- Spot the common thread: China's growth hits quarter-century low, raising hopes of more stimulus (Reuters)
- And here: China stocks climb on hopes for new economic stimulus (Reuters)
- Welcome to the Crisis Economy, Where Tumult Reigns (WSJ)
- IEA Sees Risk of World Drowning in Oil (BBG)
- IEA Sees Iran's Return Intensifying Battle for Europe Oil Market (BBG)
- China 2015 power, steel output drop for first time in decades (Reuters)
- Major snowstorm may threaten DC to NYC Friday into Saturday (Accuweather)
- Oil Slump Hits Houston Home Market (WSJ)
- A world divided: Elites descend on Swiss Alps amid rising inequality (Reuters)
- Venezuela's PDVSA asks partners to pick up tab as oil prices sink (Reuters)
- Johnson & Johnson to Cut 6% of Medical Device Jobs (WSJ)
- Trump: I'll force Apple to make its 'damn computers and things' in US (ZDNet)
- Clinton’s Presidency Odds Narrow as Bookmaker Frets Over Trump (BBG)
- Rarely Patched Software Bugs in Home Routers Cripple Security (WSJ)
- Outsider Kasper Rorsted Is Tapped to Lead Adidas (WSJ)
- Iran's Khamenei welcomes sanctions lift, warns of U.S. 'deceit' (Reuters)
- Republican Voters Say the Clock Is Ticking on Jeb Bush's Would-Be Comeback (BBG)
- After U.S.-Iran Deals, Another Hurdle Looms: Syria (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- China recorded a pronounced deceleration in growth last year, affirming that a multi-year slowdown is biting the world's second-largest economy harder and shows little sign of abating. The growth rate, released by the government on Tuesday, moderated to 6.8 percent for the fourth quarter and 6.9 percent for 2015. (http://on.wsj.com/1Otqrac)
- Barclays PLC is drawing up plans to sell some of its 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa Group Ltd, the publicly traded entity that houses most of its African business, these people said. (http://on.wsj.com/1PlE6NZ)
- South Korea will sue the head of Volkswagen AG's Korean office over its failure to comply with an order to recall diesel vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating devices. The Ministry of Environment said Tuesday it will file a complaint with the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office against Johannes Thammer, managing director of Audi Volkswagen Korea.(http://on.wsj.com/1WpyAPU)
- Adidas AG said Kasper Rorsted, currently chief executive at Henkel AG, a German maker of cleaning products, adhesives and beauty-care items, would become a board member at Adidas as of August, and CEO in October. (http://on.wsj.com/1U6PxgO)
- Malaysia's state-oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, is planning to slash as much as 50 billion ringgit ($11.4 billion) in capital and operating expenditure over the next four years, according to an internal memo sent to staff by its chief financial officer. (http://on.wsj.com/1OCsgiZ)
FT
Facebook has said it would invest 1 million euros ($1.09 million) in European non-governmental organisations that are fighting online extremism, and would fund more research into hate speech.
WhatsApp and Instagram announced changes to their business model on Monday. WhatsApp said it has scrapped its subscription charges and that it would start to test tools that would allow users to communicate with businesses and organizations that they would want to hear from.
Prices of staples in Brazil has increased 61 percent compared to last year due to a poor harvest, according to figures this month.
NYT
- With international sanctions lifted, the Iranian government called on its oil industry to up production, a move that could add to a global glut of crude that has sent prices into a tailspin. (http://nyti.ms/1U8NjNV)
- Four months after announcing a grueling five-year plan for reducing the island's vast debt and reviving economic growth, Puerto Rico's top economic officials said they had been too optimistic and revised the plan for the worse. (http://nyti.ms/1U8Nx7D)
- The Chinese economy grew at a 6.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter, according to data released on Tuesday. It was the lowest quarterly expansion since the global financial crisis in 2009. (http://nyti.ms/1U8NBUW)
- The British bank Barclays Plc has completed the sale of a controlling stake in its trust business to an independent investor group led by the Nielsen and Sarikhani families for an undisclosed amount. (http://nyti.ms/1U8PiBU)
- National Australia Bank said on Monday that its British unit, Clydesdale Bank, could be valued at as much as 2.07 billion pounds, or about $3 billion, in an initial public offering next month as part of a spinoff. (http://nyti.ms/1U8Plh4)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains says he hopes Iran's growing appetite to purchase hundreds of civilian aircraft on the world market translates into an opportunity for Canadian aerospace, but the Justin Trudeau government hasn't said when or how Ottawa might roll back economic sanctions on Tehran to make this possible. (http://bit.ly/1PnFNul)
** Two Chinese government soldiers were part of a hacking conspiracy allegedly carried out by a Chinese resident of Canada to steal secrets relating to components of F-35s and other American warplanes, according to court-filed documents. (http://bit.ly/1PnFNul)
** Canada has been excluded from a high-level meeting of "significant contributors' to the U.S.-led coalition called to discuss stepping up the fight to defeat Islamic State militants. The meeting of defense ministers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands is set for Wednesday in Paris. (http://bit.ly/1ZJnuL0)
** A potential rate cut by the Bank of Canada this week risks undermining confidence in the Canadian dollar, some prominent Canadian economists have warned. Trading in overnight index swaps currently implies the probability of a rate cut at about 60 percent when the Bank of Canada releases its monetary policy report on Wednesday. (http://bit.ly/1nv6Yx7)
NATIONAL POST
** As oil prices continued to free fall last week, oilsands giants Suncor Energy Inc and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd were quietly ending an acrimonious hostile battle and working out the details of a C$6.6-billion ($4.56 billion)merger, announced on Monday. Both companies said their respective boards were recommending a merger and that Suncor would raise its ownership in Syncrude to 49 percent from 12 percent if the deal is finalized. (http://bit.ly/1P2oFyg)
** Justin Trudeau will try to reposition Canada as more than a petro-state this week when he meets some of the planet's top business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. This comes on the backdrop of the Canadian dollar plummeting in lockstep with the price of oil that has fallen by nearly three-quarters. (http://bit.ly/1StupU9)
** The mother of Maude Carrier, one of the Canadians killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso, has made a desperate plea for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep up Canadian airstrikes against Islamic State. Carrier was one of six aid workers from Quebec killed on Friday when a group of Islamist terrorists stormed a luxury hotel and cafe in the capital city of Ouagadougou. In all, 28 people died. (http://bit.ly/1S1zfqi)
Britain
The Times
* National Australia Bank hopes to sell its British branches for as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.85 billion), despite concerns that recent market falls might have made floating the business more difficult than had been first thought. (http://thetim.es/1loUTHY)
* The steel industry, trade unions and opposition MPs have rounded on the government after Tata Steel confirmed 1,050 more redundancies, taking the job toll in the industry to more than 6,000 in the past six months. (http://thetim.es/1loV2LN)
The Guardian
* The appetite of western consumers for home furnishings has reached its peak according to Ikea, the world's largest furniture retailer. (http://bit.ly/1loV8mq)
* Asda is cutting about 200 jobs at its head office in Leeds after the supermarket endured a tough Christmas trading season. (http://bit.ly/1loVcTc)
The Telegraph
* The UK Government's ambition of doubling UK exports to 1 trillion pounds ($1.42 trillion) by 2020 is a "big stretch", admits Francis Maude, UK's minister of state of trade. (http://bit.ly/1ngi4pW)
* UK's economy would be in better shape if the Bank of England had slashed its rates into negative territory during the crisis, according to Gertjan Vlieghe, the newest member of the Bank's nine-strong committee of interest rate setters. (http://bit.ly/1lofnRf)
Sky News
* UK's Financial Reporting Council will decide this week whether to launch a formal inquiry into the auditing of HBOS , according to Sky News. (http://bit.ly/1loWgqe)
* Homebase owner Home Retail Group has confirmed it has reached a sale agreement with Australian retail giant Wesfarmers. (http://bit.ly/1P1wW5v)
The Independent
* MI5 has been named as Britain's most advanced and inclusive employer when it comes to ensuring the nurturing and development of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, according to a workplace equality index by Stonewall. (http://ind.pn/1P1x9pu)
* BT is creating 1,000 new customer service jobs in the UK as part of an 80 million pounds ($113.98 million) investment to boost performance and restore its reputation after being criticised for poor customer service. (http://ind.pn/1P1xfgL)