- French, U.S. Troops Enter Mali Hotel as Gunmen Hold Hostages (BBG [19])
- Top suspect seen on CCTV in metro during Paris attacks (Reuters [20])
- Paris Attacks’ Alleged Ringleader, Now Dead, Had Slipped Into Europe Unchecked (WSJ [21])
- Global shares march on as alarm bells ring for metals (Reuters [22])
- European Stocks Rise With Asian Shares as Zinc, Ringgit Advance (BBG [23])
- World leaders arrive for summit amid heavy security (Reuters [24])
- Paris Attacks Fan Encryption Debate (WSJ [25])
- Obamacare's Fate May Rest on Patience of Insurers Aetna, Anthem (BBG [26])
- Pfizer Heads for Fight With U.S. on Tax-Saving Allergan Deal (WSJ [27])
- Inside the Money Laundering Scheme That Citi Overlooked for Years (BBG [28])
- Draghi Says ECB Will Do What It Must to Spur Price Gains (BBG [29])
- U.S. probes Bosch in VW cheating scandal - sources (Reuters [30])
- Greece passes bailout bill but government majority shrinks (Reuters [31])
- Goldman Said to Raise $1.3 Billion to Buy Hedge Fund Stakes (BBG [32])
- Syrians flee war to brave smugglers' gauntlet in volatile Latin America (Reuters [33])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Horizon Pharma PLC withdrew its roughly $1 billion unsolicited offer for Depomed Inc after a California court blocked the bid, saying it was based on Horizon's improper use of confidential information. (http://on.wsj.com/1YjyIlg [34])
- Federal regulators approved, on Thursday, the production and commercial sale of a strain of salmon whose DNA has been altered to make it grow faster, marking the first U.S. approval for a genetically modified animal raised for human consumption. (http://on.wsj.com/1YjyMBx [35])
- White House and congressional staffers have asked Silicon Valley executives for new talks in Washington, D.C., to resolve a standoff over encrypted communication tools in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, people familiar with the matter said. (http://on.wsj.com/1YjA6EB [36])
- Pfizer Inc and the U.S. Treasury were on a collision course on Thursday as the company pressed forward with a possible foreign merger that would lower its tax rate even as the government released new rules to curb such deals. The proposed Pfizer combination, with Dublin-based Allergan PLC , would be the largest ever to move a U.S. company to a lower-tax jurisdiction. (http://on.wsj.com/1YjAdjq [27])
- The biggest U.S. health insurer said it has suffered major losses on policies sold on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges and will consider withdrawing from them, adding to worries about the future of marketplaces at the heart of the Obama administration's signature health law. (http://on.wsj.com/1YjAbYS [37])
FT
Overview Greece's parliament passed a reform bill on Thursday needed to unlock 12 billion euros ($12.85 billion) to recapitalize its struggling banks and pay off debt. The reform bill was approved by 153 to 137 votes following a stormy debate that brought the sacking of two deputies from the governing Syriza-led coalition
Germany's co-operative banks DZ Bank and WGZ Bank agreed to merge on Thursday. The merger will create the third-largest banking group in Germany with combined assets of 501 billion euros ($536.57 billion), behind Deutsche Bank AG with assets of 1.7 trillion euros ($1.82 trillion) and Commerzbank which has 564 billion euros ($604.04 billion) in assets. Ride services Uber and Lyft are looking to raise combined $1.5 billion by the end of the year. Uber is looking to raise $1 billion and Lyft is aiming for $500 million from private fundraising. Belgium has said Hungary acted illegally by awarding contracts to a Russian state-owned company, dealing a significant blow to Hungary's plan to build a 12.5 billion euros ($13.39 billion) nuclear power station.
NYT
- Federal regulators on Thursday approved a genetically engineered salmon as fit for human consumption, making it the first genetically altered animal to be cleared for American supermarkets and dinner tables. (http://nyti.ms/1kJKB65 [38])
- With less than 24 hours before the release of Adele's first album in nearly five years, the major digital music services were informed that "25" would not be available for streaming, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans. (http://nyti.ms/1kJKMye [39])
- UnitedHealth Group Inc, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, stunned investors on Thursday morning when it significantly lowered its profit estimates, placing the blame for an expected loss of hundreds of millions of dollars on selling individual policies under the federal health care law. (http://nyti.ms/1kJKWpd [40])
- The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Thursday issued new rules aimed at discouraging American companies from moving their headquarters abroad in search of lower tax rates. (http://nyti.ms/1kJKY0k [41])
- Google said on Thursday that Diane Greene, one of its board members, would now head its cloud business that caters to companies. (http://nyti.ms/1kJL9sB [42])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
- The turnout rate for Sunday's district council elections in Hong Kong is expected to be higher than the 41.5 percent for the 2011 election, after a University of Hong Kong survey found 71 percent of registered voters interviewed intended to vote, up 5 percentage points from a similar survey four years ago. (http://bit.ly/1kHwcqU [43])
- Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has disabled unapproved autopilot functions for Hong Kong drivers after legal concerns emerged that those using the new software would be committing an offence. The transport department has approved the autoparking capability, and two functions that allow cars to automatically change lanes and steer within lanes still await approval. (http://bit.ly/216HCoM [44])
- China's first listed psychiatric hospital is on track to break the mental-health taboo in a country where such illnesses are still stigmatised by traditional perceptions. Due to begin trading on Friday, Wenzhou Kangning Hospital is set to raise HK$681 million ($88 million) in a Hong Kong initial public offering. Founder Guan Weili said overstressed young adults accounted for most of the outpatients. (http://bit.ly/1YjdeFn [45])
THE STANDARD
- Hongkongers are snapping up tour packages to Europe this Christmas, undeterred by the Paris terror attacks and price increases. The Travel Industry Council listed tours to Europe and Asia, with most prices up. June Cheng, assistant general manager at Miramar Travel, said most of its customers view the Paris attacks as a single incident. (http://bit.ly/1jajMWM [46])
- The Securities and Futures Commission is joining the stock exchange in a comprehensive review of listing policies after more abnormal price movements were seen among newly listed stocks on the Growth Enterprise Market this year. The review includes the issues of backdoor listings, highly concentrated shareholdings and corporate misconduct, said chairman Carlson Tong (http://bit.ly/216J6PI [47]).
- Link Asset Management said tenants at its malls can maintain a 6 percent sales growth this year despite a weak retail sector in China and Hong Kong because they sell mass products. Director Fok Yip-sang said he was optimistic on rentals at its EC Mall in Beijing amid a growing middle-class in China and the government supporting consumption. (http://bit.ly/1NG32PI [48])
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
- Alibaba announced the launch of its HK$1 billion ($129 million) Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation to support small new companies in the city. The fund can hold up to 50 percent equity interest in startups.
Britain
The Times
* Bank chiefs face ban after damning HBOS inquiry
Former senior executives of HBOS PLC face the threat of being banned from the City after a damning report into the failure of the bank in 2008.(http://thetim.es/1XcDE99 [49])
* House prices on boil in provincial cities
House price growth in the UK's biggest cities will return to double digits this year as activity in markets that have been slow to recover from the financial crisis begin to heat up. (http://thetim.es/1PCY4sT [50]))
The Guardian
* Spotify to offer staff six months' parental leave on full pay
Spotify is to offer staff up to six months' parental leave with 100% pay as part of a global policy it says recognises the importance of "a healthy work-family balance." (http://bit.ly/1XcDZsD [51])
* DfT hopes 48-hour hackathon will get railways back on track
Department for Transport is turning to the tech world to spark some creative fixes and launching a 48-hour hackathon to improve Britain's trains. An estimated 150 software developers, designers and entrepreneurs from across the world will board trains from London to York on Friday and attempt to find new ways to make the railway more efficient.
The Telegraph
* Beleaguered Rolls-Royce PLC has come under further pressure after activist investor ValueAct, the engineering group's largest shareholder, almost doubled its stake to 10.01 percent. VaueAct became FTSE 100-listed Roll's largest investor in July with a stake of 5.4 pct, intensifying pressure on new chief executive Warren East, who joined just weeks before. (http://bit.ly/1Nf4cY50 [52]
* HBOS PLC's top bosses including former chairman Lord Stevenson and ex-chief executives Andy Hornby and James Crosby could be banned from the finance industry or even from directing any company, as a pair of damning reports found their failures ran the bank into the ground. (http://bit.ly/1LpfzFf [53])
Sky News
* Adele's highly-anticipated new album will not be available on the streaming services Spotify and Apple Music, it has been confirmed. The singer's XL Recording label is not making "25" available on streaming platforms when it is released today. (http://bit.ly/1XcGFGu [54])
* Google is to fight a ruling that it broke anti-monopoly laws in Russia by pre-installing its own apps on Android phones. The country's competition watchdog said Google abused its dominant market position by requiring mobile companies to install Google apps such as YouTube and Google Maps on its Android phones. (http://bit.ly/1lxGM3P [55])
The Independent
* Microsoft Corp will consider introducing Bing into its Skype platform, as its strategy for integrating the search engine into a range of services has helped it challenge Google's domination of the UK market. (http://ind.pn/1j9iVFV [56])
* Police in France have been given huge new powers including the ability to put people under house arrest without trial and to block websites. France's parliament has extended the country's state of emergency for three months, allowing authorities to get access to huge powers that date back to 1955. (http://ind.pn/1Oi5r5R [57])