- GOP’s Silence on Deficits Under Trump Marks Turnabout (BBG)
- Investors start looking abroad (Reuters)
- Cold War Rivals Risk Direct Conflict in Syria (BBG)
- Ex-Prosecutors Take Frustrations With Trump to the Campaign Trail (WSJ)
- Amazon’s Latest Ambition: To Be a Major Hospital Supplier (WSJ)
- In Shift, U.S. Signals Readiness to Talk With North Korea (WSJ)
- Volatile Markets Make Tomorrow’s CPI Report a Reason to Worry (BBG)
- Shale Output Hasn’t Grown This Fast Since Oil Was at $100 (WSJ)
- Exxon Sues Its Antagonists in a Fierce Climate-Change Lawsuit (BBG)
- PepsiCo beats sales estimates on snacks boost (Reuters)
- OPEC Revises Crude Supply Forecasts on Higher U.S. Production (WSJ)
- U.S. to push for ‘reciprocal tax’ on trade partners (Reuters)
- U.S. Tax Provision May Sting Foreign Firms (WSJ)
- Israel Says U.S. Not in Syria ‘Game’ (BBG)
- The Biggest Political Spender at Trump Properties Is Trump (BBG)
- Iraq says $4 billion needed for new downstream oil investments (Reuters)
- Harley CEO asks investors for patience as sales, stock slide (Reuters)
- Don’t take the president literally, aide says, after women deride ‘macho-fascist’ Duterte (Reuters)
- Icahn, Deason urge Xerox shareholders to oppose Fujifilm deal (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc has made a takeover approach to drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp in a move that could help boost profitability at the drugstore giant and insulate it against external threats. on.wsj.com/2Ch5Gg9
– A special committee of the Wynn Resorts Ltd board said it hired Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP to investigate allegations against Steve Wynn and to conduct an “expanded and comprehensive review” of the company’s internal policies to ensure “a safe and respectful workplace for all employees.” on.wsj.com/2ssCsva
– Snap Inc said its head of sales, Jeff Lucas, is leaving the social-media company less than two years after joining from Viacom Inc. on.wsj.com/2GaLzTs
– General Motors Co is sending a tough message to thousands of South Korean workers during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, saying it will close a Korean factory in May and pressure union officials for additional cost cuts to stem losses. on.wsj.com/2ECoBal
– Twenty-First Century Fox Inc offered to bolster the editorial independence of Sky Plc’s news operations to meet concerns of British regulators and ease approval of its $16 billion bid for the portion of the pay TV giant it doesn’t already own. on.wsj.com/2spCowd
– Trump administration officials have shifted their tactical approach to North Korea after internal deliberations in recent weeks, senior officials said, closing ranks with Seoul and signaling a readiness to hold preliminary talks with Pyongyang. on.wsj.com/2ssrm9y
– General Dynamics Corp said it had agreed to buy CSRA Inc for $6.8 billion as part of the defense contractor’s push into government information-technology services. on.wsj.com/2G8V2dG
FT
U.S. defence contractor General Dynamics Corp, has agreed to buy IT and cyber security group CSRA Inc for $9.6 billion, including debt, as dealmaking in the sector heats up following a series of major hacks in recent years.
Barclays Plc has been charged a second time by UK authorities over its 2008 emergency fundraising, raising the stakes for the British bank in its legal battle over the cash injections it arranged from Qatari investors to survive the financial crisis.
Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has offered a series of steps to guarantee the editorial independence of Sky News to assuage concerns raised by the UK’s competition watchdog over the company’s bid to take full control of the pan-European broadcaster Sky.
NYT
– U.S. President Donald Trump sent Congress a $4.4 trillion budget proposal on Monday outlining steep cuts to domestic programs, large increases in military spending and a ballooning federal deficit that illustrates how far Republicans have strayed from their longtime embrace of balanced budgets. nyti.ms/2ChHr1f
– The Trump administration on Monday moved to repeal a rule restricting the release of planet-warming methane into the atmosphere. The rule, which applied to companies drilling for energy on federal land, has been the subject of intense court battles and delay efforts, as well as one surprise vote last year in which Senate Republicans temporarily saved it from being torpedoed. nyti.ms/2EnYdxE
– A female executive at the investment firm run by Steven Cohen said in a lawsuit that the company was a testosterone-fueled “boys’ club” in which men commented on women’s bodies, belittled their abilities and paid them less than their male peers. nyti.ms/2CfATQY
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The Trudeau cabinet has issued a special order to prolong Ottawa’s scrutiny of a $1.5 billion takeover of Canadian infrastructure giant Aecon Group Inc by a Chinese state-owned firm, invoking a section of law used when the federal government believes an investment “could be injurious to national security.” tgam.ca/2BWPXHC
** InstarAGF Asset Management Inc is preparing to make a C$50 million ($39.8 million) investment in community energy infrastructure through a partnership with British Columbia-based utility company Creative Energy. tgam.ca/2BYca7S
NATIONAL POST
** Bank of Nova Scotia announced a deal on Monday to buy independent investment firm Jarislowsky Fraser for about C$950 million ($755 million). bit.ly/2BWrlP2
** Suncor Energy Inc doubled down on its Syncrude oilsands stake with another C$920 million ($731 million) for Mocal Energy Ltd’s five percent interest in the project. The company also announced a small but significant deal to buy a stake in a North Sea project. bit.ly/2BYdoQw
** The federal government’s advertising agency spent more than half of its budget online last year, marking the first time the internet has surpassed television as Ottawa’s advertising medium of choice. bit.ly/2BU7VKA
Britain
The Times
* Lloyds Banking Group aims to raise the proportion of black, Asian and ethnic minority staff to 8 percent of its senior managers by 2020. bit.ly/2CfxyRS
* The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority each issued papers aimed at forcing firms into improving procedures to guard against computer-driven crashes and market abuse. bit.ly/2Ch4MjL
The Guardian
* A confidential report into Royal Bank of Scotland is set to be published by MPs after it was widely leaked, revealing details of the bank’s treatment of nearly 6,000 struggling small businesses in the aftermath of the 2008 banking crash. bit.ly/2CfBvpO
* Transport for London (TfL) has insisted it is not facing a financial crisis despite planning for a near 1 billion pounds ($1.38 billion) deficit next year after a surprise fall in passenger numbers. bit.ly/2CfJx21
The Telegraph
* Barclays has been slapped with a further charge of fraud by UK regulators over its 11.8 billion pounds emergency cash call in the teeth of the financial crisis, putting its banking licences in several countries on the line. bit.ly/2CfSjwK
* Twenty-First Century Fox has offered to guarantee the editorial independence of Sky News as it looks to convince regulators it is a fit owner of the Sky Plc. bit.ly/2CfV2X0
Sky News
* Victrex will be named on a new public register days after Andrew Dougal quit over his links to Carillion , according to Sky News. bit.ly/2Cjelio
* The world’s second largest advertiser, Unilever, is set to make a stand over online safety and pledge not to invest in any platforms which “create divisions in society”. bit.ly/2CeZAgo
The Independent
* Britain’s “broken” energy market must be fixed by introducing an energy price cap before next winter to stop loyal customers being ripped off by suppliers, MPs said on Tuesday. ind.pn/2CfLM5r
* More than a quarter of university students are currently running or plan to run a business while studying, new research shows. The study, conducted by a division of Santander dedicated to funding small businesses and students, found that the young entrepreneurs have an average turnover of 11,408 pounds per annum. ind.pn/2CgKGGi
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/2Ch7mq0 Tyler Durden