- Europe shrugs off pre-G20 China stocks slump, sterling steadies (Reuters)
- China Unveils Its Deliverables for G-20 -- And No Plaza Pact (BBG)
- Foreign Money Could Be Slow to Enter China’s Bond Markets (WSJ)
- China Urged to Stomach Much Higher Fiscal Deficit (WSJ)
- Trump's Momentum Has Republicans in Congress Confused and Cowed (BBG)
- Obama weighs Republican for Supreme Court (Reuters)
- Apple to boost customers’ iCloud encryption (FT)
- Sears Posts $580 Million Fourth-Quarter Loss as Retailer Shrinks (BBG)
- This Obscure Fed Funds Metric Might Explain Market Tumult (BBG)
- Trump rides momentum into winner-take-all states (Hill)
- China's Shadow Banking Evolves to Dodge Crackdown (BBG)
- Best Buy's quarterly revenue falls 4.1 pct (Reuters)
- China’s Uber Competitor Didi Kuaidi Planning to Raise About $1 Billion (WSJ)
- What a Saudi Oil-Supply Freeze Would Really Mean for Markets (BBG)
- U.S. Hedge Fund Elliott Faces Probe into Samsung Stake (WSJ)
- Supersized Currency on Europe's Fringes Defies Big Banknote Clamor (BBG)
- Japan Pension Funds Spent $4.5 Billion on Local Stocks Last Week (BBG)
- U.S. Readies New North Korea Sanctions for UN Security Council (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Sharp Corp's board approved a plan Thursday for Apple Inc. assembler Foxconn Technology Group to take over the company for ¥700 billion ($6.24 billion), people familiar with the situation said, in a rare case of Japan Inc relinquishing a venerated brand to a foreign buyer. (http://on.wsj.com/1RoUxNg)
- Boeing Co announced the sudden retirement of Chris Chadwick as head of its defense-and-space unit after just over two years leading the $30 billion-a-year business. (http://on.wsj.com/1oIQMsX)
- Didi Kuaidi Joint Co is planning to raise about $1 billion from investors on terms that would value the Chinese car-hailing company at more than $20 billion, according to people familiar with the situation. (http://on.wsj.com/1T6YJ80)
- A senior Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker who helped the Wall Street firm win business with embattled Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd has formally left the bank. (http://on.wsj.com/1QzpMBY)
FT
Deutsche Boerse AG Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter would run the day-to-day operations of a new company formed by a possible merger with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, according to people familiar with the matter.
Airbus Group SE Chief Executive Tom Enders said in statement on Wednesday that he did not see how a combination of Honeywell International Inc and United Technologies Corp would be in his company's interests.
UK-based institutional stock broking firm Panmure Gordon & Co Plc said its Chief Executive Phillip Wale had stepped down and left the company.
NYT
- Apple engineers have begun developing new security measures that would make it impossible for the government to break into a locked iPhone using methods similar to those now at the center of a court fight in California, according to people close to the company and security experts.(http://nyti.ms/1p6kyHU)
- John Gleeson, a prominent federal judge and former prosecutor who handled one of Wall Street's biggest criminal cases, is set to become a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, according to people briefed on the matter.(http://nyti.ms/21i0nbe)
- An advisory committee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has recommended that the regulator abandon its plans to limit the number of futures contracts a trader can hold on certain commodities, including oil and natural gas, according to a copy of the recommendation that was reviewed by The New York Times.(http://nyti.ms/21sDQoJ)
- A broad plan being put forward by the Treasury Department to ease Puerto Rico's financial crisis would put pension payments to retirees ahead of payments to bondholders - a move that some experts fear could rattle the larger municipal bond market.(http://nyti.ms/20WiLRF)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** For the first time since the early 1980's, Alberta is expected to have an economic slump that lasts for two years as low oil prices persist, and the province's Finance Minister Joe Ceci warned of a "once-in-a-generation" challenge reflected in a provincial deficit that could top C$10.4 billion ($7.59 billion) next year. (http://bit.ly/1R3Cjhu)
NATIONAL POST
** Canada's medical marijuana industry is being thrown into new turmoil by a court ruling that threatens to undercut its business model. Federal court judge Michael Phelan gave patients the right to grow their own cannabis, arguing the current system restricts access to the drug. (http://bit.ly/1R3Df5A)
** Health Canada is advising anyone who bought a natural health product claiming to treat cancer called Novodalin B17 to contact their doctor for a followup. The federal agency said it is an unauthorized product and that it does not permit cancer treatment claims to be made for natural health products. (http://bit.ly/1QfJ4gw)
Britain
The Times
* Mine chiefs face murder charges over dam burst
BHP Billiton legal woes have worsened after it emerged that executives at its Brazilian joint venture have been accused of murder by police over the Samarco disaster that killed 19 people. (http://thetim.es/1LGHceX)
* Deutsche Boerse to appoint German
Deutsche Boerse is expected to transfer its headquarters to London if it succeeds in merging with the London Stock Exchange. Carsten Kengeter, the chief executive of Deutsche Borse and a former senior Goldman Sachs banker, is expected to become boss of the exchange if the merger goes through. (http://thetim.es/1LGHcLO)
The Guardian
* IMF urges UK to ease austerity should economy slow further
The International Monetary Fund has urged the UK to ease back on austerity should the economy slow further, as it warned finance ministers at the G20 summit in Shanghai to boost public spending on infrastructure to fuel global growth. (http://bit.ly/1OvoXca)
* Ryanair to campaign against Brexit
Ryanair Holdings Plc is to actively campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, branding its planes with pro-Europe slogans, as it warned UK fares could rise after a vote to leave. The chief executive of the budget carrier said Europe had allowed Britons to enjoy affordable holidays through deregulating the airline industry, and that Ryanair would invest less in the UK if it were outside the EU. (http://bit.ly/1WJaKhF)
The Telegraph
* Tata Steel's European boss Karl Koehler quits
Karl Koehler managing director of struggling Tata Steel Europe has quit as the company holds crunch talks with a potential buyer for large parts if its UK operations, a deal which could save thousands of British jobs if it goes ahead. (http://bit.ly/1Q1ZoDN)
* Cyber-crime set to hit most British companies in the next two years
The spread of cyber-fraud has created a surge in economic crime against British companies, with more than half of all firms braced for an online attack, according to new research. (http://bit.ly/1R2E7aw)
Sky News
* Car making sees best January for eight years
More than 137,000 cars were built in the UK last month in the best January performance for eight years, industry figures show. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the industry had enjoyed a "strong start" to 2016, continuing its impressive performance in recent years. (http://bit.ly/1Umkb8d)
* Business leaders take sides in EU debate
Two of the country's most outspoken business leaders have entered the debate on Britain's future in the European Union - on opposing sides. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary came out in support of a vote to stay while JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin explained why he wanted to leave.(http://bit.ly/1R2F1nz)