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Frontrunning: March 10

  • Pressure Is on Mario Draghi to Show ECB Has Tools to Boost Low Inflation (WSJ)
  • Euro dips as ECB sets sights on deeper negative rates (Reuters)
  • Ohio's 'dirty little secret': blue-collar Democrats for Trump (Reuters)
  • Irish Economy Expanded 7.8% in 2015, Fastest Pace Since 2000 (BBG)
  • Too Many Boats for Too Little Cargo Leaves Shippers High and Dry (BBG)
  • Abe pledges to boost tourism in tsunami-ravaged region, maintains nuclear policy stance  (Xinhua)
  • Amazon Finds Air Freight Partner (WSJ)
  • Obama committed to Pacific trade deal, even as opposition spreads (Reuters)
  • Dividend Cuts Show Pain of Cheap Oil in Emerging Markets (BBG)
  • Norway's Big Bet on London Property (BBG)
  • At least five killed, several hurt in shooting near Pittsburgh (Reuters)
  • Men’s Wearhouse Owner to Close Hundreds of Stores as Sales Slide (BBG)
  • The corrosive dangers lurking in America's private wells  (Reuters)
  • Goldman Sachs Hire Came as Bank Pitched 1MDB (WSJ)
  • UK energy suppliers face price freeze for some customers  (Reuters)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- Saudi Arabia is looking to borrow up to $8 billion from international banks and could also issue foreign bonds, said people familiar with the matter, to plug the kingdom's widening fiscal deficit from cheap oil. (http://on.wsj.com/1RAYGeC)

- Moody's Investors Service has agreed to pay $130 million to Calpers to end a prominent lawsuit alleging crisis-era misconduct, a record settlement for the world's second-largest ratings firm. (http://on.wsj.com/1RB2M6n)

- Amazon.com Inc is taking to the air with a fleet of planes, as part of a broader effort to reduce its inflated shipping costs. The Seattle retailer plans to shuttle merchandise around the U.S. using as many as 20 Boeing Co 767 aircraft it will lease from Air Transport Services Group Inc . (http://on.wsj.com/1TuNtlD)

- Shared-office-space startup WeWork Cos has raised about $430 million in a new round of financing led by Chinese investors, making it one of the world's most valuable startups and clearing the way for a push into Asia. (http://on.wsj.com/1TuNDtl)

- After decades in which successive Republican and Democratic presidents have pushed to open U.S. and global markets, resentment toward free trade now appears to have an upper hand in both parties, making passage this year of a sweeping Pacific trade deal far less likely, and clouding the longer-term outlook for international economic exchange. (http://on.wsj.com/1TuCetA)

- A Senate committee Wednesday approved a slate of bills that would relax requirements for approval of medical devices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, part of a larger effort aimed at speeding up the regulatory process and boosting medical research. (http://on.wsj.com/1TuDixx)

- New Jersey officials shut off water fountains at 30 Newark Public Schools in the state's largest school district Wednesday after tests showed elevated levels of lead. (http://on.wsj.com/1TuDqgH)

 

FT

* Amazon.com Inc is opening its first large warehouse in the northwest of England which will generate 1,000 jobs in over three years.

* Exchange operator Nasdaq Inc said on Wednesday it would buy International Securities Exchange from Deutsche Boerse AG for $1.1 billion. The deal with Nasdaq excludes ownership interests in BATS Global Markets and Digital Asset Holdings, which will continue to be owned by Deutsche Boerse, Deutsche Borse said.

* UBS and Deutsche Bank AG lost a legal challenge brought on by HM Revenue & Customs regarding two offshore schemes which were conceived to avoid paying tax on bankers' bonuses.

* Moody's Investors Service has decided to withdraw all national scale ratings for Russian issuers for the rest of the year in light of recent legislative changes in Russia, the rating agency said in a press release on Wednesday.

 

NYT

- The head of Volkswagen AG's American operations, a central figure in the carmaker's effort to repair relations with dealers and customers after an emissions scandal, unexpectedly stepped down on Wednesday. (http://nyti.ms/1RB6xsE)

- The European Central Bank is expected on Thursday to increase the penalty it charges banks to store money in its virtual vaults, hoping to force lenders to pump that money into the eurozone economy instead. (http://nyti.ms/1RB6BIU)

- David Grim, who leads the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's asset management division, is pushing to increase funds' liquidity cushions so investors can sell out quickly. (http://nyti.ms/1RB6QUn)

- Nasdaq Inc agreed to buy the International Securities Exchange for $1.1 billion from Deutsche Boerse AG of Germany, in yet another deal among exchange operators as even bigger takeovers loom. (http://nyti.ms/1RB6WLy)

- John Gutfreund, whose aggressive leadership of Salomon Brothers and extravagant lifestyle personified the meteoric rise and fall of Wall Street moguls in the heady 1980s, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 86. (http://nyti.ms/1RB7kd5)

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Crescent Point Energy Corp slashed its dividend by 70 percent and said it would defer some spending to later this year, underscoring wariness in the industry that a hoped-for price recovery is at hand. (http://bit.ly/1UULo1W)

** Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he's "not happy" with the financial situation of his department and is vowing to fix the problem without sacrificing the department's key role in protecting the safety of Canadians. (http://bit.ly/1UhaFmv)

** The economic pieces are starting to fall into place for the Bank of Canada and its Governor Stephen Poloz, giving the central bank latitude to keep its key interest rate unchanged.(http://bit.ly/1M8utld)

NATIONAL POST

** Toronto Mayor John Tory's signature $7-billion SmartTrack plan edged somewhat closer to reality on Wednesday - or what remains of it, anyway. The Executive Committee approved a staff recommendation to focus on two possible options that fall well short of what Tory stumped for during his election campaign. The plan will go next to city council. (http://bit.ly/1XewVg0)

** Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has taken an important stand on the issue of unnamed donors paying thousands of dollars for private meetings with her and her staff. She's in favor of it. "It's part of the democratic process," she says, of the $6,000-a-head cocktail reception and three-course dinner at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel scheduled for Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1RSv2Eh)

Britain

The Times

Deutsche Boerse raises $1.1 bln in Nasdaq deal

Deutsche Boerse AG is to sell one of its businesses for more than $1 billion days before it is expected to announce a deal with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc . Nasdaq Inc, America's technology-heavy exchange, announced in New York last night that it had agreed to buy International Securities Exchange, an operator of three exchanges, from Deutsche Börse, for $1.1 billion. The deal, could be completed by the end of the year. (http://thetim.es/1ph82pr)

Former MPC member warns of Brexit upset

A former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee has said that leaving the European Union would cause significant disruption to the British economy. Andrew Sentance told a conference in Edinburgh that "leaving the EU would disrupt the trade and investment that has underpinned the UK and our economy for over 40 years. I believe that quite a big shock would flow through." (http://thetim.es/1TMQApz)

The Guardian

Michael Horn, VW's US president, resigns 'effective immediately'

The head of Volkswagen AG in the United States resigned 'effective immediately' on Wednesday night as the company struggles to agree on a settlement with the U.S. government over its emissions cheating scandal. (http://bit.ly/1QMUyIL)

The Telegraph

Google's Eric Schmidt says driverless cars could hit UK streets

Google Inc is considering trialling its driverless cars in the UK, the chairman of its parent company has revealed. Eric Schmidt said that officials had proposed bringing self-driving cars to a city in Britain and that "eventually we will all be in self-driving cars". (http://bit.ly/1QN4MJc)

Sky turns to Vice to draw in millennials

Sky Plc has agreed a deal with the youth media company Vice to launch Viceland, its first European television channel, later this year. (http://bit.ly/1R8mUTh)

Sky News

Warburg Pincus In Talks To Try On 250 mln stg Reiss

The founder of Reiss, the high street fashion chain, is close to selling a stake in the company in a deal valuing it at close to 250 million pounds ($355 million). Warburg Pincus, one of the world's biggest private equity groups, has entered exclusive talks to buy a substantial stake in Reiss. (http://bit.ly/1RAgeYd)

Ryanair For Hire As Corporate Jet Launched

Ryanair Holdings Plc has stepped up its efforts to secure more business passengers by launching a corporate jet for charter. The airline, known for its no-frills approach, said it had customised a Boeing 737-700 - fitting it with 60 business class seats. (http://bit.ly/1nxASQP)