- The thinking behind Kim Jong Un’s ‘madness’ (Reuters); U.S. warns North Korean leadership will be ‘utterly destroyed’ in case of war (Reuters)
- Senate tax drama enters complicated end-game gambit (Reuters)
- Corporate Tax Rate in Flux as Senate Prepares to Vote (WSJ)
- The Senate Tax Bill Has Something for Every Republican to Hate (BBG)
- Bitcoin Mania: Even Grandma Wants In (WSJ)
- The Best Way to Spur Growth? Help the Poor, Not the Rich (BBG)
- OPEC, allies set to agree oil cut extension to end of 2018 (Reuters)
- Six Minutes to Counterattack: South Korea Shows Plan to Strike Back at North’s Missiles (WSJ)
- Trump sparks outrage in UK with tweet to May after sharing far-right videos (Reuters)
- Matt Lauer’s N.Z. Ranch Under the Spotlight Amid Harassment Allegations (BBG)
- Global deal on bank capital rules likely: EU official (Reuters)
- Sexual misconduct allegations may roil 2018 U.S. congressional elections (Reuters)
- China Bond Rout Is `Early Warning Signal’ to Global Debt Market (BBG)
- Elon Musk to compete to fund high-speed Loop in Chicago (Reuters)
- Nokia Denies It’s in Acquisition Talks With Juniper Networks (BBG)
- From Amazon to Etsy, Tech Giants Fight Trump’s Plan to Save Coal (BBG)
- One City’s Experience After Insurance Subsidies Vanish (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Amazon.com Inc wants workers to ask its virtual assistant Alexa to book conference rooms and launch meetings, as the company races against rivals to make the office the next major inroad for voice-recognition devices. on.wsj.com/2Bny6Fb
– Demands by a former Uber Technologies Inc employee Ric Jacobs, who was granted $4.5 million this year in a settlement agreement over his claims about the company’s secrecy measures were “clearly extortionist,” said one of Uber’s top attorneys. on.wsj.com/2BkMZZ1
– American internet media company BuzzFeed is laying off about 100 employees and reorganizing its advertising sales and business operations as it moves away from relying purely on native advertising. on.wsj.com/2Bnhbml
– Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc founder Steve Ells will step down as chief executive, after the fast-casual dining pioneer failed to retain customers amid rising competition and repeat food-safety scares. on.wsj.com/2BlRBOq
– The United States called on all countries to suspend diplomatic ties with North Korea and asked that China stop crude oil trade with Pyongyang as diplomats met at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting. on.wsj.com/2BnzCqR
– South Korea became the first major Asian economy to raise its main policy rate since the Federal Reserve started increasing U.S. rates two years ago, the latest sign of a global move away from crisis-era stimulus measures. on.wsj.com/2BmUb6L
– Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was interviewed this month by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team as it investigates whether Trump associates colluded in Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. on.wsj.com/2Bo0E1z
FT
Xavier Rolet has stepped down as chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, bowing to growing board pressure to resolve a governance crisis at the top of one of the City’s most high-profile institutions
Mounting litigation costs and tough global competition have pushed up losses at Uber Technologies Inc even as the ride-hailing company disclosed the formal launch of a SoftBank Group Corp led deal to invest between $7 billion and $10 billion.
The government of Australia announced a public inquiry into its banks and financial system, caving to political pressure from lawmakers as the country’s four biggest lenders relented from a lobbying campaign against the idea and requested an inquiry into themselves.
NYT
– The United States has filed arguments to the World Trade Organization in a looming dispute over China’s future in the international body, which could shape the global trading system for decades to come. nyti.ms/2imEgSb
– Senior executives at NBC News made the decision to fire Matt Lauer, the face of “Today” for two decades, late Tuesday night. At 6:49 a.m., 11 minutes before airtime, Andrew Lack, the news division’s chairman, sent a memo to the staff. nyti.ms/2k9D2u7
– On Thursday, General Motors will demonstrate its growing fleet of computer-operated, battery-powered Chevrolet Bolts in San Francisco to dozens of investment analysts, who are eager to evaluate the automaker’s advanced test vehicles. nyti.ms/2BxTLLT
– Minnesota Public Radio said Wednesday that it was severing all business ties with Garrison Keillor, the creator and retired host of “A Prairie Home Companion” after allegations of “inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him.” nyti.ms/2nicUhS
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Canada’s largest coalition of institutional investors, the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, wants shareholders to have the right to nominate directors for board elections, saying it has obtained an expert legal opinion that its proposed model for proxy access is allowed under business law statutes. tgam.ca/2BASnbh
** Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp saw its mortgage insurance business continue to shrink in recent months as a result of tougher new qualification rules and declining home sales in the Toronto area. tgam.ca/2BxTDfj
** Enbridge Inc is issuing C$1.5 billion ($1.16 billion) of shares and plans to sell at least C$3 billion in assets as it seeks to fund major development projects and streamline its operations following its takeover of Spectra Energy Partners. tgam.ca/2k8ZaEP
NATIONAL POST
** Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly has filled the long-vacant role of Ontario commissioner at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. bit.ly/2kbJuAC
** Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd staff described the City of Burnaby’s process to obtain municipal permits as “opaque” and “ineffective” to a National Energy Board hearing called to resolve delays stalling the C$7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. bit.ly/2kbODZu
** Japanese dollar store Miniso is expanding across Canada and has been described as Dollarama Inc’s biggest potential threat. bit.ly/2k90R59
Britain
The Times
– Britain is close to a deal over the Northern Ireland border, after British officials made proposals this week to avoid a “hard border” in Ireland. bit.ly/2AJ89Ur
– Millions of iPhone users could be in line for compensation after the launch of a mass legal claim against Google for illegally harvesting personal data from Apple handsets. bit.ly/2zAwAiq
The Guardian
– U.S. President Donald Trump retweeted a handful of anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy leader of a British far-right group, prompting a rare condemnation of Trump by Prime Minister Theresa May, whose official spokesperson called Trump’s actions wrong. bit.ly/2AjuTr1
– Uber Technologies Inc has admitted that 2.7 million people in the UK were affected by a 2016 security breach that compromised customers’ information, including names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers. bit.ly/2j3ypyf
The Telegraph
– The London Stock Exchange has launched an attack on one of its biggest investors in a row that has resulted in boss Xavier Rolet leaving “with immediate effect”, a year earlier than planned. bit.ly/2nfgER3
– German engineering company Siemens AG is to float its medical business in Frankfurt in what is set to be the country’s largest public offering in a generation. bit.ly/2jxZ3ib
Sky News
– Sky News has learnt that UK Asset Resolution will announce that it has kicked off the process to offload the Bradford and Bingley mortgages, more than six months after bankers were hired to prepare the process. bit.ly/2j2UDAy
– Lloyds Banking Group Plc said it would close 49 of its 1,843 branches under the Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds brands, with 99 staff losing their jobs. bit.ly/2zCz403
via http://ift.tt/2zQrjrs Tyler Durden