- Russia likely main topic in Trump’s first news conference since election (Reuters)
- Russia Denies Report It Has Compromising Material on Trump (BBG)
- For Russia, U.S. election meddling claims strip Trump win of luster (Reuters)
- Obama Urges Unity in Farewell Speech (WSJ)
- 1930s-like Demographic Pressures Holding Back U.S. Economy (BBG)
- Chinese bomber flies around contested Spratlys in show of force: U.S. official (Reuters)
- Tillerson to Call Russia a ‘Danger’ in Confirmation Hearing (BBG)
- Kelly Distances Himself From Trump Over Border Wall, Russia (BBG)
- Justice Department Hasn’t Found Evidence to Bring Antitrust Case Against Airlines (WSJ)
- In China, Insurers Sell Risky Products to Fund Risky Investments (WSJ)
- Uber signs deal with Dubai regulator after pricing rows (Reuters)
- Why the Lira’s in Trouble: 2017’s Worst Performer in Charts (BBG)
- Northern Ireland will still have say in Brexit preparations: PM May (Reuters)
- Suddenly, Home Sale Agreements Are Falling Apart Across the U.S. (BBG)
- A Pileup in U.S. Motor Vehicle Inventories (WSJ)
- Relatives’ U.S. bribery case rains on ex-U.N. chief’s homecoming (Reuters)
- ‘Chicken Tax’ Surfaces in Talk of Auto Tariffs (WSJ)
- Trump Tax Cut Could Add $8.2 Billion to Reynolds Price Tag (BBG)
- Italy’s New Prime Minister in Intensive Care After Surgery (WSJ)
- Lebanese Leader Reaches Out to Saudi Arabia in Search of Aid (WSJ)
- From Brexit to Trump, Polarization Heightens Risk, WEF Says (BBG)
Overnight media Digest
WSJ
– Volkswagen AG is expected to agree to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing and pay a $4.3 billion penalty to resolve a U.S. Justice Department probe of its diesel-emissions cheating. http://on.wsj.com/2iZN3Wf
– Wal Mart Stores Inc is preparing to cut nearly 1,000 corporate jobs before the end of the month, according to an executive familiar with the situation as the company shifts its focus to e-commerce. http://on.wsj.com/2iZEYk9
– Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it would take China’s Intime Retail Group Co Ltd private in a $2.6 billion deal in a bid to extend its online dominance into -physical stores. http://on.wsj.com/2iZNHD9
– Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc reached deals to sell $2.1 billion in assets, the struggling drug maker’s biggest moves yet to refocus around its consumer offerings and pare its heavy debt load. http://on.wsj.com/2iZSYKR
FT
Volkswagen AG said on Tuesday it has negotiated a $4.3 billion draft settlement with U.S. regulators to resolve its diesel emissions troubles and plans to plead guilty to criminal misconduct.
Britain’s Financial Reporting Council is asking the government for greater oversight powers to tackle corporate governance issues in its annual report published on Wednesday on corporate culture against what it called a “backdrop of falling public trust in business.”
Income inequality in Britain narrowed in the 2015-16 financial year as poorer families got help from low inflation and retirees gained from generous pensions, but many people of working age lost out, official data showed on Tuesday.
Chinese investors spent four times as much on acquisitions in the European Union last year as European companies did in China, according to a report by research firm Rhodium Group.
Italian police arrested two siblings on Tuesday for hacking into the emails of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, former prime minister Matteo Renzi and thousands of others.
NYT
– Volkswagen AG is on the verge of pleading guilty to criminal charges and paying $4.3 billion in fines, in a deal that would resolve a federal criminal investigation into its cheating on vehicle emissions tests, the automaker said on Tuesday. http://nyti.ms/2jtdNNH
– The publisher of The Daily Mirror, a left-wing British tabloid, said on Tuesday it was in early-stage talks to acquire a minority stake in a new company that would include assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes two rival right-wing tabloids, The Daily Express and The Daily Star. http://nyti.ms/2j64abm
– Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is pushing further into the very sector that it helped to disrupt with a $2.6 billion bid for Intime Retail Group Co Ltd, a department store and mall operator in China. Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, already owned 28 percent of Intime, which is listed in Hong Kong, and made an offer with Shen Guo Jun, the founder of the department store chain, to take the company private. http://nyti.ms/2j66u27
– Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have hired a top political operative to lead the next phase of their philanthropic work at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the limited liability company they set up in 2015 to conduct charitable efforts. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and is chief adviser and a board member at Uber, is leaving the ride-hailing company to join the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as president of policy and advocacy. http://nyti.ms/2jtfiLE
– John Carlin, who was the Justice Department’s top national security lawyer, has moved to the law firm Morrison & Foerster to lead its global risk and crisis management practice, the firm announced on Tuesday. http://nyti.ms/2iDPU6a
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Canada’s vast network of bank branches will shrink in 2017, with dozens of locations closing as institutions cut costs and invest billions in technology as more customers migrate online. https://tgam.ca/2iF5uOY
** The National Energy Board of Canada has officially appointed three new members to a panel that will restart the stalled review of the proposed Energy East pipeline. The new three-member panel will be headed by Don Ferguson, a former senior civil servant in New Brunswick. https://tgam.ca/2jzkP7P
NATIONAL POST
** An eventual increase in Canadian interest rates is not expected to lead to a spike in mortgage book losses for Canada’s banks, Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Dave McKay told investors on Tuesday. http://bit.ly/2ifruPc
** Canadian Securities Administrators are calling for public input on a proposal to prohibit embedded commissions and trailer fees in investment funds, the strongest indication in a years-long process that an outright ban is on the table. http://bit.ly/2ift2ZP
Britain
The Times
* Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for a maximum wage to be imposed on Britain’s highest earners as he tries to relaunch his leadership. http://bit.ly/2jsaI0m
* A tourist tax on hotels to help pay for local services is being considered by Bath council, which is lobbying the government to allow local authorities to introduce the charge. http://bit.ly/2jAYeYn
The Guardian
* Theresa May is facing questions about her financial interests after it emerged she set up a blind trust arrangement when she became prime minister. http://bit.ly/2j5t4b7
* UK’s ambassador to France has said his embassy will not be forging links with far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen because the UK government has a policy of not engaging with her party, the Front National. http://bit.ly/2j5t0Ik
The Telegraph
* A former editor of the News of the World, David Montgomery, has emerged as the potential buyer of the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers, in a complicated deal with their current owner Richard Desmond that could also see Trinity Mirror take a minority stake. http://bit.ly/2iCGcRC
* Britain’s Post Office is to close and seek franchise partners for 37 of its Crown branches, threatening 290 jobs as well as 127 financial specialist staff. http://bit.ly/2jga2vH
Sky News
* Snap Inc, the owner of messaging app Snapchat, has confirmed it will make the UK its main hub outside the United States. http://bit.ly/2idQB8s
* Fresh from his trip to the United States to meet with key members of President-elect Donald Trump’s team, foreign minister Boris Johnson told members of parliament there was a “huge fund of goodwill” for the UK on Capitol Hill. http://bit.ly/2iyZUxg
The Independent
* The chief executive of the London Stock Exchange has warned that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union poses a risk to the global financial system and could cost the City of London up to 10,000 jobs if the government fails to provide a clear plan for post-Brexit operations. http://ind.pn/2j0DNmE
via http://ift.tt/2j0Ylcy Tyler Durden