- Fed Poised to Mark the End of an Era (Hilsenrath)
- Fed opens meeting to put an end to crisis era policy (Reuters)
- Fed's Historic Liftoff and Everything After: Decision Day Guide (BBG)
- Emerging Markets Gird for Fed Rate Increase (WSJ)
- What 7 Years at Zero Rates Have Looked Like (BBG)
- 5 Things to Watch at the Fed Meeting (WSJ)
- Tokyo Trader to Work at 4 a.m. Ahead of Fed as Bond Tumult Rises (BBG)
- Donald Trump Survives Another Debate as Republican Rivals Take Aim at Party Front-Runner (BBG)
- Russia says serious differences remain with U.S. over Syria crisis (Reuters)
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals Slashes Revenue, Earnings Guidance (WSJ)
- Third Avenue Bled Managers, Billions of Assets Before Fund Shut (BBG)
- Iran's October missile test violated U.N. ban (Reuters)
- China Has Something to Tell OPEC: Oil Prices Have Fallen Too Far (BBG)
- Swiss Bank Hid Assets for Jews in Wartime, Then for Tax Evaders (BBG)
- U.S. to charge Venezuela's National Guard chief with drug trafficking (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Congressional leaders reached a major spending and tax deal Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan told Republicans, according to lawmakers and aides. The apparent agreement, which hasn't been announced by Democrats, was reached after weeks of negotiations over both the $1.15 trillion spending bill for fiscal year 2016 and legislation that would revive and extend dozens of lapsed and expiring tax breaks. (http://on.wsj.com/1TP3I9A)
- Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are preparing to charge high-ranking Venezuelan officials with trafficking cocaine to the U.S., a person familiar with the case said Tuesday. (http://on.wsj.com/1NoIduP)
- European Union officials reached agreement Tuesday on a pan-European digital-privacy law, creating a strict new legal framework that will have ripple effects globally on how companies can use individuals' personal information. (http://on.wsj.com/1RQgVR4)
- Qualcomm Inc ruled out splitting itself up despite pressure for change from an activist investor and scrutiny of the semiconductor company's business by antitrust authorities. (http://on.wsj.com/1MeQ760)
- Commodities trader Noble Group Ltd is in advanced talks with Chinese state-backed grain trader Cofco to sell its remaining stake in its agricultural unit, according to a person familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1QoonE0)
FT
Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc said the U.S. Deaprtment of Justice was not satisfied with the concessions they offered to win approval for their proposed merger and would have to delay for the second time their $26 billion union.
Qualcomm Inc has decided not to split into separate chipmaking and technology licensing businesses, saying that its current structure is the best way to run the business. The decision marks a conclusion to a six-month strategic review instigated by hedge fund Jana Partners.
The chief executive of Rolls-Royce Holdings has decided to scrap the aerospace and land and sea divisions as part of a major overhaul. The revamp would also lead to the departure of Tony Wood, a longtime Rolls Royce veteran and head of its aerospace division.
Tesla Motors is building a mile-(km)-long factory near the Nevada desert, which will build batteries for its electric cars. However, the carmaker has not announced the supplier for lithium, the material used in batteries, leaving unclear the source of the lightweight natural material that it needs to begin production by 2017.
NYT
- House Speaker Paul Ryan told the Republican Party's rank and file on Tuesday night that a deal had been reached on a $1.1 trillion spending measure, but Democrats said negotiations on the bill had not been finished. (http://nyti.ms/1MgfyUL)
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Walgreens Boot Alliance have agreed to distribute Valeant's drugs through Walgreens stores in a new way, and in some cases, for lower prices, the companies announced on Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1YfvSBo)
- European officials approved long-awaited data protection regulations on Tuesday, the latest effort in the region to give people a greater say over how their digital information is collected and managed. The changes, expected to go into effect by early 2017, would put into law across the 28-member European Union some policies now enforced after court rulings or in specific countries only. (http://nyti.ms/1Ovtzj1)
- On Tuesday, Sirius XM announced that it had renewed its contract with Howard Stern, extending his show for five years and ending speculation on Wall Street about whether Stern would abandon satellite radio for some other new media frontier. (http://nyti.ms/1JaZwLQ)
- Global Payments Inc said on Tuesday that it planned to buy Heartland Payment Systems, a fellow payment processor focused on small to midsize businesses, for about $4.3 billion in cash and stock. (http://nyti.ms/1Zb9B4z)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Suncor Energy Inc urged Canadian Oil Sands Ltd shareholders to accept a C$4.3 billion hostile takeover as crude prices slump, saying there is little evidence that a rival bid is in the works. (http://bit.ly/1I8ri0v)
** Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz insisted that the Canadian economic recovery remains on the track outlined by the central bank, despite the latest in a series of disappointing growth indicators. (http://bit.ly/1ITP3JM)
NATIONAL POST
** Canadian billionaire investor Seymour Schulich, who initially called Suncor's C$4.5 billion offer for Canadian Oil Sands "ridiculous," said he and potentially others in his group of six major investors would be willing to support the deal if Suncor gave them an option to buy more Suncor shares should oil prices rise in the future. (http://bit.ly/1QrQ4eT)
** Faced with scrutiny over its practice of raising drug prices, on Tuesday, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said it was entering a 20-year agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, to reduce wholesale prices by 10 percent for all dermatological and ophthalmological products and sell certain branded drugs at generic prices with an average discount of more than 50 percent. (http://bit.ly/1QrQ9ip)
** The Bank of Canada is piling on more concerns over the country's housing market, warning that rising household debt and regional price imbalances could lead to an "adverse shock" to the sector. (http://bit.ly/1ZbA7ed)
Britain
The Times
The average cost of a home in England has hit the significant 300,000 stg mark for the first time ever. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), whose data is based on prices paid, showed that house prices jumped 7.4 per cent in the year to October to reach a new high of 300,000 stg. (http://thetim.es/1T0m8nS)
Britain edged out of deflation and back into positive territory for the first time in four months in November, but of the Bank of England will be under no pressure to raise interest rates as prices are forecast to remain low for some time. The official consumer prices index climbed from -0.1 per cent in October to 0.1 per cent in November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). (http://thetim.es/1O41oXU)
The Guardian
Asda's share of the grocery market has hit a nine-year low as the pace of supermarket discounting stepped up ahead of Christmas. (http://bit.ly/1lNye9m)
Britain's Labour and Liberal Democrat peers have narrowly failed to overturn government proposals to push through banking regulations they claim will make it easier for senior bankers to escape prosecution following a financial crash. (http://bit.ly/1QnjYBa)
The Telegraph
The new chairman of troubled Network Rail has insisted his plan to offload 1.8 billion stg of depots, arches and station shops is not a "fire sale" by the state-owned company. (http://bit.ly/1QreaWS)
Domino's Pizza Group PLC Pizza has formed a joint venture with its namesake in Australia to buy the largest pizza delivery business in Germany, Joey's Pizza, for up to 79 million euros, in a bid to turn around its fortunes in the European country. (http://bit.ly/1m5oGGv)
Sky News
Starbucks Corp paid less corporation tax in the UK this year - in a period when its profits rose to a record level. (http://bit.ly/1O427Zk)
Shareholders in Aston Martin have expressed reservations about a putative tie-up with the Force India team. Aston Martin's board meeting last week concluded with directors leaning towards a decision not to re-enter F1 for the first time since 1960. (http://bit.ly/1QmQtPM)
The Independent
Brent crude oil was cents away from crisis levels overnight after slipping below $37 a barrel. (http://ind.pn/1TMExVm)