- China trade surprise brings relief (Reuters)
- Obama knocks Trump, voices optimism (Reuters)
- Republican Candidates Criticize Obama’s State of the Union Address (WSJ)
- Republicans and Democrats Agree: We Hate Wall Street (WSJ)
- Oil rises for first time in eight sessions on China, U.S. stocks draw (Reuters)
- U.S. Exports First Freely Traded Oil in 40 Years (WSJ)
- China Imports Record Crude as Price Crash Accelerates Buying (BBG)
- Can We Fix American Cities by Tearing Them Down? (BBG)
- Powerball hits $1.5 billion, largest-ever lottery jackpot for one winner (Reuters)
- Global PC Shipments Fall to Lowest Since 2008, Gartner Says (BBG)
- ECB’s Villeroy Says 2008 Financial Crisis Won’t Be Repeated Now (BBG)
- Portugal Said to Have Opposed Central Bank on Novo Banco Bonds (BBG)
- Suicide bomber kills at least 15 outside Pakistan polio center (Reuters)
- Istanbul bomber registered in Turkey but not on wanted list (Reuters)
- China Sets Oil Price Floor at $40 to Protect Domestic Supply (BBG)
- China arrests most prominent woman rights lawyer for subversion (Reuters)
- Bonuses May Be Clawed Back After U.K. Bankers Move, BOE Says (BBG)
- Goldman Sachs Sees Governments Coming to ECB Rescue on Stimulus (BBG)
- IPhone's Likely China Surge Giving Apple a Holiday Bright Spot (BBG)
- South Korea calls for 'bone-numbing' sanctions on North for nuclear test (Reuters)
- Six Ex-Barclays, Deutsche Bank Traders to Stand Trial in 2017 (BBG)
- One of the Biggest Bond Market Players Has No Employees (BBG)
- Mexico not directly investigating Sean Penn over Chapo Guzman meeting (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA is planning to sell roughly $30 billion in new bonds Wednesday in a deal that would rank as the second largest on record, underscoring the strength of the corporate-debt market despite turmoil in certain sectors. (http://on.wsj.com/1OZXsOB)
- Kindred Healthcare Inc agreed to pay $125 million to settle federal allegations it provided unnecessary therapy services to nursing-home patients as part of a scheme to overbill the federal Medicare program, according to the agreement finalized on Tuesday. (http://on.wsj.com/1J1YsiP)
- Google said Tuesday it hired Caroline Atkinson, who recently stepped down as a deputy White House national security adviser. Atkinson will oversee lobbying and regulatory issues for Google, including Europe's ongoing antitrust case against the company. She will be based in Washington, D.C. and report to Google general counsel Kent Walker. (http://on.wsj.com/1N6rOYd)
- After more than a decade of planning and five years of construction, Walt Disney Co plans to open its first theme park in China on June 16. (http://on.wsj.com/1ngpUzv)
- MetLife Inc is seeking to divest a large piece of its U.S. life-insurance unit as part of a plan to ease some of the capital burden it is expected to face under new federal regulations, the company said Tuesday. (http://on.wsj.com/1l4QTfC)
FT
A Bank of England official oversaw the decision by the Financial Conduct Authority to scrap its review into Britain's banks, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. This comes a day after the watchdog said it was not influenced by any external pressures.
British oil and gas company BP announced plans to slash 4,000 jobs across its exploration and production business in the face of a continued slump in oil prices. The cuts come as price of internationally traded Brent crude sank on Tuesday to $30.34 a barrel, near 12-year lows.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had launched an in-depth investigation into oilfield services provider Halliburton's planned purchase of its rival Baker Hughes . "The commission has to look closely at this proposed takeover to make sure that it would not reduce choice or push up prices for oil and gas exploration and production services in the EU," Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
NYT
- Insurer MetLife said on Tuesday that it was exploring spinning off its retail life and annuity business in the United States because of financial pressures it is facing under regulations put in place in the wake of the financial crisis. (http://nyti.ms/1RBWWHc)
- Regulators in California on Tuesday formally rejected Volkswagen's plan to fix its polluting diesel engines, underscoring their frustration with the German automaker's ability to repair its defective vehicles. (http://nyti.ms/1RBX0Hb)
- Puerto Rico's troubled electric monopoly, mired in about $9 billion of debt, stands to run out of money by mid-summer if its hard-won plans to restructure fall through - something that could happen this month, a top official of the utility told a congressional panel on Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1RBXjl7)
- British oil giant BP PLC said on Tuesday it would eliminate 4,000 of the approximately 24,000 positions in its exploration and production units this year. That would be in addition to about 4,000 jobs that the company cut last year, when it trimmed its work force to about 80,000. (http://nyti.ms/1RBZfdl)
- The pension board of the United Methodist Church - one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States, with more than seven million members - has placed five Israeli banks on a list of companies that it will not invest in for human rights reasons, the board said in a statement on Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1RBXzkh)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The federal Justice Department has sent a clear signal that Ottawa intends to fight a lawsuit brought by former residential school students in Newfoundland and Labrador to the end. (http://bit.ly/1J2sbbD)
** Executives at Airbus Group SE, the world's biggest plane maker, dismissed the Bombardier C Series jet as an "orphan" and said that talks between the two companies aimed at propping up the struggling Canadian aircraft are dead. (http://bit.ly/1J2poPA)
** Canaccord Genuity Group Inc has been hit with a string of veteran departures amid a severe commodity price correction that has raised the prospect of more job cuts. Scott Davidson, the dealer's executive vice president and global head of corporate development and strategy, announced his departure on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/1J2s7sn)
NATIONAL POST
** The requirements for Canada's next fleet of fighter jets are being redrawn as part of a thorough defense review ordered by the new Liberal defense minister. Harjit Sajjan said his department was looking at the procurement of military equipment, the size of the Canadian Forces and the theaters where they operate. (http://bit.ly/1J2sjI0)
** The man behind Toronto's Pan Am Games will earn at least C$525,000 ($369,276) a year running Ontario's nascent pension plan. Saad Rafi will become the first chief executive of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Administration Corp, the agency that will administer the savings scheme. (http://bit.ly/1J2sNOo)
Britain
The Times
- Energy companies were under pressure to cut their prices last night as it emerged that almost five million pensioners will turn down their heating during the cold spell because they cannot afford the bills. (http://thetim.es/1OgZoPh)
- Britain's growth hopes were dealt a blow by weak industrial production late last year as unseasonably warm weather hit electricity and gas output. Between October and November, industrial output fell by 0.7 percent, the biggest monthly decline for almost three years, according to the Office for National Statistics. (http://thetim.es/1OgZw1c)
The Guardian
- A Shepton Mallet cider mill that makes well-known brands including Gaymers and Blackthorn is to close with the loss of 120 jobs. Irish company C&C, which makes Bulmers and Magners cider in Ireland and Tennent's lager in Scotland, will move the production of cider to its factory in Clonmel in Ireland, where it is creating 80 new jobs. (http://bit.ly/1Oh0870)
- Albert Edwards, strategist at the bank Societe Generale , has warned that the world is heading for a financial crisis as severe as the crash of 2008-2009 that could prompt the collapse of the eurozone. (http://bit.ly/1Oh0lXW)
The Telegraph
- Iceland has fully reimbursed Britain for the collapse of the Icesave bank in 2008, which left Dutch and British account holders empty-handed. (http://bit.ly/1OgZSVD)
- The makers of Cadbury Crème Eggs are launching an Easter fightback in the wake of suffering multi-million pound losses after a controversial change of the chocolate recipe last year. Research by analysts IRI found that the best-selling Easter lines lost more than 10 million pounds ($14.45 million) in sales last year, narrowing its market share from 42 percent to 40 percent. (http://bit.ly/1Oh0ElE)
Sky News
- Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of easyJet Plc , held secret talks about becoming the new boss of Marks and Spencer Group Plc prior to the retailer appointing a leading internal candidate to the job last week. (http://bit.ly/1Oh0J8M)
- The Bank of England has publicly denied any role in a controversial decision by the Financial Conduct Authority to ditch a review into banking culture. It comes days after MPs on the Treasury Select Committee summoned the leadership of the Financial Conduct Authority to appear before them to explain the "curious" move. (http://bit.ly/1Oh0SJh)
The Independent
- Three Italian organisations have called for an investigation into McDonald's Corp in Europe over its franchise agreement, alleging that the restrictions McDonald's places on franchises are "unjustified and illegal" and lead to customers paying higher prices in stores. (http://ind.pn/1Oh0YAI)
- WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc had better than expected Christmas trading results. The supermarket saw same store sales increase 0.2 percent in the nine weeks to Jan. 3, making it the first time sales were up in four years. (http://ind.pn/1Oh15w6)