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Frontrunning: June 21

  • Republican Handel Wins Georgia House Seat, Dashing Democrats’ Hopes (BBG)
  • Uber CEO Kalanick Quits as Investors Revolt (WSJ)
  • Saudi King’s Surprise Shakeup Clears Son’s Path to the Throne (BBG)
  • After weeks of secrecy, U.S. Senate to unveil healthcare bill (Reuters)
  • Latest Election-Hacking Hearings to Focus on State-Level Events (WSJ)
  • Trump’s Net Worth Slips to $2.9 Billion as Towers Underperform (BBG)
  • Oil Returns to Bear Market (WSJ)
  • Brexit Dominates May's Program as Some Manifesto Pledges Ditched (BBG)
  • Wal-Mart to Vendors: Get Off Amazon’s Cloud (WSJ)
  • China shares get MSCI nod in landmark moment for Beijing (Reuters)
  • China Firms Might Need to Shape Up After Index Lays Out Red Carpet (WSJ)
  • America Is Now a ‘Second Tier’ Country (BBG)
  • Insurance Startup Oscar Raises Its Bet on Affordable Care Act (WSJ)
  • Death of U.S. student held by North Korea shocks fellow ex-detainees (Reuters)
  • The Future of Drone Delivery Hinges on Predicting the Weather Block by Block (BBG)
  • Tokyo Takes Lead in Toshiba Chip-Unit Sale Over China Fears (WSJ)
  • A daily conundrum in convulsed Venezuela: will my kids make it to school? (Reuters)
  • Germany Warns U.S. Against Ceding Lead Role to China, Russia (BBG)
  • Take a Look at the States Sending the Most Carbon Into the Air (BBG)
  • Theranos, Walgreens Reach Deal to Settle Lawsuit (WSJ)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- Saudi Arabia's King Salman named his son as the country's new crown prince, the country's state news agency said, a move that carries far-reaching implications for the monarchy and the biggest economy in the Middle East. on.wsj.com/2soS9BE

- ??British prosecutors charged the former chief executive of Barclays PLC with fraud and illegal payments, the most prominent and most senior banker to be charged with crimes relating to the global financial crisis. on.wsj.com/2soE0nL

- Nestle SA has bought a stake in startup Freshly — a small investment in home-delivered food that comes as the Swiss food-and-drinks giant struggles with slow-growing demand. on.wsj.com/2soLxTL

- Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is investing $100 million into a Boston-based cybersecurity firm run by former Israel counter-intelligence members, the latest high-profile cash injection into a bustling industry offering newfound defenses against global hackers. on.wsj.com/2soHYwG

- Chinese tycoon Wang Shi said he will step down from the board of China Vanke Co Ltd, one of China's largest home builders. Wang's announcement comes as a prolonged takeover battle for control of Vanke appears to have reached an end. on.wsj.com/2soD96z

 

FT

British Prime Minister Theresa May will begin the delicate task of running a minority government on Wednesday, after talks with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist party failed to produce a deal in time.

The number of eastern Europeans applying to work in Britain has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, researchers at the Oxford Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford have found.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Tuesday he is not preparing a tax and spending spree and will stick to his target of balancing the government's books by 2025, even as he admitted voters in June's general election were "weary after seven years of hard slog" after the financial crisis.

Barclays Plc and four former top executives, including former CEO John Varley, were charged by UK authorities on Tuesday with fraud related to the emergency cash injections that saved the bank from a government bailout at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

UK retailers are becoming concentrated in fewer, "prime" locations as online shopping depletes demand for premises and the number of empty shops rises, according to a study by estate agency Colliers.

 

NYT

- Index provider MSCI Inc announced in New York that it would add domestic Chinese stocks to its influential emerging markets benchmark. nyti.ms/2sp1CsD

- A draft of an executive order obtained by The Times appears to give the drug industry what it wants with no guarantee that consumer costs will fall. nyti.ms/2soRkZi

- Despite Libya's political instability, its production has grown to 885,000 barrels a day, undercutting OPEC's efforts to shrink supplies worldwide. nyti.ms/2soja8c

- Ford Motor Co, which canceled plans to build in Mexico under pressure from President Trump, will also invest in a Kentucky plant for SUVs. nyti.ms/2soNRdo

- The criminal charges against the British bank Barclays Plc and four former executives take aim at how it avoided a government bailout during the financial crisis. nyti.ms/2sooPLo

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Top executives in charge of customer experience and branding are leaving Rogers Communications Inc as part of changes to the company's organizational structure under new CEO Joe Natale. tgam.ca/2sSMGV5

** An executive shakeup at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is redrawing senior roles and putting fresh blood in charge of core businesses. tgam.ca/2sSZjj7

NATIONAL POST

** Divisions within the Canadian oilpatch are coming into sharp relief as a number of mid-sized producers have quit the country’s largest industry association amid rifts over carbon tax policies and pricey membership. bit.ly/2sSRk5i

** Alternative mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc announced Tuesday that its subsidiary has entered into an agreement with KingSett Capital to sell a portfolio of commercial mortgage assets valued at about $1.2 billion, giving the embattled company some much needed liquidity to pay down a pricey emergency credit line. bit.ly/2rUBFO7

 

Britain

The Times

* Pallinghurst Resources, a private equity group run by Brian Gilbertson, the former boss of BHP Billiton, said that it now had effective control of 61 percent of Gemfields stock, scuppering a rival offer by Fosun International. bit.ly/2syhyr3

* Aston Martin has ordered a global recall of 1,658 of its Vantage model after problems with a routine software update led to cars in China stalling and losing power at high speed. bit.ly/2syhS9h

The Guardian

* The Serious Fraud Office charged former Barclays Chief Executive John Varley and three former colleagues – Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath – with offences after a five-year investigation into the events surrounding the 11.8 billion pounds emergency fundraising conducted by the bank in 2008. bit.ly/2syuaOI

* A Brexit deal that puts jobs and prosperity first is the only way the UK will be able to deliver the strong growth that will enable it finally to escape from the long years of austerity, said British Finance Minister Philip Hammond. bit.ly/2syrEIi

The Telegraph

* Bombardier has landed its biggest ever contract for its Aventra trains, with an order for 750 engines and carriages from the new operators of Britain's South Western network. bit.ly/2syeUSb

* Uber has agreed to allow its drivers to collect tips through its smartphone app and has reduced the cancellation windows for customers, in an effort to improve its troubled relationship with its drivers. bit.ly/2syq9dk

Sky News

* Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, is expected to give her verdict on Twenty-First Century Fox's 18.5 billion pounds takeover of Sky plc the owner of Sky News, by Thursday next week. bit.ly/2sy4TEd

* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has outlined his opposition to a rise in interest rates as pressure for an increase builds at the Bank of England. bit.ly/2syjJdX

The Independent

* Speaking at an industry event in London on Tuesday, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, cautioned that Brexit could lead to "permanent damage" and "death by a thousand cuts" in investment that could lead to a surge in the price of new cars from Europe by as much as 1,500 pounds. ind.pn/2syua1c

* The Confederation of British Industry on Tuesday bumped up its forecast for economic growth in Britain, reflecting strong momentum towards the end of last year rather than any fundamental change to its view. ind.pn/2syshlk