The White House is summoning oil executives to discuss potential investment in Venezuela on Friday, and while a preliminary list of attendees features the big names of American oil - Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab and ConocoPhillips (COP.N), opens new tab - it also includes several smaller independents and private equity-backed players. Only the largest U.S. oil producers have the scale and capacity to operate in Venezuela and have experience doing so, said an oil industry source. The inclusion of smaller domestic companies in the meeting is notable given that they mostly operate in the U.S.

U.S. oil giants signaled interest in Venezuela on Friday but stopped well short of committing to massive and rapid new investments there during a meeting with President Trump. Why it matters: The White House envisions a key role for U.S. companies in reviving output from Venezuela following the toppling of President Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump said Friday that American energy companies have agreed to spend $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's tattered oil infrastructure and that Caracas has agreed to let the U.S. "immediately" begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of crude oil. "We're open for business," Trump said following a meeting with executives from 14 oil companies at the White House. His comments aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.

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Aldi brings out new store-brand products all the time, and while some of them are instant hits, others fly under the radar. Here are some items worth your time.

When you think of German food, you likely picture giant pretzels, and schnitzel, instead of these old-school dishes that have become harder to find.

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from ZeroHedge: Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin quietly began unwinding portions of their financial empires in California in the days leading up to Christmas, according to corporate filings reviewed by The New York Times, as progressive lawmakers consider a proposed billionaire wealth tax. This development confirms our earlier note that California is on an accelerated […]