- Dow's Freakish Bounce Makes Investors Whole, Can't Erase Doubts (BBG)
- R.I.P. Dollar Rally as Dovish Fed Spurs Worst Slump Since 2011 (BBG)
- Global Currencies Soar, Defying Central Bankers (WSJ)
- Oil hits 2016 high above $42 on production and demand outlook (Reuters)
- The U.S. Is Exporting Its Oil Everywhere (BBG)
- Hillary Clinton’s Allies Launch Plan to Undercut Donald Trump Now (WSJ)
- Sanders calls notion he should quit Democratic race 'absurd' (Reuters)
- Turns Out a 'Lie' Lurked Beneath the Bookends of the BRICS (BBG)
- Valeant Jitters Infect Specialty Drug Sector (WSJ)
- Subprime auto loans come under scrutiny (FT)
- ECB Urges Italy Banks Planning M&A to Target Strong Capital (BBG)
- Senators say they might confirm Obama's high court pick after election (Reuters)
- Aubrey McClendon Left His Biggest Backer With Billions to Lose (BBG)
- BlueCrest Money Manager John McNiff Said to Leave Hedge Fund (BBG)
- Toshiba says it may write down nuclear business, U.S. units probed (Reuters)
- Defiant North Korea fires ballistic missile into sea (Reuters)
- Ex-Porsche Executives Acquitted of Market Manipulation in Volkswagen Bid (WSJ)
- U.S. sees new Chinese activity around South China Sea shoal (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Efforts by many of the world's central banks to weaken their currencies are failing, raising concerns about whether policy makers are losing the ability to wield control over financial markets. This was the case again in Japan on Thursday, when the dollar fell 1.1 percent against yen. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ua8DpS)
- TransCanada Corp, the company behind the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline project, agreed to buy Columbia Pipeline Group Inc for $10.2 billion. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ua8Idi)
- Lear Corp, one of the world's biggest auto suppliers is pressing the United Auto Workers to agree to lower wages in exchange for relocating jobs from Mexico back to Detroit. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ua8K4W)
- WiseTech Global Ltd, a software company launched out of a Sydney basement in the 1990s, said it had lodged a prospectus with the Australia's securities regulator for an initial public offering that could see it list with a market value of more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($765.50 million) after raising A$100 million-A$220 million. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ua8NNW)
- JPMorgan Chase & Co said its board authorized the repurchase of an additional $1.88 billion of the New York bank's stock through the end of the second quarter. (http://on.wsj.com/1UaaJWR)
- Since announcing plans to sell a minority stake in its Paramount Pictures studio three weeks ago, Viacom Inc said it has received interest from three dozen companies, even as Paramount is experiencing a particularly weak quarter at the box office. (http://on.wsj.com/1UaaMC5)
FT
* SNP will not match Osborne's tax cut for higher earners. (http://bit.ly/1RpGOmz)
* Disgraced former FIFA president Blatter paid $3.7 mln salary. (http://bit.ly/1RpGR1E)
* Google to sell robot maker Boston Dynamics. (http://bit.ly/1RpHict)
Overview
* Scottish National Party leader Nicole Sturgeon has said Scotland will not match British Finance Minister George Osborne's tax cut for higher earners.
* Soccer's ruling body, FIFA, said it paid disgraced former president Sepp Blatter 3.63 million Swiss francs ($3.75 million)last year, publishing his salary for the first time under new governance regulations.
* Alphabet Inc, the new holding company for Google, has put Boston Dynamics, part of its robotics division, up for sale.
NYT
- A Citigroup report on 20 nations said pension obligations, much of them unfunded, amounted to nearly twice the countries' total national debt. (http://nyti.ms/1R2bBtV)
- After failing to obtain approval for its Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, TransCanada Corp said on Thursday that it would buy the Columbia Pipeline Group for $10.2 billion. (http://nyti.ms/1R2ccM2)
- Abengoa SA's global ambitions are now the source of its troubles as it tries to avoid what would be the largest bankruptcy in Spanish corporate history. (http://nyti.ms/1R2bzlF)
- Gustavo Martinez, the chief executive of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, who was accused last week of racist and sexist behavior in a lawsuit that raised questions about the culture of Madison Avenue, has resigned. (http://nyti.ms/1R2bFKc)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** TransCanada Corp is buying Houston-based Columbia Pipeline Group Inc for $10.2 billion in cash to give it a major position in a massive shale gas region in the U.S. Northeast, where it has faced a competitive threat.(http://bit.ly/1Rptmio)
** Suncor Energy Inc is shedding more staff to prepare for lean times in the oil industry to last longer, even as crude prices climb above $40 a barrel for the first time in three-and-a-half months. (http://bit.ly/1Mr6bmA)
** The Liberal government's decision to quietly allow an exemption for seasonal temporary foreign workers is prompting calls from other sectors of the economy that also want restrictions lifted on access to foreign low-skilled labour.(http://bit.ly/1S7LznV)
NATIONAL POST
** Quebec plans to begin rolling back healthcare taxes while avoiding a deficit for a second year in a row, a rare feat among Canadian provinces struggling with slumping commodity prices and bloated balance sheets. (http://bit.ly/1pxZT09)
** The co-founders of Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc are locked in an ugly legal battle with the company, claiming it owes them a staggering $185 million in post-retirement entitlements. (http://bit.ly/1Rp1ZFs)
Britain
The Times
Andrew Witty is to step down as chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline next year after more than three decades at one of Britain's biggest companies. (http://thetim.es/1TRXklJ)
Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh will retire in July and will be succeeded by the company's copper and coal division head, Jean-Sébastien Jacques.(http://thetim.es/1Mc1kuT)
The Guardian
Investors expect Sainsbury's to offer as much as 1.5 billion pounds for Argos on Friday, as the supermarket considers trumping a rival South African bid for the catalogue shop ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline. (http://bit.ly/1Z6sfKy)
The French government has promised a financial bailout for cash-strapped energy group EDF so that it can proceed with the 18 billion pounds plan to build the first nuclear reactors in Britain for 20 years. (http://bit.ly/1VfEnsC)
The Telegraph
The Bank of England has warned that a vote on the UK's membership in the European Union poses risks to economic growth, in a move that sees the central bank become increasingly active in the political debate. (http://bit.ly/1UjcW1D)
The Guardian will cut 250 jobs as it seeks to staunch heavy losses, raising the threat of its first-ever compulsory redundancies. (http://bit.ly/1RRG2PM)
Sky News
Phoenix, the 'zombie' life insurance group, is preparing to launch a takeover bid for Deutsche Bank AG's British insurance unit, Abbey Life, that would accelerate industry consolidation amid sweeping regulatory changes. (http://bit.ly/22nMgBR)
BT Group is to hire Simon Lowth as its new finance chief, handing the former BG executive a rapid return to the top ranks of British business following the oil company's takeover. (http://bit.ly/1R0Wzo9)
The Independent
Coca-Cola has said the British government's plan to introduce a tax on sugar will not reduce obesity and was the wrong way to address the issue. (http://ind.pn/1Mb5X8s)
Austerity is to be extended into the next decade in Chancellor George Osborne's 2016 budget, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. (http://ind.pn/1U9O7G1)