- Futures little changed after Dow, Nasdaq hit records (Reuters); Europe Stocks’ Rally Dims as Banks Drop; Oil Gains (BBG)
- Monte dei Paschi says could run out of liquidity after four months (Reuters)
- Spanish Banks Lose EU Case on Mortgage Interest Repayments (BBG)
- Russia says trust needed for global oil output deal to be success (Reuters)
- U.S. plays down absence from Moscow talks on Syria, says not 'sidelined' (Reuters)
- Leadership rivalry threatens ambitions of Italy's 5-Star Movement (Reuters)
- Germany Rethinks Reluctance Toward Conspicuous Policing (WSJ)
- Clinton lawyer blasts FBI after email search warrant release (Reuters)
- PBOC’s Shadow Banking Curbs Risk Deepening Junk Bond Rout (BBG)
- Oil Extends Its Gains as Report Shows U. S. Stockpile Drop (BBG)
- Judge Says $25 Million Trump University Settlement Is Fair (BBG)
- Bring Back Jobs From China? In Shenzhen, They Aren’t That Worried (WSJ)
- Berlin Christmas markets shut, others tighten security (Reuters)
- Court Orders Airlines to Stop Dumping Poop During Flights (BBG)
- Big Banks Are Stocking Up on Blockchain Patents (BBG)
- Young Americans Living With Parents at a 75-Year High (WSJ)
- Coke moves away from AB InBev with Africa bottling deal (Reuters)
- Saudi Telecom says board approves $100 million Careem stake buy (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Nearly 24 hours after Germany's deadliest terror attack in decades, police said they had been holding the wrong man as their only suspect, reviving fears of more violence and escalating the hunt for at least one perpetrator at large. http://on.wsj.com/2hDFwxu
- Donald Trump's choice for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has helped raise millions of dollars for a prominent West Bank settlement, a connection that could complicate the president-elect's promised effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. http://on.wsj.com/2h86qgq
- Powerful blasts ripped through a sprawling fireworks market outside Mexico City on Tuesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring scores more, the third time in 11 years that the market has been destroyed by such explosions. http://on.wsj.com/2hSUYXb
- The assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey and the apparent terror attack on a Berlin Christmas market underscore the global tinderbox President-elect Donald Trump is set to inherit in coming weeks, and his initial response suggests his White House will take a sharply different approach to such unexpected crises. http://on.wsj.com/2hPIMUL
- The U.S. federal government is increasingly taking money out of Americans' Social Security checks to recover millions in unpaid student debt, a trend set to accelerate as more baby-boomers retire. http://on.wsj.com/2hWthtA
- Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay around $1 billion to repurchase or fix an additional batch of diesel-powered vehicles tainted with emissions-cheating software, resolving what had become a sticking point more than a year into Volkswagen's diesel-emissions crisis. http://on.wsj.com/2h0nD83
FT
- A baggage handler strike which threatened to disrupt Christmas travellers to and from the U.K. was called off, with the leader of the union concerned rejecting allegations that the series of recent strikes has been coordinated to damage the government.
- Germany's Linde and U.S. rival Praxair unveiled preliminary terms of a long-delayed and much scrutinised $65 billion merger that would create the world's largest supplier of industrial gas. Agreement comes after deal talks collapsed in September in the face of dissent from Linde's workers and from its finance director.
- Lawsuits have been brought by BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, BPCE and La Banque Postale over the past month against the European Central Bank in an attempt to get an exemption from holding capital against certain state-backed deposits.
- U.S. regulators and Volkswagen reached a deal to get 80,000 3.0-litre cars equipped with emission-cheating software off the roads. The German carmaker agreed to buy back up to 20,000 units while it offered a recall on the rest to fix them.
NYT
- Brazilian companies Odebrecht SA and Braskem SA , which were under investigation on bribery charges both in the United States and abroad, are expected to reach a settlement and could pay a total of $3 billion, with the bulk likely to go to Brazil. http://nyti.ms/2hTs0pV
- Adam Messinger, Twitter Inc's chief technology officer, said in a Twitter message on Tuesday that he was leaving the company. His departure follows that of Adam Bain, Twitter's chief operating officer, who exited last month. http://nyti.ms/2hTk6wZ
- Volkswagen AG agreed on Tuesday to buy back or fix the remaining diesel cars caught up in its emissions cheating scandal, at an expected cost of about $1 billion, in what has become one of the United States' largest consumer class-action settlements ever. http://nyti.ms/2hTel2c
- Nielsen Holdings Plc, a ratings and consumer-research company that has been struggling to adapt to a changing media landscape, announced Tuesday that it was buying Gracenote, a specialist in entertainment data, from Tribune Media Co for $560 million. http://nyti.ms/2hTgQ4D
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The Liberal Canadian government has joined with U.S. President Barack Obama to restrict oil and gas development in Arctic waters, and regulate fisheries and shipping lanes as the ice cover recedes as a result of climate change. https://tgam.ca/2ievos2
** Russia's ambassador to Canada said the upcoming NATO deployment in Latvia - that Canadian soldiers will lead to deter Moscow's aggression in eastern Europe - would be bad for regional security and an unwise diversion of resources from fighting extremism. https://tgam.ca/2h9pcE0
** Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he accepted the likelihood of protests against his government's controversial approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, but they wouldn't weaken his resolve on the issue and even First Nations have no veto on the project. https://tgam.ca/2hUnDuR
NATIONAL POST
** The federal Conservatives called on the Trudeau Foundation to stop accepting foreign donations after a National Post analysis showed foreign donations increased tenfold since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the Liberal leadership. http://bit.ly/2hFVirU
** The Toronto Transit Commission might have inadvertently said Apple Pay and Android Pay support is coming soon to the city's transit system on Tuesday, though some users said it already works on some routes. http://bit.ly/2ieCKvB
Britain
The Times
- Uber Technologies Inc lost more than $2 billion in the first nine months of the year as it poured money into expanding its taxi-hailing app across the world. http://bit.ly/2hXIjzk
- British Prime Minister Theresa May has forced Deloitte to withdraw from Whitehall contract bids for six months after one of its staff wrote a memo detailing Brexit strains at the heart of government. http://bit.ly/2hXDRRb
The Guardian
- A planned strike by UK airport baggage and check-in staff at 18 airports has been called off, the trade union Unite representing them has announced. http://bit.ly/2hXGeU2
- Police forces across Britain are reviewing their security plans after the Berlin Christmas market attack and remain on high alert. http://bit.ly/2hXEeuY
The Telegraph
- The BBC Trust, the governing body that is soon to be scrapped, gave the go-ahead for BBC Studios, a new subsidiary that will aim to make programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and international buyers such as Netflix. http://bit.ly/2hXuQaC
- Lloyds Banking Group Plc is preparing to take on Barclaycard after swooping on credit card firm MBNA Corp for 1.9 billion pounds ($2.35 billion). http://bit.ly/2hXDaYd
Sky News
- British finance minister Philip Hammond is to publish his next Budget on March 8 - just weeks before the deadline for triggering the Brexit process. http://bit.ly/2hXBe1w
- Sean Bratches, a former executive at the sports broadcaster ESPN, has been approached by Chase Carey, Formula One's new chairman, about assuming responsibility for activities likely to encompass marketing, sponsorship and media rights alliances. http://bit.ly/2hXFRZG
The Independent
- Militant group ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre that targeted Germans and tourists enjoying one of Berlin's most popular Christmas market, calling the perpetrator a "soldier of the Islamic State" obeying calls to attack members of the U.S.-led coalition. http://ind.pn/2hXyD89
- Theresa May's government will need to take a "whole economy" approach to avoid leaving sectors behind after Brexit, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned. http://ind.pn/2hXLXJA
