- Shares fall on G20 disappointment, Fed hike worries (Reuters)
- China cuts reserve requirement ratio for fifth time since Feb. 2015 (Reuters)
- China Stocks Tumble Toward 15-Month Low as Stimulus Bets Unwind (BBG)
- S&P 500 Futures Signal 2nd Day of Stock Losses; Valeant Slides (BBG)
- Valeant fundamental risks are too severe to suggest the stock is poised for a lasting rebound (WSJ)
- Iran reformists cheer election gains, hardliners play down shift (Reuters)
- ‘Spotlight’ Wins Oscar for Best Picture in Hollywood’s Biggest Night (WSJ)
- His Job Is to Sell a $1,000 Pill for $10 Without Losing Money (BBG)
- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Resigns From Ruling Party (WSJ)
- Foxconn, Sharp Said to Weigh Revising Terms of Approved Deal (BBG)
- It’s Getting Harder for Currency Traders to Make Money, Market Veteran Says (BBG)
- Citi to Sell 20% Stake in China Guangfa Bank for $3 Billion (WSJ)
- Arab States Face $94 Billion Debt Crunch on Oil Slump, HSBC Says (BBG)
- Bullish Oil Bets Rise as Hedge Funds See Crude Supply Tightening (BBG)
- Manhattan Penthouse Gets Sliced in Two as Luxury Market Falters (BBG)
- JPMorgan traders sacked over compliance (FT)
- Citigroup Faces Fraud Suit Claiming $1.1 Billion in Losses (BBG)
Overnight Media Wrap
WSJ
– Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said Michael Pearson has returned from medical leave to lead the company as chief executive officer, with the role of chairman split off. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWG3VN)
– “Spotlight”, the film on the Boston Globe’s investigative team, won the Academy Award for best picture, while “The Revenant” walked away with best director for Alejandro Inarritu and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWGajX)
– Helicopter manufacturers and operators from around the globe will gather this week to revamp safety initiatives after years of lackluster results marked by stubbornly high fatality rates. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWGsHB)
– Microsoft Corp’s new Cyber Defense Operations Center is at the heart of the software giant’s campaign to rebuild its reputation for security at a time when the number of potential cyberattack targets has exploded. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWGTld)
– The U.S. market is so oversupplied with oil that traders are experimenting with a new place for storing excess crude – Railcars. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWHhjN)
– The Federal Communications Commission is probing whether big cable firms use special contract provisions to discourage media companies – from Walt Disney Co to smaller firms – from running programming on the Internet. (http://on.wsj.com/1KWHnI1)
FT
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is set to start a formal search for its next chief executive. The company’s chairman, Philip Hampton, already spoke to large shareholders about the succession on an informal basis.
The British Retail Consortium said that up to 1 million jobs in the retail sector, a third of today’s total, will disappear by 2025 as factors like rising minimum wage impact the industry.
Senior directors at EDF SA are pushing the company to seek for new investors for the 18 billion stg Hinkley Point nuclear reactor project causing a delay in its final approval.
NYT
– J. Michael Pearson has returned as the chief executive of Valeant Pharmaceuticals after two months of medical leave, setting him up for the challenge of restoring investor confidence in the embattled company. (http://nyti.ms/1T3KfFz)
– In a push for transparency since the 2008 financial crisis, regulators asked banks to clearly disclose and explain the terms of just about every financial product, including credit cards and mortgages. But overdraft practices still come with hidden costs and confusing terms, bank customers, lawyers and consumer advocates say. (http://nyti.ms/21CySGa)
– With a series of wins in key Republican primary states, and with the billionaire’s expected strong showing when 12 states hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday, the European media, like its American counterpart, is adjusting to the prospect of a seemingly unstoppable Trump juggernaut. (http://nyti.ms/215gO5i)
– The discovery of perfluorooctanoic acid, a toxic chemical linked in some studies to an increased risk for cancer and thyroid disease, in the Hoosick Falls, N.Y. has alarmed residents, some of whom are critical of officials’ response. (http://nyti.ms/1UtjTw9)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Enbridge Inc’s Chief Executive Al Monaco says his company is aiming to invest $1 billion a year in natural gas and renewable energy projects, as it looks to rebalance its earnings away from oil over the longer term and take advantage of the global push to a lower-carbon economy. (bit.ly/1KXycHt)
** Wealth managers are bracing for a busy day even though fewer Canadians say they plan to drop cash into registered retirement savings plans this year in the wake of the market turmoil. A recent Bank of Montreal study found that 61 percent of Canadians intend to a make a contribution to their RRSP accounts by the deadline, down slightly from 64 percent last year. (bit.ly/1KXyUEu)
** British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has spent more than half-a-million dollars on private flights in the past five years, but her office is defending the expense as necessary, saying that it falls within the annual budget. More than $65,000 was spent on charter flights between Vancouver and Kelowna since July 2013, when Clark was elected the MLA for Westside-Kelowna in a by-election. (bit.ly/1KXAF4z)
Britain
The Times
The RSPCA, the country’s largest private prosecutor, is to transform how it brings cruelty suspects to court by sparing huntsmen, farmers and animal sanctuaries but turning the spotlight on to pet owners. (http://thetim.es/1QehFOk)
A British exit from the European Union could raise the risk of blackouts and gas shortages, one of Britain’s leading energy lawyers, head of energy at CMS Cameron McKenna Penelope Warne, has warned. (http://thetim.es/1KVWiSN)
The Guardian
The UK’s biggest energy lobbying group, Energy UK, has shifted its position on green energy and will start campaigning for low-carbon alternatives for the first time, in what environmental campaigners are describing as a watershed moment. (http://bit.ly/1TKZW4K)
The Telegraph
Andrew Witty’s reign as chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline Plc is approaching its final months, with headhunters drawing up a list of potential successors. Glaxo chairman Philip Hampton is understood to have instructed the City recruiters Egon Zehnder to identify candidates within and outside the company. (http://bit.ly/1Qm9pgu)
Google’s rival to Apple Pay will make its British debut at the end of March, as the web giant attempts to muscle into the emerging mobile payments industry. (http://bit.ly/1TIWYfK)
Sky News
Barclays Plc’s remuneration committee has determined that former chief executive Antony Jenkins should receive a payment of around 500,000 stg on top of millions of pounds of other contractual entitlements due to him until July. (http://bit.ly/1QdY9RX)
A vote for the UK to leave the European Union could jeopardise billions of pounds in infrastructure investment, the boss of one of Britain’s biggest waste recycling groups, chief executive of Suez’s UK recycling and recovery division David Palmer-Jones, warned this weekend. (http://bit.ly/1Tgn0Zn)
The Independent
Another financial crisis is certain unless banks and governments reform financial systems across the globe, according to the former governor of the Bank of England, Lord King. (http://ind.pn/24w0EXc)
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1Sc9sN2 Tyler Durden