Tag: news

In the latest attempt to steer the political narrative away from Trump’s wiretapping accusations and back to Russian hackers, Bloomberg‘s Michael Riley is reporting this morning that at least a dozen liberal groups in the U.S. have been targeted in a new wave of new cyber attacks.  Apparently those hackers are scouring the emails of left-leaning organizations for embarrassing details and attempting to extract hush money in the form of, drumroll, “evil, anti-establishment” bitcoin. 

At least a dozen groups have faced extortion attempts since the U.S. presidential election, said the people, who provided broad outlines of the campaign. The ransom demands are accompanied by samples of sensitive data in the hackers’ possession.

 

In one case, a non-profit group and a prominent liberal donor discussed how to use grant money to cover some costs for anti-Trump protesters. The identities were not disclosed, and it’s unclear if the protesters were paid.

 

At least some groups have paid the ransoms even though there is little guarantee the documents won’t be made public anyway. Demands have ranged from about $30,000 to $150,000, payable in untraceable bitcoins, according to one of the people familiar with the probe.

Of course, in what has become a journalistic norm, all of the details from Bloomberg come from two anonymous people “familiar with probes being conducted by the FBI and private security firms.”

And while Bloomberg admits that “attribution is notoriously difficult in a computer attack,” they go ahead and assert that all cyber crimes are perpetrated by Russian based groups anyway.

The hackers have used some of the techniques that security experts consider hallmarks of Cozy Bear, one of the Russian government groups identified as behind last year’s attack on the Democratic National Committee during the presidential election and which is under continuing investigation. Cozy Bear has not been accused of using extortion in the past, though separating government and criminal actors in Russia can be murky as security experts say some people have a foot in both worlds.

 

Both the Center for American Progress and Arabella Advisors are among the groups that have been asked to pay ransoms.

The Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with strong links to both the Clinton and Obama administrations, and Arabella Advisors, which guides liberal donors who want to invest in progressive causes, have been asked to pay ransoms, according to people familiar with the probes.

 

It’s unclear whether Arabella is part of the same campaign as the other dozen groups, according to one of the people familiar with the probes, but the tactics and approach are similar.

 

If the Arabella attack came from a different group, multiple criminals could be lifting a page from Russia’s hacking of the 2016 campaign, attempting to leverage the reputational damage that could be inflicted on political organizations by exposing their secrets.

 

“Arabella Advisors was affected by cyber crime,” said Steve Sampson, a spokesman for the firm, which lists 150 employees operating in four offices. ’’All facts indicate this was financially motivated.’’ Allison Preiss, a spokeswoman for the Center for American Progress, said the group had no comment.

Meanwhile, the FBI declined to comment on these latest accusations, at least officially, while John Hultquist, director of cyber espionage analysis at FireEye Inc., said he would be “cautious concluding that this has any sort of Russian government backing.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment when asked about the latest hacks. It is continuing to investigate Russia’s attempts to influence the election and any possible connections to Trump campaign aides. Russian officials have repeatedly denied any attempt to influence the election or any role in related computer break-ins.

 

“I would be cautious concluding that this has any sort of Russian government backing,” said John Hultquist, director of cyber espionage analysis at FireEye Inc., after the outline of the attacks was described to him. “Russian government hackers have aggressively targeted think tanks, and even masqueraded as ransomware operations, but it’s always possible it is just another shakedown.”

More Russian hacking or just more “fake news,” you decide.

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Having thrown the Justice Department under the bus yesterday, it appears the FBI Director has not managed to pass the hot potato of blame/responsibility for Trump’s wiretap accusations. As The Hill reports, a White House spokeswoman on Monday said she “doesn’t think” Trump accepts Comey’s denial of the president’s claims.

As a reminder, a New York Times report Sunday said  Comey asked the Justice Department to publicly reject the president’s claims. Senior U.S. officials told the Times that Comey has said the president’s wiretapping allegations are false and asked the Justice Department on Saturday to publicly correct the record. The FBI and DOJ declined to comment to the newspaper.

But, as The Hill reports, it appears President Trump is not buying Comey’s denial that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign.

“No, I don’t think he does,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“No I don’t think he does, George.” – @SarahHuckabee on if President Trump accepts Director Comey’s denial on Pres. Obama and wiretapping http://pic.twitter.com/kmqDDlMT9Q

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 6, 2017

She said the president “wants the truth to come out to the American people and he is asking that it be done through the House Intelligence Committee and that that be the process that we go through.”

Additionally, The Hill reports that Trump aide Kellyanne Conway also called for Comey to share any information he might have on Trump’s allegations.

“If Mr. Comey has something he’d like to say I’m sure we’re all willing to hear it,” Conway said on Fox News. “All I saw was a published news report. I didn’t see a statement from him. I don’t know what Mr. Comey knows.

 

“If he knows, of course he can issue a statement,” Conway said. “We know he’s not shy.”

In the meantime the pushback against Trump’s accusation continues to grow with increasingly more republicans now rejecting the president’s claims, and moments ago House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told CBS that he has seen nothing that backs Trump’s wiretap claims. 

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The simplest outline for this week concerns inflation.

Stocks have erupted higher in the last month based on the belief that the economy is roaring once again. However, this is all about sentiment, not reality. The Fed’s own real-time GDP tracking tools has collapsed from predicting growth of 3.5% in early February to just 1.9% last week.

While “growth” isn’t coming anytime soon… INFLATION is.

Globally, inflation metrics are going through the roof. In the US, inflation is now well above the Fed’s target rate of 2%. If you were looking at this chart as if it were a stock, you’d say that was a seriously bullish breakout.

The story is the same in Europe as well, where inflation is staging a bullish breakout to the upside. Two years ago, the EU was in a deflationary nightmare. Today, inflation is roaring having risen 3.5% in the last 18 months.

Inflation has even appeared in Japan for the first time in years.

THIS, not growth, is the big story for 2017: after maintaining interest rates at ZERO if not negative for 7 years, and printing over $14 trillion, Central Banks have unleashed an inflationary tsunami.

Those who invest appropriately will make serious money from this trend.

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Chief Market Strategist

Phoenix Capital Research

 

 

 

 

 

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If record US crude and gasoline inventories (and soaring US production) were not big enough concerns, oil bulls are starting to lose faith (hedge fund shorts at 12-week highs) after lower growth targets in China and concerns over Russia's compliance with a global deal to cut oil output sparked renewed worries over a crude oil supply glut.

Reuters notes that China on Monday lowered its growth target for the year to 6.5 percent, compared with 6.7 percent last year, and also tightened regulatory controls in an effort to tackle pollution. Investors are watching the moves carefully for signs they could dampen demand for oil.

Meanwhile, figures from Russia's energy ministry released last week showed February oil output was unchanged from January at 11.11 million barrels per day (bpd), casting doubt on its moves to rein in output as part of a pact with oil producers last year. Commerzank noted that Russia's production would need to fall by a further 100,000 bpd in March in order to comply with the agreement.

And it appears hedgies are starting to lose faith…

 

And while prices are rebounding modestly today (as the machines buy the dip again), the recent trend is clear. The China demand, Russia supply concerns outweighed news of escalating violence in North Africa that sparked questions about oil exports from the region and prompted a small price rebound on Friday.

"It's a market where there are no signs of extreme tightness," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of PetroMatrix. "It makes it hard to get a sustained rally."

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The key economic release this week is the employment report on Friday, which as Janet Yellen noted in her speech on Friday, is the only economic event (together perhaps with the CPI report on April 15), that could potentially derail a now practically guaranteed rate hike.

Following a slew of hawkish Fed commentary throughout last week and reinforced by both Fischer and Yellen on Friday, a March 15th Fed hike looks firmly on the cards and it would seem unlikely that data would cause a change of course. Nevertheless, attention will be squarely on Friday’s jobs report. Consensus expects a strong report, with NFP growth of 190K, average hourly earnings of 0.3% and unemployment ticking down to 4.7%.

A summary breakdown of key events in the US in the coming week:

In addition to the US jobs report, two G10 Central Bank decisions this week, as the RBA and ECB meet to decide policy. Neither bank is expected to change policy, although more interesting times are likely ahead as both now face rising inflationary pressures which will likely prompt them to turn hawkish in the coming months. There is a more compelling case for the RBA to begin normalizing policy next year, but doubt the RBA will shift guidance this week. Look for moves in Feb and Aug 2018.

The ECB will also be on hold as the current “truce” between hawks and doves holds and is reflected in a dovish tone, with no decision. After the summer, the debate between hawks and doves cannot be avoided however. Keep an eye on the batch of forecasts released by ECB, though few expect revolutionary changes.

Elsewhere, in the UK, the Budget announced on Wednesday is a key release, while we also get trade balance and industrial production. The House of Lords continues their examination of the Brexit Bill. Following the completion of third reading, the bill will return to the Commons for consideration of Lords amendments.

In Japan, main economic releases include trade balance, final GDP, PPI and money supply.

In Canada, the main release will be the labor market report.

In Norway, data this week will be the last main inputs for the Norges Bank meeting on March 16th. Particular focus will be on the regional network survey and inflation.

Detailed breakdown of global events below:

* * *

A daily look at key events:

It looks set to be a quiet start to the week with just the Sentix investor confidence reading for the Euro area due this morning followed by January factory orders and final durable and capital goods revisions in the US this afternoon.

Tuesday kicks off in Germany with the January factory orders data, before we then get the Q4 GDP report for the Euro area. Over in the US tomorrow data includes the January trade balance and consumer credit prints.

Wednesday starts in Japan where the final Q4 GDP revisions are due before we then get February trade numbers in China. During the European session we will get Germany industrial production and France trade data. In the US the focus will likely be on the February ADP employment change print, while Q4 nonfarm productivity and unit labour costs along with wholesale inventories and trade sales data is also due.

Kicking off Thursday is China where the February CPI and PPI prints are due. In Europe we’ll then get business sentiment data in France before all eyes turn to the ECB meeting just after midday followed by Draghi’s press conference. Over in the US the data includes the import price index and initial jobless claims.

We end the week on Friday in Europe with trade data in  Germany and industrial production data in France and the UK, along with trade data in the latter. Over in the US we’ve then got the February  employment report including the all important payrolls print.

Fedspeak this week is light with just Kashkari due to speak today. Away from that BoE Governor Hogg speaks today while Germany’s Schaeuble speaks on Thursday. Other important events to keep an eye on this week include the House of Lords completing its scrutiny of the Brexit bill on Tuesday and UK Budget on Wednesday. An EU summit of country leaders also starts on Thursday.

Detailed breakdown of global events below:

Finally, here is Goldman’s summary of key events with sellside estimates for the key US events of the week:

Monday, March 6

• 10:00 AM Factory orders, January (GS +1.2%, consensus +1.0, last +1.3%); Durable goods orders, January final (last +1.8%); Durable goods orders ex-transportation, January final (last -0.2%); Core capital goods orders, January final (last -0.4%); Core capital goods shipments, January final (last -0.6%): We expect factory orders to rise 1.2% following a 1.3% increase in December. Last week’s durable goods report showed new durable goods orders were firm, while core capital goods orders were softer.
• 03:00 PM Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari (FOMC voter) speaks: Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will give a speech at the annual NABE Economic Policy Conference in Washington D.C.

Tuesday, March 7

• 08:30 AM Trade balance, January (GS -$47.5bn, consensus -$48.0bn, last -$44.3bn): We expect the trade deficit to widen in January. The Advance Economic Indicators report last week showed a wider goods trade deficit and strong consumer goods imports—likely related to the relatively early Chinese New Year—that we anticipate will not be fully offset by a modest improvement in the services balance.
• 03:00 PM Consumer credit, January (consensus +$17.2bn, last +$14.2bn)

Wednesday, March 8

• 08:15 AM ADP employment report, February (GS +200k, consensus +185k, last +246k): We expect a 200k gain in ADP payroll employment in February, reflecting stable hiring trends, a further decline in initial jobless claims, and a rise in leading indicators. The ADP report introduced methodological changes with the October release and now offers more details by sector. While we believe the ADP employment report holds limited value for forecasting the BLS’s nonfarm payrolls report, we find that large ADP surprises vs. consensus forecasts are directionally correlated with nonfarm payroll surprises.
• 08:30 AM Nonfarm productivity (qoq saar), Q4 final (GS +1.5%, consensus +1.5%, last +1.3%);  Unit labor costs, Q4 final (GS +1.6%, consensus +1.6%, last +1.7%): We expect a +0.2pp revision to nonfarm productivity in Q4 to an annualized rate of +1.5% – double the post-recession trend pace of +0.75% – driven by the upward revision to nonfarm business output in last week’s GDP report. We expect unit labor costs – compensation per hour divided by output per hour – to be revised down 0.1pp to +1.6%.
• 10:00 AM Wholesale inventories, January final (last -0.1%)

Thursday, March 9

• 08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended March 4 (GS 245k, consensus 239k, last 223k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended February 28 (last 2,066k): We expect initial jobless claims to rise 22k to 245k, as we believe last week’s 19k drop reflected the unusual timing of automotive plant shutdowns as well as New York school holidays, both of which imply a rebound in coming weeks. Even after accounting for temporary factors, the trend pace of initial jobless claims continues to drift lower. We also note the year-to-date improvement in several energy-producing states, where claims remained low again this week.
• 08:30 AM Import price index, February (consensus +0.1%, last +0.4%): Consensus expects import prices to increase at a slower pace in February (nsa). In the January report, the headline index advanced 0.4%, primarily driven by a pickup in petroleum and industrial goods prices.
• 10:00 AM Quarterly Services Survey, Q4: The Quarterly Services Survey includes data on revenue for service sector firms. The Commerce Department uses this information for estimating services spending in the third release of the GDP report.

Friday, March 10

• 8:30 AM Nonfarm payroll employment, February (GS +190k, consensus +190k, last +227k); Private payroll employment, February (GS +200k, consensus +185k, last +237k); Average hourly earnings (mom), February (GS +0.3%, consensus +0.3%, last +0.4%); Average hourly earnings (yoy), February (GS +2.7%, consensus +2.8%, last +2.5%); Unemployment rate, February (GS 4.7%, consensus 4.7%, last 4.8%): We expect February nonfarm payrolls to increase 190k following a 227k increase in January and compared to the three-month moving average of +183k. We expect job growth to be supported by encouraging employment surveys and a further drop in jobless claims, which averaged 244k during the payroll month (the lowest level since the 1970s). February also exhibited unseasonably warm weather and relatively limited snowfall, both of which should boost payrolls in weather-sensitive categories.
• On the negative side, the federal hiring freeze (excluding defense and public safety) announced in late January is likely to weigh on government payrolls, and we expect a net decline in these categories of roughly 10-15k in the month. The extent of the headwind on overall payroll growth may be mitigated by the ability of government departments to circumvent the hiring freeze, for example through reduced attrition or increased contracted hiring. We also expect below-trend payroll growth in the transportation and warehousing industry, following elevated temporary hiring in Q4 related to strong online holiday shipments.
• We expect the unemployment rate to fall one-tenth to 4.7%, driven by continued household employment growth and a potential pullback in the participation rate following last month’s 0.2pp rise. Finally, we expect average hourly earnings to increase 0.3% month over month and 2.7% year over year, reflecting firming wage growth and the continued impact of state-level minimum wage hikes.
• 02:00 PM Monthly budget statement, February (consensus -$151.0bn, last +$51.3bn)

Source: BofA, Goldman, DB

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Via Lance Roberts of RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

I received an email last week which I thought was worth discussing.

“I just found your site and began reading the backlog of posts on the importance of managing risk and avoiding draw downs. However, the following chart would seem to counter that argument. In the long-term, bear markets seem harmless (and relatively small) as this literature would indicate?”

This same chart has been floating around the “inter-web,” in a couple of different forms for the last couple of months. Of course, if you study it at “face value” it certainly would appear that staying invested all the time certainly seems to be the optimal strategy.

The problem is the entire chart is deceptive.

More importantly, for those saving and investing for their retirement, it’s dangerous.

Here is why.

The first problem is the most obvious, and a topic I have addressed many times in past missives, you must worry about corrections.

“The problem is you DIED long before ever achieving that 5% annualized long-term return.

 

Let’s look at this realistically.

 

The average American faces a real dilemma heading into retirement. Unfortunately, individuals only have a finite investing time horizon until they retire.

 

Therefore, as opposed to studies discussing “long term investing” without defining what the “long term” actually is – it is “TIME” that we should be focusing on.

 

Think about it for a moment. Most investors don’t start seriously saving for retirement until they are in their mid-40’s. This is because by the time they graduate college, land a job, get married, have kids and send them off to college, a real push toward saving for retirement is tough to do as incomes, while growing, haven’t reached their peak. This leaves most individuals with just 20 to 25 productive work years before retirement age to achieve investment goals.

 

This is where the problem is. There are periods in history, where returns over a 20-year period have been close to zero or even negative.”

Like now.

It’s The Math

Outside of your personal longevity issue, it’s the “math” that is the primary problem.

The chart uses percentage returns which is extremely deceptive if you don’t examine the issue beyond a cursory glance. Let’s take a look at a quick example.

Let’s assume that an index goes from 1000 to 8000.

• 1000 to 2000 = 100% return
• 1000 to 3000 = 200% return
• 1000 to 4000 = 300% return
• …
• 1000 to 8000 = 700% return

Great, an investor bought the index and generated a 700% return on their money.

See, why worry about a 50% correction in the market when you just gained 700%.  Right?

Here is the problem with percentages.

A 50% correction does NOT leave you with a 650% gain.

A 50% correction is a subtraction of 4000 points which reduces your 700% gain to just 300%.

Then the problem now becomes the issue of having to regain those 4000 lost points just to break even.

It’s Not A Nominal Issue

The bull/bear chart first presented above is also a nominal chart, or rather, not adjusted for inflation or dividends. (Dividends have accounted for about 40% of total returns since 1900.)

So, I have rebuilt the analysis presented above using inflation-adjusted, total return numbers using Dr. Robert Shiller’s monthly data.

The first chart shows the S&P 500 from 1900 to present and I have drawn my measurement lines for the bull and bear market periods.

The table to the right is the most critical. The table shows the actual point gain and point loss for each period. As you will note, there are periods when the entire previous point gains have been either entirely, or almost entirely, destroyed. 

The next two charts are a rebuild of the first chart above in both percentage and point movements.

Again, even on an inflation-adjusted, total return, basis when viewing the bull/bear periods in terms of percentage gains and losses, it would seem as if bear markets were not worth worrying about.

However, when reconstructed on a point gain/loss basis, the ugly truth is revealed.

It’s A “Time” Problem. 

If you have discovered the secret to eternal life, then stop reading now.

For the rest of us mere mortals, time matters.

If you are near to, or entering, retirement, there is a strong argument to be made for seriously rethinking the amount of equity risk currently being undertaken in portfolios.

If you are a Millennial, as I pointed out recently, there is also a strong case for accumulating a large amount of cash and waiting for the next great investing opportunity.

Unfortunately, most investors remain woefully behind their promised financial plans. Given current valuations, and the ongoing impact of “emotional decision making,” the outcome is not likely going to improve over the next decade.

For investors, understanding potential returns from any given valuation point is crucial when considering putting their “savings” at risk. Risk is an important concept as it is a function of “loss”. The more risk that is taken within a portfolio, the greater the destruction of capital will be when reversions occur.

Many individuals have been led believe that investing in the financial markets is their only option for retiring. Unfortunately, they have fallen into the same trap as most pension funds which is believing market performance will make up for a “savings” shortfall.

However, the real world damage that market declines inflict on investors, and pension funds, hoping to garner annualized 8% returns to make up for the lack of savings is all too real and virtually impossible to recover from. When investors lose money in the market it is possible to regain the lost principal given enough time, however, what can never be recovered is the lost “time” between today and retirement. 

“Time” is extremely finite and the most precious commodity that investors have.

In the end – yes, market corrections are indeed very bad for your portfolio in the long run. However, before sticking your head in the sand, and ignoring market risk based on an article touting “long-term investing always wins,” ask yourself who really benefits?

This time is “not different.”

The only difference will be what triggers the next valuation reversion when it occurs.

If the last two bear markets haven’t taught you this by now, I am not sure what will. Maybe the third time will be the “charm.”

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Bloomberg FX strategist, Vincent Cignarella, explains why for dollar bulls betting on a continued rise in the dollar, the lack of a strong move higher following last week’s repricing of March rate hike odds may be an ominous development.

Dollar Bulls Despair as March Fed Hike Looks Like It’s Baked In

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks Friday all but confirmed what traders rushed to price in last week: a rate hike mid-month is close to a lock.

The heightened confidence about March may actually spell trouble for dollar bulls in coming days — there’s little in the way of fresh incentives to buy more of the U.S. currency right away, after it surged to an almost six-week high last week. Fed speakers are now in a blackout period until their March 14-15 meeting, and for major economic data, traders have to wait for February jobs figures to be released March 10.

“A further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate” in March if employment and inflation continue to evolve as expected, Yellen said in the text of a speech Friday in Chicago. She also said the removal of accommodation is unlikely to be as slow as the past couple years, when the Fed hiked by a quarter-point in two consecutive Decembers.

But for market participants, that may not have been hawkish enough. After her remarks, futures indicate traders actually saw less of a chance that the Fed will achieve its projected pace of three hikes in 2017. The Bloomberg dollar index sank to the day’s lowest levels after her appearance. It dropped 0.7 percent, its worst day since January. It also stalled at its 55-day moving average, dropping back to a support level at its 100-day average.

There’s another potentially ominous sign for investors hoping the dollar will regain momentum. A form of technical analysis known as the Ichimoku Cloud suggests a reversal may be looming.

The chart above shows the Ichimoku pattern for the dollar-yen exchange rate. The pair’s cloud pattern, highlighted in blue, is coming to a narrow point. A thinning cloud signals a weak trend and a potential reversal, which may pose a risk to the dollar rally.

The analysis also shows the cloud pattern gets wider after the March Fed meeting, indicating the next trend will be more sustained after it passes the narrowest point, known as the inflection point — potentially rising toward 115.10 yen or falling toward 113.22.

At least one bank ratcheted down its dollar-yen forecast Friday.

Beyond pricing in a March hike, money markets would need to anticipate a much steeper pace of tightening for 2018 to drive the currency pair higher, Adam Cole, head of global foreign-exchange strategy in London at Royal Bank of Canada, wrote in a note.

He forecast the dollar at 100 yen in 12 months, from about 114 at the end of last week, and from a previous prediction of 105 yen.

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• Geopolitics, Deutsche Bank drag global stocks lower (Reuters)
• Deutsche Bank Turnaround Plan Gets Mixed Reaction (BBG)
• Conservative Groups Jeopardize GOP Plan to Repeal Health Law (WSJ)
• Russian Hackers Seek Hush Money From Liberal U.S. Groups (BBG)
• Automakers Near a Victory on Rollback of Fuel Standards (NYT)
• Brought Down by Long Bust, Texas Oilmen Pray for Another Boom (WSJ)
• General Motors Waves Goodbye to Europe (BBG)
• PSA targets Opel turnaround as GM exits Europe (Reuters)
• GM to Take $4 Billion Charge on Sale of European Unit to Peugeot (WSJ)
• Standard Life to Buy Aberdeen in $4.7 Billion Stock Deal (BBG)
• Bezos Expected to Unveil Further Plans for Private Space Exploration (WSJ)
• Ahmadinejad Joins Twitter in Political Comeback Bid (BBG)
• How a $26 Billion Hedge Fund Lures the Beautiful Minds (BBG)
• Sarkozy camp asks France’s Fillon to replace himself as candidate (Reuters)
• Juppe says no to French presidential bid but slams candidate Fillon (Reuters)
• TSA Warns Local Police About Its New Airport Pat-Downs (BBG)
• ECB unlikely to boost bond lending to ease end-March squeeze (Reuters)
• Charity Officials Increasing Get Million-Dollar Paydays (WSJ)
• America’s Treasuries Revolution in Limbo With Mnuchin in Charge (BBG)
• German minister warns UK over trade, predicts Frankfurt to gain (Reuters)
• KKR Gets Record $13.9 Billion for North American Buyout Fund (BBG)
• China has the right to ‘step in’ to Hong Kong election, top official says (Reuters)
• Rich Asian Millennials Pool Family Fortunes to Build Venture Fund (BBG)
• South Korea prosecutor paves way for charges against Park if impeachment upheld (Reuters)
• Chinese Property Investors Could Exit U.S. as Asia Beckons (Bloomberg)
• Orphan Endowments of Dead Schools Bedevil States Across America (BBG)
• Greek PM glosses over delays and weak data, says economy is recovering (Reuters)
• Verizon’s Unlimited Data Offer Puts Its Reputation for Reliability at Risk (BBG)
• Alphabet lawsuit against Uber cements end of uneasy marriage (Reuters)
• UK manufacturers enjoy post-Brexit surge in orders (Reuters)

 

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– General Motors Co’s sale of Adam Opel AG likely eliminates a source of low-cost funding for the Detroit auto giant’s car-lending business, potentially pressuring profits in lending operations the company has been trying to rebuild since bankruptcy. http://on.wsj.com/2mcMP1f

– The first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza to strike a commercial poultry flock in more than a year has been found on a Tennessee chicken farm affiliated with Tyson Foods Inc, government and company officials confirmed Sunday. http://on.wsj.com/2mcIaML

– A group of U.S. senators is examining Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC’s decision to charge $89,000 in the U.S. for an old steroidal drug that costs a fraction of that overseas, the latest sign of growing scrutiny of the company. http://on.wsj.com/2mcE5I8

– The burgeoning space-transportation company owned by Amazon.com Inc chairman Jeff Bezos is expected to announce some customers and new initiatives this week, the latest step toward its long-term goal of building rockets powerful enough to penetrate deep into the solar system, according to industry officials. http://on.wsj.com/2mcyXEa

– Malaysia Airlines, whose name became associated with two of aviation’s worst disasters in recent history, is winning back passengers. Three years on, the airline is regaining its footing by aggressively courting business travelers and carrying out a restructuring that eliminated about 6,000 jobs and unprofitable long-haul routes. http://on.wsj.com/2mcTPet

– Charities, the tax-exempt organizations which include many hospitals and colleges as well as traditional charities such as the United Way, provided seven-figure compensation to roughly 2,700 employees in 2014, an analysis of newly available data shows. http://on.wsj.com/2mcLfMG

 

NYT

– As soon as Tuesday, the Trump administration is expected to announce its agreement with the major auto companies that future mileage and emissions standards should be overhauled to reflect the growing consumer demand for larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles such as pickup trucks. http://nyti.ms/2mrpAAY

– Deutsche Bank said on Sunday that it planned to raise an additional $8.5 billion in capital, reorganize its retail business in Germany and combine its markets business with its corporate and investment bank in the latest reshaping under its chief executive, John Cryan. http://nyti.ms/2mK6EOA

– Matthew Axelrod, the former top deputy to the acting attorney general, Sally Q Yates, who was dismissed by President Trump in January after refusing to enforce his executive order barring travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, is joining a major global law firm, Linklaters. http://nyti.ms/2muo0Pb

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The governing Liberal Party in British Columbia is under investigation for its fundraising practices by Elections B.C. The independent body said its probe will look at tens of thousands of dollars in multiple donations, made by brokers such as Mark Jiles and Byng Giraud, who paid under their own names, with personal credit cards. https://tgam.ca/2mKxJS7

** U.S. President Donald Trump will not force TransCanada Corp to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline solely with American steel. Avoiding a “Buy American” provision championed by Trump removes a major impediment to proceeding with the $8 billion project that was rejected by the Obama administration amid opposition by environmentalists. https://tgam.ca/2mWnG9e

NATIONAL POST

** An Iranian-Canadian accountant who was involved in the financial aspects of Iran’s nuclear deal is believed to have been indicted in Iran on suspicion of espionage, six months after he was arrested. Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani was arrested in August but not immediately charged. http://bit.ly/2ltZ1vA

 

Britain

The Times

Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank AG has announced plans to raise 8 billion euros ($8.48 billion) through a share sale and selling part of its asset management business. http://bit.ly/2mcf4Nm

Tim Steer, a former top City fund manager with a reputation for unearthing accounting problems at listed companies, has criticised the Financial Reporting Council for failing to intervene in the bookkeeping practices at Mitie Group Plc . http://bit.ly/2mc9vOQ

The Guardian

Hundreds of jobs could be cut if an 11 billion pounds ($13.52 billion) merger of two of Scotland’s biggest companies – Standard Life Plc and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc – goes ahead. http://bit.ly/2mciHTl

The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is poised to cut the annual bonus it pays staff to the lowest level since the 1950s due to the pressure on retailers. The John Lewis Partnership, which is owned by its staff, is expected to announce a bonus of between 6 and 7 percent of workers’ annual salary. http://bit.ly/2mciqQo

The Telegraph

Philip Green’s Arcadia Group is to double its top-up payments to its pension scheme, in another step in the billionaire businessman’s bid to regain credibility. http://bit.ly/2mcia49

ITV Plc has scored a court victory over services that retransmit its broadcasts without permission, setting the scene for a battle this summer with its biggest shareholder, Liberty Global Plc, the owner of Virgin Media. http://bit.ly/2mcjHa3

Sky News

U.S.-based law firm Scott +Scott will announce on Monday that it is to pursue a claim in Europe against Deutsche Bank over its so-called ‘last look’ trades. http://bit.ly/2mchqfe

The Independent

The travel plans of tens of thousands of airline passengers at the start of the working week have been wrecked as industrial action intensifies across Europe with strikes by French air-traffic controllers, Air France KLM SA staff and British Airways cabin crew. http://ind.pn/2mc58DI

via http://ift.tt/2mWQIWg Tyler Durden