Trump’s string of ‘anti’-status quo appointments continues with his selection of former Texas governor Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department, which it is worth noting he wanted to do away with in 2011.

Perry twice ran for his party’s presidential nomination, including against Trump, presenting himself as pro-business candidate.

Perry’s selection is amusingly ironic, because five years ago, Perry wanted to eliminate the Energy Department: in an infamous 2011 Republican primary debate, Perry forgot that the Energy Department was one of the three federal government agencies he wanted to do away with. The other two were the Commerce and Education Departments. According to some pundits, the gaffe may have cost him a shot at the party’s 2012 nomination.

Perry, Texas’ longest-serving governor, was indicted in 2014 for abuse
of power and coercion after threatening to veto funds for a Travis
County office that investigates corruption unless the district attorney,
who had pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, resigned. Another
potential conflict of interest: Perry serves on the board of Energy Transfer Partners LP, the
company whose pipeline project has drawn opposition in North Dakota and
has become a rallying cry from environmentalists. While the Obama
administration has stalled the project, Trump has said federal approvals
for energy infrastructure need to come quicker.

Finally, those curious about Rick Perry’s policies, we bring your an
interview from June, where Perry questioned the science behind global
warning.  Here are the details:

During his 2012 presidential campaign, Perry regularly questioned climate science, saying that it hadn’t been settled. “There
are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so
that they will have dollars rolling into their projects,” Perry
claimed during one New Hampshire campaign stop. He called the EPA a
“cemetery for jobs.” In his pre-campaign book, Fed Up!, Perry referred
to efforts to tackle global warming as “hysteria” and described the
science a “contrived phony mess.” He even wrote that “we have been experiencing a cooling trend.”
Perry’s 2012 campaign collapsed when, during a debate, he forgot which
three cabinet-level departments he wanted to eliminate. He called for
axing Commerce and Education, but he famously couldn’t remember that
Energy was also on the list of federal agencies he’d proposed
eliminating. “Oops,” he finally said when he was unable name the
department.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference this in February
0215, Perry touted his record fighting smog. But he sidestepped climate
change and called for the Keystone XL Pipeline to be built. “The point
is, you can have job creation, and you can make your environment
better,” he said. “That ought to be our goal in this country, and it all
starts with energy policy. Open up the XL pipeline, create jo

Until now, Iran’s angry outbursts in response to alleged breaches of Obama’s nuclear deal as well as extensions of the Iran sanctions, have been relegated to verbal outbursts, culminating most recently with the threat by Iran’s defense minister Denghan that should Trump end Obama’s landmark arrangement with Iran, it would result in a war which “would mean the destruction of the Zionist regime (Israel) … and will engulf the whole region and could lead to a world war.”

Overnight, however, Iran moved beyond the merely verbal and in its first concrete response to last month’s decision by the US Congress to extend legislation making it easier for Washington to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani ordered scientists from the national nuclear agency, and specifically Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, to prepare a project for development of both reactors for maritime use and fuel production for this purpose in three months.

“The United States has not fully delivered its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal),” Rouhani wrote in a letter published by state news agency IRNA. “With regards to recent (U.S. congress) legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act, I order the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to … plan the design and construction of a nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation to be used in marine transportation.”

Rouhani described the technology as a “nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation,” but did not say whether that meant just ships or possibly also submarines. Iran said in 2012 that it was working on its first nuclear-powered sub.

While the technology is different from nuclear weapons, banned by last year’s nuclear deal, it has a definite military leaning. The only operator of nuclear-powered civilian vessels at the moment is Russia, mostly due to its fleet of icebreakers. The US and Germany had nuclear-propelled merchant ships in the past, while the Japanese ship ‘Mutsu’ was finished but never carried commercial cargo.

U.S. Congress members have said the extension of the bill does not violate the nuclear deal agreed last year to assuage Western fears that Iran is working to develop a nuclear bomb. The act, Congress added, only gave Washington the power to reimpose sanctions on Iran if it violated the pact. Washington says it has lifted all the sanctions it needs to under the deal between major powers and Iran.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that the extension was a definite breach and Iran would “definitely react to it”.

The Iran nuclear deal was negotiated by Tehran and six leading world powers, and sought to address concerns that Iran may have a clandestine project to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denied the accusation, but agreed to restrict its nuclear industry in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the US and the EU. The deal also allowed Iran to resume oil exports, leading to this year’s Saudi relent over oil production cuts, after it started losing market share to Tehran.

The deal was hailed as a breakthrough at the time of its signing in 2015 by all parties involved, despite dissenting voices from Republicans in the US, hardliners in Iran and Israel in the Middle East. Iran has since held its part of the bargain and is complaining that the US continues its anti-Iranian policy and imposes new sanctions under different pretexts.

* * *

While it is debatable whether Congress breached the terms of the Iran deal, Iran’s actions will certainly stoke tensions with Washington, already heightened by comments from Donald Trump who has vowed to scrap the deal, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for lifted sanctions. It is certain that Trump will see Iran’s escalation as further evidence of Iran non-compliance with the terms of the agreement, potentially leading for a stronger push to pull the US out of the atomic deal.

Meanwhile, there was no immediate reaction from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran’s nuclear work.

Iran always argued its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

• Trump Picks Exxon Chief for State Amid Concerns (Reuters)
• Buoyant Markets Pose New Challenge for the Fed (WSJ)
• Tweeter-in-Chief Trump Faces Test After Yellen’s Rate Decision (BBG)
• Trump Dissing Daily Intelligence Briefing Worsens Rift With CIA (BBG)
• SWIFT confirms new cyber thefts, hacking tactics (Reuters)
• UniCredit share issue lifts banks before Fed meeting (Reuters)
• Senate Republican leader backs investigation into Russian hacking (Reuters)
• U.S. intelligence officials say Russian hacks ‘prioritized’ Democrats (WaPo)
• Merkel, Hollande back extending sanctions on Russia over Ukraine (Reuters)
• Billionaire’s Son Not Interested in Taking Over Father’s $91 Billion Business (BBG)
• Japan’s Asahi Buys Eastern Europe Brewing Assets From AB InBev (WSJ)
• Coverup at French Nuclear Supplier Sparks Global Review (WSJ)
• Netanyahu says Israel ‘mightier’ as first F-35 fighter jets arrive (Reuters)
• China’s Sinopec Weighs Takeover Of Gulf Keystone (Reuters)
• How the Wealthy Avoid Paying Hong Kong Property Tax to Save Millions (BBG)
• Iran to build nuclear marine propulsion after U.S. ‘violation’ of deal (Reuters)
• After China’s Hubris, It’s Trump’s Turn (WSJ)
• OPEC Pumped at Record High as Cartel Agreed Output Cut (WSJ)
• OPEC Deal to Create Oil-Supply Deficit Next Half, IEA Says (IEA)
• GOP Leaders Join Call for Probe of Russian Hacking (WSJ)
• Drinking, drug use largely down among U.S. teens in 2016 (Reuters)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– President-elect Donald Trump will name Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, a transition official said. http://on.wsj.com/2hrXfG8

– Momentum to pursue investigations into alleged Russian hacking in the U.S. presidential election picked up steam Monday, with the Senate’s top Republican joining Democrats, the White House and other GOP leaders in calls for a probe. http://on.wsj.com/2hrXh0I

– The Syrian regime has gained control of almost all of Aleppo, according to the government and an opposition monitoring group, as a proposal for the safe passage of all rebels from the city awaits approval from Russia, the regime’s main military backer. http://on.wsj.com/2hrSHzE

– Donald Trump’s attacks on F-35 fighter jet costs shed light on the ballooning expense and delays of big military programs, but experts say there are limits to what he will be able to do as president to fix them. http://on.wsj.com/2hrXuAZ

– Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements is pulling its support for a merger of CBS and Viacom, which would have reunited the two media firms amid an increasingly challenging landscape. http://on.wsj.com/2hrUp3K

– Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates said he and other business leaders are launching a $1 billion clean-technology fund that will start investing next year in companies developing low-cost, low-carbon technologies. http://on.wsj.com/2hrWexS

– Aetna Inc executives on Monday jousted with Justice Department lawyers over the health insurer’s reasons for sharply cutting its participation in Affordable Care Act exchanges, a potentially important issue in the antitrust trial over Aetna’s proposed merger with Humana Inc. http://on.wsj.com/2hrXIIl

– Antony Jenkins, the former chief executive of Barclays, has joined the board of Blockchain, a London-based startup that provides services related to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. http://on.wsj.com/2hrUjZV

– Blackstone is exploring a new infrastructure investing business at a time when more money than ever is being committed to funds that aim to invest in ports, pipelines and other public works. http://on.wsj.com/2hrVzMX

– Alphabet Inc’s Google completed a deal with Cuba to place computer servers on the island to speed Google services there, a pact that officials hurried to complete before President Barack Obama leaves office next month. http://on.wsj.com/2hrTgct

FT

– Senior International Monetary Fund officials rejected claims that the organisation is seeking to impose more austerity on Greece. Director of the IMF’s European department Poul Thomsen and the fund’s Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld said in a blog post that their main worries are that Greece is pursuing policies that are “unfriendly to growth” and that country’s debt is “highly unsustainable.”

– The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on senior Congolese security and intelligence officials following a violent suppression of anti-government protests in September in which dozens of people died. EU diplomats said the move is also meant to act as a deterrent ahead of big demonstrations planned for Monday next week against President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down despite his second and final term ending that day.

– Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari scrapped Viacom-CBS merger plans amid disagreements about the valuation and management of both media companies. The companies were unable to agree on a valuation for Viacom, owner of Paramount Pictures and MTV.

– Prudential Financial said it would reimburse any customers concerned they were charged for policies they did not ask for as it reviews how Wells Fargo had sold the coverage. Prudential’s move came after three of its former employees alleged in a lawsuit that low-income Wells customers, mainly with Hispanic surnames, had been signed up for policies without their consent.

NYT

– President-elect Donald Trump settled on Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said. In naming him, the president-elect is dismissing bipartisan concerns that Tillerson, the globe-trotting leader of an energy giant, has a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. http://nyti.ms/2gBx7vh

– Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, went on trial in Paris on Monday, facing criminal charges that when she was France’s finance minister, her negligence resulted in the misuse of hundreds of millions of euros in public money. http://nyti.ms/2gU8KFj

– A business tax overhaul championed by a Berkeley professor could advance President-elect Donald Trump’s job-creation agenda without tariffs or presidential deal-making. http://nyti.ms/2guYJx5

– President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that the cost of building the military’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, had spiraled “out of control”, and he vowed to save billions of dollars on military programs once he enters office next month. http://nyti.ms/2hyji0y

– In a sign of widening fallout from Wells Fargo’s sales scandal, Prudential Financial Inc said it was suspending sales of its life insurance policies through Wells Fargo & Co until it completed an investigation into the bank’s sales tactics. http://nyti.ms/2gG5jnP

– Donald Trump officially asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn to serve as director of his National Economic Council, removing a crucial impediment for Goldman’s next generation of leaders. http://nyti.ms/2gBHXBf

– Boeing Co announced a $16.6 billion deal to sell planes to Iran, which for decades had been economically blacklisted by the United States. The company instead chose to emphasize how many jobs the sale would support. http://nyti.ms/2hodXWi

– Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp, has started a fund to invest in energy research to reduce the causes of climate change, work that would build on efforts that may be threatened by a Trump administration. http://nyti.ms/2hyjjBN

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The federal government has unveiled a series of measures aimed at curtailing Canada’s booming underground market in fentanyl, just as the death toll climbs and more communities sound the alarm about illicit drugs. tgam.ca/2gGAsHI

** Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Monday that people lobby him at Liberal Party cash-for-access fundraisers, but said he ultimately makes up his own mind on what is good for Canada. It is the first time he has admitted that government business is being discussed at partisan Liberal money-raising events. tgam.ca/2hr5S3B

** Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau has agreed to remove controversial changes to the Bank Act from his latest budget bill in response to strong objections from Quebec and some senators. tgam.ca/2hIjuGH

NATIONAL POST

** The New Democratic Party said they want the Liberals to turn their party’s ethics guidelines into law, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted on Monday that people attending Liberal Party fundraising events bend his ear about “things that are important to them.” bit.ly/2hsHbEd

** The Bank of Montreal is the latest Canadian bank seeking a settlement with regulators after discovering some retail fund clients were charged “excess” fees over a period of years. bit.ly/2hhLUuf (Compiled by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru)

Britain

The Times

* A DNA analysis company Oxford Nanopore has raised £100 million ($126.77 million) in a private placing, giving it a valuation of £1.25 billion ($1.58 billion). The investment will cement the company’s status in Europe as one of just a handful of biotech unicorns, private, fast-growing companies valued at more than a billion dollars or pounds. http://bit.ly/2hxw6V1

The Guardian

* Lloyds Banking Group Plc is failing to meet “fee-free” guidelines for millions of its basic bank accounts, which are typically held by people on low incomes, according to data published by the Treasury. http://bit.ly/2hxvsH5

* Households in Britain face further pressure from rising inflation as experts predicted a surge in petrol prices following an agreement by oil producers to cut global output. http://bit.ly/2hxz6R8

The Telegraph

* Barclays Plc has sold-off its retail banking operations in Europe with a deal to offload its French consumer businesses to private equity firm AnaCap. http://bit.ly/2hxEnYY

* Brexit minister David Davis met on Monday with representatives of Britain’s leading automotive businesses including Jaguar Land Rover and Ford Motor Co on what the future holds for the sector which directly employs 170,000 in the United Kingdom in manufacturing and supports more than 800,000 jobs. http://bit.ly/2hxyICb

Sky News

* British Culture Minister Matt Hancock has said that the government will be “scrupulously fair and impartial” in its handling of 21st Century Fox Inc’s takeover bid for Sky Plc, the owner of Sky News. http://bit.ly/2hxxSWr

* Post Office workers in Britain are to stage five days of strikes in the week leading up to Christmas. The strike next week follows a dispute with management over job losses, the closure of a final salary pension scheme and branches being shut. http://bit.ly/2hxzgIk

The Independent

* Sky shareholders have demanded a higher takeover price from Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and reassurances over the independence of the media mogul’s son. Fox tabled a £10.75 ($13.63) per share offer on Friday, valuing Sky at £18.5 billion ($23.45 billion). http://ind.pn/2hxtS88

* The online fashion retailer Asos Plc will hire an extra 1,500 people over the next three years as it plans to expand its London operation. http://ind.pn/2hxoHF8