- The Year Nothing Worked: Stocks, Bonds, Cash Go Nowhere (BBG)
- Oil falls toward $37, near 11-year low, as excess supply weighs (Reuters)
- End of easy money for mini-refiners splitting U.S. shale? (Reuters)
- Shale's Running Out of Survival Tricks as OPEC Ramps Up Pressure (Reuters)
- 'Safe’ Puerto Rican Debt Stirs Worries (WSJ)
- These Will Be Wall Street's Most In-Demand Jobs Next Year (BBG)
- ‘Star Wars’ Becomes Fastest to Pass $1 Billion at Box Office (WSJ)
- The Hustlers at Scores (NYMag)
- China’s Gold Imports Fall for Second Month Before Rate Increase (BBG)
- China Telecom Head Detained by Country’s Antigraft Regulator (WSJ)
- Goldman, JPMorgan Seen as Fintech Winners While AmEx Suffers (BBG)
- At Theranos, Many Strategies and Snags (WSJ)
- More prudent use of VC capital: startup gives departing employees $10,000 (BBG)
- Why Weak Currencies Have a Smaller Effect on Exports (WSJ)
- China Broadens Campaign Against Terrorism With Sweeping New Law (BBG)
- Saudi Arabia Set to Announce 2016 Budget Amid Oil Plunge (BBG)
- Rousseff Future on Hold as Brazilians Take Break From Crisis (BBG)
- Bankers, Bulls, Activists: The People of Finance to Watch in 2016 (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- General Motors Co is facing calls to add air bags as standard equipment on its popular compact cars in Mexico, mirroring broader pressure on auto makers to provide basic safety equipment even when governments don't mandate it. (http://on.wsj.com/1YGZlEw)
- A powerful cluster of tornadoes roared through North Texas on Saturday night, killing 11 people and causing widespread damage, police officials said. (http://on.wsj.com/1IxtXkG)
- China's antigraft watchdog detained the chairman of China Telecom Corp Chang Xiaobing on suspicion of "severe disciplinary violations," according to a one-sentence statement posted Sunday on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party's top anticorruption agency. The phrase is the agency's byword for corruption allegations. (http://on.wsj.com/1ZvTcrC)
- Grossing a tremendous $153.5 million on its second weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates, Walt Disney Co's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" continued to break records, including the biggest second weekend of all time. On a global basis it reached $1.09 billion this weekend and became the fastest movie in history to pass $1 billion. (http://on.wsj.com/1QQNiAh)
FT
The European Central Bank is not expected to increase the size of its 1.46 trillion euros ($1.60 trillion) asset-purchase programme in 2016 despite assurances by ECB chief Mario Draghi that additional monetary stimulus is still on the table, according to a poll of eurozone analysts by the Financial Times.
Britain's biggest insurers will pass on savings resulting from an agreement with the government to eliminate spurious insurance claims for whiplash injuries, saving their customers an average 50 pounds ($74.60) a year off premiums.
Metro Bank has hired Mark Stokes, a senior banker from rival challenger Williams & Glyn, as it nears a listing on the London Stock Exchange, expected in February, according to people familiar with the process.
NYT
- Hollywood is on track to set a domestic box office record for 2015, largely with the help of sequels like the latest "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park" films. (http://nyti.ms/1OnT6Kz)
- As the Federal Aviation Administration begins to assert its authority to regulate drones, local lawmakers contend the agency's efforts do not go far enough in protecting privacy and public safety. (http://nyti.ms/1YLuMZ7)
- Mauricio Macri clinched Argentina's presidency last month by tapping into voters' fatigue with a leftist political movement that had governed for more than 12 years. But now, just three weeks into his four-year term, Macri's sweeping economic changes are roiling Argentina, accentuating the divide he wanted to bridge and leading some Argentines to doubt whether he will be a change for the better. (http://nyti.ms/1R2RsDc)
- China's legislature approved an antiterrorism law on Sunday after months of international controversy, including criticism from human rights groups, business lobbies and U.S. President Obama. (http://nyti.ms/1QVHnto)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Passenger traffic is robust and profits are at record levels for Canada's two largest airlines, Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd, as they benefit from the lowest prices for airline fuel since the 2008-09 recession. (http://bit.ly/1IyevEV)
** The British Columbia Assessment Authority sent out letters to 37,000 homeowners in certain areas two weeks ago, warning that they were likely to see big jumps in property assessments. Sales prices have increased by 25-30 percent in some areas for single-family homes. (http://bit.ly/1IyeCAt)
** John Beeden, a self-described "Scrawny Old Yorkshireman" from Burlington, Ontario, has become the first person to row solo across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in the eastern Australian city of Cairns after 209 days alone at sea.
NATIONAL POST
** Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, facing unprecedented scrutiny for its drug pricing and distribution policies, was under more pressure over the Christmas holiday after its chief executive was sent to hospital with what the company called "a severe case of pneumonia." (http://bit.ly/1IyfgxU)
Britain
The Times
The government must make greater efforts to improve employment prospects for Britain's ethnic minorities if it is to hit its goal of creating two million new jobs by the end of the parliament without relying on immigration, the Resolution Foundation has warned. (http://thetim.es/1IxzpEc)
A consortium of 35 companies and research groups across Europe, including Boeing Co and Airbus Group SE, are working on a project, co-funded by the European Commission, that could eventually lead to an automated technology to reduce reliance on crew members on commercial jets. (http://thetim.es/1Ixzzvc)
The Guardian
Shoppers were more willing than ever to interrupt their Christmas Day revelry for some online bargain-hunting this year, delivering a festive boost for retailers. Sales on Christmas Day were up 21 percent on last year, making it the most lucrative ever for online shopping, according to data from a web services group PCA Predict. (http://bit.ly/1IxzTtX)
The Telegraph
Britain relies more heavily on foreign doctors than any other major European Union nation, according to international research. More than a third of NHS doctors were born abroad, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (http://bit.ly/1IxAawS)
Ladbrokes Plc Chief Executive Jim Mullen issued a stark warning to the horseracing industry that bookmakers will be unable to funnel sponsorship back into the sport if they are forced out of the industry in a row over funding. (http://bit.ly/1IxAqvW)
Sky News
Residents of flood-hit villages in northern England have been urged to flee their homes amid concerns that lives are at risk. June Brown, a councillor in the Lancashire village of Whalley, which is waist-high in water, urged residents to leave the village immediately. (http://bit.ly/1IxANGO)
The Independent
The troubled part-privatisation of the probation service has taken another hit with one new owner, Working Links, planning hundreds of redundancies across the country. The group is understood to be planning 200 job cuts in the Welsh probation service alone. (http://ind.pn/1IxB1xL)
The UK's biggest care-home operator, Four Seasons Health Care, has sold 20 million pounds ($29.84 million) worth of properties to U.S-based Monarch Alternative Capital as it reportedly struggles with a debt burden and diving profits. (http://ind.pn/1IxBcsO)