- EU Slashes 2016 Inflation Forecast to 0.5% as Growth Seen Slower (BBG)
- Bank of England cuts UK growth forecasts (FT)
- Investors Cast Wary Eye on Fed Rate Increases (WSJ)
- U.N. halts Syria talks as government closes in on Aleppo (Reuters)
- Credit Suisse Drops as Investment Bank Slump Deepens Losses (BBG)
- Six OPEC states ready for emergency meeting with non-OPEC members — Venezuela's minister (TASS)
- Redstone seen resigning as Viacom chair after stepping down at CBS (Reuters)
- A Divided Libya Struggles Against Islamic State Attacks (WSJ)
- Shell Profit Drops 44%, Matching Estimates, as Crude Tumbles (BBG)
- Delta Names Bastian CEO as Anderson Departs After Merger Success (BBG)
- WikiLeaks' Assange 'unlawfully detained' in Ecuador embassy, U.N. panel to rule, BBC says (Reuters)
- Oil Seen `Lower for Longer' by Morgan Stanley as Forecasts Cut (BBG)
- Weatherford Cutting 6,000 More Jobs as Oil Downturn Worsens (BBG)
- Beer, Cars and Mortgages? Super Bowl Ads Go Financial This Year (BBG)
- Dunkin' Donuts reports surprise drop in U.S. store sales (Reuters)
- Bond Markets Are Underestimating the Fed, Goldman and Pimco Warn (BBG)
- The Secretive Hedge Fund That's Generating Huge Profits for Yale (BBG)
- Democratic hopefuls Sanders and Clinton spar over 'progressive' credentials (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Investors are rethinking their expectations for interest-rate increases this year, converging on a view that the U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise rates in March and possibly not even for the rest of the year. (http://on.wsj.com/1meG5MI)
- Sharp Corp has decided to enter exclusive talks with Taiwanese electronics assembler Foxconn over a takeover, people familiar with the matter said Thursday, in a last-minute turnabout that could clear the way for one of the most prominent investments by a foreign company in Japan. (http://on.wsj.com/1PBxm35)
- Media mogul Sumner Redstone is stepping back from the helm of an entertainment empire that includes some of the most iconic names in American business. Redstone has resigned as chairman of CBS Corp and will be succeeded by Chief Executive Leslie Moonves, the company said Wednesday. (http://on.wsj.com/1SHSghN)
- Millions of pounds of provisions, stuffed into three-dozen 747 cargo planes, arrived at Caracas from countries around the world in recent months to service Venezuela's crippled economy. But instead of food and medicine, the planes carried another resource that often runs scarce here: bills of Venezuela's currency, the bolivar. (http://on.wsj.com/20rjq2z)
FT
* DraftKings is planning to launch in the UK looking for international revenues to "mitigate the risk" of being regulated out of the U.S. The company had planned to make its games available to British users on Wednesday night, but the launch was delayed because of technical issues.
* Mondelez International Inc warned investors that it has braced for a further downfall in economic conditions in emerging markets, as the company gave a cautious outlook for the year.
* Bain and TPG are among several private equity firms weighing potential approaches for Yahoo Inc's core internet business, after the struggling company announced it was exploring options for the unit.
* ChemChina sought to pre-empt political opposition to its $43.8 billion bid for Syngenta AG, saying that China's biggest overseas takeover should not alarm politicians wary of the attempt to shore up the country's food security
NYT
- Bad debts have been a drag on economic activity ever since the financial crisis of 2008, but the threat appears to be rising, and China is the biggest source of worry. (http://nyti.ms/1R4rZdL)
- In the latest sign that automakers are still struggling to understand the scope of the Takata Corp airbag crisis, Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Wednesday that it would expand its recall by more than a third in North America. (http://nyti.ms/1Qe1dL0)
- Media mogul Sumner Redstone, under pressure from shareholders and facing a lawsuit challenging his mental competence, has resigned as executive chairman of CBS Corp . The company's board announced on Wednesday that it had appointed Leslie Moonves, the CBS chief executive, as his successor. (http://nyti.ms/1Pjg5YI)
- State-owned China National Chemical Corporation, known as ChemChina, has clinched a deal to buy Syngenta AG, a giant in farm chemicals and seeds, for $43 billion, underscoring China's desire to secure a sustainable food supply for its population of 1.4 billion people. (http://nyti.ms/20aIIMT)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Lowe's Inc got it right the second time. The U.S. home improvement chain has won a C$3.2 billion ($2.34 billion) deal to acquire Quebec based Rona Inc by taking some savvy steps to get key stakeholders in the province on board. (http://bit.ly/1SXHEga)
** Quebec Economy Minister Dominique Anglade warned in an interview that her government would intervene in future takeovers of Quebec based companies if the offers are non solicited. (http://bit.ly/20bdZ2a)
** TransCanada Corp said it has an agreement with the Canadian arm of Zurich based ABB for the manufacture of at least 22 electrical stations in the Montreal area. The deal is valued at "several million dollars".
NATIONAL POST
** The National Energy Board shouldn't make a decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project "by a show of hands", a lawyer for a group of Canada's largest oil companies argued Wednesday. (http://bit.ly/1PC3B20)
** Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Emanuella Enenajor says that, based on her calculations, the Canadian government could spend as much as an additional C$15 billion ($10.95 billion) annually and still meet its goal of lowering the debt to GDP ratio. (http://bit.ly/1SJUe1g)
** Colorado based Intrawest, which operates popular North American ski properties including Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Blue Mountain in Ontario, said season pass sales increased six percent compared to the prior year. (http://bit.ly/1NRIgMx)
Britain
The Times
Graham's The Family Dairy is to supply Starbucks Corp with cream and milk in all its Scottish outlets, making the Bridge of Allan company the exclusive supplier to 68 coffee shops. (http://thetim.es/1PVq4Jq)
GlaxoSmithKline Plc claimed yesterday that it would hit a key sales target two years early, saying that its strategy was paying off in defiance of calls for the company to be broken up. (http://thetim.es/1PVqoYI)
The Guardian
Sports Direct has backed down from its legal battle with Rangers football club and abandoned efforts to prevent disclosure of the pair's joint venture, which has made the Old Firm club about 4 pence from every pound spent in its Ibrox store. (http://bit.ly/1PVsMhT)
EasyJet Plc founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's budget food store, which charges just 25p each for everyday groceries, has been forced to close temporarily after less than two days as it has run out of stock. (http://bit.ly/1PVsUhA)
The Telegraph
Tens of millions of mobile phone customers in Britain could see their bills frozen as part of a plan by Hutchison to gain approval for its 10.25 billion pounds ($14.96 billion) merger of Three and O2. (http://bit.ly/1PVs6t4)
Sky News
Ford Motor Co is to shed hundreds of jobs in the UK and Germany as part of a programme to save $200 million a year. The group said it was launching a voluntary redundancy programme as it looked to slash costs across its European business, in the face of mounting regulatory costs. (http://bit.ly/1PVr2VZ)
David Cameron is to pledge an extra 1.2 billion pounds ($1.75 billion)of UK aid to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis as he co-hosts a major international conference in London. (http://bit.ly/1PVshEC)
The Independent
Britons take 12 years longer than they think they will to pay off their debts, according to a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. (http://ind.pn/1PVsnMt)