Financial Markets and Economy
BOE’s McCafferty Sees Prolonged Period of Above-Target Inflation (Bloomberg)
U.K. inflation will accelerate quickly above the the Bank of England’s 2 percent target and could stay there for a prolonged period, according to policy maker Ian McCafferty.
Yen Slides After BOJ Stays Committed to Yield Curve Control (Bloomberg)
The yen slumped on selling by leveraged funds after the Bank of Japan closed a tumultuous year for monetary policy by keeping its yield-curve and asset-purchase programs unchanged while pledging to keep expanding the monetary base until inflation is above 2 percent.
Bond Selloff Shows Risks of China’s Efforts to Restrain Credit (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s newly troubled bond market is showing how difficult it will be for Beijing to restrain the easy credit that rapidly expanded the country’s indebtedness over the past decade.
A $55 Billion Manager Who Bought at Market Low Returns to Cash (Bloomberg)
David Samra, the award-winning stock picker, is boosting cash holdings close to their limit in a market he sees as lacking buying opportunities.
U.K. Retail Sales Grow at Fastest Pace in More Than a Year (Bloomberg)
U.K. retail sales grew at their fastest annual pace in more than a year this month, according to the Confederation of British Industry, which also warned that pressure on shoppers’ budgets could increase over the coming year.
Neutral PBOC Sets Up First U.S.-China Tightening Since 2006 (Bloomberg)
China’s leaders are pledging a harder push to rein in risk next year and emphasizing prudent and neutral monetary policy. With the Federal Reserve flagging a steeper interest-rate path, that sets the scene for the first U.S.-China tightening since 2006.
India Stokes Nuclear Weapon Concern in Bid to Join Atomic Cartel (Bloomberg)
India’s bid to join the elite club of nations that control nuclear trade continues to stoke concern among arms-control advisers, who warn that membership may undermine rules designed to cap the spread of atomic weapons.
Ukraine's largest bank rescued by state, Poroshenko urges depositors to stay calm (Reuters)
Ukraine took over its largest bank on Monday in a move backed by Kiev's international donors to protect the country's financial system and accompanied by an appeal from President Petro Poroshenko for calm and assurances to depositors.
U.S. Factories Are Working Again; Factory Workers, Not So Much (The Wall Street Journal)
Factories were humming back to life even before a pledge to revitalize American manufacturing helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency.
Koch escalates tax reform battle with report on gasoline prices (Reuters)
A Koch Industries-funded report warned on Friday U.S. gasoline prices would rise if Congress passed a Republican proposal to adjust U.S. corporate tax rates to favor exports over imports, escalating a lobbying battle over the measure.
As yuan weakens, Chinese rush to open foreign currency accounts (Reuters)
Zhang Yuting lives and works in Shanghai, has only visited the United States once, and rarely needs to use foreign currency. But that hasn’t stopped the 29-year-old accountant from putting a slice of her bank savings into the greenback.
German Business Confidence Improves as Growth Strengthens (Reuters)
German business sentiment rose to the highest level in almost three years in December, signaling growth in Europe’s largest economy picked up speed toward the end of the year.
Danone Sales Growth to Miss Target as Spain, Activia Falter (Bloomberg)
Danone, the world’s biggest yogurt maker, said sales growth will be slightly below its target for 2016 as fresh dairy shipments drop for a third year, hurt by weak demand in Spain and a slower-than-expected revamp of the Activia yogurt brand across Europe.
Digital currency sales take off, but with no regulation questions abound (Reuters)
A small, but rapidly growing number of digital technology start-ups is raising cash by creating and selling their own currencies in offerings that bypass banks or venture capital firms as intermediaries and are outside the reach of financial regulators.
Energy ‘Tsunamis’ Threaten to Drag Oil Down to $10, Engie Says (Bloomberg)
The oil industry must brace for five energy “tsunamis” that threaten to drag prices as low as $10 a barrel in less than a decade, according to Engie SA’s innovation chief.
Turkey Central Bank Unexpectedly Keeps Key Rates Unchanged (Bloomberg)
Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly kept all of its three main interest rates unchanged, and said a “cautious monetary policy” would be maintained as it assesses the impact of a weaker lira on inflation. The lira reversed gains.
Japan eyes record spending, less new debt in financial year 2017/18 budget: draft (Reuters)
Japan's government plans an initial budget of a record 97.45 trillion yen ($830 billion) for fiscal 2017, while keeping new debt issuance just below this year's level, a draft of the budget seen by Reuters showed.
European Stocks Lifted by Deal Activity Head for One-Year High (Bloomberg)
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent at 11:53 a.m. in London, with the volume of shares traded about a fourth lower than the 30-day average. The benchmark closed little changed yesterday, following two weeks of gains. Analysts are upbeat about profit growth at its members next year, expecting an increase of 12.5 percent.
Europe’s Top Banks Feed Debt Takeover Growth at Hoist of Sweden (Bloomberg)
A Swedish firm that makes money by restructuring the debt of Europe’s biggest banks plans to move into more countries across the region as lenders increasingly offload their bad loans to meet stricter capital requirements.
Companies
JPMorgan Declares Debt the New Frontier in Battle for ETF Assets (Bloomberg)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is opening a new front in Wall Street’s battle for domination of the market for exchange-traded funds: debt.
Aramco IPO Could Still Be in U.S. as Kingdom Plays Down Rift (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia could still decide to sell shares of oil giant Aramco in New York, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said, even after the U.S. passed a law that allows victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the kingdom.
Ericsson Said to Weigh 1,000 Job Cuts After Italy Contract Loss (Bloomberg)
Ericsson AB is considering cutting about 1,000 jobs in Italy, about a quarter of its local workforce, after losing out on a contract to manage the country’s largest wireless network, according to people familiar with the matter.
Technology
BlackBerry's Software Sales Still Aren't Making Up for Smartphone Retreat (Reuters)
BlackBerry on Tuesday posted an adjusted profit that beat expectations even as revenue dropped sharply, as the software growth it is relying on failed to fully make up for its retreat from handsets and lost service fees.
Samsung's Terrible 2016 Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way (Fortune)
At the beginning of the year, 2016 looked bright for Samsung. Anticipation reached a fever pitch over the company’s grand smartphone ambitions, its televisions and other electronics were well-received at CES—the industry’s biggest electronics confab, in January—and it was one of the few companies in the mobile business aside from Apple actually making money.
BlackBerry Earmarks $75 Million for Self-Driving Car Test Hub (Reuters)
Canada’s BlackBerry plans to invest C$100 million ($75 million) in a new autonomous vehicle testing hub over several years, the company’s chief executive said on Monday, as the fallen smartphone pioneer looks elsewhere for growth.
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F320867%2F6bb6f2fe-c605-448b-8d4e-db78808804a5.jpg)
6 ways this luxury smartwatch will make your life better — and more stylish (Mashable Asia)
The Samsung Gear S3 is the luxurious, understated watch for the tech enthusiast with a sense of style. With an innovative interior technology and a fashion-forward exterior, it’s the perfect blend of form and function.
EU to Facebook: What's with that misleading WhatsApp info? (CNet)
The EU delivered a lump of coal to Facebook on Tuesday in the form of a complaint that could cost the company a vast sum of money.
LG's Full HD laser projector is bright enough for daytime use (Engadget)
LG has unveiled a compact laser projector that, depending on the price, could appeal to a lot of folks. The LG ProBeam features 1080p (Full HD) resolution and 2,000 lumens of brightness, making it a viable home theater option.
Politics
Trump wins Electoral College vote; a few electors break ranks (Reuters)
Republican Donald Trump prevailed in U.S. Electoral College voting on Monday to officially win election as the next president, easily dashing a long-shot push by a small movement of detractors to try to block him from gaining the White House.
Senators call for probe of cyber attacks by Russia (Reuters)
U.S. Republican and Democratic senators called on Sunday for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia's alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election.
Here’s how Obama can hit back at Putin over hacking (Reuters)
The verdict is unanimous: President Barack Obama and every U.S. intelligence service agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin has run a sophisticated intelligence operation designed to disrupt American democracy and elect Donald J. Trump. The lone dissenter? Trump himself.
Russia, Iran and Turkey to hold Syria talks in Moscow on Tuesday (Reuters)
The foreign and defense ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey will discuss the future of Syria and the city of Aleppo at talks in Moscow on Tuesday, Turkish and Russian officials said.
Why the GOP Wants to Gut Social Security (Truth Out)
The plan, headed by House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson and introduced on December 8, would destroy the basic structure of Social Security.
Health and Biotech
Aging May Be Reversible: Researchers Rejuvenate Older Mice (Live Science)
Getting old may not be inevitable — scientists have found a way to turn back the clock on human and animal cells, making them look and behave like younger versions of themselves.
Building a Brain in the Lab (Scientific American)
Knowledge about the human brain often derives from experiments performed on mice, rats or other animals. Brains of these species share much in common with the human organ, but they lack a highly folded surface, a difference that affects neural functioning.
Life on the Home Planet
U.S. sees China returning drone as early as Tuesday in South China Sea (Reuters)
The United States expects China to return soon an underwater U.S. drone seized by a Chinese naval vessel last week, with one U.S. official telling Reuters the exchange could happen as early as Tuesday at an agreed location in the South China Sea.
At least 49 people in Russia have died from drinking a herbal bath remedy (Science Alert)
At least 49 have died and 57 have been hospitalised in Russia after drinking a counterfeit herbal bath remedy that's commonly consumed as a cheap 'surrogate' alcohol.
Astronomers just released the largest digital survey of the visible Universe (Science Alert)
Scientists have made the largest ever survey of the night sky publicly available, sharing an epic data set of astronomical objects that took four years to put together.
Families of Orlando Shooting Victims Sue Tech Giants for Fueling ISIS Growth (Fortune)
The families say that Google GOOGL -0.04% , Facebook FB -0.01% , and Twitter TWTR -1.32% provided “material” support to the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS, Fox News reported Monday. They say in their suit that the companies provided platforms that radicalized the gunman, Omar Mateen, in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
