Financial Markets and Economy
Dollar Rises as Traders Boost Bets for March Hike After Job Data (Bloomberg)
The dollar strengthened for a second day against the yen, spending most of the Asian day above 117, after U.S. jobs and wage data for December bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.
Oil prices start the week lower after jump in U.S. rig count (Market Watch)
Oil prices were lower early on Monday as drilling activities in the U.S. intensified last week, stoking concerns that the effort by global oil producers to curtail oversupply could be u0ndercut by American shale producers.
Australian banks shoot higher as Asian stocks post gains (Market Watch)
The advance also follows strength last week in the region, where the Hang Seng saw its biggest weekly gain in three months and the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.54% snapped a five-week losing streak.
Pound Falls to 10-Week Low as May Hints at Single-Market Exit (Bloomberg)
The pound fell against all major currencies as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s comments over the weekend stoked fears that the U.K. will lose access to Europe’s single market.
U.K. House Prices Show Strong End to 2016 That May Not Last (Bloomberg)
The mortgage lender said values rose 1.7 percent compared with a month earlier as a shortage of homes continued. From a year earlier, values in the three months to December were 6.5 percent higher. That’s likely to slow by between 1 and 4 percent by the end of this year as the economy weakens.
Oil Falls as OPEC Output Curbs Offset by Growth in U.S. Drilling (Bloomberg)
Oil fell for the first time in four days as an increase in U.S. drilling activity fanned speculation that OPEC production cuts could revive output in North America.
UK business confidence rose to its highest level in 15 months over December, following an uptick in economic performance across all sectors which defied most economists' forecasts.
Devaluation Looms for Nigeria Even as Forwards Ease on Oil (Bloomberg)
The Nigerian naira’s recovery in the forwards market may be deceptive. The currency is destined to weaken, however long policy makers hold out.
Kuwait Says Saudi Arabia to U.A.E. Comply With OPEC Output Cuts (Bloomberg)
Oil producers from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates are complying with production cuts promised last year to stabilize the market, Kuwait’s governor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said.
Get Ready to Pay $500 More in Taxes (Bloomberg)
It’s tax time again, and President-elect Donald Trump and his fellow Republican in Congress have promised to slash them—especially for corporations and the rich.
This Goldman Sachs chart sums up the global fallout from the 2008 financial crisis (Business Insider)
It has been nine years but we are all still feeling the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.
The global policy response to the financial system's near collapse in 2008 from central banks has been to reduce interest rates and pump liquidity into the financial system.
Iraq’s Southern Oil Exports Hit Record Before OPEC Cuts (Bloomberg)
Iraq’s oil exports from its southern ports in the Gulf reached a record high in December, just before the country was due to join other major producers in cutting output to help curb a global oversupply.
New post-financial crisis rules will cost the world's biggest banks £165 million each (Business Insider)
New rules set to implemented in response to the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 could cost major global banks as much as $200 million (£165 million) each to put in place.
European shares dip, sterling falls on Brexit comments (Reuters)
The dollar edged higher on Monday, boosted by robust U.S. wage growth data strengthening the case for more Federal Reserve interest rate increases, while Britain's pound fell on Prime Minister Theresa May's hint at no membership of the EU's single market.
FTSE 100 gains as pound slides on ‘hard Brexit’ fears (Market Watch)
U.K. stocks stepped higher Monday, with miners helping to leading the way up as the pound fell following comments from Prime Minister Theresa May that signaled a “hard Brexit.”
The pound is at a 3-month low against the dollar after Theresa May's 'Hard Brexit rhetoric' (Business Insider)
The pound is falling against most major currencies on Monday morning after Theresa May signalled in an interview that the UK is likely to quit the Single Market when Brexit occurs.
German Industrial Output Rises in Sign of Economic Strength (Bloomberg)
German industrial production rose in November, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy saw a strong finish to the end of last year.
Italian Unemployment Rate Rises to Highest Since June 2015 (Bloomberg)
Italy’s unemployment rate rose to the highest level since June 2015, as the country struggles to regain a solid economic footing.
Good morning! Here's what you need to know.
Italy's Five Star Movement made a u-turn on Europe. The head of Italy's populist Five Star movement (M5S) said he wants to abandon a eurosceptic alliance in the European Parliament with Britain's UKIP party.
Dow industrials keep 20,000 in sight with Fed speakers ahead (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures indicated a slow start for Wall Street on Monday, but the Dow industrials may have another run at 20,000, after barely missing the psychologically important level in the last session.
Yuan Is Crashing (Again) (Zero Hedge)
The volatility in the Chinese currency has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. After exploding 21 handles stronger in the biggest PBOC-engineered short-squeeze in history – erasing the entire post-election sell-off – offshore Yuan is now collapsing once again, down 350 pips tonight (and over 10 big figures from Thursday's highs).
Companies
McDonald’s Sells China Stake to Citic, Carlyle for $1.7 Billion (Bloomberg)
McDonald’s Corp. agreed to sell a controlling stake in its China and Hong Kong operations to a group of investors for about $1.7 billion, a key component of the fast-food giant’s reorganization in a market where it’s struggling to catch up with more nimble rivals.
Mercedes Is Expected to Overtake BMW as the World’s Largest Premium Carmaker (Reuters)
Mercedes -Benz is expected to reach its goal of becoming the largest premium carmaker four years early – a feat achieved, ironically, only after it stopped chasing market share and focused on making stylish high-tech cars loved by consumers.
Morgan Stanley and UBS Could Be About to Raise Their Shares in Chinese Joint Ventures (Reuters)
Morgan Stanley (MS, +1.46%) and UBS Group AG (UBS, -0.12%) are set to raise holdings in their separate Chinese securities joint ventures to 49%, people with direct knowledge of the developments said on Monday.
Technology
Nokia is trying to make a smartphone comeback, starting in China (CNN)
If you are a cell phone user of a certain age, you likely have a soft spot for the Nokia brand. In the late 1990s and most of the aughts, Nokia dominated the mobile phone market with its compact and affordable devices. And who could forget that iconic ring tone?
Kia to Bring Stinger Sports Sedan to U.S. (Bloomberg)
Kia Motors Corp. said its Stinger sports sedan will go on sale in the U.S. late in 2017, a decision that may help raise its profile among buyers who focus on a vehicle’s speed, performance and handling.
HMD’s first Nokia smartphone is heading to China (Tech Crunch)
Nokia fans hankering to get their hands on a new smartphone with their beloved brand name — and without Microsoft’s unloved mobile OS — will need to go to China if they want to buy the first Android-powered from the Finnish phone maker that’s now licensing Nokia’s IP for phones.
VW unveils electric microbus concept (CNN)
Volkswagen revealed an extremely groovy new concept car during the Detroit Auto Show Sunday night. The VW ID Buzz is an all-electric rebirth of the classic microbus.
The future of wireless charging is here, but it’s going to messy and confusing (Quartz)
I’m standing in the penthouse suite of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, looking at what seems to be a large subwoofer on a shelf. A TV remote sits on an ottoman about eight feet from the shelf, with no buttons illuminated.
Polaroid's Pop is a friendly chunk of a camera (Engadget)
Polaroid's just-announced Pop camera could be the most basic digital distillation of its iconic instant cameras we've seen thus far — but unfortunately, all the company had to show at CES was a non-working prototype.
The most important iPhone feature Steve Jobs didn’t predict 10 years ago today (Venture Beat)
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the day Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce the world to the Jesus phone, er, iPhone.
Politics
Trump's Pick For Intel Chief Spent Years As Lobbyist (Associated Press)
Former Sen. Dan Coats, in line to be national intelligence director, has swung back and forth between government service and lobbying, the type of Washington revolving-door career that President-elect Donald Trump has mocked.
Hillary Clinton unlikely to run for office again, aide says (The New York Post)
Don’t hold out for Hillary Clinton to take on Bill de Blasio for New York City mayor, a top Clinton confidante said Sunday.
“I don’t expect her to ever run for any elected office again,” former Clinton aide Neera Tanden told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
10 ways Trump could address his trouble with conflicts of interest (Politico)
Donald Trump insists there’s an easy solution to ward off any conflicts of interest between his presidency and his business empire. This week he’ll be asked to prove it.
If Donald Trump Ends One China Policy The Chinese Will Demand Revenge, Warns China's State Tabloid (Newsweek)
State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that China would take "take revenge" if he reneged on the one-China policy, only hours after Taiwan's president made a controversial stopover in Houston.
Trump to give Cabinet secretaries a long leash (Politico)
President-elect Donald Trump plans to give his Cabinet secretaries and top aides significant latitude to run their federal agencies, marking a sharp departure from Barack Obama's tightly controlled management style, according to people involved in and close to the transition.
Trump's choices for top Cabinet posts face big tests this week (Reuters)
Senate confirmation hearings this week for President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for top jobs – from secretary of state to attorney general – should provide a test of his ability to work with fellow Republicans in Congress to enact his agenda.
Why Trump can’t 'simply' divest from his business (Politico)
Donald Trump’s critics say the only way for him to keep his business interests separate from the public’s interest is to simply get out of business entirely, selling his companies and putting the proceeds into anonymous assets that someone else can manage.
Health and Biotech
Decline of the dentist's drill? Drug helps rotten teeth regenerate, trial shows (The Guardian)
Dentists have devised a treatment to regenerate rotten teeth that could substantially reduce the need for fillings in the future.
The therapy works by enhancing the natural ability of teeth to repair themselves through the activation of stem cells in the soft pulp at the centre.
A cure for all ills: what medical advances can we expect in 2017? (The Guardian)
In 2017, we can study the unimaginably small and share unimaginably vast amounts of data. But, as a GP involved in the day-to-day delivery of primary health care, I often wonder why, if so much is known, we can do so little? Why is there such a lag between the headline scientific discoveries and what a local GP can offer?
Life on the Home Planet
‘Rogue One’ Tops China Box Office With $30 Million in Debut (Bloomberg)
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” topped China’s box-office during its opening weekend there as the latest film in the four-decade-old franchise attracted local moviegoers by featuring Asian stars.
Israeli soldiers killed in truck attack to be buried as police arrest nine (The Guardian)
Four Israeli soldiers killed in a truck ramming in Jerusalem by a Palestinian assailant are to be buried as Israeli police said they had arrested nine people in connection with the attack.
The claim that hot water freezes faster than cold water just got even weirder (Science Alert)
Despite sounding like the most egregious contradiction in physics, hot water appears to freeze faster than cold water under certain circumstances. The phenomenon can be traced back to Aristotle himself, but after centuries of experiments demonstrating this phenomenon, no one’s been able to explain it.
