- Trump faces major test as vote looms on healthcare (Reuters)
- Trump’s Threats to Break Up Banks Aren’t Scaring Wall Street Yet (BBG)
- Trump to ease ban on political activity by churches (Reuters)
- Metals Extend Sell-Off on Mounting Concerns Over Demand in China (BBG)
- Korean Stocks Hit Record Despite Scary Nuclear Rhetoric (WSJ)
- Why the Retail Crisis Could Be Coming to American Groceries (BBG)
- UK's Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, to retire from royal duties (Reuters)
- After North Korea criticism, China says wants to be good neighbor (Reuters)
- In French Election, Youth Reject Establishment in Search for Jobs Cure (WSJ)
- Poll Says Macron Wins Brutal French Debate With Le Pen (Bloomberg)
- France's Macron accuses presidential rival Le Pen of spreading lies (Reuters)
- Tesla plugs older Model S as new buyers turn to Model 3 (Reuters)
- German domestic spy agency expects further cyber attacks before election (Reuters)
- Can Wal-Mart’s Expensive New E-Commerce Operation Compete With Amazon? (BBG)
- U.S. needs to balance foreign alliances: Tillerson (Reuters)
- Google and Facebook’s Idealistic Futures Are Built on Ads (BBG)
- Philippines' Duterte says chat with Xi was at Trump's request (Reuters)
- Google agrees to pay $334 million to settle Italy tax dispute (Reuters)
- In a Twist, Snow Is Keeping Natural Gas Prices Down in Texas (BBG)
- Trump’s Plan to Isolate North Korea Faces Trouble—in the South (WSJ)
- United Air to face second congressional grilling at Senate hearing (Reuters)
- Shell Profit Soars as Oil Sector Bounces Back (WSJ)
- Viacom's profit, revenue beat estimates (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- The National Football League has struck a deal with Verizon Communications Inc to stream one regular-season game in the coming season, in a bet that distributing the matchup free for consumers over the internet will lure more users and advertising dollars to its platforms. on.wsj.com/2pzYQzt
- Facebook Inc continues to sweep digital advertising, alongside rival Google, despite unrest among marketers about how their advertising is handled. Facebook on Wednesday said first-quarter profit surged 76 percent to $3.06 billion. on.wsj.com/2pzGqPk
- With just weeks left for Tesla Inc to meet his tight production deadline for its first mass-market vehicle, Chief Executive Elon Musk sounded confident the goal will be met. on.wsj.com/2pzZm03
- Apple Inc plans to create a $1 billion fund to invest in U.S. companies that do advanced manufacturing, Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Wednesday. on.wsj.com/2pA3dKH
FT
Standard Chartered Plc is in talks with regulators about making Frankfurt its European base to secure market access to the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc.
Facebook Inc will hire 3,000 more people over the next year to speed up the removal of videos showing murder, suicide and other violent acts, in its most dramatic move yet to combat the biggest threat to its valuable public image.
Investor advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has advised shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland to vote against its remuneration policy next week because it is unclear how bonuses will be paid out to senior directors.
Marks & Spencer Group Plc said it had appointed Jill McDonald, the boss of Britain's largest bike seller, Halfords Group Plc, to run its clothing and home business, freeing chief executive Steve Rowe to focus on the overall group.
NYT
- Apple Inc, the world's most valuable public company, said it planned to dedicate resources to American job creation with a $1 billion fund to invest in advanced manufacturing in the United States. The company said it would announce the first investment from its new fund later this month. nyti.ms/2paGdPU
- On Wednesday afternoon, Facebook Inc reported another quarter of huge growth, with nearly 2 billion people actively using the service. Revenue was up 49 percent in the first quarter compared with a year ago. nyti.ms/2paGhiC
- Electric-car maker Tesla Inc said on Wednesday that its losses had widened in the first quarter, but that sales and revenues had grown rapidly as the company prepared for the critical launch of a mass-market model. nyti.ms/2paWB2X
- Staff members at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, among the most powerful voices in the Australian news media, began a weeklong strike on Wednesday over job cuts at Fairfax Media Ltd. nyti.ms/2paWGn1
- With its creditors at its heels and its coffers depleted, Puerto Rico sought what is essentially bankruptcy relief in federal court on Wednesday, the first time in history that an American state or territory had taken the extraordinary measure. nyti.ms/2paGwdw
- House Republican leaders planned to hold a showdown vote Thursday on their bill to repeal and replace large portions of the Affordable Care Act after adding $8 billion to the measure to help cover insurance costs for people with pre-existing conditions. nyti.ms/2paZBfq
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The Canadian government and several provinces are exploring options, including launching legal action against Purdue Pharma, whose pain pill triggered Canada's deadly opioid epidemic after a proposed class-action settlement that reimburses only a fraction of their costs. tgam.ca/2qI4Rrm
** Home Capital Group Inc has had its credit rating slashed again, reflecting dwindling confidence in the beleaguered mortgage lender as depositors flee. tgam.ca/2qI5cKE
** British Columbia Liberal Leader Christy Clark says her threat of a ban or a tax on thermal coal exports, announced just over a week before a provincial election as a shot at the United States over the softwood lumber dispute, would proceed regardless of whether Canada and the United States reach an agreement to end the trade battle. tgam.ca/2qI8MVd
NATIONAL POST
** Torstar Corp lost C$24.4 million, or 30 Canadian cents per share, and cut 110 jobs in the first quarter of 2017, as the company's core traditional revenue streams continued to plummet in line with broad media industry trends. bit.ly/2qIirev
** Home Capital Group Inc's struggles to shore up its liquidity and restore market confidence will take on a new dimension Thursday as the Ontario Securities Commission launches hearings into allegations of misleading disclosure at the embattled mortgage lender. bit.ly/2qIm58c
** Canada substantially boosted its renewable electricity capacity over the past decade, and has now emerged as the second largest producer of hydropower in the world, a report by the National Energy Board said on Wednesday. bit.ly/2qHXCzy
Britain
The Times
* HNA Group, which began life as a single airline, has become the largest shareholder in Deutsche Bank after doubling its stake in the troubled German lender to just under 10 percent. bit.ly/2oZb1XM
* Live Premiership Rugby matches will be shown on terrestrial television for the first time after Viacom signed a seven-figure deal. bit.ly/2oZ6sg8
The Guardian
* Lidl is on track to overtake Waitrose to become the UK’s seventh-biggest grocer as early as this summer as discounters benefit from new store openings and shoppers search out bargains amid a return to food price inflation. bit.ly/2oZ5kJm
* Up to 1,000 bankers working for JPMorgan in the City of London are to be relocated to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg as the U.S. bank becomes the latest to set out Brexit plans. bit.ly/2oZaIvV
The Telegraph
* Marks and Spencer has poached the boss of bicycle and car parts retailer Halfords, Jill McDonald, to revive its ailing clothing, home and beauty business. bit.ly/2paoBUc
* Britain and Brussels will both be better off if they stop wrangling over an enormous Brexit divorce bill and instead focus on the real prize - a deal to preserve the 600 billion pounds ($771.90 billion) of trade which flows back and forth across the Channel each year, according to the Confederation of British Industry. bit.ly/2pae4br
Sky News
* Britain's biggest tobacco distributor, Palmer & Harvey, is to be put up for sale just weeks after sealing a financial rescue package led by two of the world's largest cigarette makers, according to Sky News. bit.ly/2p9M5ZO
* Instant messaging service WhatsApp has suffered a major outage across Western Europe, Asia and America. The Facebook -owned instant messaging app began experiencing problems on Wednesday evening. bit.ly/2pa89Dh
The Independent
* Starbucks is launching two new coffee-based drinks in the UK, as it strives to tap into consumers' growing appetite for healthy beverages. ind.pn/2papaxi
* Standard Chartered has chosen Frankfurt for its main base inside the EU as it prepares for the UK to lose easy access to the single market after Britain exits the trading bloc, the bank's chairman said. ind.pn/2pa8ENF
