- Oil heads for third straight weekly loss as supply weighs (Reuters)
- BOJ’s $2.5 Billion ETF Boost Seen Having Little Impact on Stocks (BBG)
- Japan core CPI seen flat in November, household spending down (Reuters)
- Dollar gets altitude sickness as BOJ disappoints (Reuters)
- Fed Hikes, but Some Rates Veer Lower (WSJ)
- White House calls for ‘common sense steps’ to help Puerto Rico (Reuters)
- Martin Shkreli, Pharma Executive, Arrested on Fraud Charges (WSJ)
- Vilified for drug pricing, CEO Shkreli busted for securities fraud (Reuters)
- Japan’s far-flung island defense plan seeks to turn tables on China (Reuters)
- Hedge-Fund Casualties Jump to 257 in Third Quarter Amid Rout (BBG)
- From Russia with love: Putin, Trump sing each other’s praises (Reuters)
- Manhunt for Texas affluenza teen after he apparently goes missing (Reuters)
- Swiss Regulator Bars 6 Former UBS Workers in Currency Inquiry (NYT)
- The U.S. Pays a Lot More for Top Drugs Than Other Countries (BBG)
- Judge Faults Uber for Confusing Drivers With New Contract (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli – who gained notoriety earlier this year for significantly raising prices on drugs – was arrested on charges of securities and wire fraud based on his former work at a hedge fund. (http://on.wsj.com/1UExWgM)
– Apple Inc, facing renewed questions about its growth prospects, named Senior Vice President Jeff Williams its chief operating officer, filling a role that has been vacant since Chief Executive Tim Cook assumed his post in 2011. (http://on.wsj.com/1IbcQoC)
– Cancer-care giant 21st Century Oncology Holdings Inc agreed to pay $19.75 million to settle allegations that its doctors performed a bladder-cancer test on Medicare patients more often than medically necessary, according to people close to the investigation. (http://on.wsj.com/1NAKNvH)
– Morgan Stanley plans to trim as many as 5 percent of its stock-trading employees early in 2016, part of an annual exercise to cull some of its less critical staff. (http://on.wsj.com/1YomPZA)
– Apple Inc said it plans to bring its mobile-payments service, Apple Pay, to China “as soon as early 2016,” securing agreements with the country’s state-run UnionPay and 15 Chinese banks. (http://on.wsj.com/1Zf7JrF)
FT
A proposed two-day ban on messaging service WhatsApp in Brazil lasted for half a day before a higher court overturned the ban.
Brazilian financier Andre Esteves was released from prison on Thursday in relation to an investigation into corruption at Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
Pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli was arrested on charges of operating a ponzi-like scheme.
The family of Sheldon Adelson has confirmed they were the buyers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Montreal-based music provider Stingray Digital is pushing its international expansion deeper into Asia, acquiring Swiss-based iConcerts, a television station devoted to live music that reaches 250 million households, most of them in the vast Chinese market. (http://bit.ly/1IYbnlN)
** Canadian oil producers should benefit from more favorable pricing over the long term as the United States moves to scrap a four-decade ban on crude oil exports, although the change will not provide relief from the industry’s current painful downturn. (http://bit.ly/1ObrRD9)
NATIONAL POST
** Building the Energy East pipeline will cost almost C$4 billion ($2.9 billion) more than expected, the result of hundreds of tweaks to the project’s design and an expanded terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick, TransCanada Corp said. (http://bit.ly/1ObuF2R)
** PrairieSky Royalty Ltd may have solidified its position as Canada’s premier oil and gas royalty company after its recent deal with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, but the weak commodity price environment will probably still lead to a dividend cut. (http://bit.ly/1Obuyo0)
Britain
The Times
Chris Ronnie, the former chief executive of JJB Sports and a former business partner of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, on Thursday was ordered to pay 633,000 pounds ($943,486.50) for his role in one of the retail industry’s most notorious frauds. (http://thetim.es/1IcdKkN)
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has been ordered to stand trial on negligence charges over her handling of a 403 million euros ($436.85 million) payout to tycoon Bernard Tapie when she was French finance minister. (http://thetim.es/1Ice4jn)
The Guardian
Google enlisted members of the U.S. Congress, whose election campaigns it helped fund, to pressure the European Union to drop a 6 billion euros antitrust case which threatens to decimate the U.S. tech firm’s business in Europe. (http://bit.ly/1IceiHg)
George Osborne is preparing to hand the Bank of England extra powers to rein in the rapidly growing buy-to-let market, in an attempt to prevent landlords exacerbating movements in house prices and threatening financial stability. (http://bit.ly/1Ices1w)
The Telegraph
Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of Heathrow Airport, has accused ministers of putting politics before the economy by delaying a decision on a third runway, in a scathing attack that came shortly after he announced his shock retirement from the airport. (http://bit.ly/1IceEhc)
Solar panel subsidy cuts could result in 18,700 job losses, UK ministers have admitted, as they confirmed payments to homeowners would be slashed in the new year. (http://bit.ly/1IceKoT)
Sky News
The EU is to hold an inquiry into the scandal that saw Volkswagen caught rigging emissions tests. The wide-ranging inquiry could last up to a year and will look into whether the regulatory monitoring of the car industry was too lax amid claims that EU regulators ignored suspicious pollution testing of diesel cars. (http://bit.ly/1IceWVp)
British retail giant Marks & Spencer is to open its first store in Beijing on Friday. Opening the 1,500-square-metre store in the Chinese capital is part of the brand’s strategy to concentrate on flagship branches in large cities while expanding online. (http://bit.ly/1IceWo8)
The Independent
The last batch of round pound coins has been produced at the Royal Mint. Round pound coins are being phased out to make way for a new 12-sided 1 pound coin that will enter circulation in 2017. (http://ind.pn/1Icf7jr)
Guus Hiddink is to be handed the task of rescuing Chelsea’s disastrous season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho, who signed a new 10 million-pound-a-year four-year contract in August after leading Chelsea to the Premier League title last season, was informed of his dismissal at lunchtime in a 10-minute meeting with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy at the club’s Cobham training ground. (http://ind.pn/1IcfjPH)
