You are here

Frontrunning: February 7

  • Senate to Vote on DeVos Confirmation Amid Fiery Debate (WSJ)
  • Investors Cut Back on Commercial Property (WSJ)
  • Euro, European bonds unnerved by French politics (Reuters)
  • Trump’s Dodd-Frank Do-Over Diverted to Slow Lane (BBG)
  • In GOP, Divide Grows Over Pace of Obamacare Repeal (WSJ)
  • Syria Detains Opponents as It Reasserts Control (WSJ)
  • Gaga’s Halftime Drone Swarm Was Pretaped (BBG)
  • Tom Brady’s Missing Super Bowl Jersey Could Be Worth $500,000 (BBG)
  • The New Face of American Unemployment (BBG)
  • China Courts Ivanka, Jared Kushner to Smooth Trump Ties (BBG)
  • A Bright Idea for Hedge Fund Managers: Do Nothing (WSJ)
  • Islamic State sees chance to revive fortunes in Trump presidency (Reuters)
  • Harvard’s Record $1.2 Billion Haul Erased by Investment Losses (BBG)
  • GOP-Led SEC Considers Easing Pay-Gap Disclosure Rule of Dodd-Frank (WSJ)
  • Top Trader Vitol Sees Oil Rattled as Trump Makes Market Fret (BBG)
  • Billionaire Peter Thiel Says He’s Not Running For California Governor (Forbes)
  • Romanian president tears into government after protests but backs it to remain (Reuters)
  • Iran leader rebuffs Trump warning, says he shows America's 'real face' (Reuters)
  • Trump's pick for labor secretary admits to employing illegal immigrant (Reuters)
  • Michael Kors comparable sales fall more than expected (Reuters)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- The Trump administration argued the president has broad authority to decide who can and cannot enter the U.S., and that preventing him from doing so puts national security at risk, as it sought to persuade an appeals court to reinstate a travel ban. http://on.wsj.com/2jWgU0y

- Republican Michael Piwowar, the acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, signaled that the commission would take a fresh look at new requirements that companies disclose the pay gap between chief executives and their employees. http://on.wsj.com/2jWCRwl

- Trump's pick for labor secretary, Andy Puzder, said he previously employed an undocumented housekeeper, a development that could further complicate his already slow-moving confirmation. http://on.wsj.com/2jWthtt

- Missouri adopted a law allowing workers to avoid paying dues at union workplaces, becoming the 28th right-to-work state and the second to do so this year. http://on.wsj.com/2jWs2dI

- Israel's parliament on Monday approved legislation that retroactively legalizes thousands of Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a step likely to spark legal challenges and draw international condemnation. http://on.wsj.com/2jWyZeQ

- One of Arconic's biggest investors, First Pacific Advisors, plans to support activist Elliott Management in its fight for board seats at the aerospace and automotive-parts maker. http://on.wsj.com/2jWzZQ0

- With 16 months until his planned retirement and no successor in sight, Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Robert Iger may extend his tenure for a third time. http://on.wsj.com/2jWyO34

 

FT

Shareholders in Metro voted on Monday in favour of a plan to split the German retailer into two companies, one a wholesale and hypermarket food business, and the other Europe's biggest consumer electronics group.

Brazilian airline Azul filed with U.S. securities regulators on Monday to raise as much as $100 million in an initial public offering. Azul said it intends to use a portion of the proceeds to pay down about 333 million reais ($106.88 million) of debt.

Israel-based generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Monday that Chief Executive Erez Vigodman was stepping down effective immediately and would be replaced on an interim basis by Yitzhak Peterburg, who has been chairman of Teva's board of directors.

 

NYT

- New York City's investigation department is looking into the New York Police Department's awarding of a $6.4 million contract for body-worn cameras. The existence of the inquiry, opened last year, was shared with the city comptroller's office late Friday, leading to the Comptroller Scott Stringer to decide against signing off on the contract. http://nyti.ms/2kgnNdP

- Russia sought an apology from Fox News on Monday after the host Bill O'Reilly described President Vladimir Putin as "a killer" during an interview with President Trump. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, told reporters that the description was "unacceptable, insulting," according to the state-run news agencies RIA Novosti and Interfax. http://nyti.ms/2jX356P

- Super Bowl's Sunday's game drew 111.3 million viewers on Fox, a high enough total to tie it for fourth place among the most-viewed programs in TV history but lower than last year's 111.9 million. This was the eighth consecutive year that the Super Bowl exceeded 100 million viewers. http://nyti.ms/2jWVGUX

- Bob Iger, Walt Disney's chief executive, is considering delaying his departure for the third time. It's a sign that the entertainment conglomerate has failed to find a replacement for him since Tom Staggs left last year. After Iger took over in 2005, Disney's market value rose from $46 billion to about $148 billion at the end of its 2016 fiscal year. Total shareholder return over the same period increased 350 percent. http://nyti.ms/2jWXOvV

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The BC Liberals say they are planning to go to the police in light of what they say was a hack of their party website on the weekend, and may bolster their cyberdefences as a result of the situation. https://tgam.ca/2kgSLms

** The executive of the Ontario Medical Association has resigned, highlighting the infighting that has plagued Ontario doctors as they seek a new contract from the province. https://tgam.ca/2leYqgK

NATIONAL POST

** Fresh off his victory in the legal tussle with Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan to acquire an obscure U.S. wrestling company, Canadian media scion Leonard Asper says he is looking to buy more original media content. http://bit.ly/2kmybmN

** Mediatube Corp and Northvu Inc filed an appeal Friday asking the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn the January ruling that dismissed its claim that Bell Canada infringed its IPTV technology patent to create Fibe TV. http://bit.ly/2jXmhg0

 

Britain

The Times

Israeli PM insists Britain must get tough with Iran

The Israeli prime minister urged Theresa May to follow the United States in imposing fresh sanctions against Iran as the two met for the first time on the steps of No 10. http://bit.ly/2lith90

Stay away from parliament, Bercow tells 'sexist, racist' Trump

In an intervention that will bring embarrassment for Theresa May, John Bercow told Members of Parliament that the US president should be denied the honour of addressing the House of Commons or Lords during a state visit this year. http://bit.ly/2liooN2

The Guardian

Uber driver tells MPs: I work 90 hours but still need to claim benefits

Uber drivers have told Members of Parliament they felt trapped in a job that forced them to work long hours just to cover costs including the purchase of their cars. http://bit.ly/2lixAkx

Cut beer duty to beat price hikes after Brexit vote, says Camra

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is stepping up its push to keep the price of a pint down for millions of UK pub-goers, calling on the Treasury to reduce beer duty by 1p a pint in next month's budget. http://bit.ly/2livst0

The Telegraph

ECB's Mario Draghi warns on liquidity shock as tapering nears

The European Central Bank is bracing for a painful 'taper tantrum' as it reins in emergency stimulus and slows the pace of bond purchases next month, all too aware that market liquidity could dry up suddenly. http://bit.ly/2lipcBy

Hong Kong's Li dynasty trade UK assets as Three buys Relish wireless broadband for 250 mln stg

Two arms of one of Asia's richest families have agreed the 20 mln stg sale of UK Broadband, the operator behind the Relish wireless brand, to the mobile operator Three. http://bit.ly/2litt8c

Sky News

Buy-to-let lender plots float after Brexit fears halted sale

Sky News has learnt that Charter Court Financial Services, the owner of the Exact and Precise mortgage brands, has drafted in investment bankers to work on an initial public offering later this year. http://bit.ly/2litnO5

Wonga strikes 60 mln stg deal to sell European unit to Swedish suitor

Wonga, Britain's best-known payday lender, will this week announce the sale of a big chunk of its European operations, underlining its continuing international retrenchment in the wake of a torrid period for the business. http://bit.ly/2liuZHs

The Independent

Brexit will not affect UK economy's long term future, a new study suggests

Brexit will prove to be little more than a bump in the road for the UK economy in the long run and the country will successfully defend its spot as one of the world's fastest growing developed economies in decades to come, according to predictions published in a new study. http://ind.pn/2liq8py