- Futures fall as Fed gives no clarity on next rate hike (Reuters)
- Yellen Eyes Commercial Real-Estate Froth as Fed Weighs ’17 Risks (BBG)
- Trump Slams ‘Dumb Deal’ With Ally Australia After Testy Call (BBG)
- For Many Firms, Trump Dominates Earnings Calls (WSJ)
- Trump’s Blue-Collar Populism Is Dividing Unions (BBG)
- Trump's defense chief, in Seoul, takes stock of North Korea threat (Reuters)
- Tillerson’s Vow to Keep Away From Exxon Runs Into a World of Oil (BBG)
- Deutsche Bank Posts Loss as Litigation Costs Bite (WSJ)
- Syrian army says it will press on against Islamic State near Aleppo (Reuters)
- Seven Cases Where the Supreme Court Sided With Neil Gorsuch (And One Time It Didn’t) (BBG)
- Factory Skills Gap Could Spell Trouble for Trump’s Jobs Plan (BBG)
- Here's a Glimpse of the Global Trade Carnage From a U. S. Border Tax (BBG)
- Fed’s Bonds Are Growing Up, and That Means Less Economic Support (WSJ)
- U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid (Reuters)
- Europe must remain committed to openness: Draghi (Reuters)
- Who Will Pay for San Francisco's Tilting, Sinking Millennium Tower? (BBG)
- Japan considers buying more U.S. energy as Abe prepares to meet Trump (Reuters)
- Sony Says It Won’t Sell Movie Unit (WSJ)
- Snap's secrecy frustrates banks' pursuit of IPO glory (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
FT
* Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to take Britain out of the European Union easily cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, paving the way for the government to launch divorce talks by the end of March.
* Facebook Inc shares rose more than 2 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the world's largest online social network reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by continued growth in mobile advertising.
* U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday signalled a tougher stance on Tehran declaring that it has put Iran "on notice", following a weekend missile test by the Islamic republic.
NYT
- Anthony Scaramucci, an investment firm founder and a Republican donor, will not be taking a senior job at the White House as previously announced, a senior administration official said Wednesday. http://nyti.ms/2ksRZWx
- Sales for social media giant Facebook grew 51 percent in the most recent quarter, and even a jury verdict that went against the company earlier in the day did little to diminish enthusiasm about its finances. http://nyti.ms/2ksSikt
- A partnership with H&R Block shows IBM's strategy for artificial intelligence: Watson will be a smart assistant tailored for specific industries. http://nyti.ms/2ksGOgO
- Rex W. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 56-to-43 vote to become the nation's 69th secretary of state just as serious strains have emerged with important international allies. http://nyti.ms/2ksFVES
- Bosch will pay $327.5 million to vehicle owners in the United States over claims that it helped devise software used to cheat on emissions tests. http://nyti.ms/2ksQZSn
- SoFi, or Social Finance as it is officially known, announced Tuesday that it was acquiring a company, Zenbanx, allowing SoFi to offer checking accounts, credit cards and international money transfers to its customers. http://nyti.ms/2ksFhXL
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Quebec's securities regulator is proposing to ban the sale of short-term binary options to the general public, saying the securities are being used in scams. https://tgam.ca/2kUWLg3
** PointClickCare Technologies Inc has delayed its plans to go public and instead has raised $85 million in a private financing led by San Francisco fund Dragoneer Investment Group. https://tgam.ca/2jGs9dl
NATIONAL POST
** One of the founders of WestJet Airlines Ltd is making another foray into Canada, this time with a 72-year-old Portuguese airline that will begin flying to Toronto in June. http://bit.ly/2kZvKo1
** The Liberal government is breaking its promise to change Canada's voting system, though just Tuesday it was stringing along opposition parties with hopes for collaboration. http://bit.ly/2jGpnF6
Britain
The Times
- Tesco could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores unless it can convince regulators that its 3.9 billion pound ($4.94 billion) merger with Booker will not harm competition. Analysis by the data team at The Times has found there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker's network of Premier, Londis and Budgens stores, raising fears about the impact on consumers, suppliers and rivals. http://bit.ly/2k0pmiG
- Emerald Investment Partners withdrew from the bidding for Punch Taverns, leaving the field clear for Heineken and Patron Capital Advisers to complete their recommended 1.8 billion pound deal. http://bit.ly/2k0wCLf
The Guardian
- The European commission's Brexit negotiators must strike a "workable" deal with Theresa May's government to protect the City of London or the economies of the remaining member states will be damaged, a leaked EU report warns. http://bit.ly/2k0DZ5v
- Deutsche Bank said it will stop financing coal projects as part of its commitments under the Paris agreement to tackle global warming. The lender said the decision was in line with the pledges it made at last year's Paris climate conference, along with 400 other public and private companies, to help fight global warming. http://bit.ly/2k0ybJl
The Telegraph
- Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods giant behind Dettol, Durex and Nurofen, has revealed $16.7 billion takeover talks with U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson. The FTSE 100 company announced that it was in advanced negotiations about a deal that would value the U.S. group at $90-a-share. http://bit.ly/2k0ukvK
- The Guardian has warned staff of further heavy losses, as the newspaper said it expects to burn through another 90 million pounds in cash this year. It has recorded negative cash flow of 60 million pounds so far in the current financial year and is on track for another 30 million pounds by April, executives told a meeting at its King's Cross headquarters. http://bit.ly/2k0Jf91
Sky News
- Peter Jackson, a former chief executive of Travelex, the foreign currency provider, will be named on Thursday as the new managing director of Worldpay UK. Mr Jackson, who also serves as a non-executive director of Santander UK, Britain's fifth-biggest bank, will replace Dave Hobday. http://bit.ly/2k0ybsy
- The European Union says it is on course to deliver on its promise of an end to mobile phone roaming charges from 15 June for EU residents travelling in the bloc. It announced on Wednesday that it had cleared the final hurdle by agreeing caps on wholesale charges - the amount phone operators charge each other when their customers use their phones abroad - following exhaustive negotiations. http://bit.ly/2k0z2cN
The Independent
- Ken Morrison, the founder of supermarket chain Morrisons , who was instrumental in growing the company into one of Britain's leading retailers, has died at the age of 85. http://ind.pn/2k0B9xp
