Drake files defamation suit against Universal over Kendrick Lamar track

Rapper Drake on Wednesday filed suit against his own label, saying Universal Music Group’s release and promotion of a Kendrick Lamar track dissing him amounted to defamation and harassment.UMG is behind both Drake and Lamar, two superstar rappers who last year exchanged a litany of increasingly vitriolic diss tracks.Lamar’s chart-topping Grammy-nominated “Not Like Us” was the major blow in the war of words, and Drake said its punchlines accusing him of pedophilia saw Universal betray him in favor of profits.In the suit filed in Manhattan’s federal court and seen by AFP, Drake says Universal “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”In releasing and promoting “Not Like Us,” the Canadian artist born Aubrey Drake Graham, 38, says the record company chose “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”The lawsuit cited the track’s promotion as causing a “physical threat to Drake’s safety” as well as a “bombardment of online harassment.”It cited a pre-dawn shooting last May that saw a gunman shoot and wound a security guard at the superstar rapper’s estate in Toronto, and described subsequent break-in attempts.”These events were not coincidental,” the suit says, before detailing the defamation allegations.A Universal representative did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.- ‘Monetize allegations’ -Drake — the reigning highest-grossing rapper — is not taking legal action against Lamar, and he is not suing over the lyrics themselves.”This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,'” read the court documents. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”The filing says Universal did so by promoting the song, but also the album image — which Drake says features his actual house — and music video associated with the track.The suit alleges that because Drake’s current record deal with UMG — he’s been with the company for over a decade — is nearing expiration, the label is aiming to devalue his music in a bid to lessen his bargaining power to renegotiate his contract.Lamar, meanwhile, was under a short-term deal with the company extended last year.”UMG’s campaign was successful. The recording cloaks cleverly dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook,” reads the suit. “Capitalizing on those attributes, UMG used every tool at its disposal to ensure that the world would hear that Drake ‘like ’em young.'””Not Like Us” is up for five Grammys early next month, including the prizes for the year’s best record and best song.Lamar, 37, is also due to helm the exceedingly high-profile Super Bowl halftime show later February in New Orleans.Proving defamation requires that a publisher knowingly distributed false information.The suit emphasizes that Universal wouldn’t have maintained the long-standing business relationship with Drake it has if it believed he engaged in pedophilia or sex abuse.Late last year Drake had filed pre-litigation actions against Universal, which also named Spotify, in a New York state court as well as in Texas.His lawyers withdrew the New York filing as they filed the federal case. A statement from Universal released at the time of that filing said that “the suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.””We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns,” the statement continued. “No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

La Bourse de Paris termine en hausse, soulagée après un indice d’inflation américain

La Bourse de Paris a gagné 0,69% mercredi, soulagée par la baisse des taux sur le marché obligataire après la publication d’un indice d’inflation aux Etats-Unis meilleur qu’attendu par les investisseurs.L’indice vedette CAC 40 a gagné 50,92 points pour finir la séance à 7.474,59 points. La veille il avait grappillé 0,20%.De décembre 2024 à décembre 2025, les prix à la consommation ont augmenté de 2,9% aux Etats-Unis, comme anticipé par le marché, contre 2,7% sur un an en novembre, selon l’indice CPI publié par le département du Travail, et sur lequel sont indexées les retraites.Mais l’inflation dite sous-jacente, qui exclut les prix volatils de l’alimentation et de l’énergie, a ralenti, à 3,2% sur un an “et c’est ce chiffre-là qui plaît” au marché, commente Andrea Tueni, responsable des activités de marchés de Saxo Banque.”L’inflation sous-jacente baisse pour la première fois depuis cinq mois. On sentait qu’il y avait une tension persistante sur l’inflation américaine et ces chiffres viennent rassurer le marché”, a-t-il poursuivi. “Bien que l’IPC ait bondi à 2,9%, les analystes s’y attendaient et cette hausse était principalement due à une augmentation des prix de l’essence, après quelques semaines de volatilité des prix du pétrole”, explique quant à elle Kathleen Brooks, directrice de la recherche chez XTB.Ces données ont poussé les investisseurs à revoir leurs prévisions de baisses des taux d’intérêt de la banque centrale américaine, la Réserve fédérale (Fed).”Depuis le début de l’année, la prochaine baisse des taux de la Fed était continuellement repoussée dans l’année et le marché tablait sur octobre avant la publication du CPI”. Désormais, il “table sur juillet”, résume Andrea Tueni.Sur le marché obligataire, les rendements des principaux taux d’emprunt souverains se détendaient nettement. Le rendement américain à dix ans évoluait à 4,67% vers 16H05 GMT, contre 4,79% à la clôture mardi. Son équivalent à deux ans, l’échéance la plus sensible aux évolution de politique monétaire, était à 4,28%, contre 4,37% la veille.En France, il est passé de 3,48% mercredi à 3,36% jeudi.Les bancaires dans le vertLes banques américaines comme Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo et Citigroup ont lancé le coup d’envoi de la saison des résultats aux Etats-Unis et ont fait état de chiffres meilleurs qu’attendu par le marché.Les banques françaises ont bénéficié de la vague d’enthousiasme dans le secteur. A la cote parisienne, Société Générale a gagné 3,07% à 28,72 euros, Crédit Agricole 1,58% à 13,87 euros et BNP Paribas 2,09% à 62,08 euros.Ubisoft bonditLe groupe français spécialiste du jeu vidéo Ubisoft a gagné 3,97% à 12,17 euros après la publication d’informations de presse du média américain Bloomberg faisant état de discussions avec le géant technologique chinois Tencent. Selon ces informations, les deux partis envisageraient de créer une nouvelle entité qui inclurait certains actifs d’Ubisoft, dans le but d’augmenter la valeur de la société française.L’éditeur fait l’objet de rumeurs de rachat qui se sont multipliées ces derniers mois. Tencent, avec qui la famille Guillemot, fondatrice et actionnaire principal du groupe, a scellé une union en 2022 pour garder la main sur l’entreprise, détient près de 10% du capital. La famille Guillemot en possède autour de 15%.Plusieurs options seraient sur la table, notamment un rachat et une sortie de la Bourse.

Qatar PM says Gaza truce, hostage release deal agreed

Qatar’s prime minister announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed Wednesday to a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, adding he hoped the deal would pave the way for a permanent end to the fighting.After mediators earlier said a deal had been reached, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned that some issues in the framework remained “unresolved”, though it hoped the “details will be finalised tonight”.Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said the deal was the “right move” to bring back hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani told a press conference that the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday.”The two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal on the prisoner and the hostage swap, and (the mediators) announce a ceasefire in the hopes of reaching a permanent ceasefire between the two sides,” he said.The first phase of the deal would see Hamas release 33 captives, he added, “including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children (and) elderly people… in return for a number of prisoners who are being held in Israeli prisons”. Demonstrators in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages embraced as news of the agreement spread, while thousands across Gaza celebrated the deal to halt the hostilities that have devastated much of the Palestinian territory.”I can’t believe that this nightmare of more than a year is finally coming to an end. We have lost so many people, we’ve lost everything,” said Randa Sameeh, a 45-year-old displaced from Gaza City to the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.Hamas said the ceasefire was the “result of the legendary steadfastness of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months”.Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to cement an agreement.On Wednesday, Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said the three countries would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire via a body based in Cairo.- Trump hails ‘EPIC’ deal -US President Joe Biden said he was “thrilled” at the development, adding the deal would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.The agreement came after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history, and days ahead of the inauguration of Biden’s successor Donald Trump, who hailed the deal even before it was officially announced by the White House.Trump had warned Hamas of “hell to pay” if it did not free the remaining captives before he took office, and envoys from both his incoming administration and Biden’s outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations.”This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November,” Trump said on social media.The president-elect added that his White House would “continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven”.Hamas sparked the war in Gaza by staging the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage during the attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.- Aid needed -Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pointed to the “importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid” into Gaza, as he welcomed news of the deal.Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera news outlet cited a security source as saying coordination was “underway” to reopen the Rafah crossing on Gaza’s border with Egypt to allow the entry of international aid.The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper also reported that talks were underway to open the crossing.Among the sticking points in successive rounds of talks had been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, said it will continue providing much-needed aid.Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, has opposed any post-war role for the militant group in the territory.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday Israel would ultimately “have to accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformed” Palestinian Authority, and embrace a “path toward forming an independent Palestinian state”.He added that the “best incentive” to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace remained the prospect of normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia.Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, speaking in Oslo, said the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire showed international pressure on Israel “does pay off”.The October 7 attack on communities in southern Israel sparked uproar around the world, as did the scale of the suffering in Gaza from the retaliatory war.World powers and international organisations have for months pushed for a ceasefire, which up until Wednesday had remained elusive.

US firms concerned about Trump tariff, immigration plans: Fed

US businesses across the country are concerned about the economic impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to raise tariffs and sharply curtail immigration, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.”More contacts were optimistic about the outlook for 2025 than were pessimistic about it,” the US central bank said in its “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions. However, “contacts in several Districts expressed concerns that changes in immigration and tariff policy could negatively affect the economy,” it said.On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on all goods entering the United States, and to carry out mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.Whether or not Trump follows through on his plans once he takes office as president on Monday remains to be seen.But manufacturers in a number of districts told the Fed they are already stockpiling inventories “in anticipation of higher tariffs.”In the Philadelphia district, inflation expectations rose on concerns about “deficits, tariffs, and immigration,” the Fed said. And in the Dallas district, contacts “noted concern about disruption from potential retaliatory tariffs on agriculture exports,” and raised concerns that they would have to pass on higher cost to consumers.Concerns in the Atlanta district meanwhile were broad-based, and included “labor shortages, concerns over tariffs, and potential supply chain disruptions at east coast ports that would result from a labor strike,” the Fed said.Despite the worries, businesses across the Fed’s 12 districts reported an overall increase in economic activity in late November and December, the Fed said.Prices increased modestly overall, the Fed continued, adding that contacts had said they expected prices would “continue to rise in 2025, with some noting the potential for higher tariffs to contribute to price increases.”

Trump and Milei: An ideological match, but can they work together?

As Donald Trump prepares to assume power for a second term Monday, avowed admirer Javier Milei of Argentina has his sights set on becoming the US president’s man in Latin America.But while the duo have much in common, analysts do not clearly see what Milei stands to gain politically from a close friendship with his ideological idol.Self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” Milei was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after the Republican’s November US election victory.The pair share right-wing ideologies, and some personality traits. They are both showmen known to be abrasive towards their detractors, dismissive of “wokeism,” and supportive of cost-cutting and deregulation. Both also have the backing of Tesla, X and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who has taken note of Milei’s chainsaw-wielding approach to budget-slashing ahead of taking on his own new role as the head of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency”.”It is clear that there will be a very strong political affinity: Argentina will be closely aligned with the priorities of the United States, both at a global and regional level,” Ariel Gonzalez Levaggi of the Argentine Council for International Relations told AFP. “Milei has consolidated himself as one of Trump’s most important foreign allies,” added Benjamin Gedan, Latin American head of the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.The incoming US leader will need an ally in the region as he ramps up pressure on ideological foes Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while also sparring with Mexico over immigration and with Panama over control of the Panama Canal.But even if he can be of use to Trump in a region where the US leader has few rightwing allies, what does Milei stand to benefit?- In search of funds -The Argentine leader is seeking funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to which his country is already repaying a record $44 billion loan issued with Trump’s support during his first term in office.However, Trump has appointed a Milei critic — former Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) head Mauricio Claver-Carone — as his special envoy to Latin America.Claver-Carone has already said that any talk of a new loan for Argentina was nothing but “an illusion,” a “waste of time.””Perhaps some additional disbursements could be released” from the existing loan, said Gonzalez Levaggi. “But a new deal, a new loan? Unlikely,” even as Argentina’s sky-high inflation has nosedived during Milei’s first year in office.Another difference between the two leaders is on trade.Trump seeks to protect US domestic industry through import tariffs, while Milei is an ardent free market advocate.”In this context, Milei could be left disappointed if Trump imposes new tariffs on the whole world, including on Argentine exports,” said Claudio Loser, a former IMF Western Hemisphere chief. Argentina is a major exporter of beef, wine, dairy and grains.- China’s regional role -Jorge Arguello, who was Argentina’s ambassador to Washington under US presidents Barack Obama, Trump and Joe Biden, says he “never saw a particular interest in Argentina, nor Latin America” in that office.It is only when there is a presence “of external actors like China or Russia that alarms go off” in Washington, he added.China is Argentina’s second-biggest trading partner after Brazil, and Beijing last year extended a currency swap worth billions of dollars that brought much-needed relief for Argentina’s depleted foreign reserves.Despite once vowing he would never make deals with communists, the usually incendiary Milei showed his pragmatic side when he cordially met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last November.The reality is that China has a capacity for investment in Latin American infrastructure “that the US cannot offer,” said Alejandro Frenkel, an international relations expert at San Martin University in Buenos Aires.And Milei’s hopes for a free trade agreement with the United States may have to wait for the departure of Trump and his “America First” agenda, the analysts say.

Biden hails Gaza deal, says worked with Trump

US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a “full and complete” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the first part of their peace accord, and said he had acted as “one team” with incoming leader Donald Trump.Speaking at the White House just days before he leaves office, a visibly relieved Biden said the negotiations to halt the Gaza conflict had been some of the “toughest” of his career.”I’m deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come,” Biden said in a televised statement.A number of Americans would be among the hostages who would be released by Palestinian militants in Gaza, he added.The first phase of the deal would last six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas,” Biden said.The as yet unfinalized second phase would bring a “permanent end to the war,” the 82-year-old Democrat said, adding he was “confident” the deal would hold.Biden’s administration has been criticized for its channeling of military aid to Israel during its offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.But he said pressure on Hamas and its Iranian backers had helped push through a truce, adding that the deal now agreed was the “exact” same as one he had proposed in May.Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile said his administration had been working as “one team” with Trump’s ahead of the Republican starting his second term as president on January 20.”In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” said Biden, noting that most of the implementation of the deal would be under a Trump White House.”I told my team to coordinate close with the incoming team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice — because that’s what American presidents do.”Trump earlier claimed credit for the “epic” deal, in posts on social media. His Mideast envoy was involved in the talks and consulted with the White House.Asked by a reporter whether he or Trump was mainly responsible for the deal, Biden replied: “Is that a joke?”