- Trump to Brainstorm on Job Policies With Corporate CEOs (BBG)
- Border-Adjustment Tax Divides Energy Sector (WSJ)
- French Bonds Rally After Macron Boosts Presidential Campaign (BBG)
- Boeing Fighter Jet, Feared Dead, Gets New Life From Trump Tweets (BBG)
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Sees Tax Overhaul by August (WSJ)
- Why Mexico Is Trump’s First Line of Defense on Immigration (BBG)
- China military says aware of U.S. carrier in South China Sea (Reuters)
- Carlos Ghosn Steps Back From Nissan CEO Role (WSJ)
- Trump Wants a Pro-Business SEC. That Has Some Investors Worried (BBG)
- Barclays Shares Climb on Capital Boost, Overhaul Progress (BBG)
- Glencore Returns to Profit on Commodities Boom (WSJ)
- Iraqi forces storm Mosul airport, military base (Reuters)
- U.K. Net Migration Hits 2-Year Low in Brexit Boost for May (BBG)
- Riot police confront banned anti-police protest in Paris (Reuters)
- Inside Ivanka Trump’s Campaign for a $500 Billion Child-Care Plan (BBG)
- Landlords Are Taking Over the U.S. Housing Market (BBG)
- How Hit Team Came Together to Kill Kim Jong Nam (WSJ)
- Malaysia requests Interpol alert on four North Koreans over airport murder (Reuters)
- Retail’s Creditors Left Grasping as Brands Are Put Out of Reach (BBG)
- ValueAct’s Ubben ‘disinvesting’ because of high valuations (Reuters)
- U.S. Energy Regulator Still Advancing Obama-Era Climate Guidance (BBG)
- Florida man accused of Clinton Foundation hack to plead guilty (Reuters)
- Why the Market Rally May Not Need Help From Trump (BBG)
- Tech breakthroughs take a backseat in upcoming Apple iPhone launch (Reuters)
- Social Media Is Driving Americans Insane (BBG)
- Tesla says Model 3 on track for volume production by September (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– The Trump administration formally withdrew Obama administration guidance enabling transgender individuals to use sex-segregated facilities, including bathrooms, of their choice. http://on.wsj.com/2mahEEV
– Two cabinet members arrived for talks here Wednesday to find a defiant Mexican government refusing to accept President Donald Trump’s tougher immigration and deportation policies. http://on.wsj.com/2mabRz3
– A small group of protesters opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline were arrested as law-enforcement authorities began the evacuation of the main protest campsite so that cleanup efforts could continue. http://on.wsj.com/2maizFq
– Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin laid out ambitious goals to secure a tax-code overhaul by August and to deliver economic growth at rates not seen in more than a decade in his first interview in his new job. http://on.wsj.com/2ma5uMa
– Carlos Ghosn is leaving his chief executive role at Nissan Motor Co., a company he rescued from near-collapse and led for nearly two decades, to take a broader oversight role of the alliance that links Nissan with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp http://on.wsj.com/2mahOfv
– New developments are bolstering suspicions that the killing last week of Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of North Korea’s mercurial dictator, was a well-orchestrated plot directed from Pyongyang. http://on.wsj.com/2makoC8
– Apple will open its new California campus in April. One of co-founder Steve Jobs’s final projects, the cost of Apple Park is expected to be in the range of $3 billion to $5 billion. http://on.wsj.com/2maeFwi
– An Arizona lab run by Theranos put patients at risk and failed to quickly fix its deficiencies, the main U.S. lab regulator found, triggering a new round of sanctions against the blood-testing startup. http://on.wsj.com/2ma6Kif
FT
AO World founder John Roberts steps down as CEO http://on.ft.com/2me5LdV
Unilever to review business following Kraft Heinz bid http://on.ft.com/2me2hb1
Ireland’s Enda Kenny defers detailing future plans until after White House visit http://on.ft.com/2me7OyC
MPs criticise government over Heathrow air quality http://on.ft.com/2mechkP
Overview
AO World Plc’s founder and largest shareholder John Roberts has stepped down as chief executive of the British online electricals retailer but remain on the board in a new executive role, the company said on Wednesday.
Unilever Plc sought to show shareholders it can go it alone on Wednesday just days after rejecting Kraft Heinz Co’s $143 billion bid, with the promise of a swift, far-reaching review.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told unsettled members of his ruling Fine Gael party that he would conclusively deal with the issue of his leadership after meeting the U.S. president next month, the party’s chairman said on Wednesday.
UK ministers have not done enough to prove that Heathrow airport’s planned expansion will not breach air quality standards or exceed caps on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report by MPs on the environmental audit committee, published on Thursday
NYT
– Valeant Pharmaceuticals has been trading near record low, at around $16 per share, and at levels not seen in seven years. This spells big financial trouble for one of its largest shareholders, Pershing Square Capital <IPO-PERS.L>, the hedge fund company managed by the billionaire William Ackman, whose efforts to salvage Valeant and his reputation as a savvy investor are looking increasingly desperate. Valeant’s collapse has put a serious dent in the publicly traded Pershing Square Holdings’ 2016 performance, which was down 13.5 percent, net of fees. http://nyti.ms/2lsnO1s
– SolarCity, the nation’s leading installer of rooftop solar panels and a renewable energy darling, lets customers sign up to lease a system, where they will make payments to the company every month for at least 20 years. In dozens of cases over the last three years, SolarCity has reached long-term lease agreements with homeowners shortly before or even after they defaulted on mortgages. In at least 14 cases, the homeowners were already in default, or had other liens on the property, by the time SolarCity filed paperwork about the panels with the government. These cases raise questions about how well the company vets customers. http://nyti.ms/2lsrm3I
– Carlos Ghosn is stepping down as the chief executive of Nissan Motor Co, more than 15 years after he took control of the Japanese automaker and helped save it from collapse. Nissan said on Ghosn would remain chairman of Nissan’s board. He will continue to lead the global automobile alliance created during his tenure at Nissan, which also includes Renault of France and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan. http://nyti.ms/2lsycGF
– According to minutes published of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, “many participants” wanted to increase the benchmark rate “fairly soon” if the economy continued to grow. The minutes stopped short of suggesting a rate increase was likely at the Fed’s next meeting, in mid-March. They said that a core group of Fed officials remained cautious about the economic outlook, seeing balanced risks of faster and slower economic growth. http://nyti.ms/2lsqWun
Canada
** Startup accelerator Expa Labs, which grew out of a company started by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, launched last year in New York and San Francisco. Earlier this month, it begun recruiting the first group of companies for its Canadian program, which will begin in June. (https://tgam.ca/2l7Sr9U)
** TransCanada said after weeks of discussions with producers, it has rejigged its Canadian Mainline system proposal and has launched a new open season – or a period to determine market interest. But it’s still uncertain whether the offer moves the needle enough to break the impasse. (https://tgam.ca/2l2I2eJ)
NATIONAL POST
** Analysts at Moody’s Investor Service said that global LNG markets are likely to remain oversupplied well into the next decade as Asian demand for the gas weakens and new supplies begin entering the market. (http://bit.ly/2mfmMnU)
** After hosting a lunch with Hunter Harrison and activist investor Paul Hilal, Wolfe Research says there’s a 90 percent chance that Harrison will be installed as chief executive of CSX Corp within five months. (http://bit.ly/2lyoGjJ)
** The Bank of Nova Scotia’s online platform, Tangerine, has a new chief executive at the helm. The company announced on Wednesday that Peter Aceto, who has been its CEO since 2008, will be succeeded by longtime executive Brenda Rideout, effective on March 1. (http://bit.ly/2lyydaj)
Britain
The Times
Unilever Plc has begun a strategic review of its business five days after it rejected a 115 billion pound ($143.09 billion) takeover approach from Kraft Heinz Co. http://bit.ly/2mdTnup
Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England, warned Brussels yesterday that any attempt to seize euro clearing from the City would unravel global capital markets and drive up the cost of finance. http://bit.ly/2me12Zo
The Guardian
Whirlpool Corp, the maker of Hotpoint and Indesit tumble dryers, has changed its advice to the owners of millions of potentially dangerous machines, telling customers to unplug the appliances and stop using them until they are repaired. http://bit.ly/2me027X
The business secretary, Greg Clark, has pledged to outline how the government should respond to foreign takeovers of crucial UK firms in the wake of Kraft Heinz Co’s failed 115 billion pound ($143.09 billion) bid for Unilever Plc.
The Telegraph
The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group Plc insisted he is committed to the lender as the company posted its biggest profits since the financial crisis, marking the culmination of his dramatic turnaround of the business. http://bit.ly/2me0umF
Theresa May has spoken with the motor industry boss expected to acquire Vauxhall about the government’s continued commitment to supporting the car industry in UK. http://bit.ly/2me0QJN
Sky News
A group of financial institutions has lodged a surprise takeover bid for Fox’s Biscuits, even as the industry faces pressure from rising commodity prices and growing consumer preference for healthier snacks. http://bit.ly/2me4d3s
Volkswagen AG’s top executives from Germany may be summoned to give evidence to British politicians under a plan being discussed by MPs. http://bit.ly/2me9GHB
The Independent
The study from consultancy firm KPMG found that China and India – two countries Prime Minister Theresa May is desperate to secure greater trade with – are set to be the main beneficiaries from the potential exodus
via http://ift.tt/2lcltoE Tyler Durden