- Islamic State launches militant assault on Indonesia's capital (Reuters [23])
- Three winners emerge in $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot (Reuters [24])
- European Stocks Tumble, Credit Markets Weaken on Growth Concern (BBG [25])
- Stocks and commodity currencies floored by new oil plunge (Reuters [26])
- China Bear Market Looms as PBOC Fails to Stop Flight to Safety (BBG [27])
- Anxious phone calls, tense moments before Iran's Supreme Leader okayed U.S. sailors' release (Reuters [28])
- The Quiet Side of China’s Market Intervention (WSJ [29])
- ECB wary of further action despite uncertain future (Reuters [30])
- Continental Resources CEO Sees Oil Prices Doubling by Year End (WSJ [31])
- The Real Price of Oil Is Far Lower Than You Realize (BBG [32])
- Crude at $10 Already a Reality for Canadian Oil-Sands Miners (BBG [33])
- North Dakota Cities Use Oil Slump to Regroup (WSJ [34])
- Reporting rule adds $3tn of leases to balance sheets globally (FT [35])
- Europe Sees No Letup in Refugee Crisis Amid January Surge (BBG [36])
- Tighter border checks leave migrants trapped in Greece (AP [37])
- Goldman Sees 11% Upside in S&P 500 After an `Emotional' Selloff (BBG [38])
- Africa-China exports fall by 40% after China slowdown (BBC [39])
- Not Too Big to Fail. Too Expensive to Exist (WSJ [40])
- Rajaratnam And 75 Other Reasons Hedge Funds Are Scared Straight (BBG [41])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- Continental Resources Inc's CEO Harold Hamm sees oil prices doubling to $60 a barrel by the end of 2016, a prediction that runs counter to the many analysts who recently have been marking down their oil forecasts.(http://on.wsj.com/1J4oli8 [31])
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc is planning to cut up to 10 percent of its fixed-income traders and salespeople later this quarter, a steeper-than-usual pruning. (http://on.wsj.com/1mWYVZk [42])
- Anheuser-Busch InBev SA received more than $100 billion in orders for a bond offering in which it initially sought to raise $30 billion and ultimately raised $46 billion. (http://on.wsj.com/200RcrG [43])
- General Electric Co plans to move its corporate headquarters to Boston from Connecticut this summer, after being offered incentives worth up to $145 million. (http://on.wsj.com/22ZF909 [44])
- GoPro Inc struggling with disappointing sales of its latest wearable camera, said it would cut about 7 percent of its workforce, or about 105 jobs. (http://on.wsj.com/1ZveJnQ [45])
FT
Brewing giant Anheuser Busch InBev launched a $46 billion bond on Wednesday, after amassing $110 billion in investor orders to help fund its acquisition of rival SABMiller Plc.
Volkswagen AG has promised to "regain the trust" of its customers in the UK who are affected by its attempts to rig diesel emissions tests. However the company said it will not pay any compensation to the 1.2 million motorists.
France's BNP Paribas has agreed to outsource its Asian equities trading platform to global electronic brokerage Instinet as part of significant cutbacks of its Asian investment banking operations.
NYT
- In its latest step to remake itself and its public image as an industrial company for the digital era, General Electric said it was moving its headquarters from its longtime sprawling suburban home in Fairfield, Connecticut, to the high-tech environs of Boston. (http://nyti.ms/1TWP6FF [46])
- Under pressure to devise a fix for its polluting diesel cars, Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Muller met for the first time with a senior government official in the United States to discuss the crisis that has engulfed the German carmaker since September. (http://nyti.ms/1TWP5Br [47])
- Howard University said Wednesday that it would join other broadcasters in taking part in a Federal Communications Commission auction that could entail selling the rights to the spectrum on which it broadcasts the nation's only black-owned public television station. (http://nyti.ms/1TWPcNu [48])
- A lawyer for Iran's central bank faced skepticism at the Supreme Court on Wednesday as he tried to persuade the justices that his client should not have to pay nearly $2 billion to victims of terrorist attacks. (http://nyti.ms/1TWPeF6 [49])
- It is still uncertain when Michael Pearson, chief executive of the troubled drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals , will return to the company, his temporary replacement, Howard Schiller, told investors on Wednesday. (http://nyti.ms/1TWPvb1 [50])
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The Liberal cabinet is looking at fast-tracking infrastructure projects and enacting measures to spur energy-efficiency retrofits of buildings and homes to kick-start an economy beset by collapsing oil prices and a tumbling Canadian dollar. (http://bit.ly/201OTVg [51])
** The Manitoba government is tackling opioid drug abuse in response to a growing number of fatal overdoses in British Columbia and Alberta linked to bootleg fentanyl. The government announced on Wednesday that it has created a task force to address the illegal use of fentanyl. (http://bit.ly/201P5UF [52])
** Magna International Inc has won a major contract to build vehicles for BMW AG that will help it more than double the revenue generated by its assembly business in Europe, industry sources say. (http://bit.ly/201Q3jC [53])
NATIONAL POST
** The nickel market is so grim right now that three-quarters of global production is likely underwater on a cash margin basis, according to the chief executive of Sherritt International Corp. "Nobody's making a lot of money at this price level, by the time you factor in your sustaining capital and your financing costs," David Pathe said in an interview. (http://bit.ly/201S5Ar [54])
** Ontario is generating less electricity from solar panels and wind turbines than it did years ago, despite billions in subsidies to the renewable energy sector, according to data from Statistics Canada. (http://bit.ly/1SjVadM [55])
** The Conservative party will release the rules for the contest to replace Stephen Harper within the month, but there are already signs it will be a fractious affair. The committee convened to draw up the rules for the race will meet Friday at Toronto's Albany Club to hammer out the date of the vote, the nomination deadline, spending limits, the entrance fee and the appeals process. (http://bit.ly/1SjVglD [56])
Britain
The Times
- Quiz Clothing is to open its 300th outlet this year and plans to expand its estate to more than 500. The company recently moved into a larger distribution hub on the outskirts of Glasgow and has about 280 shops and concessions in Britain and overseas. (http://thetim.es/1OrUxbX [57])
- The Scottish economy remains stuck in the slow lane, with few signs of it accelerating in the coming months. Scotland's GDP rose by only 0.1 percent in the third quarter of last year, behind the 0.4 percent increase in the same period for the UK, according to Scottish government figures published yesterday. (http://thetim.es/1OrUCwm [58])
The Guardian
- The European Union and United States are expected to formally lift sanctions against Iran this weekend, dismantling an intricate network of punitive measures built up over nearly a decade and reconnecting Tehran to the global economy. (http://bit.ly/1OrUMnr [59])
The Telegraph
- Home Retail Group Plc said that it was finalising sale documents with Perth-based Wesfarmers, one of Australia's largest companies and owner of the Coles supermarket chain. (http://bit.ly/1OrUb51 [60])
- Premier Oil Plc has swooped on the UK North Sea assets of German energy giant E.ON in a deal worth 120 million pounds ($172.88 million). Under the deal, Premier will take stakes in five separate oilfields, including 100 percent control of the Huntington field. (http://bit.ly/1OrUgpx [61])
Sky News
- HM Revenue and Customs boss Dame Lin Homer has been accused of allowing HSBC Holdings Plc to "get away scot free" after she said it was unlikely to pursue allegations that the bank's Swiss arm helped wealthy clients dodge tax. (http://bit.ly/1OrVSiY [62])
- General Electric Co is poised to cut around 570 UK jobs as part of a shake-up. The announcement follows the $10 billion takeover of French firm Alstom SA's power business. (http://bit.ly/1OrXn0K [63])
The Independent
- Brighton Museums and York Art Gallery were among museums that introduced charges for entry and the numbers are set to grow in 2016 as public funding cuts are forcing museums to close or pay for their tickets. (http://ind.pn/1OrVq4b [64])
- Canada's GMP Securities is shutting its UK business as the natural resources focused stockbroker struggles to cope with the oil and mining downturns. The closure of the firm's London office will lead to the loss of 30 jobs and forms part of an overhaul of its struggling capital markets division. (http://ind.pn/1OrVDEx [65])