- Saudi Arabia Will Only Freeze Oil Production If Iran Joins (BBG)
- Japanese gloom ensures slow start to quarter for world stocks (Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia Plans $2 Trillion Megafund for Post-Oil Era (BBG)
- Prices Sag in Warning to ECB Even as Manufacturing Picks Up (BBG)
- China factories scent hint of spring, Europe still chilly (Reuters)
- Theranos Devices Often Failed Accuracy Requirements (WSJ)
- Macau Casino Sales Drop More Than Estimates After Festival (BBG)
- NY state in tentative deal to raise minimum wage toward $15 an hour (Reuters)
- Reddit deletes surveillance ‘warrant canary’ in transparency report (Reuters)
- China’s Fosun to Pull Back on Foreign Buying Spree, Chairman Says (WSJ)
- World’s Largest Coal Miner Posts Record Haul as Oversupply Looms (BBG)
- Drug shortages prompt question: are some medicines too cheap? (Reuters)
- Egypt blocked Facebook Internet service over surveillance (Reuters)
- Counter-Terrorism Center Says About 1,200 Foreign Fighters in EU (BBG)
- The Credit Collapse Opened the Door for Trump and Sanders (BBG)
- Kremlin hopes Syrian government delegation will show flexibility at peace talks (Reuters)
- World Bank official says political crisis threatens Ukraine reform drive (Reuters)
- Tesla unveils $35,000-Model 3 with range of 215 miles (Reuters)
- Indian police file homicide case after overpass collapse kills 23 (Reuters)
- Walker Sees Cruz Victory Over Trump in Wisconsin Resetting Republican Race (BBG)
Bulletin Headline Summary
WSJ
– China’s Anbang has informed Starwood Hotels that it is walking away from a $14-billion bid for the hotelier, in a surprise move capping off a three-week bidding war with Marriott . (http://on.wsj.com/1q6FnE7)
– The Obama administration is preparing to help Iran get limited access to U.S. dollars as part of its relief from U.S. sanctions, officials say. (http://on.wsj.com/1ROjqze)
– The blood-testing devices that Theranos Inc touted as revolutionary often failed to meet the company’s own accuracy requirements for a range of tests, including one to help detect cancer, according to a federal inspection report. (http://on.wsj.com/1RsGO9F)
– Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said the new “mass market” Model 3 vehicle has received more than 115,000 orders in 24 hours, outpacing expectations. (http://on.wsj.com/1VdFp8e)
– California and New York are moving to become the first states to lift the minimum wage to $15 an hour, propelling a wage target once focused on major urban areas into every corner of the economy from farm communities to industrial towns. (http://on.wsj.com/1PI9QfT)
FT
*A pan-African investment firm, Helios Investment Partners, is set to secure a deal for key divisions of Crown Agents – a company which was once a pillar of the British empire. (http://bit.ly/1RAG0wg)
*Tui AG, the world’s largest tour operator, is gaining from British holidaymakers travelling to Spain and the Canary Islands following a series of terror attacks in Turkey. (http://bit.ly/1RAG2UO)
*China’s Anbang Insurance lost the bidding war for Starwood Hotels & Resorts as its investor consortium failed to demonstrate that it had the financing in place to back up its $14 billion offer. (http://bit.ly/1RAGlPz)
*PizzaExpress, one of Britain’s oldest pizza chains, is adding nationwide delivery to its service as restaurants strive to compete with online food-service options and private equity-backed rivals in the UK. (http://bit.ly/1RAGBhj)
NYT
– Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders announced on Thursday that they had reached a budget agreement that would raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 by the end of 2018.(http://nyti.ms/1SqEGf6)
– Anbang and its partners have formally withdrawn their $14 billion takeover offer for Starwood, ceding the operator of the Westin and Sheraton chains to Marriott in a puzzling turn of events. (http://nyti.ms/1ZPjwwR)
– Medical testing done by the closely watched start-up Theranos was riddled with inaccuracies, and the company failed to follow proper procedures for quality control, according to a report released by federal regulators late on Thursday.(http://nyti.ms/1Y374Ip)
– General Electric has asked regulators to lift the “too big to fail” label on GE Capital, saying in a filing on Thursday that its finance arm had shrunk to the point where it no longer met the definition. (http://nyti.ms/25zHwYX)
– John Doerr, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists, is stepping back from the day-to-day management of his firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in a changing of the guard. (http://nyti.ms/1UwrknC)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** A deal that would combine Essar Steel Algoma Inc and U.S. Steel Canada into a single steel maker is emerging as a potential path out of creditor protection for the two companies. (http://bit.ly/22Usm1B)
** Brian Porter, Chief Executive of Bank of Nova Scotia said that the bank’s C$2 billion($1.53 billion) annual investment for technology was used for a wide array of things, including defense from cyber attacks. (http://bit.ly/1M5CY6p)
** Rogers Communications Inc will offer Sportsnet Now – an app that streams the live feeds from Sportsnet’s main regional TV stations, plus its One and 360 networks – as a separate online subscription costing C$24.99 a month, starting April 1. (http://bit.ly/1MZ0sVv)
NATIONAL POST
** The sale of Quebec restaurant chain Groupe St-Hubert Inc is a good news story for the province, Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Léger said Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1RQyRKD)
** The phase-out of coal-fired power generation in Alberta will begin in 2018, not the mandated 2030 deadline, the president of the Coal Association of Canada said Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1SrifGM)
** An overwhelming majority of Canadians believes psychological suffering on its own should never be grounds for granting a doctor-assisted death, according to a survey by Angus Reid Institute survey. (http://bit.ly/1RQB2xH)
Britain
The Times
– The UK’s current account deficit, ballooned to a record 32.7 billion pounds in the final three months of last year, the biggest deficit as a share of GDP since records began. (http://bit.ly/1RsKl83)
– The size of Britain’s economy grew by an unexpected 0.6 percent in the final three months of last year, leading economists to argue that UK growth is doing better than feared. (http://bit.ly/1RsKnwA)
The Guardian
– Retailers will take the biggest financial hit from the rise in the “national living wage” as more than 300,000 workers get a pay rise from Friday 1 April. (http://bit.ly/1RsLht2)
The Telegraph
– Broadcasting giant Sky Plc is to sell its headquarters and studios in west London for 545 million euros ($620.32 million). The company has instructed agents at BNP Paribas Real Estate to find a buyer for its buildings in Osterley, which it will then rent back in an expected 30-year deal. (http://bit.ly/1RsLNHp)
Sky News
– GlaxoSmithKline Plc will change its approach to patenting to make its medicines more affordable in developing countries. The company says the move will cover about 85 countries and a combined population of more than 2 billion people. (http://bit.ly/1RsLQmM)
The Independent
– Summer bookings from British sun-seekers were up 9 percent year-on-year with Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands witnessing the most significant growth, according to Tui AG. (http://ind.pn/1RsMW1P)
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1SEMlJv Tyler Durden