- Global Stocks and Bond Yields Rise (WSJ)
- Despite Dissents on White House Policy, Mattis Holds Sway (WSJ)
- Trump’s Travel Ban Won’t Hit the U.S. Economy, At Least This Year (BBG)
- Pundit Brings ‘Global Jihadist Movement’ Theory to White House (WSJ)
- HSBC Plunges After Missing Profit Estimates on Revenue Drop (BBG)
- Euro-Area Economic Recovery Broadens as France Outpaces Germany (BBG)
- Oil rises towards top of recent trading range as OPEC cuts output (Reuters)
- PBOC to Cut Reserve Requirement for Qualifying Banks (Caixin)
- China adjusts yuan midpoint mechanism - sources (Reuters)
- Chinese Banks' Off-Book Wealth Products Exceed $3.8 Trillion (BBG)
- China Relaxes Curbs on Stock-Index Futures Trading (Caixin)
- Yield curve proves hard to steer for nervous BOJ (Nikkei)
- States Push to Raise Gasoline Taxes (WSJ)
- ECB Scouts for Forward Guidance Pitfalls on Road to Stimulus End (BBG)
- Kraft-Unilever Deal Is Off, but Warren Buffett’s Anomalies Live On (WSJ)
- France's Le Pen cancels meet with Lebanon grand mufti over headscarf (Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia Favors New York for Aramco IPO (WSJ)
- Samsung Heir, Seeking to Modernize Opaque Culture, Faces Scandal (WSJ)
- Burger King and Tim Hortons owner nears deal to buy Popeyes (Reuters)
- China opposes U.S. naval patrols in South China Sea (Reuters)
- Seoul Faces Dilemma Between U.S. Protection, China Trade (WSJ)
- The Next Financial Crisis Might Be in Your Driveway (BBG)
Overnight Media Wrap
WSJ
- Deal talks between Kraft Heinz and Unilever are dead, but both consumer-goods giants now find themselves under heightened pressure to make bold moves to accelerate growth.
http://on.wsj.com/2lpm6wk- President Trump selected Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, an active duty Army officer, now director of a key military integration and operations center, as his next national security adviser. http://on.wsj.com/2lpgWjT
- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to be at odds with President Trump on Russia and other key issues, setting up potential discord but also helping to nudge the White House toward more conventional policy stances. http://on.wsj.com/2lpcS36
- Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died unexpectedly Monday, according to an announcement at the U.N. and Russia media reports. http://on.wsj.com/2lp1VOV
- Toys "R" US Inc recently laid off between 10 percent and 15 percent of its corporate employees, the latest retailer to cut jobs as shopping rapidly shifts from physical stores to online ones. http://on.wsj.com/2lpd4PZ
- Uber Technologies Inc said it is investigating claims by a former employee that the company failed to discipline a manager who mistreated female employees and ignored complaints of sexual harassment. http://on.wsj.com/2lpjtKP
- Saudi Arabia <IPO-ARMO.SE> is leaning toward listing its giant, state-run oil company in New York, London or Toronto and has soured on the prospect of floating the firm on an Asian stock exchange. http://on.wsj.com/2lpg4vn
- China's suspension of coal imports from its ally North Korea gives Beijing more leverage to press the U.S. for fresh diplomatic efforts in curbing Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. http://on.wsj.com/2lpqOu1
FT
Britain's business minister urged the government on Monday to seek guarantees that the Vauxhall workforce will be protected if the company is sold to Peugeot manufacturer PSA.
Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest speciality insurance market, appointed Bruce Carnegie-Brown as chairman, it said on Monday, after his nomination was unanimously supported by its council.
Volkswagen UK Managing Director Paul Willis told MPs on Monday that the carmaker had not deceived any UK customers who bought diesel cars fitted with cheating software, but the claim was branded "little short of ridiculous" by Transport Minister John Hayes.
NYT
- Facebook's WhatsApp, unveiled a version of its 'Status' feature that takes a significant number of cues from Snap Inc's messaging app Snapchat. Mimicking Snapchat's Stories feature, WhatsApp's Status now lets people share images, GIFs and videos as a status update, all of which last for 24 hours before disappearing. http://nyti.ms/2lgPW7w
- Kraft Heinz board, including Warren Buffett and the Brazilian-born billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, decided to walk away from a $143 billion takeover bid for Unilever . The alternative would have been to pursue a public and possibly costly fight against Unilever but instead, the two consumer goods giants said on Sunday that Kraft Heinz had withdrawn its takeover bid after an agreement on friendly terms. http://nyti.ms/2lgSDG8
- Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber opened an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment made by a former engineer at the company. The engineer, Susan Fowler, said in a blog post that she was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor during her time at Uber and that after she reported those claims to the human resources department, they were ignored. http://nyti.ms/2lgSoeg
- Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Monday to begin negotiations in Athens as soon as next week over much-needed overhauls in exchange for bailout payments, with Greece appearing to win a reprieve from the crippling austerity that it has faced for years. The agreement fell short of an all-encompassing deal, with key questions unresolved over the shape of the changes to Greece's pensions, as well as its tax and labor rules. http://nyti.ms/2lgYBqQ
Britain
The Times
Unilever Plc is facing calls to simplify its complex shareholder structure amid claims that its convoluted ownership could have helped scupper a proposed 115 billion pound deal with Kraft Heinz Co. http://bit.ly/2m68pSP
The business secretary, Greg Clark, pledged the government's "unbounded commitment" to protect jobs at Vauxhall on Monday amid fears for the British workforce if the business is sold. http://bit.ly/2m68GW3
The Guardian
Greece's bailout inspectors are returning to Athens to seek changes to the country's tax, pensions and labour market laws in a sign that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will give way to European pressure for deeper reforms. http://bit.ly/2m610CV
Bovis Homes Group Plc is to pay 7 million pounds ($8.72 million) to repair poorly built new homes sold to customers, raising fresh questions about the standards of new-build properties across the country and the regulation of the market. http://bit.ly/2m60CV1
The Telegraph
The European Commission wants Britain to be paying into EU projects for four years after it has signed a Brexit deal, with final payments continuing up until the end of 2023, the Daily Telegraph has learned. http://bit.ly/2m5Tx73
Volkswagen AG drivers affected by the "dieselgate" scandal have been left with no choice but to sue the company, according to lawyers acting for drivers. http://bit.ly/2m60apG
Sky News
Executives at Anglo American Plc, the FTSE-100 mining group, face the prospect of forfeiting millions of pounds in share awards following an investor revolt last year which helped provide impetus for a wider government crackdown on boardroom pay. http://bit.ly/2m5W410
The Independent
Global sales of UK food and drink have hit the 20 billion-pound mark for the first time in history, as the government prepares to ramp up its focus on international trade following UK's decision to leave the EU. http://ind.pn/2m5QT0S
