- Theresa May pledges clean Brexit break (FT); May Pledges Vote on Brexit Taking U.K Out Of EU’s Single Market (BBG)
- Donald Trump Warns on House Republican Tax Plan (WSJ)
- Trump, Fed Headed for Clash Amid Dollar Surge, Economists Say (BBG)
- China’s Xi Warns Against Trade War in Defense of Globalization (BBG)
- Morgan Stanley Profit Rises on Surge in Bond-Trading Revenue (BBG)
- Germany says NATO concerned about Trump ‘obsolete’ remark (Reuters)
- Trump, Brexit uncertainty hit stocks and dollar, gold jumps (Reuters)
- BAT agrees takeover of Reynolds in $49.4bn deal (FT)
- Trump team defends health pick Tom Price over ethics charge (Reuters)
- Hyundai-Kia to Invest $3.1 Billion in U.S., Mull New Plant (BBG)
- Russia expects dialogue with Trump on nuclear weapons: Lavrov (Reuters)
- Top Trump trade adviser offshored thousands of jobs (Reuters)
- Be Skeptical of the Fed’s Rate Signals (BBG)
- Women’s apparel retailer Limited Stores files for bankruptcy (Reuters)
- Women’s apparel retailer Limited Stores files for bankruptcy (Reuters)
- China’s Oil Collapse Is Unintentionally Helping OPEC (BBG)
- Timeless Ritual to Meet Partisan Rancor at Trump’s Inauguration (BBG)
- In U.N. lawsuit, Ukraine demands Russia end support for separatists (Reuters)
- Samsung chief faces long day as South Korean court weighs arrest warrant (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized a cornerstone of House Republicans’ corporate-tax plan, creating another point of contention between the incoming president and congressional allies. http://on.wsj.com/2jiRQSs
– Representative John Lewis, who drew Donald Trump’s ire after questioning the legitimacy of the election, didn’t mention the president-elect by name as he called on young people to stand up when they perceive injustices. http://on.wsj.com/2jiRwDf
– Prime Minister Theresa May is set to declare in a speech that Britain doesn’t want “partial membership” in the European Union “or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out.” http://on.wsj.com/2jiUZlp
– As Germany enters an unpredictable election year, anti-immigration politicians have hit out at Chancellor Angela Merkel, but she has stood firm in support of open borders and globalization. http://on.wsj.com/2jiV2h5
– Luxottica, maker of Ray-Ban, has agreed to a merger with French optical-lens maker Essilor, placing its Italian founder at the helm of a globe-spanning colossus with brands gracing European catwalks and California beaches. http://on.wsj.com/2jiSFLk
– Snapchat messaging app creators Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy are expected to retain more than 70 percent of voting power in the company. http://on.wsj.com/2jiInuD
– Rolls-Royce Holdings said it had settled a longstanding corruption probe with U.S., British and other authorities at a cost of more than $800 million. http://on.wsj.com/2jiVcoH
– Noble Energy will pay $2.7 billion to buy Clayton Williams Energy in a deal that will give it a combined 120,000 acres of oil-rich property in West Texas. http://on.wsj.com/2jiTFyO
– Although President-elect Donald Trump has called the alliance “obsolete”, nearly 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday as part of an effort to bolster NATO defenses in the wake of Russia’s 2014 moves in Ukraine. http://on.wsj.com/2jiLItv
– Parliament’s ethics commissioner started a probe into whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated conflict-of-interest laws when he stayed at a private island in the Bahamas. http://on.wsj.com/2jiKz5g
FT
* Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it “half in, half out” of the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Tuesday in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc.
* Daily Mail and General Trust Plc have stepped back from talks to create a new joint advertising sales initiative known as “Project Juno,” which was launched in 2016.
* British engineering group Rolls-Royce Plc said on Monday that it had reached settlements with authorities in Britain, the United States and Brazil relating to bribery and corruption involving intermediaries, which would result in a series of payments totalling 671 million pounds ($809 million).
* The London Stock Exchange has fined UK-based brokerage firm Cornhill Capital for violation of its rules on London’s junior market, Aim.
* Britain’s Northern Ireland minister called an early election on Monday for March 2 following the collapse of the region’s power-sharing government that risks a lengthy period of political paralysis just as Britain prepares for talks to leave the EU.
NYT
– President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks in a string of discursive and sometimes contradictory interviews have escalated tensions with China while also infuriating allies and institutions critical to America’s traditional leadership of the West. http://nyti.ms/2jqMVlf
– Essilor of France said on Monday that it would merge with the Luxottica Group of Italy in a $49 billion deal that would create a giant in the eyewear industry. http://nyti.ms/2iwbmhq
– Seven days before his departure from the White House, President Obama sat down in the Oval Office and talked about the indispensable role that books have played during his presidency and throughout his life. http://nyti.ms/2jZyDsr
– The police in Turkey have arrested the man accused of carrying out a deadly attack on an Istanbul nightclub early on New Year’s Day, according to the semi-official Anadolu news agency as well as Turkish news reports. http://nyti.ms/2iBg3l2
– Prosecutors called for the arrest of the Samsung’s heir-apparent, Lee Jae-Yong. Prosecutors contend that Lee bribed President Park Geun-hye and one of her confidants in exchange for political favors. http://nyti.ms/2iGttQk
– With tensions escalating between President-elect Donald Trump and prominent black leaders, Trump met privately on Monday with the eldest son of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the holiday devoted to the civil rights hero. http://nyti.ms/2jE6fbW
– The FBI arrested the wife of the man who carried out a deadly terrorist attack in Orlando and charged her with obstructing the investigation of the mass shooting, law enforcement officials said. http://nyti.ms/2iwgYZ4
Canada
** Montreal’s transit authority is pulling new trains built by Bombardier Inc and Alstom SA out of service following an equipment problem over the weekend that forced the shutdown of a subway line for several hours. https://tgam.ca/2j3QQ42
** National Bank of Canada’s capital markets arm has hired veteran investment banker Dan Nowlan from rival CIBC World Markets to beef up its client coverage team. https://tgam.ca/2j3VP4N
** Money manager Sentry Investments Inc appointed Phil Yuzpe as its new chief executive, extending its string of senior leadership changes that date back 18 months. https://tgam.ca/2j424Fo
NATIONAL POST
** Adam Waterous, who is leaving his job as global head of investment banking at Scotiabank to start his own private equity company and bet on the next Alberta drilling boom, predicted a very busy year as “legacy” companies continue to restructure and cut costs. http://bit.ly/2j42HPB
** There will be lots at stake in a Calgary court room Wednesday when the various parties in the receivership of Twin Butte Energy gather to hear how the proceeds from a proposed sale of the company will be split up between creditors – if the deal is approved at all. http://bit.ly/2j3RnCL
** Urbanation Inc, which has been tracking the condo sector since 1981, said Monday in its year-end report that Toronto condo rental rates jumped 11.7 per cent in 2016 with the average rental rent in the fourth quarter reaching C$2.77 per square foot per month. http://bit.ly/2j3SToJ
Britain
The Times
Rolls-Royce pays 671 million stg to settle bribery claims
Four years of bribery and corruption investigations across five continents have ended with Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc making a 671 million pound ($807.62 million) out-of-court settlement with fraud-busters and international government agencies. The settlement, under which Rolls-Royce will pay the Serious Fraud Office just shy of 500 million pounds, is a record. http://bit.ly/2ivxI2D
The Guardian
Bank of England ‘keeping close eye on UK consumer spending’
The Bank of England is keeping a close watch on consumer spending amid signs households are dipping into their savings and amassing debts to keep spending in the face of rising inflation. Mark Carney, the Bank governor, said consumer spending had held up since last summer’s vote to leave the EU but he reiterated a warning that living costs were likely to rise on the back of a weak pound and squeeze households’ real incomes. http://bit.ly/2jRylzO
IMF upgrades UK forecast but notes Brexit terms are ‘unsettled’
The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its forecasts for the UK economy this year after the latest signs that businesses and consumers have shrugged off the Brexit vote. Unveiling its new forecasts on the eve of a key speech by Theresa May on the Brexit process, the Washington-based fund also cut the outlook for 2018, reflecting widespread uncertainty over Britain’s future outside the EU. http://bit.ly/2jXn6d5
New BT service could end nuisance phone calls
Nuisance calls could largely be eradicated under a new BT service that allows phone users to block firms making the calls, which other telecom firms are expected to follow. Many smartphones already allow users to block numbers after receiving unwanted marketing calls. But the new BT call protect system allows users to block the companies themselves even when they change numbers. http://bit.ly/2ivFCJ8
The Telegraph
Angry Birds maker Rovio opens London gaming studio
The company behind the once-mighty smartphone game Angry Birds is opening its first UK office, tasked with spearheading the development of new multiplayer games. Headquartered in Finland, Rovio Entertainment <IPO-RVEY.N> will hire 20 people over the next two years to a studio in central London where they will design new games separate to the Angry Birds brand. http://bit.ly/2jhAQfw
New radar system for Royal Navy guarantees hundreds of British jobs
A contract to build the radar systems that monitor the skies, land and sea around the Navy’s new aircraft carriers will support more than 200 highly skilled engineering jobs in the UK. The Ministry of Defence has signed a 269 million pound deal to begin manufacturing the Crowsnest radar and surveillance system that protects the Queen Elizabeth-class ships currently under construction in Rosyth, Scotland. http://bit.ly/2jq3Cgk
Sky News
City financier seeks Tata Steel pensions role amid solvency row
A former pensions adviser to Boris Johnson is seeking to install himself as a trustee of Tata Steel Ltd’s vast British pension scheme amid doubts about the viability of a plan hatched by the company’s Indian parent. Edi Truell, a City financier who lodged a bid last year for Tata Steel’s UK operations, including the Port Talbot steelworks, has written to the trustees to outline a revamped offer aimed at rescuing the 15 billion pound scheme. Truell is floating a merger of Tata’s speciality steel unit and Sheffield Forgemasters. http://bit.ly/2jRrbLV
Tenpin owners look to strike with stock market return
The owners of one of Britain’s biggest tenpin bowling alley operators are plotting to score a strike by returning to the stock market less than two years after being taken private. Tenpin, formerly known as Essenden, has hired the investment bank Numis to bowl over investors with a stock market listing later this year. http://bit.ly/2iuGSfG
The Independent
British Airways says 99 percent of flights will operate during next cabin-crew walkout
British Airways says it will cancel only 24 flights during the second round of industrial action by some Heathrow-based cabin crew. Members of the Unite union working for BA’s Mixed Fleet operation are to strike from Thursday to Saturday, 19-21 January. The dispute is over what the union calls “poverty pay”. http://ind.pn/2jRk1ax
via http://ift.tt/2js4f9q Tyler Durden