- Some GOP Senators Press for Late Changes in Tax Bill (WSJ)
- Here’s Where the GOP Tax Plan Stands Right Now (BBG)
- Harvard Endowment Chief Pushed for Steeper Devaluation of Assets (WSJ)
- Net neutrality repeal gives Democrats fresh way to reach millennials (Reuters)
- With Fox Deal, Disney Adds Hulu to Its Digital Kingdom (WSJ)
- Treasury Yields Have Never Been This Negative for Euro Investors (BBG)
- Deutsche Bank Had Flagged Manafort-Related Transactions (WSJ)
- Tesla blamed for slide in U.S. home solar sales (Reuters)
- CSX shares tumble after CEO’s medical leave (Reuters)
- Austria Shifts Right as Kurz Forges Government With Nationalists (BBG)
- Murdoch Solves Empire Succession by Getting Rid of the Empire (BBG)
- Paralysis at PDVSA: Venezuela’s oil purge cripples company (Reuters)
- How America’s Inequality Is Sending the Dow Soaring (BBG)
- World trade order in a wobble as Washington snubs WTO status quo (Reuters)
- Mexico’s Senate passes divisive security law, paving way for final approval (Reuters)
- Law School Is Hot Again as Politics Piques Interest (WSJ)
- Inside the Mad Dash to Bring You Cheap, Generic Viagra (BBG)
- Erdogan says Turkey starting initiatives at U.N. to annul U.S. decision on Jerusalem (Reuters)
- Kremlin: Putin and Trump agreed to exchange information on North Korea (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– CSX Corp Chief Executive Hunter Harrison has taken a medical leave of absence due to unexpected complications from a recent illness. on.wsj.com/2yvIKYN
– The spouses of highly skilled foreign workers would no longer be able to work legally in the U.S. under a regulatory change proposed by the Trump administration on Thursday. on.wsj.com/2yv8bJP
– Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked for President Donald Trump’s campaign, turn over documents as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. on.wsj.com/2yw3Hm9
– U.S.-based commercial real-estate data firm, Xceligent Inc has filed for Chapter 7 liquidation following a year-long legal battle with CoStar Group Inc over alleged data theft. on.wsj.com/2yvyFLg
– Walt Disney Co said it agreed to buy most of 21st Century Fox Inc for $52.4 billion in stock, in a deal that would give Disney a dominant position in movies and sports and help bolster its flagging television business. on.wsj.com/2ywcftf
FT
– 21st Century Fox Inc has agreed to sell its entertainment businesses to Walt Disney Co in a deal worth $66 billion.
– Thames Water issued a bond worth 145 million pounds through a Cayman Islands subsidiary stating that it currently has no other legal vehicle to issue the debt.
– Transport for the North said fixing the transport system in the north of England will cost at least 60 billion pounds over the next 30 years.
– Head of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority Andrew Bailey said that he currently sees no systemic risk in bitcoin and is not pushing government to make the cryptocurrency part of his remit.
NYT
– The Walt Disney Co said Thursday that it had reached a deal to buy most of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc , the empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion. (nyti.ms/2AtIZWc)
– The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to scrap the so-called net neutrality regulations that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences. (nyti.ms/2ApEL1s)
– In a bid to link its historic past with its future products, Ford Motor Co on Thursday said that it had chosen a site near downtown Detroit as the base for a high-level team working on self-driving and electric cars. (nyti.ms/2B4y0Uh)
– The U.S. National Labor Relations Board on Thursday overturned a key Obama-era precedent that had given workers significant leverage in challenging companies like fast-food and hotel chains over labor practices. (nyti.ms/2j3BnCw)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Ontario’s securities watchdog is looking to mirror a U.S. ban against Miles Nadal, former CEO of MDC Partners Inc . tgam.ca/2yvLk0J
** Asian demand for U.S. iron ore is driving up freight volumes on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Overall cargo tonnage, including mining products and grain, rose by 8.5 percent to 33 million tonnes on the water route as of the end of November, from the same period a year ago, the Chamber of Marine Commerce said on Thursday. tgam.ca/2ywk1n1
** Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is creating a renewable-energy and power group, jump-starting its investment strategy with a deal for Brazilian wind assets. tgam.ca/2ywm7n2
NATIONAL POST
** Saddled with large debts, Cenovus Energy Inc announced a cost-cutting budget Thursday that will eliminate 500 to 700 jobs and a reshuffling of its management team as the company tries to deleverage. bit.ly/2ywG50M
** Boeing Co was dealt another major blow this week as Delta Air Lines confirmed Thursday it will order 100 jets from its aerospace rival, Airbus SE a deal valued at around $12.7 billion. bit.ly/2ywIhp2
** More than two years into its five-year turnaround plan, Bombardier Inc’s Chief Executive, Alain Bellemare said the company is on track to achieve its goals by 2020 as it focuses on the profitability of its transportation and business jet units while preparing to give Airbus SE the reins to the CSeries program. bit.ly/2ywPVQx
Britain
The Times
– Walt Disney Co will pay a $2.5 billion break fee to Twenty-First Century Fox if regulators scupper their proposed deal. It would come into play if the merger is blocked on grounds “relating to laws or communications laws”, a regulatory filing says. bit.ly/2yvaHjm
– The attempt by a Singaporean billionaire to take Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Plc was cast into doubt on Thursday after three of its biggest minority investors rejected a sweetened offer. bit.ly/2ytYlIn
The Guardian
– Walt Disney Co has signalled it will not attempt to buy 100 percent of Britain’s biggest pay-TV broadcaster if the media regulator quashes Rupert Murdoch’s 11.7 billion pounds ($15.72 billion) bid for full control of Sky Plc. bit.ly/2yuQTwm
– Members of Parliament have called on the UK government to consider legal action against the former chief executive of the public body HS2 Ltd over 1.76 million pounds ($2.36 million) in redundancy payments made in direct contravention of civil service rules. bit.ly/2yu0eF0
The Telegraph
– Daily Mail and General Trust Plc, the publisher of the Daily Mail, has handed its struggling U.S. property data business Xceligent over to liquidators only two weeks after announcing a strategic review. bit.ly/2yust68
– Britain’s indebted credit card customers could save up to 1.3 billion pounds ($1.75 billion) a year under new rules designed to help people who fall into persistent debt. bit.ly/2yunlyX
Sky News
– The Bank of England has said it sees a reduced risk of a disorderly Brexit following the prime minister’s deal to secure trade talks with the EU. bit.ly/2yu0xQa
– Richard Buxton, the chief executive of Old Mutual Global Investors, is on the brink of a deal to buy a 25 billion pounds ($33.59 billion) chunk of the company, backed by private equity firm TA Associates. bit.ly/2yu530N
The Independent
– The European Central Bank has “substantially” upgraded its GDP growth forecasts for the euro zone, reflecting brightening economic prospects for the single currency area even as the UK’s outlook is gloomy due to Brexit. ind.pn/2yu4J28
via http://ift.tt/2AxjTpm Tyler Durden