- Tillerson, Cohn Could Leave White House in Wave of Senior Departures (WSJ)
- Senate grapples with tax cut plan’s impact on deficit (Reuters)
- Here’s Where the GOP Tax Plan Stands Right Now (BBG)
- Markets ignore best European factory data in 17 years (Reuters)
- Tax Debate Plays Out in TV Ads Targeting Key States Across U.S. (BBG)
- Hedge Fund Tips for 2018: Oil at $80, No End to Technology Boom (BBG)
- China’s Tech Giants Have a Second Job: Helping Beijing Spy on Its People (WSJ)
- As OPEC extends output cuts, Asia turns to North America for more oil (Reuters)
- MIT Study Suggests the U.S. Is Vastly Overstating Its Oil Output Forecasts (BBG)
- Bitcoin pauses below record peak; gained 55 percent in November (Reuters)
- Tudor Will Shutter Discretionary Macro Fund in Restructuring (BBG)
- Export-Import Bank on Track to Be a Drain on Taxpayers Next Year (WSJ)
- Short Sellers May Be Fueling China’s Worst Bond Rout in Four Years (BBG)
- Uber Investor Shervin Pishevar Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Multiple Women (BBG)
- Tezos founders push for legal bailout from Swiss foundation (Reuters)
- Warehouses Are Getting Bigger, Taller, Faster (BBG)
- Germany removes Tesla from subsidies list as too pricey (Reuters)
- How to Make a Killing Off Those Smug Instagram Hipsters (BBG)
- Turkey hopes gold trader Zarrab will ‘turn back from mistake’, PM says (Reuters)
- Mattis Warns He Won’t Accept Any Flawed Boeing Tankers (BBG)
- This $15 Ticket Buys What Tesla Fans Have Waited 20 Months For (BBG)
- British Labour leader Corbyn tells Morgan Stanley: ‘We’re a threat’ (Reuters)
- The Unlikely Strategy Behind Buffett’s Investments in Encyclopedias (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Verizon Communications Inc plans to start selling home broadband service over its wireless network in late 2018, a move to challenge the cable industry’s grip on Americans’ internet access. on.wsj.com/2j4Mdso
– CVS Health Corp is moving closer to a deal to buy Aetna Inc for more than $66 billion in cash and stock. The deal could be announced by Monday. on.wsj.com/2BpJuQX
– Volkswagen AG’s VW brand announced plans Thursday to build one or two electric vehicles in the United States by 2023, probably at its Chattanooga factory, as tougher emissions rules drive the global auto industry toward mass production of battery powered cars. on.wsj.com/2j6uzo1
– Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said it accepted a payment in bitcoin for its advisory services, its first in a virtual currency. on.wsj.com/2j4n5Cd
– Blue Apron Holdings Inc said its co-founder Matt Salzberg would step down as chief executive and be replaced by Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson. on.wsj.com/2j4Dab1
– Walt Disney Co sued Redbox in an attempt to stop the DVD rental company from selling digital copies of its movies. on.wsj.com/2j5ASZa
– The Donald Trump administration is considering a plan to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. embassy there in the future, U.S. officials said. on.wsj.com/2j6KeDM
FT
General Motors Co aims to launch a public ride-sharing service across several cities that uses fully self-driving cars by 2019, potentially becoming the first traditional carmaker to deploy autonomous technology at scale in the real world.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has closed the “bad bank” it created to handle a vast pile of toxic assets after the financial crisis nine years ago, having racked up cumulative losses of more than 50 billion pounds from the unit.
The head of UBS Group AG has lashed out against regulators’ efforts to rein in bankers’ pay, arguing that the push is fuelled by envy among less well paid officials and risked stoking the populist backlash against capitalism.
NYT
– Blue Apron Holdings Inc co-founder Matt Salzberg is stepping down as chief executive and being replaced with Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson. nyti.ms/2BB1Xe6
– OPEC and other major oil producers wrapped up a deal on Thursday to extend output cuts through the end of 2018, part of efforts to bolster prices. nyti.ms/2BzHWVx
– Matt Lauer expressed “sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused” in a statement, his first public comments after NBC News fired the star “Today” show anchor amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior with colleagues. nyti.ms/2jBxncj
– Time Inc announced it had sold the Sunset magazine to Regent, a private equity firm run by a Californian. nyti.ms/2i4OQJT
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Keyera Corp is selling C$429.4 million ($334 million) in shares to repay debt and fund growth, the latest infrastructure company to tap markets as crude prices edge up. tgam.ca/2kdGCmY
** The Ontario government is increasing its mandate for ethanol in gasoline to 10 percent from the current 5 percent requirement, as part of its effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from fuels. tgam.ca/2kf8oPO
** General Motors Co is scaling back production of passenger cars at its Oshawa, Ontario, plant in the first quarter of 2018 as North American drivers abandon their cars in favour of crossover utility vehicles. tgam.ca/2kf58Ek
NATIONAL POST
** General Motors Co is hoping to be a leader in the race to bring autonomous vehicles to the road, unveiling plans to bring a self-driving, ride-sharing fleet to big U.S. cities in 2019. bit.ly/2kf8zLe
** Timothy Moseley, a former litigator at the Ontario Securities Commission who built a career as a senior bank compliance and litigation executive before returning to the regulator as a commissioner in 2015, is expected to be appointed to a two-year term as vice-chair of the OSC. bit.ly/2kfAyu1
** Canadian wireless customers are being advised to keep a close eye on their cell phone bills to ensure they’re not dinged with charges banned under the updated wireless code, which goes into effect Friday. bit.ly/2kf6ZJi
Britain
The Times
– The health service will curb treatment for conditions such as hearing loss and dementia after NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens set out the first explicit limits on what patients should expect. bit.ly/2nj8ffD
– Senior Democratic Unionist Party figures threatened to bring down the government over Brexit on Thursday while telling European Union (EU) leaders to ignore Irish claims that the peace process could be undermined. bit.ly/2iuiGLP
The Guardian
– British utilities regulator Ofwat has dealt a further blow to Thames Water’s reputation by saying information issued by the company cannot be taken at face value. bit.ly/2BpsqdY
– The head of UberEats in Europe, Jambu Palaniappan, has become the latest senior executive to leave the company, as the ride-hailing arm of the business faces further pressure over its working practices in UK. bit.ly/2AmQjDt
The Telegraph
– Britain cannot afford to borrow more without putting the country’s financial stability at risk, a senior Bank of England official, Richard Sharp, has warned. bit.ly/2zT1mrc
– The British Business Bank has stepped in to support a new technology fund, Episode 1 Ventures, after the EU’s investment agency denied it cash in the wake of last year’s Brexit vote. bit.ly/2njxJte
Sky News
– Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked the U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley following the firm’s warning over the consequences of his party winning power. bit.ly/2j6cma6
– Prime Minister Theresa May has launched her first direct condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump, saying she is “very clear that re-tweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do”. bit.ly/2AnD1H6
via http://ift.tt/2AoRsuw Tyler Durden