Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning.

It's good to have you here on this Wednesday, December 17th. I'm Julie Morgan.

Geopolitics is shaking oil markets. Consumers are showing surprising strength,

and a rail merger is running into Union resistance. Crude oil

is up 2.4 percent at more than $56 a barrel, as of the time of this recording. U.S. crude futures

rose as President Trump ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving

Venezuela, while also

designating the Maduro regime as a foreign terrorist organization. Trump's move is a major

escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela and follows last week's seizure of a tanker

off the coast of Venezuela. According to Rapidon Energy Group,

about 30% of Venezuela's oil shipments are at risk if the U.S. continues to enforce sanctions.

U.S. crude futures at one point dipped below $55 on Tuesday for the first time in nearly five

years as the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal

appeared to strengthen, raising expectations that there could be an easing of sanctions.

One analyst as Spartan Capital said in a note that crude oil is approaching critical technical

levels and a downside break could put $50 oil to the test. He went on to say that they

believe that the market is increasingly pricing in the possibility of a forthcoming peace deal

between Russia and Ukraine. The CFO of a firm holding says the consumer today feels quite healthy

with no signs of stress within its rates of repayment.

Robert O'Hare said some 96% of affirmed transactions came from repeat borrowers who tend to have

lower default rates. He added that delinquencies and repayment rates are coming in as expected.

A firm shares rose to their highest in a month on Tuesday,

...