stance.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the U.S. decision “contradicts totally with international law.”

Sony unit buys Game Show Network from AT&T

Sony Corp.’s SNE, +0.61% subsidiary Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired a minority stake in AT&T Inc.’s T, +0.33% Game Show Network LLC and now owns the game programming network. Before the deal, Sony Pictures owned a 58% stake in Game Show Network, and AT&T owned the remaining 42%. In connection with the transaction, AT&T received approximately $500 million, including proceeds for its equity stake valued at $380 million and dividends of about $130 million, the companies said in a press release. Game Show Network will continue to be managed by Sony Pictures Television with Mark Feldman continuing as president and chief executive, the companies said. Syndicated favorites in Game Show Network’s programming include Wheel of Fortune ad Family Feud.

Stocks grab another round of records as Wall Street parses trade news

Stocks finished slightly higher on Monday, carving out record closes for all three major equity benchmarks, as investors tried to gauge the progress on a phase one trade deal between U.S. and China. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.05% was up 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to finish at 3,122. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.11% picked up 31 points, or 0.1%, to end around 28,036, based on preliminary numbers. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.11% rose 9 points, or 0.1%, to end near 8,550. Investors were tugged by news reports that both indicated progress and potential setbacks to U.S.-China trade talks. Over the weekend, top negotiators held "constructive" discussions, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. But a later report by CNBC suggested that without rolling back existing tariffs the outlook for a resolution looked dim. The Trump administration also issued a 90-day extension of a license allowing U.S. companies to keep doing business with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. In company news, shares of HP Inc. HPQ, -0.84% fell after it rejected a takeover offer from Xerox Holdings Corp. XRX, +0.92%

Ireland 1-1 Denmark: Late comeback not enough as McCarthy's men miss out on automatic qualification

Mick McCarthy has backed his team to shock Denmark and copper-fasten Ireland’s place at next summer’s European Championships.

Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries in Sept, outflows largest since Dec 2018 -data

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Foreigners sold U.S. Treasuries in September, with outflows hitting their largest level since December last year, data from the U.S. Treasury department showed on Monday.

Foreign outflows totaled $34.324 billion in September, compared with an outflow of $30.479 billion in the previous month.

The report also showed that amid the U.S.-China trade conflict, Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell in September to $1.102 trillion, sliding for a third straight month.