- GOP disarray deepens (Reuters)
- Zuma’s Night of Long Knives Risks ANC Split, Credit Rating (BBG)
- China downplays tensions with U.S. ahead of summit (Reuters)
- Wall Street’s New Favorite Way to Swap Secrets Is Against the Rules (BBG)
- EU offers Brexit trade talks, sets tough transition terms (Reuters)
- Bearish Hedge Funds Stand to Gain as Trump Rally Fizzles (WSJ)
- U.S. diplomatic delays, Trump agenda snarl Italy’s G7 agenda (Reuters)
- Trump to order trade abuses study (Reuters)
- U.K. Outsider Farage Finds a Home in Trump’s Orbit (WSJ)
- North Korean murder suspects go home with victim’s body as Malaysia forced to swap (Reuters)
- Airlines Make More Money Selling Miles Than Seats (BBG)
- Jeep Missing Its Compass Leaves Brand Adrift as Rival SUVs Surge (BBG)
- Pipelines Face Stiffening Resistance (WSJ)
- Madoff Deals Locked in Safe at Center of U.K. Hedge-Fund Lawsuit (BBG)
- Poland expects to ink $7.6 billion deal for Patriot systems by end-2017 (Reuters)
- In Rebuke to Trump Policy, GE Chief Says ‘Climate Change Is Real’ (WSJ)
- American Jobs Are Headed to Mexico Once Again (BBG)
- Two Senate Democrats Put Support Behind Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court (WSJ)
- Ukrainian intelligence officer killed in car blast in Mariupol port (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– President Donald Trump, beset by an early legislative failure and the continuing clouds of investigations into his presidential campaign, tried to get back on offense on Thursday. In a morning tweet, Trump threatened to campaign against members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans whom the president blames for killing his effort to overturn former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in the GOP-led House. http://on.wsj.com/2npaUjm
– General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt defended efforts to reduce emissions and fight climate change, after President Donald Trump reversed rules that pushed U.S. utilities to use cleaner-burning fuels. http://on.wsj.com/2ocjCVU
– Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched a reused booster on a demanding commercial mission Thursday, setting course for what management predicts will be routine flights of refurbished rockets as well as spacecraft. http://on.wsj.com/2nkQuXT
– Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota said they would vote in favor of putting Judge Neil Gorsuch on the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Democrats to support President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. http://on.wsj.com/2omZxt9
– Volkswagen AG reached additional emissions-cheating settlements with state attorneys general in the U.S., adding to the big financial hit the German auto giant has suffered from rigging diesel-powered vehicles to dupe government regulators. http://on.wsj.com/2nll0Rr
FT
– The Bank of England is consulting on which materials must be used to make notes after the discovery of small amounts of animal fat in plastic 5 pound ($6.24) notes sparked outrage. BoE, in a public consultation, said it “respects those concerns and is treating them with the utmost seriousness”.
– Facing at least 13 charges, ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye was arrested on Friday. Park is accused of letting a now-jailed confidante, Choi Soon-sil, meddle in state affairs and gain unauthorised access to classified documents, while colluding to extort about $70 million from businesses for two foundations under Choi’s effective control
– Patients seeking non-urgent operations and treatment in accident and emergency departments will have to wait longer, according to an NHS report. Chief executive of NHS England Simon Stevens presented the report on Friday into progress on its five-year plan.
– EDF said it has begun construction of the first permanent structures at Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset. This is Britain’s first new nuclear plant since the 1990s. Prime Minister Theresa May had given a go-ahead to the project last September.
NYT
– Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, says climate change is real, a position at odds with the Trump administration. nyti.ms/2nBPPmx
– Volkswagen took another step to move past its emissions-cheating scandal by agreeing to pay $157 million to 10 states in the United States to settle environmental lawsuits. nyti.ms/2nFWGx0
– By a single vote, the Senate gave final approval on Thursday to a measure to block cities and counties from organizing retirement savings accounts for workers who have no access to employer-sponsored plans. nyti.ms/2nBN98s
– Palmer Luckey, a founder of the virtual-reality technology company Oculus, has left Facebook three years after the social network acquired his company for close to $3 billion. nyti.ms/2nG0Ghd
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** In separate announcements this week, BCE Inc and Rogers Communications underscored investments they’re making to support download speeds of one gigabit per second – the new frontier in high-speed internet, crucial for the growing number of connected devices, data-hungry applications and advanced television platforms. https://tgam.ca/2oopgBp
** Toronto-Dominion Bank’s chief executive officer sought to reassure investors that the bank does not have “a widespread problem” with aggressive sales practices, even as the bank enlists outside advice to help steer an ongoing internal review. https://tgam.ca/2ooBEBF
** A mix of government and business leaders joined together on Thursday to announce the launch of a new research hub devoted to the study and application of artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science that many believe is poised to revolutionize everything from education to the global economy. https://tgam.ca/2oosoNN
** A special prosecutor will assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with its investigation into political contributions in British Columbia, a probe launched after a Globe and Mail investigation into BC Liberal fundraising. https://tgam.ca/2oogTFY
NATIONAL POST
** Ford Motor Co hired 400 of BlackBerry Ltd’s mobile engineers to develop connected car technology, an employment transfer agreed upon as part of a significant partnership announced last fall. http://bit.ly/2ooczGN
** Natural resources minister Jim Carr on Thursday downplayed U.S. enthusiasm for a border-adjustment tax on Canadian imports, adding that talks with the Trump administration are a “work in progress”. http://bit.ly/2oou7T3
** Despite two years of layoffs and heavy cost cutting, jobs in the Canadian energy sector continue to be at the mercy of price swings, says a new report that warns 8,700 more jobs could be lost if prices drop below $50 per barrel for a sustained period. http://bit.ly/2oohlUG
Britain
The Times
* Online retailer AO World Plc raised 50 million pounds ($62 million) to underpin its balance sheet by selling new shares at less than half the price the shares floated at about three years ago. http://bit.ly/2nFwaUt
* JPMorgan Chase & Co is in talks to buy a Dublin office building as one of its strategies to cope with Brexit, while Citigroup Inc has warned staff to brace for a “hard” departure. http://bit.ly/2nFdWCK
The Guardian
* Managing Director Paula Nickolds of John Lewis Plc , Britain’s largest department store operator, has warned of more job cuts this year and possible price rises as she said shoppers’ behaviour was changing “profoundly and fast.” http://bit.ly/2nkTYcU
* HSBC Holdings Plc is to offer its transgender community a choice of 10 new gender-neutral titles as part of its plan to improve the banking experience for customers. http://bit.ly/2ofYs9E
The Telegraph
* Britain has begun to take back control from Brussels as Brexit minister David Davis announced that the first European Union law to be scrapped after Brexit will be a charter that helps criminals avoid deportation. http://bit.ly/2oEuXdH
* Two days after Prime Minister Theresa May wrote to Brussels announcing UK’s formal withdrawal from the EU, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon penned a letter demanding May give Scotland a referendum vote. http://bit.ly/2oECvgI
Sky News
* The Bank of England is consulting on the additives used to produce its polymer banknotes after criticism of the use of animal fat in the new five-pound notes. http://bit.ly/2nnhpmN
* Chief Executive Joe Kaeser of Siemens AG has told Sky News that he is “confident and optimistic” that Britain will “find its way” through the turbulence of Brexit. http://bit.ly/2noTOlu
The Independent
* Major international technology firms have announced that they will set up a cross-industry forum to tackle online extremist propaganda following a crunch meeting with Home Secretary Amber Rudd. http://ind.pn/2omkhkX
via http://ift.tt/2mVdjpM Tyler Durden