- Yellen speech bolsters dollar after Trump’s mixed messages (Reuters)
- Draghi Set to Face Questions on ECB Bond Purchases (WSJ)
- Davos CEOs ‘go local’ on supply chain in Trump era (Reuters)
- Oil and Trump: Russians full of optimism (Reuters)
- Biggest Opposition Party Ready to Topple Swedish Government (BBG)
- The Mortgage Market’s $1 Trillion Pocket of Worry (WSJ)
- Ex-VW CEO Winterkorn Deflects Blame for Diesel-Cheating Scandal (BBG)
- George Soros, Mastercard to partner to aid migrants, refugees (Reuters)
- Don’t Assume Canada Will Rally With U.S., Poloz Warns Investors (BBG)
- Mnuchin to Address IndyMac, Tax Policy at Senate Hearing (WSJ)
- On Davos sidelines, banks expecting three-year transition after Brexit (Reuters)
- Safran to Buy Zodiac for $10 Billion in All-French Aero Deal (BBG)
- These Automakers Could be Trump’s Next Targets (BBG)
- Exclusive: Pentagon, Lockheed near deal on $9 billion F-35 contract (Reuters)
- How Deutsche Bank Made Minus €367 Million Disappear (BBG)
- Syria’s Assad hopes for ‘reconciliation’ deals from Astana talks (Reuters)
- How Well Does Running Vanguard Pay? (BBG)
- GOP Governors Warn Lawmakers About Repeal of Affordable Care Act (WSJ)
- U.S exchanges rent helicopter, drape banner in pursuit of Snapchat IPO (Reuters)
- Netflix’s Global Growth Fuels Surge in Subscribers (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Netflix Inc’s subscriber additions surged in the fourth quarter, fueled by an aggressive international expansion, beating both internal and Wall Street targets. http://on.wsj.com/2k5VNNG
– Hunter Harrison, the railroad veteran who announced his early departure from Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd Wednesday, is joining with an activist investor in an attempt to shake up management at rival railroad CSX Corp. http://on.wsj.com/2k5TZV1
– Alphabet Inc’s Google agreed to acquire a unit from Twitter Inc that runs a tool for developers to make mobile apps, the latest step in Twitter’s efforts to streamline its business. http://on.wsj.com/2k5FwZc
– A South Korean court denied an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, the scion of the Samsung Group conglomerate, for his alleged involvement in a national corruption scandal. http://on.wsj.com/2k5NP7s
– Irish drugmaker Mallinckrodt PLC and a U.S. subsidiary will pay $100 million and agree to other conditions to settle government antitrust allegations they unlawfully prevented competition for Acthar, a drug that has seen enormous price spikes in recent years. http://on.wsj.com/2k5Vq5G
– Sumner Redstone’s ex-girlfriend has asked a California court to appoint an independent doctor to assess his health and, if he lacks mental capacity, appoint a guardian for him, according to documents filed Wednesday. http://on.wsj.com/2k60NSm
– Target Corp warned of weak profits and sales during the critical holiday period, the latest retail chain to acknowledge its struggle to attract shoppers to its stores and compete with online sellers such as Amazon.com Inc. http://on.wsj.com/2k5YNtr
FT
* British financier Edi Truell is pushing the government to eliminate tax relief for pension savers for the creation of “SuperFunds” that would make investments in infrastructure.
* Deutsche Bank will cut 2016 bonus payments for their top managers confirmed by chief executive John Cryan in a note to the company’s staff.
* Greece on Wednesday concluded the sale of its rail company TRAINOSE to Italy’s state railways Ferrovie dello Stato for 45 million euros ($48.1 million), the country’s privatisation agency said.
* Clydesdale Bank Plc is planning to close about a third of its bank branches and fire more than 400 employees to reduce costs. The Glasgow-based lender is planning to shut 79 branches, taking its total number of branches to fewer than 169.
* EU leaders on Wednesday welcomed clarity from Britain over what it wants from Brexit talks, with Germany’s Angela Merkel promising a united front in what will be “very intensive” negotiations.
NYT
– Representative Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, promised on Wednesday to make sure people do not “fall through the cracks” if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. http://nyti.ms/2k2rLX7
– JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $55 million to settle an investigation into whether it charged thousands of African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher interest rates on mortgages than white customers. http://nyti.ms/2jzORYx
– President-elect Trump will take office on Friday with less popular support than any new president in modern times, according to an array of surveys, a sign that he has failed to rally Americans behind him. http://nyti.ms/2iTRfIC
– A South Korean court on Thursday blocked a prosecutor’s attempt to arrest Jay Y. Lee, the leader of Samsung, saying there was not enough evidence that Lee had bribed President Park Geun-hye, in a scandal that led to her impeachment. http://nyti.ms/2jBlmFz
– Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday night at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of “super PACs” and talked about creating a “merit-based” immigration system. http://nyti.ms/2k2eT36
– President Obama made clear on Wednesday that he finds some ideas advanced by Trump so alarming that he laid out markers that would draw him back into the fray. http://nyti.ms/2iDSdu1
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Hunter Harrison is leaving Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd more than five months ahead of schedule, and the bombastic 72-year-old executive appears to be vying for a job at a major U.S. railroad, CSX Corp. https://tgam.ca/2jOtcZO
** A 2017 pension forecast by consulting firm Mercer Canada anticipates big growth in annuity purchases, with Canadian pension plans forecast to buy C$4 billion ($3.01 billion) to C$5 billion in annuity contracts in 2017, an increase from a record C$3 billion in 2016 and C$2.2 billion in 2015. https://tgam.ca/2jOw5K7
** Vancouver is preparing to spend C$3.5 million on a drug-overdose crisis with no end in sight, pouring money into a new medic unit, an additional community-policing station and training for staff to administer the anti-overdose medication naloxone. https://tgam.ca/2jOssnK
NATIONAL POST
** Genworth Canada said late Tuesday that it would be increasing its transactional mortgage insurance premium rates for homebuyers, essentially duplicating the increases brought in by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. http://bit.ly/2jOxuke
** Beauty retailer Lush Cosmetics is tripling its average store size over the next three years, bucking the downsizing trend of many bricks-and-mortar storefronts across North America. http://bit.ly/2jOwxs1
** The world’s largest gold mining companies expect more consolidation in the sector ahead – even if their own companies are more interested in partnerships, top executives at the TD Securities Mining Conference said Wednesday. http://bit.ly/2jOtXCh
Britain
The Times
Four hundred jobs go as Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks cut branches by third
Clydesdale Bank Plc and Yorkshire Bank are to close one third of their branches this year with the loss of 400 jobs and potential inconvenience to tens of thousands of account-holders. CYBG, the owner of both banks, said that it was cutting 79 branches, reducing its network to only 168. The cull is more radical that when first flagged in September. Then CYBG said only that it would reduce branch numbers to below 200. http://bit.ly/2jyRVEd
The Guardian
Deutsche Bank takes the axe to staff bonuses
Deutsche Bank AG announced massive cuts to its annual bonus scheme on Wednesday, as it looks to absorb the impact of a record $7.2bn fine in the United States. Around 25,000 of the bank’s most senior staff will receive no individual bonus for 2016. The cuts will apply worldwide, and will affect bankers in London and New York. http://bit.ly/2iJpEqj
EE fined 2.7 mln stg by Ofcom for overcharging customers
The telecoms watchdog has slapped mobile phone giant EE with a 2.7 million pound fine for overcharging almost 40,000 customers. Ofcom accused EE of “fundamental billing mistakes” in charging mobile phone users too much when they dialled its customer service number 150 from abroad. http://bit.ly/2jMV2G1
The Telegraph
Calls for ex-Rolls-Royce CEO to lose knighthood after firm admits bribery
Labour called for the former chief executive of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc to lose his knighthood, after the company admitted “extensive systemic bribery and corruption” during the period in which he ran the jet engines manufacturer. John Rose held the job at the Derby-based corporation, which was forced on Tuesday to admit that it was responsible for “egregious criminality over decades” between 1996 and 2011. http://bit.ly/2iTaUZ4
Sky News
Cyber-security firm NCC ousts chairman after profit warnings
The troubled cyber-security firm NCC Group Plc will announce on Thursday that one of the longest-serving chairmen of a listed UK company is stepping down following a pre-Christmas profit alert. Paul Mitchell, who has chaired NCC since 1999, is to depart in the coming months amid shareholder concerns about the company’s performance. http://bit.ly/2jAaCHn
BP risks fresh pay row in 2017 over boss Dudley’s share award
BP Plc is facing a renewed showdown with shareholders over its chief executive’s multi-million pound pay package, 12 months after an investor revolt at the company triggered a move by the Government to curb excessive boardroom remuneration. A number of big City shareholders in BP have expressed opposition to proposals by the oil giant’s board to trim the maximum sum payable to Bob Dudley under a long-term incentive plan. http://bit.ly/2k4LGsp
HSBC and UBS issue new warnings over Brexit jobs exodus
HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS Group AG have issued fresh warnings over an exodus of staff following Brexit, a day after Theresa May confirmed the UK would leave the single market. The remarks by the two global banks at the World Economic Forum in Davos suggested each could move 1,000 workers out of London, echoing warnings from the sector before last June’s vote. http://bit.ly/2jaypul
The Independent
Sadiq Khan expected to attack Theresa May’s hard Brexit plans at World Economic Forum
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will use a planned speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to warn that a ‘hard Brexit would be a lose-lose situation’. http://ind.pn/2iRbeHZ
UK post-Brexit trade deal with India threatened by Theresa May’s visa crackdown
One of Britain’s most important post-Brexit trade partnerships could be at risk due to Theresa May’s refusal to reform visa restrictions for Indian citizens. The Prime Minister has insisted leaving the EU would allow Britain to find other partners abroad and India, the world’s fastest growing major economy, was the first country she visited, accompanied by a large business delegation, outside Europe after the referendum. http://ind.pn/2iRHXNh
via http://ift.tt/2iNkv09 Tyler Durden