- Stocks cautious after rocky China data, bonds fly high (Reuters)
- Oil falls on China data, fading prospect of OPEC action (Reuters)
- Republican Vote in Iowa Caucus Hinges on Newcomer Turnout (WSJ)
- When Trump tells supporters not to donate, they mostly listen (Reuters)
- Goldman Sachs Employees Shift to Rubio as Bush Support Fades (BBG)
- Four Theories on How Oil Has Hypnotized the Global Stock Market (BBG)
- Global Yields Hit 12-Month Low With Japan 2-Year at Minus 0.16% (BBG)
- Record China Factory Gauge Slump Adds to Monetary Policy Dilemma (BBG)
- Euro-Area Factories Cut Prices as Deflation Risks Loom Large (BBG)
- Oops: Cheap oil less of a boon for U.S. growth than in the past (Reuters)
- February Is the Longest Month for Central Bank Watchers (BBG)
- Marc Andreessen and Silver Lake have considered a deal for Twitter (Information)
- Credit Suisse, Barclays to Pay $154.3 Million to Settle ‘Dark Pool’ Investigations (WSJ)
- Death toll up to 70 from Islamic State Damascus attack (Reuters)
- Toyota to stop Japan production for one week due to steel shortage (Reuters)
- HSBC to Freeze Hiring, Salaries in 2016 Amid Cost Reductions (BBG)
- Marissa Mayer to Make Case That Yahoo Can Be Turned Around (BBG)
- Zika virus spreads fear among pregnant Brazilians (Reuters)
- Google Defends U.K. Tax Accord as Legal, Not ‘Sweetheart Deal (BBG)
- China Calls Lending Platform Ezubo a $7.6 Billion Ponzi Scheme (WSJ)
- China-Built High-Speed Rail in Indonesia Gets Off to Bumpy Start (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– The E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 50 Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc customers in nine states last year is expected to be declared over. Investigators haven’t been able to pinpoint the ingredient responsible for the contamination. (http://on.wsj.com/1Svlj84)
– Time Warner Inc and Hulu have been in talks since late last year about Time Warner buying into the streaming site as a part-owner. In the discussions about taking a 25 percent equity stake in Hulu, Time Warner has told the site’s owners that it ultimately wants episodes from current seasons off the service, at least in their existing form, although that is not a condition for its investment. (http://on.wsj.com/23CeQ0x)
– A frigid January for initial public offerings – there were no U.S. IPOs for the month – is pointing to a hard winter for fledgling biotech firms and other private companies. (http://on.wsj.com/1PpNx3h)
– Crude-oil prices fell in early Asia trade, dragged by lackluster Chinese manufacturing data and dimming prospects of a coordinated production cut. (http://on.wsj.com/1WWiQV2)
FT
* J Sainsbury Plc has been advised that it should raise its offer for Home Retail Group Plc to at least 160p per share or preferably closer to 165p to support a bid and pressure Home Retail Plc’s board to accept the deal.
* The new chief executive of Alstom SA Poupart-Lafarge said the sector in Europe is good for consolidation and it would “make sense” for Alstom to look at transformational deals.
* Ofcom urged Brussels to block the merger of telecoms operators O2 and Three, highlighting concerns that mobile phone bills for users in the UK would move sharply higher.
* Christine Tacon’s probe of Tesco Plc’s accounting practices has raised fresh concerns that the balance of power in the grocery supply chain lies far on the side of retailers.
NYT
– Microsoft Corp sank a data center on the ocean floor, where the sea water acts as a coolant, and plans to use the waves to power it. The results were encouraging enough to try a bigger version. (http://nyti.ms/1WVJflC)
– Europe is greatly increasing military and security spending on the fight against terrorism, a shift from austerity methods that dominated its policies in recent years. (http://nyti.ms/1mAo3BN)
– Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s artistic director, and Bob Sauerberg, its new chief executive, are trying to keep the publisher’s many magazines profitable and relevant in the Internet age. (http://nyti.ms/1QBjepr)
– Barclays PLC and Credit Suisse will pay a combined $154.3 million to settle allegations that they misrepresented their private stock trading services. The systems, known as dark pools, are supposed to offer a haven to traditional traders and investors from predatory trading behavior. (http://nyti.ms/1QRLlT3)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** China Minerals Mining and its subsidiary Cassiar Gold Corp have filed a petition with the Supreme Court of British Columbia that seeks to reverse a portion of the British Columbia government’s transfer of Crown land near the Yukon border in northern British Columbia to the Kaska Dena Council. (http://bit.ly/1SmwZvD)
** The rout in commodities has hit men harder than women in Alberta. Nearly 16,000 men in the western province have been laid off from September 2014 through the end of last year. Meanwhile, 22,800 women have found new positions over the same period, according to Statistics Canada. (http://bit.ly/1SmxjKV)
** The Canadian government is busy promoting its defense industry in Kuwait even as a United Nations report accuses a Saudi-led coalition, which includes Kuwait, of “widespread and systematic” bombing of civilians in Yemen. (http://bit.ly/1SmxUwk)
NATIONAL POST
** A class action lawsuit against Valeant Pharmaceuticals has alleged that the makers of Cold-FX sat for years on a study that suggested Canada’s most popular cold and flu remedy was no more effective than a placebo in treating symptoms of the viruses. Valeant owns the product after buying Edmonton’s Afexa Life Sciences in 2011. (http://bit.ly/1Kl7zM2)
** British Columbia’s top court has torpedoed a popular consumer loyalty rewards program for pharmacies, a sort of frequent flyer plan for prescription drug users, over fears it can be abused to the detriment of health. (http://bit.ly/1Kl7Gat)
Britain
The Times
– Sharon White, the head of Ofcom, has expressed her concerns to Europe’s regulators that the takeover of O2 by Three, its smaller rival, will lead to less competition and higher prices. (http://thetim.es/1UBiqlg)
– J Sainsbury Plc has been speaking to Home Retail Group Plc’s leading shareholders and has been told by the company’s largest investor that the offer must rise to at least 160p, or £1.3 billion. (http://thetim.es/1UBiwcS)
The Guardian
– A senior government minister has admitted the tax settlement between Google and the UK government “was not a glorious moment”. The admission by the business secretary, Sajid Javid, came as a senior executive from Google claimed he could not say how much UK profit has been generated by the technology firm in the past decade, or how many meetings had been held between the company’s executives and ministers. (http://bit.ly/1UBiC47)
– Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG are paying more than $150m to settle charges that they misled investors who used their dark pool trading platforms. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York attorney general are expected to announce the settlement on Monday. (http://bit.ly/1UBiHF2)
The Telegraph
– Hitachi will continue to invest in the UK even if the country votes to leave the European Union, according to its chief executive. Hiroaki Nakanishi, who is also chairman of the Japanese industrial giant, said he discussed with Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, last month how a British exit from the EU could be made “feasible”. (http://bit.ly/1UBiNwd)
– Sky has backed the bid to merge Three with rival mobile operator O2 as Brussels competition watchdogs prepare to lay out their problems with the takeover. The European Commission is due to issue Hutchison with a formal statement of objections on Tuesday stretching to hundreds of pages. (http://bit.ly/1UBiUYA)
Sky News
– An investment firm owned by the taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group is in advanced talks to buy CitySprint, one of Britain’s biggest same-day delivery companies. LDC has entered exclusive talks to buy CitySprint even as technology giants such as Amazon and Uber seek to exploit their distribution networks to win business held by traditional courier firms. (http://bit.ly/1UBj1nf)
– Britain’s first new high street bank in more than 100 years has warned investors that an exit from the European Union could damage its prospects. In a copy of a circular to shareholders issued this week, the start-up lender said it faced “risks associated with a vote to exit the EU”. (http://bit.ly/1UBjg1q)
The Independent
– The pay gap faced by black workers widens the more qualifications they obtain, according to research revealing the challenges faced by ethnic minority Britons pursuing professional careers. Black graduates leaving university earn an average of 23 per cent less than their white counterparts, the new analysis by TUC shows. (http://ind.pn/1UBjp51)
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/20BzH1m Tyler Durden