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Frontrunning: March 3

  • Global stocks, oil dip, but markets calm down as growth fears ease (Reuters)
  • Greece cannot carry migrant burden on its own: PM Tsipras (Reuters)
  • New Migrant Crisis Flares in Greece (WSJ)
  • Qatar's BeIn Media buys U.S. film studio Miramax (Reuters)
  • Nanny who beheaded Russian girl cites revenge for Putin's Syria strikes (Reuters)
  • Elliott Management’s wager on Argentinian government bonds has yielded $2.4 billion (WSJ)
  • Tesla's Getting More Rivals as VW Scandal Clouds Diesel Outlook (BBG)
  • Samsonite Nears Deal to Buy Luxury Luggage Maker Tumi (WSJ)
  • Macau's Economy Shrinks 20% in 2015 Amid Casino Gaming Slump (BBG)
  • UBS France Confirms it Is Under Investigation for Alleged Witness Tampering (BBG)
  • No Political Deal Likely in Syria, Despite Shaky Cease-Fire (WSJ)
  • Fastest-Growing Region in the Americas Is Loving the Oil Slump (BBG)
  • Alaska’s Biotech Sugar Daddy Is Showering Money on Startups (BBG)
  • SunEdison’s Troubles Darken Prospects of Vivint Deal (WSJ)
  • Euro-Area Companies Cut Prices as Recovery Loses Momentum (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- Elliott Management's wager on Argentinian government bonds has yielded $2.4 billion after many twists and turns in a contentious battle with the South American country. (http://on.wsj.com/1QmWSIo)

- The mounting financial woes of SunEdison Inc, once a Wall Street darling, have jeopardized the solar energy company's plans to purchase Vivint Solar Inc. (http://on.wsj.com/1QmWUjj)

- Goldman Sachs Group Inc is likely to withdraw a bid on a $3 billion Russian bond deal after the U.S. government last week cautioned Wall Street firms against pursuing the business, people familiar with the matter said. (http://on.wsj.com/1QmX2zA)

- U.S. airlines hustled to apply for access to 20 daily flights to Havana before a Transportation Department deadline Wednesday, as U.S. and Cuban officials prepared to restart scheduled air service between the two nations for the first time in over 50 years. (http://on.wsj.com/1QmX8XN)

- Samsonite International SA is nearing a deal to buy luxury luggage maker Tumi Holdings Inc, according to people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/24CLrDL)

 

FT

Qatar's BeIn Media Group said it would buy film studio Miramax, the producer behind cult movies such as "Pulp Fiction".

Rolls-Royce has appointed a partner from its largest shareholder, ValueAct Capital, to its board after the U.S. activist investor built up a stake in the British engineer following a string of profit warnings last year.

According to the French economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, France would relocate its migrant camp from Calais to Britain and roll out "a red carpet" for bankers leaving London if the UK leaves the EU.

 

NYT

- Former Chesapeake Energy Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon, who was indicted on federal bid-rigging charges accusing him of conspiring to suppress prices for oil and natural gas leases, died in a car crash in Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning. (http://nyti.ms/1oQTJqI)

- Volkswagen acknowledged on Wednesday that its former chief executive Martin Winterkorn was given a memo in May 2014 that contained information about irregularities in the emissions of its diesel cars, well over a year before the company publicly admitted cheating on pollution tests.(http://nyti.ms/1QUPpne)

- Miramax, one of Hollywood's best-known independent film and television labels, was acquired by the beIN Media Group, a sports and media company headed by Qatari executive Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the companies said on Wednesday.(http://nyti.ms/1poxOb4)

- Seeking to entertain the elusive millennial, Verizon Communications and media powerhouse Hearst announced on Wednesday the formation of a joint venture to develop programming for young adults to watch on their phones. (http://nyti.ms/1Y3MWX0)

 

Britain

The Times

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, the aero-engineer which has warned on profits five times in two years, has appointed the activist investor that is its biggest shareholder to its board. Bradley Singer, a partner and the chief operating officer of ValueAct, will be a non-executive director and join the board with immediate effect. (http://thetim.es/1RIpD2H)

Activity in the UK's construction sector slumped to a 10-month low in February, as growth in the housebuilding sector appeared to lose momentum and businesses become uncertain about the future ahead of the EU referendum. (http://thetim.es/1RIpWKQ)

The Guardian

A financial institution, Green Investment Bank, set up by the UK government to accelerate Britain's green power revolution could end up being sold to private equity firms and fund wind farms in Germany. (http://bit.ly/1LW7euz)

The chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is owned by BMW, has written to all its workers in Britain to warn that exit from the European Union would drive up costs and prices and could affect the company's "employment base". (http://bit.ly/1ninNKT)

The Telegraph

The UK's embattled steel sector faces fresh pressure after the US government stepped in to protect its domestic industry against the growing glut of cheap Chinese supply, industry groups have warned. (http://bit.ly/1LWo7W4)

A recession in Europe could lead to the collapse of the eurozone, as the single currency would buckle under the political turmoil unleashed by a fresh downturn, according to economists at Swiss bank Credit Suisse. (http://bit.ly/1RHtqNz)

Sky News

BlackRock Inc, the world's biggest fund manager, has warned that a UK exit from the European Union is likely to see a reduction in the size of the UK financial services industry. (http://bit.ly/1QMCCwO)

Jane Shepherdson, the former boss of Top Shop, is in talks with prospective buyers eight years after being installed as Whistles' chief executive. (http://bit.ly/1QsKkgp)

The Independent

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-prize winning economist, has said that the United Kingdom could be better off leaving the European Union if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership passes. (http://ind.pn/1Rp9QTJ)