- Trump vows to ‘straighten out’ G7 trade ahead of tense meeting (Reuters)
- With Kim, Trump trusts his gut over note cards (Reuters)
- First Argentina, Then Turkey, Brazil. Now South Africa Reels (BBG)
- These Are the Dealmakers Behind Trump and Kim (BBG)
- Trump Scorns ‘Unfair Trade’ at G-7, Maps Plan to Exit Early (BBG)
- China’s ZTE apologizes, pledges reboot after U.S. reprieve (Reuters)
- China’s $11 Trillion Bond Market Tested by Rising Defaults (BBG)
- Verizon CEO to Retire, Succeeded by a Newcomer (WSJ)
- The Economic Policy Proposals of Brazil’s Top Presidential Hopefuls (BBG)
- Inside Tesla’s Model 3 Factory (BBG)
- German Industry’s Bad News Just Keeps Coming (BBG)
- Money Markets See Biggest Inflows Since 2013 in Run for Cash (BBG)
- One NYC Developer, Two Projects and $3.4 Billion of New Condos (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– A veteran Senate staffer, James Wolfe, has been indicted as part of a probe related to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information that has also obtained the records of a New York Times reporter. on.wsj.com/2LuBYcM
– China’s Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group Co on Friday said it raised around $14 billion from domestic and global investors in one of the largest private-capital raises on record. on.wsj.com/2sGXvrz
– A long-awaited watchdog report that is expected to criticize the Justice Department’s handling of the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server will be released next Thursday, according to a letter to Congress from Inspector General Michael Horowitz. on.wsj.com/2kWkKd3
– Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Austria’s chancellor to organize a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Vienna this summer and the White House is pondering the offer. on.wsj.com/2Jqy3wP
– Members of Congress have begun scrutinizing Google Inc’s relationship with China’s Huawei Technologies Co, roping in another Silicon Valley giant into Washington’s escalating digital cold war with Beijing. on.wsj.com/2Jm0zUe
FT
UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson has been secretly recorded blaming the Treasury for being “the heart of Remain” and revealing fears that his own vision of Brexit was gradually being betrayed by Prime Minister Theresa May. on.ft.com/2kTU3p6
Geordie Greig has been named editor of the Daily Mail, following the departure of Paul Dacre who will step down from the role in November after a career spanning 26 years in charge. on.ft.com/2kX7WTH
TSB chief executive Paul Pester has been called into question by a committee of MPs who have lost confidence in his ability to deal with the consequences of the bank’s IT crisis. on.ft.com/2kTUjo4
Lloyds Banking Group Plc has cut its last ties to Standard Life Aberdeen Plc after the British bank launched a sale of its 3.3 per cent stake in the FTSE asset management group over soured relations caused by a disputed fund management contract. on.ft.com/2kTHaLP
NYT
– President Trump handed the Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp a lifeline on Thursday, agreeing to lift tough American sanctions over the objections of Republican lawmakers, his defense advisers and some of his own economic officials. nyti.ms/2xPEYhW
– Amazon.com Inc, which is increasingly pushing beyond its e-commerce origins, won rights on Thursday to broadcast Premier League games in Britain for the first time. nyti.ms/2Hvcc5E
– Greg Berlanti, executive producer of “Riverdale,” “Blindspot” and “Arrow,” among others, has signed a new deal that will keep him at Warner Bros for six more years, the studio owned by Time Warner Inc announced on Thursday. nyti.ms/2JEE4cD
– The Trump administration, after heavy lobbying by the chemical industry, is scaling back the way the federal government determines health and safety risks associated with the most dangerous chemicals on the market, documents from the Environmental Protection Agency show. nyti.ms/2sRdEtG
Britain
The Times
The London Stock Exchange suffered a setback earlier on Thursday after the start of share trading was delayed by an hour due to what it described as “a technical issue”. (bit.ly/2Jz9QYr)
SSE Plc has agreed to pay 1 million pounds ($1.34 million) to help vulnerable customers after Ofgem found that it had wrongly told households that they could not save money by switching. (bit.ly/2JEcbkQ)
The Guardian
The board of Marks & Spencer Group Plc has blocked annual bonuses for its top executives after the chain’s plunge in annual profits meant shop-floor staff would not qualify for payouts. (bit.ly/2JxIhyK)
At least 11,000 jobs are at risk as House of Fraser prepares to close more than half its UK stores and Poundworld teeters on the brink of administration, in the latest blow to the high streets. (bit.ly/2sFn8c9)
The Telegraph
The City watchdog has come under pressure to reconsider the legitimacy of Russian oil major Rosneft’s listing on the London Stock Exchange from Labour MP Stephen Kinnock. (bit.ly/2HsFOkc)
U.S. drug giant Pfizer Inc has won its appeal against a record 90 million pound fine levied against it and UK manufacturing partner Flynn for allegedly “price gouging” the National Health Service by jacking up the price of an anti-epilepsy drug by more than 2,000 per cent.(bit.ly/2sD7EWo)
Sky News
Beleaguered TSB Chief Executive Paul Pester found himself under further pressure to keep his job after MPs said they had “lost confidence” in his ability to lead the troubled bank. (bit.ly/2JE66Vy)
Geordie Greig has been named the new editor of the Daily Mail, taking over from Paul Dacre. (bit.ly/2sCQ1WK)
The Independent
A deputy governor of the Bank of England, Dave Ramsden, has said its view that the economy’s first quarter slump was mainly due to the snow is being vindicated by the economic data. (ind.pn/2JDQvWb)
Half of people due to retire this year are considering working past the state pension age, according to new research by Prudential. (ind.pn/2sFDiSS)
via RSS https://ift.tt/2JqUfa1 Tyler Durden