Financial Markets and Economy
Oil, Snow and Saudi Billions: Secret Davos Gets Down to Business (Bloomberg)
Nothing sharpens the mind of Davos delegates more than the prospect of striking big deals — and after a day of debating globalization and its discontents it was time to go for the biggest one of all.
Oil Gains as U.S. Stockpiles Fall While IEA Sees OPEC Cutting (Bloomberg)
Oil recovered after the biggest drop in more than a week as industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles declined, while OPEC and other producing nations trim output to ease a global glut.
Kuwait’s World-Beating Stock Rally May Just Be Getting Started (Bloomberg)
Kuwaiti stocks have started the year with a charge, performing better than any other market in the world in January. Investors expect the positive momentum to continue.
Inflation-Adjusted Rates in Britain for Five Years and Beyond May have Fallen too Much: Analysis (Bloomberg)
Inflation-adjusted rates in Britain may try to reverse course after diving deep into the negative zone following Brexit, Bloomberg strategist Tanvir Sandhu writes.
India May Be a Bright Spot for Global Solar Markets This Year (Bloomberg)
India may be a bright spot for global solar markets this year as it adds capacity at a record pace, becoming one of the top regions for panel producers struggling with rock-bottom prices.
ECB Keeps Stimulus on High Even as Economy Picks Up (Associated Press)
President Mario Draghi has some explaining to do — about why the European Central Bank is leaving its stimulus programs running nearly full blast while inflation and growth are picking up.
Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now (Business Insider)
Dave Lutz, the head of exchange-traded funds at JonesTrading, has a quick overview of what's going on in markets on Thursday.
ECB Said to Lack Agreement on How to Buy Debt Below Deposit Rate (Bloomberg)
Euro-area central banks still lack a formal agreement on the procedures for buying the lowest-yielding bonds under quantitative easing, according to people familiar with the matter.
China’s Stocks Slip to 2017 Low Led by Energy, Mining Declines (Bloomberg)
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent to the lowest close since Dec. 29. Energy companies dragged down the gauge, led by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., after New York crude slid on Wednesday.
Saudi Central Banker Says Crunch That Squeezed Banks Is Over (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia central bank Governor Ahmed Alkholifey said a cash crunch that squeezed commercial lenders last year is over and that he’s open to more foreign financial institutions operating in the biggest Arab economy.
European Stocks Dip as Defensive Sectors Fall Amid Higher Yields (Bloomberg)
European stock benchmarks dipped as investors awaited European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s media conference, which may give clues as to when the institution will begin curtailing its stimulus measures.
Malaysia Keeps Benchmark Rate on Hold as Currency Faces Pressure (Bloomberg)
Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting to help bolster the currency as policymakers in emerging economies gird themselves for tighter U.S. monetary policy.
Housing starts jump more than expected in December (Business Insider)
New housing construction increased more than expected in December amid a rebound in multifamily units, according to the Commerce Department.
Trump Nominees Accept Global Warming, But Only to a Degree (Bloomberg)
The incoming Trump administration is defying long-held Republican orthodoxy on climate change, saying that humans are having an effect on the Earth’s temperatures.
Private Equity Eyes Tax and Financial Reform in the Trump Era (Bloomberg)
Private equity has the President-elect on speed dial. That may benefit the $2.5 trillion industry as several key issues are put in play.
Share buybacks will continue posing a risk to bondholders in 2017 (Market Watch)
Corporate credit quality is likely to remain pressured by big share-buyback programs in 2017, and some bond issuers may face ratings downgrades, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.
Companies
Deal of the Week: J&J Nears Actelion Takeover Despite Twists and Turns (Bloomberg)
Neither Bloomberg's M&A executive editor Jeff McCracken nor host Alex Sherman can remember a deal quite like Johnson & Johnson's pursuit of Swiss drugmaker Actelion. First J&J publicly stated it was in talks with Actelion.
China’s Cnooc Raising Spending First Time Since Oil’s Plunge (Bloomberg)
Cnooc Ltd. plans to raise capital spending for the first time since crude began its crash in 2014 as China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer prepares for life after the slump and a second year of falling output.
JPMorgan Calls for Rupee Weakness to Keep Pace With China (Bloomberg)
The Reserve Bank of India should let the rupee weaken as advances in the past two years against a currency basket of trading partners risk undermining exports, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Technology
LinkedIn's website is getting a fresh new design — here's your first look (Business Insider)
The Microsoft-owned company is calling it the "largest LinkedIn.com redesign since the company's inception." It takes a lot of the look and feel of the LinkedIn apps for iPhone and Android and brings it back to the website.
Alibaba Will Put Its Technology to the Test on Olympian Stage (Bloomberg)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has struck a deal to become a lead sponsor of the Olympic Games through 2028, betting that greater exposure to a global audience will help it reach consumers and promote its cloud computing business.
This Soft Robot Hugs Your Heart To Help Keep It Pumping (Popular Science)
About 5.7 million Americans suffer from heart failure, meaning their hearts don't pump blood as well as they should. The affliction costs the nation about $32 billion a year, and there's no cure. But a squishy, air-powered robot might be able to help.
Politics
Obama aides, full of emotion, get ready to turn out the lights (Politico)
The molten fudge confection (with fro-yo a la mode) is the signature dessert at the White House restaurant known as the mess, and it’s been a must-order item at last meals there for the hundreds of Obama-appointed staffers who need to be out the door before Friday.
Anonymous Tells Donald Trump He Will “Regret The Next 4 Years” (Fortune)
The mysterious hacker group Anonymous said via Twitter this week that Trump is “going to regret the next 4 years,” a statement that’s likely to spur hackers and Internet pranksters to target his administration.
Democracy Reigns and I Still March (The Huffington Post)
In a nation where democracy reigns all and racism-filled patriarchy rings true, there is but one thing to do — speak for the voices silenced. The United States has a painfully long history of dismissing people for their uncontrollable characteristics, most notably race, gender and sexuality.
Trump formally announces Perdue as nominee for agriculture (Reuters)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday officially announced Sonny Perdue as his choice for secretary of agriculture, selecting a former Georgia governor over candidates from the Midwest, which dominates U.S. agricultural exports.
Donald Trump Cabinet Picks Steven Mnuchin And Rick Perry Face Confirmation Hearings (The Huffington Post)
Former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), his choice to lead the Department of Energy, both face questions today.
Health and Biotech
Brain's “Helper” Cells Turn Toxic in Injury and Disease (Scientific American)
Star-shaped cells called astrocytes—often characterized as “helper” cells—may contribute to damage caused by brain injury and disease by turning toxic and destroying neurons, according to study results published Wednesday in Nature.
Scientists have identified a weirdly common form of synaesthesia (Science Alert)
Roughly 4.4 percent of the global adult population experiences a rare condition called synaesthesia, which causes the brain to confuse sensory information and turn smells into sounds, or numbers and words into tastes and colours.
Life on the Home Planet
2016 confirmed as the hottest year on record (New Scientist)
Last year was the hottest year on record globally, beating 2015’s exceptionally high temperatures, the World Meteorological Organisation said today.
Avalanche destroys Italian hotel, up to 30 feared dead under snow (Reuters)
A huge avalanche swallowed up a luxury mountain hotel in central Italy after a series of strong earthquakes rocked the area, burying up to 30 people under tonnes of snow and debris, officials said on Thursday.
Majority of primate species may vanish in next 25 to 50 years (New Scientist)
The majority of the world’s primates are in deep trouble. There are as few as 20 or 30 Hainan gibbons left in China, and the trapdoor of extinction is gaping for the Javan slow loris. Even numbers of Madagascar’s iconic ring-tailed lemur have slumped to around 2000.
Soldiers, rescue dogs seek trapped firefighters in Tehran building collapse (Reuters)
Soldiers, sniffer dogs and rescue workers were searching for an estimated 25 trapped firefighters on Thursday in the ruins of a 17-storey commercial building that collapsed while they were trying to put out a blaze, the mayor of Tehran said.
