- Electoral college expected to officially select Trump (Reuters)
- China says discussing return of undersea drone with U.S. military (Reuters)
- Neutral PBOC Sets Up First U.S.-China Tightening Since 2006 (BBG)
- Wall St sleepwalking into Trump volatility surge (FT)
- Ukraine’s largest bank rescued by state, prompts call for calm (Reuters)
- U.S. Factories Are Working Again; Factory Workers, Not So Much (WSJ)
- Senators call for probe of cyber attacks (Reuters)
- Koch escalates tax reform battle with report on gasoline prices (Reuters)
- As yuan weakens, Chinese rush to open foreign currency accounts (Reuters)
- China house price growth slows as lending curbs take hold (FT)
- Russia, Iran and Turkey to hold Syria talks in Moscow on Tuesday (Reuters)
- Japan eyes record spending, less new debt in financial year 2017/18 budget (Reuters)
- German Business Confidence Improves as Growth Strengthens (BBG)
- Aramco IPO Could Still Be in U.S. as Kingdom Plays Down Rift (BBG)
- Digital currency sales take off, but with no regulation questions abound (Reuters)
- Danone Sales Growth to Miss Target as Spain, Activia Falter (BBG)
- Bond Selloff Shows Risks of China’s Efforts to Restrain Credit (WSJ)
- A $55 Billion Manager Who Bought at Market Low Returns to Cash (BBG)
- Here’s how Obama can hit back at Putin over hacking (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Fresh signs emerged Sunday that President-elect Donald Trump could embrace the intelligence community’s view that the Russians were behind a computer-hacking operation aimed at influencing the November election. A senior Trump aide said Trump could accept Russia’s involvement if there is a unified presentation of evidence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies. http://on.wsj.com/2hKmBPP
– Iranian officials publicly hardened their resolve to proceed with a multibillion-dollar deal to buy dozens of Boeing Co jets, threatening to claw back any lost money if the deal is scuttled after the inauguration of Trump. http://on.wsj.com/2hKiAup
– Zsa Zsa Gabor, the jet-setting Hungarian actress and socialite who helped create a type of celebrity fame out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life, has died. She was 99. http://on.wsj.com/2hKjrv5
– Walt Disney Co’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” hit blockbuster status with light speed at the box office this weekend, collecting an estimated $155 million in the U.S. and Canada. http://on.wsj.com/2hKmp2R
– Libya’s National Oil has for now stopped the relaunch of production at oil fields in the country’s west, Libyan officials said Sunday, after a militia threatened to block the petroleum from reaching the market. http://on.wsj.com/2hKduP1
– Ireland said the European Union overstepped its authority and misinterpreted Irish law when it ordered the country in August to recoup $13.59 billion in allegedly unpaid taxes from Apple. http://on.wsj.com/2hKhOxu
– Standard Industries on Sunday reached an agreement to acquire German roof maker Braas Monier Building Group SA after raising its offer in a deal that now values the sale at about $1.15 billion. http://on.wsj.com/2hKiS4t
– Canada-based insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd has agreed to acquire Swiss peer Allied World Assurance Co in a $4.9 billion cash-and-share deal. http://on.wsj.com/2hKlpvy
FT
– Ireland laid out grounds for its appeal against the European Commission’s demand that it claw back 13 billion euros of state aid from Apple. It accused Brussels of interfering with national sovereignty.
– Personal care-to-forestry products group SCA, is nearing a deal to buy German bandage maker BSN Medical for 2.7 billion euros including debt, ahead of a plan to separate into two publicly traded parts next year.
– Praxair, the US industrial group, and Germany’s Linde are set to announce preliminary terms of their $65 billion merger as early as Wednesday in a deal that will create the world’s largest supplier of industrial gas.
– Impax Laboratories put a price tag of more than $800 on a pinworm treatment – 200 times more expensive than the equivalent medicine on British pharmacy shelves.
NYT
– Finland will soon hand out cash to 2,000 jobless people, free of bureaucracy or limits on side earnings. The idea, universal basic income, is gaining traction worldwide. http://nyti.ms/2hXQY82
– Vine, the app owned by Twitter Inc, will not survive but a new, pared-down version in January will allow users to share short videos to that social network. http://nyti.ms/2hXWiIx
– David Yurman, the New York-based jewelry brand, is tapping into social philanthropy through a holiday advertising campaign. http://nyti.ms/2hY5U64
– Snapchat is treating celebrities like everyday users, while most of the other social networking services court and elevate them. http://nyti.ms/2hXZ4gT
Britain
The Times
– Apple is set for a fight with the European Commission over a ruling that it must pay the Republic of Ireland more than 13 billion euros in tax, describing parts of the judgment as having “no basis in law”. In submitting its formal appeal today against a ruling issued in August, the iPhone maker claims that the commission has misinterpreted both Irish and international law. http://bit.ly/2hXtAaG
The Guardian
– Talks aimed at averting strikes by British Airways cabin crew over Christmas will be held on Monday. Unite union members based at Heathrow are due to walk out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a dispute over pay. The row involves about 4,500 “mixed fleet” cabin crew who have joined BA since 2010. Unite says they are on lower wages than other staff, referring to the amount that recently hired staff receive as “poverty pay”. http://bit.ly/2hXjsyT
The Telegraph
– Britain’s science and technology industries are expected to lead another leap in hiring next year, in another vote of confidence in the economy following the Brexit vote, according to the Confederation of British Industry. http://bit.ly/2hXoknB
Sky News
– The largest shareholder in Formula One motor racing, CVC Capital Partners has launched an attempt to buy a slice of the insurer of pension schemes at Cadbury, Siemens and ICI. http://bit.ly/2hXjhUf
– Employers see a gloomy picture for jobs over the next few years amid uncertainty over Brexit, a new poll has found. The CBI/Pertemps employment trends survey showed firms still expected to grow jobs next year but that their longer term confidence in the labour market had been shaken. http://bit.ly/2hXg4Uz
The Independent
– Lidl was alerted to the harmful effects of a paint thinner chemical found in its gravy granules more than two weeks before it issued a public recall. The supermarket has recalled two batches of Kania Gravy Granules found to contain xylene, which occurs naturally in petroleum and crude oil, the Food Standards Agency said. http://ind.pn/2hXpxLG
via http://ift.tt/2i6r1iP Tyler Durden