- China stocks tank, triggers circuit breaker (Reuters)
- Stocks Slump Across Europe and Asia Following Shanghai's 7% Crash (BBG)
- China Halts Stock Trading After 7% Rout Triggers Circuit Breaker (BBG)
- Iran says Riyadh thrives on tension after relations cut (Reuters)
- Saudis and Bahrain Face Off With Iran in Worst Clash Since 1980s (BBG)
- Syrian rebel group backs Saudi move to cut ties with Iran (Reuters)
- Iraqi Sunni mosques attacked in apparent retaliation for Saudi execution (Reuters)
- Southern Illinois battles flooding as Mississippi River builds downstream (Reuters)
- Biggest Economies Face $7 Trillion Debt Refinancing Tab in 2016 (BBG)
- China's Seven-Minute Selling Frenzy Shows Circuit-Breaker Risks (BBG)
- Angola's Kwanza Falls Most Since 2001 to Record in Devaluation (BBG)
- Bill Clinton Set to Step Back Into Campaign Spotlight (BBG)
- Obama's gun control options each have legal pitfalls (Reuters)
- Obama to Hold Town Hall Meeting on Gun Violence (NYT)
- Why Buffett's 50th Anniversary Was a Dud for Investors: 4 Charts (BBG)
- Brazil Analysts Ring in New Year With Deeper Recession Forecast (BBG)
- Ukrainians' Life Ratings Sank to New Lows in 2015 (Gallup)
- Fidelity drops credit card partners American Express, Bank of America (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Hollywood had its biggest year at the box office, thanks to a handful of blockbusters. But the runaway success of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Jurassic World" raises questions about the movie industry's health. (http://on.wsj.com/1Up4I4P)
- A growing number of people in the United States are turning to healthcare ministries to cover their medical expenses instead of buying traditional insurance, a trend that could challenge the stability of the Affordable Care Act. (http://on.wsj.com/1mytswf)
- Investors who poured billions into China's homegrown technology companies scored big during 2015. But increasingly, it looks like the easy money has been made and this year could prove tougher. (http://on.wsj.com/1R5L7bI)
- Tesla Motors Inc delivered 17,400 vehicles in the last three months of 2015, the most in a quarter by a wide margin and 75 percent more than a year earlier as the company rushed to hand over Model X sport-utility vehicles to customers who have been waiting for three years since making a deposit. (http://on.wsj.com/1JnIPlR)
FT
The new EU authority, Single Resolution Board, that took over the role of closing down failing banks on January 1 has budgeted money that is enough to wind up 10 banks over the next four years.
The new Solvency II rules are expected to change the way European insurers do business and may lead to a string of merger and acquisition activity in the sector.
Sberbank's Chief Executive ,Herman Gref, has criticised the European Central Bank (ECB) and said the European banking sector will have a difficult period of time because of tough regulatory policy. He also criticised the ECB for forcing its eurozone subsidiary to be supervised by officials in Frankfurt.
NYT
- Fidelity said it is ending a 12-year partnership with American Express Co and Bank of America Corp, and will offer Visa-branded cards through U.S. Bank. (http://nyti.ms/1Ra3nRM)
- New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on Sunday requiring local governments across the state to take homeless people off the streets to shelters in freezing temperatures. (http://nyti.ms/1MOxjuB)
- Saudi Arabia gave Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the kingdom as escalating tensions over the execution of an outspoken Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia marked a new low in relations between the two Middle Eastern powers. (http://nyti.ms/1mXZBOl)
- This year, Visa and Dell are investing an estimated $3 million to help update the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.'s digital cookie platform. The funding is towards adding games, videos, quizzes and music to the digital platform, as well as to providing workshops about math and technology, part of the companies' interest in promoting an increased number of women in the technology industry. (http://nyti.ms/1NZDYpV)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** A coal export terminal south of Vancouver will no longer be able to avoid the fallout from low prices for the commodity. (http://bit.ly/22GBrIF)
** A brief surge in post-election economic optimism has given way to increased anxiety among Canadians - a sentiment some economists believe could have a chilling effect on the economy. (http://bit.ly/1SuRS6v)
NATIONAL POST
** Alberta's oil slump could have heavy, and unanticipated health consequences, experts are warning: a jump in obesity rates. (http://bit.ly/1PFKGSn)
Britain
The Times
* Shire appears to be inching towards an agreement with Baxalta, the producer of specialist treatments for cancer and haemophilia, that the Dublin-based pharmaceuticals company has been trying to buy since last summer. (http://thetim.es/1JSdWAT)
* Lloyds Banking Group is set to become a fully privately owned company by the summer for the first time since its 20 billion pounds ($29.47 billion) taxpayer-funded bailout as the UK sells its remaining 9 percent stake. (http://thetim.es/1JSec2K)
The Guardian
* Dong Energy <IPO-DONG.CO>, the biggest operator of offshore wind farms in Britain, has said it plans to spend a further 6 billion pounds in the UK by 2020, convinced that the government is serious about supporting wind power. (http://bit.ly/1JSetmf)
* Record-breaking discounts on offer in the post-Christmas sales have so far failed to attract a rush of bargain hunters to the high street, raising fears that Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and Next Plc will be forced to report disappointing trading figures for the festive period. (http://bit.ly/1JSeB5m)
The Telegraph
* UK hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has warned that a series of threats to the global economy, including the potential bubble in the UK housing market, will make 2016 a difficult year for investors. (http://bit.ly/1JnQd0q)
* A third of eurozone countries will be ineligible for the European Central Bank's 1.5 trillion euros ($1.63 trillion) bond buying programme by 2017, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. (http://bit.ly/1JnQlgA)
Sky News
* UK's former business secretary Vince Cable has accused the Chancellor and Governor of the Bank of England of "lacking motivation' to crack down on abuses in the banking sector. (http://bit.ly/1JnQoc3)
* One of the groups campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union, Vote Leave, has reignited its row with the UK's biggest employers' body by claiming only a fraction of the CBI's members are supportive of its stance on the looming referendum. (http://bit.ly/1JnQwZ9)
The Independent
* Marks & Spencer Group has parted ways with its global director for loyalty and insight, Suzanna Broer, for allegedly using racist language. (http://ind.pn/1JnQIHW)