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Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
– Theranos Inc plans to give additional shares to investors who pledge not to sue the battered blood-testing company or Elizabeth Holmes, its founder and chief executive, people familiar with the matter said. http://on.wsj.com/2n0lOMh
– WikiLeaks released new documents it says describe hacking tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency over the past decade to infect Apple Inc devices. http://on.wsj.com/2n05dZ7
– Businesses, particularly those in the tech sector, are watching closely a case to be argued in the Supreme Court next week challenging a system that has led to a concentration of patent cases in plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions such as eastern Texas. http://on.wsj.com/2n0oYPY
– Google’s commitment to better police the millions of websites and videos across its advertising networks is complicated by the very scale and diversity that has made the network so attractive to marketers. http://on.wsj.com/2n03xyI
– Amazon.com Inc prevailed over the Internal Revenue Service in a more than $1.5 billion dispute over the online retailer’s transactions with a Luxembourg subsidiary. http://on.wsj.com/2n05lb3
– Walt Disney Co said Robert Iger has extended his contract for a third time and will stay on at least one additional year as chairman and CEO, giving the world’s largest media company another year to find a new chief executive. http://on.wsj.com/2n04neK
– The U.S. ban on many carry-on electronics aboard Middle East flights is another powerful headwind for the once-highflying club of Persian Gulf airlines — a group that relies more than many on the laptop-toting business traveler. http://on.wsj.com/2my5qXb
– Videogame chain GameStop Corp, hit hard by a shift to digital downloads, plans to close at least 150 stores this year and expand non-gaming businesses. http://on.wsj.com/2my1INe
– Tronc Inc agreed to buy all the stock held by one of its largest outside shareholders at a substantial premium amid an increasingly bruising public fight between its two biggest investors. http://on.wsj.com/2my17vb
FT
Britain’s markets watchdog has resumed its investigation into payments made by Barclays Plc in the course of a 2008 emergency fundraising, after reviewing new evidence that could see it reconsider a 50 million-pound ($62 million) fine imposed in 2013.
Deutsche Bank AG has chosen a new office for its London headquarters, signalling a vote of confidence in Britain’s capital despite the country’s decision to leave the European Union.
One of Britain’s biggest water companies, Thames Water, was scrutinized on Thursday by Ian Byatt, a former head of regulator Ofwat, who said the problem in the water companies is their “complicated corporate structures.” A fine of 20 million pounds was imposed on Thames Water on Wednesday for pumping sewage into the River Thames.
NYT
– Republican senators moved Thursday to dismantle landmark internet privacy protections for consumers in the first decisive strike against telecommunications and technology regulations created during the Obama administration, and a harbinger of further deregulation. http://nyti.ms/2mWZmTz
– Ride-sharing service Lyft became the latest company, along with AT&T and Johnson & Johnson, to remove their advertisements from YouTube following ads appearing next to racist videos on YouTube. http://nyti.ms/2n0nMw4
– A lawyer for the Las Vegas sports gambler William Walters, who is on trial in Manhattan on insider trading charges, attacked the credibility of one of the government’s main witnesses on Thursday, saying that the witness had lied repeatedly to investigators. http://nyti.ms/2ndjSky
– The C.I.A. developed tools to spy on Mac computers by injecting software into the chips that control the computers’ fundamental operations, according to the latest cache of classified government documents published on Thursday by WikiLeaks. http://nyti.ms/2n04jvw
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has convened a meeting of senior auto sector executives to make sure the government and the industry are on the same page amid the looming renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement. https://tgam.ca/2myNz2v
** China’s new envoy says Beijing is seeking unfettered access for Chinese state-owned firms to all key sectors of the Canadian economy during free-trade talks now under way with Ottawa – including an end to restrictions barring these enterprises from investing in the oil sands. https://tgam.ca/2myOU9h
** Ottawa’s plan to end tax allowances for oil firms seeking to drill new wells is riling the energy sector – especially small and medium-sized producers who have already been hit hard by the oil-price drop and increasing competition from the United States. https://tgam.ca/2mys81b
NATIONAL POST
** The U.S. State Department is expected to approve TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline as early as Friday, eliminating a crucial hurdle for the project after years of political wrangling. http://bit.ly/2myFBGC
** Investors at two of Canada’s biggest banks, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank, will vote soon on whether shareholders with smaller holdings should have a bigger voice when choosing directors for the board — a move that investor advocates say would, if successful, be a big step towards “shareholder democracy”. http://bit.ly/2myA9Ud
** The government of Canada will play the role of venture capitalist and booster to clean technology companies with billions of dollars in funding and outright share purchases budgeted over the next several years. http://bit.ly/2myBudk
Britain
The Times
The Financial Conduct Authority has reopened its investigation into Barclays Plc’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.13 billion) Middle East capital raising in 2008 that helped the lender avoid falling into government ownership. http://bit.ly/2nir5Bh
The terrorist who killed four people and injured scores more at Westminster on Wednesday has been identified as Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old who was born in Kent. http://bit.ly/2nifemV
The Guardian
Royal Bank of Scotland is axing 158 branches, most of them NatWest outlets, with the loss of up to 362 jobs. http://bit.ly/2nilACU
Shareholders in Crest Nicholson Plc have voted against a pay deal for the company’s directors because of concerns that the performance targets were too easy. http://bit.ly/2nigyGl
The Telegraph
The ruling party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has filed a bill to ban the vintage red-star logo featured on Heineken’s products including the beermaker’s iconic green bottles. http://ind.pn/2nii4YW
Sky News
Fears grow for 1,100 high street jobs amid doubts over Jones Bookmaker deal. http://bit.ly/2nioNSX
Deutsche Bank AG has signed an agreement with Land Securities Group Plc to take a large chunk of a new building being constructed near the Moorgate tube station. http://bit.ly/2niokQI
The Independent
Brexit could undermine British efforts to clamp down on bribery and corruption, the OECD has warned. http://ind.pn/2nimKy8
The boss of British Gas owner Centrica Plc collected a 1 million pound pay rise last year, taking his total package to 4.15 million pounds. http://ind.pn/2nimLly