- Yellen’s dilemma: A downturn with no easy response (Reuters)
- Clinton, Sanders clash over Obama as they vie for minority votes (Reuters)
- Risk Grows of Markets Sparking Recession (WSJ)
- Global Stock Rout Eases Amid Oil Advance as German Bonds Decline (BBG)
- U.S. Benchmark Yield Will Be at Record Low in March at This Rate (BBG)
- Oil Prices Rally on Hopes of Production Cuts (WSJ)
- More Cuts Loom as Oil Nears $25 (WSJ)
- Euro-Area Maintains Momentum as Turmoil Threatens Outlook (BBG)
- Major powers agree to plan for ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria (Reuters)
- Dimon Just Spent a Year’s Pay on JPMorgan Stock After Bank Rout (BBG)
- Market Meltdown Threatens Japan’s Economic-Revival Plan (WSJ)
- Five-Decade Market Pro Who Called Bond Rally Sees 1% U.S. Yields (BBG)
- Facebook Steps Up Efforts Against Terrorism (WSJ)
- Oregon occupiers warn authorities of booby traps at refuge (Reuters)
- South Africa’s Zuma Faces Gravest Challenge Yet (WSJ)
- Have Millennials Made Quitting More Common? (BBG)
- Elon Musk’s vision is not for the faint of heart (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– World powers agreed early Friday to reach a cease-fire in Syria in one week, allowing aid in but giving Russia and the Assad regime time to press an offensive that has expanded the Kremlin’s clout in the region.(http://on.wsj.com/1SjRj0o)
– In a Democratic presidential debate on Thursday, Hillary Clinton pressed Bernie Sanders on the viability of his proposals for free health care and college tuition, and the latter didn’t hesitate to stand by his proposal to impose new taxes on the wealthy and Wall Street to provide those new services. (http://on.wsj.com/1QvnHY0)
– As crude prices slide toward $25 a barrel, many oil companies have little choice but to start making the steep cost cuts they have avoided up until now, jettisoning every well that can’t break even or isn’t needed to keep the lights on.(http://on.wsj.com/1TbKgpF)
– South Africa’s unraveling economy and a string of corruption scandals are coalescing into the gravest challenge for President Jacob Zuma in seven years in office.(http://on.wsj.com/1TV9ol9)
– As government pressure mounts, Facebook is speeding its process to remove and investigate terrorist content. It has assembled a team focused on terrorist content and is helping promote posts that aim to discredit militant groups like Islamic State. (http://on.wsj.com/1TVJNse)
FT
* Ministers have not yet claimed millions of pounds in EU compensation for UK’s devastating December floods, which was followed by many other storms. Time is running out and there is confusion over which department should submit the request.
* Water companies are persuading the government to exempt them from stricter tax rules on interest costs which is likely to be announced in next month’s Budget. The utilities, mostly debt-laden, say that proposed changes threaten to push up customers’ bills.
* UK is being pressurised to clarify how and when the police and spies are given access to private communications. As militant threats from ISIS intensifies, it is only important that any new law grants the UK authorities the powers they need to keep the country safe.
* Ministers have less than two months to bring out a new system for financing cancer drugs in the NHS as a 340 million pound-a-year fund set up by David Cameron to plug gaps in treatment, is set to expire.
NYT
– The Swedish central bank’s decision on Thursday to lower its short-term rate to minus 0.50 percent from minus 0.35 percent, has heightened fears that brazen actions by central bankers are now making things worse, not better.(http://nyti.ms/1QvcKG2)
– Though the investors are fearing a global downturn and betting for no hike before 2017, the Fed expects the domestic economy to keep chugging along and says it’s thinking about raising its benchmark interest rate again as soon as March.(http://nyti.ms/1o4Sbcw)
– Billionaire investors Carl Icahn and John Paulson, who have been agitating for the breakup of American International Group, have reached an agreement to join the insurer’s board. (http://nyti.ms/20YKXFh)
– Internet radio service Pandora Media has held discussions about selling the company, and is working with Morgan Stanley to meet with potential buyers, according to people briefed on the talks. (http://nyti.ms/1SLayR3)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The Ontario government will unveil a strategy in June to combat human trafficking, and while it will not focus solely on indigenous women, the province acknowledges that the exploitation “overwhelmingly” affects indigenous women. (http://bit.ly/1V8iY2z)
** Voters in an Ontario by-election have meted out a harsh blow to Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals, handing a 24-point victory to the Progressive Conservatives in Whitby-Oshawa. (http://bit.ly/1owJiZL)
** Big Plastic is laying down the legal gauntlet against a Montreal suburb that is looking at banning plastic bags later this year. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association served the City of Brossard with a legal letter on Thursday demanding it back off on its proposed shopping-bag bylaw. Officials in the town are expected to pass a bylaw next Tuesday that would see a ban come into effect by September. (http://bit.ly/1V8n2je)
NATIONAL POST
** The multi-billion dollar sole source deal to build a new fleet of warships for the Royal Canadian Navy is being reviewed by a newly-formed Cabinet committee set up to take a closer look at controversial defence procurement contracts. (http://bit.ly/1Rvz9I9)
** Canada could be among a handful of countries to adopt negative interest rates in the next two years as the European policy experiment gains popularity, says a new report from Citigroup. (http://bit.ly/1QvUqN2)
** TransCanada Corp said Thursday more layoffs are expected as the energy sector grapples with plunging oil prices, after confirming it let go 10 percent of workforce in the fourth quarter. (http://bit.ly/1ovNDME)
Britain
The Times
Shire Plc has called time on its $50 billion acquisition spree as it attempts to digest its biggest deal yet. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals group expects its $32 billion acquisition of Baxalta Inc to close this year and said it would concentrate on integrating the American business before embarking on any other deals. (http://thetim.es/1PGqCgI)
Sweden added to the turmoil in financial markets yesterday by cutting its main interest rate deeper into negative territory in an effort to boost the economy and stave off the threat of deflation. (http://thetim.es/1PGqH46)
The Guardian
The Dublin-based banana company Fyffes Plc has been accused by the GMB trade union of having “no respect” for workers’ rights, amid allegations that staff on Central American fruit plantations are being serially mistreated. (http://bit.ly/1PGqUnK)
Justin King, the former boss of J Sainsbury Plc, has waded into the row over the tax paid by multinationals such as Amazon and eBay, saying it was unfair that traditional retailers must pay huge rates bills for services such as roads and waste collection, while their online rivals paid little but received the same benefits. (http://bit.ly/1PGramO)
The Telegraph
Staff at Guardian Media Group are bracing for further job cuts as the company looks to slash costs by 20 percent in the face of widening losses. (http://bit.ly/1PGrgef)
SuperGroup Plc founder Julian Dunkerton is selling a 4.9 percent stake worth 53 million pounds ($76.69 million) in his first share sale since the fashion retailer listed on the stock market six years ago. It is understood that Dunkerton is selling 4 million shares to fund a recent divorce settlement. (http://bit.ly/1PGrli3)
Sky News
PricewaterhouseCoopers has become one of the UK’s biggest private sector employers so far to engage staff on the merits of Britain’s membership in the European Union. Sky News understands that the ‘big four’ accountancy firm last week held an event for more than 100 UK partners to discuss the implications of Brexit. (http://bit.ly/1PGrqlY)
The Independent
Matt Brittin, president of Google’s European, Middle Eastern and African arm, told the Public Accounts Committee that he was not sure what his basic salary was. The Public Accounts Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into a tax settlement announced between Google and HMRC. (http://ind.pn/1PGrsdy)
J Sainsbury Plc has said it will be the first UK retailer to call time on multi-buy and buy-one-get-one-free promotions. The supermarket operator said that by August, customers will no longer see the deals across brand products and its own-brand soft drinks, confectionary, biscuits and crisps. (http://ind.pn/1PGrxxG)
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1Pr4mtl Tyler Durden