Frontrunning: February 28

  • Trump Puts the Final Touches on His Speech (BBG)
  • Trump to Make Case for Higher Military Spending, Lay Out Vision in Speech (WSJ)
  • Trump on Hook to Clarify Policies With Speech to Congress (BBG)
  • Traders Are Glued to These Stocks Ahead of Tonight’s Trump Speech (BBG)
  • Trump Regulation Rollback May Threaten U.S. Firms’ EU Access (Reuters)
  • GOP Health Plan Suffers Blow With Rejection by Key Republican (BBG)
  • White House Dismisses Calls for Russia-Ties Investigation (WSJ)
  • Bitcoin’s Top Rival Is Up 90% and Ready to Ditch Mining (BBG)
  • Inside Harvard’s Radical Plan to Reverse a Decade of Poor Returns (WSJ)
  • JPMorgan Software Does in Seconds What Took Lawyers 360,000 Hours (BBG)
  • Greece Said to Expect Revised Bailout Draft as Talks Resume (BBG)
  • Target Forecast Trails Estimates Amid Foot Traffic Woes (BBG)
  • Zombie cull fuels China bankruptcy rise (FT)
  • President Xi: China aims to improve economy’s quality, efficiency (Reuters)
  • NYSE Said to Be Considering ‘Inverted’ Model for New Exchange (WSJ)
  • Malaysia to Charge Two Women for Murder of Kim Jong Nam (WSJ)
  • New Wave of Anti-Semitic Threats Rattle U.S. (WSJ)
  • Canadian town on front line of migrant crackdown (Reuters)
  • China Considering Financial Rewards to Encourage Second Children (BBG)
  • Turkey Said to Seek U.S. Support to Attack IS Syria Bastion (BBG)
  • Takata Pleads Guilty to Criminal Wrongdoing, Agrees to Pay $1 Billion (WSJ)
  • Samsung Group chief charged with bribery, corporate nerve center dismantled (Reuters)
  • California demands details of Trump administration immigration arrests (Reuters)
  • Indian Workers in U.S. Fear a Trump H-1B Crackdown (WSJ)
  • Tweeting accountant blamed for Oscar best picture blunder (Reuters)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– In an address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump, will call for a $20 billion boost in current military spending and sharp cuts in other programs, and insist on raising budget caps that call for future cuts to defense outlays. on.wsj.com/2myTPmU

– The White House defended its decision to ask lawmakers and intelligence officials to help rebut allegations of ties between associates of President Donald Trump and Russia. The House and Senate intelligence committees both have begun investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, including contacts between Russian officials and former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who resigned this month after acknowledging he mischaracterized his contacts with Moscow’s ambassador to the U.S. on.wsj.com/2myZDgp

– South Korean prosecutors said they would indict the Samsung conglomerate’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on charges of bribery and four other offenses, setting in motion legal proceedings that could put the tycoon behind bars for years. Prosecutors accuse Lee of embezzlement, perjury, hiding assets abroad and concealing profit gained from criminal acts. on.wsj.com/2myXq4t

– AT&T Inc lowered the price of its unlimited-data plans less than two weeks after opening them up to all subscribers, and said it would give added discounts to customers who pay for one of its television services. The unlimited plan for a single phone now costs $90 a month, a drop of $10. Subscribers who choose one of the company’s DirecTV or U-verse television services will get a $25 monthly bill credit. on.wsj.com/2mz28PY

 

FT

Former Conservative prime minister John Major urged Theresa May on Monday to face down Tory Eurosceptics during Brexit negotiations, warning that they are fickle friends who want a damaging “total divorce” from the European Union.

The London Stock Exchange Group Plc has all but ended a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse AG to create Europe’s biggest exchange, which had faced growing opposition since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

The UK government is failing to recognise “clear warning signs” that public services are nearing a breaking point after six years of spending cuts, according to a new report from the Institute for Government, published on Tuesday.

A court case alleged “serious and widespread” financial failings during Brexit backer Arron Banks’s time as chief executive of insurance company Brightside Group. http://on.ft.com/2my2QNk

 

NYT

– Uber has asked a senior executive to leave the company for failing to disclose a sexual harassment allegation stemming from his tenure at Alphabet Inc’s Google. nyti.ms/2ltsB0n

– At least four automakers knew for years that Takata’s airbags were dangerous and could rupture violently but continued to use those airbags in their vehicles to save on costs, lawyers representing victims of the defect asserted in a court document filed on Monday. nyti.ms/2ltjLPS

– An alliance of about 30 companies, including Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase, has plans to standardize data gathering and tracking with software that is seen as harder to hack. nyti.ms/2ltkAs5

– The Chinese-owned brokerage firm CLSA Americas unexpectedly shut down its stock research unit and related functions on Monday, sending some employees and analysts scrambling to pack their things. nyti.ms/2ltmNDQ

– Renata Hesse, who headed the Antitrust Division at the Justice Department, is joining Sullivan & Cromwell as a partner in its Washington office, the law firm announced on Monday. nyti.ms/2ltmRDA

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Ontario’s inter-regional transit system, GO Transit, is looking at how they can make their downtown Toronto bus station safer for pedestrians after a woman was killed Sunday evening. https://tgam.ca/2mnTSFk

** Alberta Premier Rachel Notley met on Monday with governors and congressional leaders in Washington who could influence U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda on trade, energy and pipelines – issues that are vital for the province’s economic recovery. https://tgam.ca/2mztVzw

NATIONAL POST

** Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog is reviewing its policies after Manulife Financial Corp revealed on Monday its domestic banking unit was subject to an administrative penalty meted out by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. http://bit.ly/2m1M6Qw

** Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfrew is closing down its off-price retail chain hr2 in the coming months, according to a report. http://bit.ly/2lP5KPn

** Google wants to turn its mobile Android operating system into a major gaming centre, introducing new features that it says will push developers to innovate and make more money, while also helping consumers find more games they will enjoy. http://bit.ly/2lRfNBV

 

Britain

The Times

– Mitie Group Plc, the cleaning and caretaker outsourcing group, is understood to be considering plans to appoint a worker director in reforms being implemented by Phil Bentley, its new chief executive. http://bit.ly/2mxS4X5

– Philip Hammond will have an extra 29 billion pounds ($36.07 billion) to play with in next week’s budget, a think tank says, as better growth and stronger tax receipts hand the government its first windfall since 2014. http://bit.ly/2mxRngJ

The Guardian

– A controversial 24 billion pounds ($29.85 billion) tie-up between the London Stock Exchange Group Plc and its German counterpart Deutsche Boerse is on the brink of failure after a last-minute demand from Brussels appeared to scupper the year-long merger effort. http://bit.ly/2mxLGiQ

– BMW’s new electric Mini could be made in Germany rather than the UK because of the uncertainty caused by Brexit. http://bit.ly/2mxOBYy

The Telegraph

– Netflix Inc is in talks to introduce a ‘pay as you go’ option for smartphones in collaboration with mobile operators. http://bit.ly/2mxQC74

– Ukip was in a state of open civil war last night after Nigel Farage publicly warned that the party will collapse unless its sole MP Douglas Carswell is thrown out. http://bit.ly/2mxMHY2

Sky News

– The House of Lords is set to give the Government its first defeat on the Article 50 Brexit bill as early as Wednesday on the issue of protecting the rights of EU nationals. http://bit.ly/2mxMJ2e

– Former prime minister John Major has said it was a “historic mistake” that a majority of voters opted to leave the European Union. http://bit.ly/2mxUNQE

The Independent

– UK business leaders are demanding that the timing of Brexit be pushed back if the government proves unable to strike a comprehensive trade deal within the two-year negotiating period leading up to the split. http://ind.pn/2mxGEmi

– Labour MPs have expressed anger after Jeremy Corbyn decided not to attend a weekly meeting used to dissect the party’s historic loss in Copeland last week, with one accusing the party leader of a “total dereliction of duty”. http://ind.pn/2mxOI6r

via http://ift.tt/2lRHASQ Tyler Durden

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *