What I Am Reading

March 29  (Wednesday) Markets Why long-term U.S. stock returns look dismal (MW) Central banks Fischer: Two More 2017 Rate Hikes Seem About Right (B) Yellen Calls for Better Public Education, Workforce Development Programs (W) US There’s been a ‘stunning’ shift in the US economy since Trump’s election (BI) U.S. Home Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in 31 Months (W) Consumer confidence hits 16-year high in boost to economy (R) ‘Deep Subprime’ Auto Loans Are Surging (B) Europe U.K. Government Rejects Move for Another Scottish Independence Vote (W) China Swipe by Swipe, Chinese Smartphone Users Flock to Risky Investments (W) US politics I Trump Sweeps Away Climate Rules Vowing ‘New Energy Revolution’ (B) Trump Sets Stage for Power Market Fight With Climate Rollback (B) Despite Climate-Change Move, Firms to Still Shift Away From Coal (W) Exxon urges Trump to keep US in Paris climate accord (FT) US politics II Republicans’ Tough Call on Taxes: Quick, Short Yardage or Hail Mary? (W) Trump Can Still Wreck Health Care (B) Obamacare’s Not Exploding, But There Are Some Rough Spots (B) Kansas GOP-Led Legislature Approves Medicaid Expansion (W) US politics III GOP attorneys general target rival Democrats (R) Sanctuary City Mayors Vow to Protect Immigrants (W) Police Forces Hope to Deploy Military Gear Obama Banned (W) No one seems to buy Devin Nunes’ explanation for why he was at the White House last week (BI) Ryan Backs Nunes After Intelligence Chairman Rejects Recusal Calls (B) Justice Department Discouraged Yates Testimony on Russia (W) Geopolitics & trade Planned Russian Exercises Sow NATO Worries (W) Iran Mends Fences With Gulf States as U.S. Tensions Grow (W) Russian, Iranian Leaders Tout Stronger Ties (W) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla Gets Backing of Chinese Internet Giant Tencent (W) Retail: Amazon Launches Grocery Pickup Stores in Seattle (W) Weed: The market’s first marijuana-themed ETF could start trading next week (MW) Offbeat Amazon’s shopping spree at business schools (FT) Bill Gross and Pimco Settle Suit Over His Ouster (N)

March 28  (Tuesday) Markets Dow Suffers Longest Losing Streak Since 2011; Nasdaq Rises (W) Eurozone Stocks Overtake U.S. (W) Foreign Investors Flock to Iran as U.S. Firms Stay on Sidelines (W) US dollar close to erasing Trumpflation gains (FT) Oil US producers build up sales hedges as oil falls (FT) China Tanked Oil Once, It Can Do It Again (W) Central banks Evans Says Two Fed Hikes in 2017 May Be Right (B) US U.S. Travel Industry Fears a ‘Lost Decade’ Under Trump (B) Europe Forget Trump v. Congress. The Real Political Danger’s Still in Europe (W) In Populists vs. Establishment, the Establishment Strikes Back (W) Merkel’s Party Scores Election Win, in Key Test of Voter Sentiment (W) With Help From France’s Elite, Le Pen Tries to Steer Far-Right Party to Mainstream (W) Macron and Le Pen Spar, Anticipating French Election Runoff (B) When investors will really need to tune in to Brexit (FT) China Evercore’s Hyman Says China a Mess, Will ‘Blow Up’ at Some Point (B) China plans fresh crackdown on steel production (FT) US politics I Trump tax reform faces hurdles after healthcare defeat (FT) Democrats, Buoyed by G.O.P. Health Defeat, See No Need to Offer Hand (N) What Trump could do to undermine Obamacare, now that the GOP health bill has failed (MW) Health-Law Suit Takes Center Stage After Bill’s Failure (W) Letting Obamacare implode would be a ‘catastrophe,’ GOP ex-HHS secretary warns Trump and Ryan (C) Dealt a Defeat, Republicans Set Their Sights on Major Tax Cuts (N) US politics II House Conservatives Undeterred After Health Bill (W) In Health-Care Failure, a Lesson on Treating Politics Like Business (W) How Democrats Aided in the Health Bill’s Demise (W) Chuck Schumer is jumping on Trump’s new openness to working with Democrats (BI) US politics III Trump Will Tap Kushner to Lead Office to Fix U.S. Bureaucracy (B) Kushner to Oversee Office of American Innovation at White House (W) Trump is tapping Chris Christie to tackle the opioid epidemic (BI) Nunes Saw Intercepts Related to Trump on White House Grounds (B) Kushner to Tell Senate Panel About Russia Bank Contact (W) Veteran journalist Ted Koppel to Fox’s Sean Hannity: You are ‘bad for America’ (BI) Geopolitics & terrorism Putin Critic Jailed for 15 Days After Mass Rallies Energize Russian Opposition (B) Anti-corruption protests hit Putin’s plans (FT) For Trump, ‘Extreme Vetting’ Has Wide Scope (W) Industries & companies Autos: Plateau in U.S. auto sales heightens risk for lenders: Moody’s (R) Autos: Hertz Shares Bear Brunt of ‘Freak Out’ Over Used-Car Price Drop (B) Cruise: Carnival Shareholders Are Having Fun Now, Too (W) Financials: ‘Project Scalpel’: Behind Big Banks’ Plan to Save $2 Billion (W) Financials: Deutsche Bank in Bind Over How to Modify $300 Million Trump Debt (B) Media: Hollywood Studios Seek to Offer Films Sooner Online (W) Retail: These brands you’ve never heard of are propelling Amazon to outsell Macy’s (BI) Retail: Amazon Pushes Off Opening of Cashierless Store (W) Tech: The High-Speed Trading Behind Your Amazon Purchase (W) Technology U.S. Falls Behind in Global Race to Build Robotic Industrial Machines (W) Made in the U.S., With the Help of Foreign Robots (W) Foreign Robots Invade American Factory Floors (W) Elon Musk’s Latest Startup: Brains Linked to Computers (W) Offbeat Fake news shared as widely as the real thing (FT) Who Killed the Iceman? Clues Emerge in a Very Cold Case (N) Devastating photos show how much the Great Barrier Reef has changed over the last 20 years (BI)

March 27  (Monday) Oil OPEC, non-OPEC to look at extending oil-output cut by six months (R) OPEC Warns Members to Comply With Oil-Production Cuts (W) Gulf Countries Weigh Pledging Oil Revenues to Shore Up Budgets (W) US Foreign Robots Invade American Factory Floors (W) Slow Housing Recovery Takes Toll on Economy (W) 1 in 4 have less than $1K saved for retirement (NN) Emerging Poland Is Best Emerging Stock Market of 2017 (BR) Thousands Across Russia Protest Corruption (W) US politics I Trump Weighs New Health Strategy (W) Trump May Have Lost on Obamacare Yet Still Controls Its Fate (B) With GOP Plan Dead, Trump Eyes Other Ways to Reshape Health Care (W) How ‘Trumpcare’ went up in flames — and why it should worry the GOP about the future (BI) Trump attacks Republicans for wrecking health plans (FT) Trump bets Democrats will be blamed if Obamacare fails (FT) The Republican healthcare plan just failed because Trump is bad at making deals (BI) US politics II Trump tax reform faces hurdles after health defeat (FT) White House looks to Democrats on tax reform (R) House Ways and Means Chairman aims to move tax bill through committee in spring (R) GOP Eyes Tax Overhaul — And Lessons From Health-Care Failure (B) US politics III Trump Becomes Ensnared in Fiery G.O.P. Civil War (N) White House Opens Door to Democrats After Bill Failure (W) N.C. Congressman Plays Key Role in Bill’s Failure (W) Trump to Begin Reversing Obama-Era Cutbacks in Carbon Dioxide (B) Trump Truth: The President With False Claims Faces Reality (Time) Geopolitics & terrorism Iran sanctions 15 U.S. firms, citing human rights abuses and Israel ties (R) NATO Official Sounds Alarm on Russia Libya Role (W) Belgian Security Forces Foil Possible Car Attack in Antwerp (W) Industries & companies Financials: Why Silicon Valley Bank’s Stock Could Rise 25% (BR) Financials: Mall REITs: The Next Nightmare? (BR) Media: Viacom Flips the Script: Stock Has 40% Upside (BR) Media: Disney’s ‘Beauty’ Still Radiant at No. 1 for Second Weekend (B) Offbeat One Nation, Under Fox: 18 Hours With a Network That Shapes America (N) Starbucks to Hire More Vets After Backlash to Refugee Hiring Plan (FOX) A Stanford engineer is making stretchable, flexible skin that’s straight out of Westworld (BI)

March 25  (Saturday) Markets Wall Street’s pivoting toward a bullish pitch on Trumpcare’s collapse (BI) The Markets Don’t Care About Health Care as Long as They Get Their Tax Cut (B) US stocks knocked as healthcare vote gets pulled (FT) Pension Crisis Too Big for Markets to Ignore (B) Oil OPEC Be Warned: Russia Battens Down the Hatches for Oil at $40 (B) US Airplanes Boost U.S. Durable-Goods Orders (W) Europe Le Pen Calls For Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Sharing With Moscow (W) China China’s coal policy: a victim of its own success? (FT) US politics I TRUMP: ‘The best thing we can do is let Obamacare explode’ (BI) House Obamacare Repeal Collapse Raises Doubts on GOP Agenda (B) Divided GOP Drops Health-Care Bill (W) Seeds of Health-Bill Defeat Were Sown Months Ago (W) Trump’s Need: Build a Coalition (W) Trump Praises Ryan on Health as Aides Privately Blame the Speaker (B) Speaker Ryan dented by healthcare debacle, but keeps support (R) US politics II With healthcare bill dead, Republicans turn to taxes (R) Republicans Turn to Tax Overhaul (W) Trump Administration Grants Pipeline Permits Without All His Promised Conditions (B) Boom! Keystone pipeline would suddenly make US and Canada bigger competitors with OPEC (C) Trump’s Trade Vows at Risk Under Moderate Advisers, Trumka Says (W) Geopolitics & cybersecurity Beijing Defends Its Right to Guard South China Sea With Arms (W) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla Will Take Orders for Its Solar Roof in April (B) Financials: Health Insurers Wrestle With Next Steps as GOP Bill Fails (W) Media: Netflix: The Monster That’s Eating Hollywood (W) Media: YouTube’s Better-Than-TV Pitch Undermined by Offensive Video (B) Media: Time Inc. Moves Closer to Sale for More Than $20 a Share (B) Technology The Robots Are Coming for a Third of U.K. Jobs, PwC Says (B) Robots Have Existential Crises, Too (N) Mnuchin said robots replacing jobs is ‘not even on my radar screen’ – here’s why it should be (C) Offbeat A German Bank Accidentally Transferred $5.4 Billion to Four Other Banks (B)

March 24  (Friday) Markets Stocks Fall as House Postpones Health-Care Vote (W) Here’s Why Wall Street Is closely Watching The Health Vote (B) What Comes After the Trump Trade for Markets? (W) Bye-bye bull—this is the market’s ‘final wave,’ warns the ‘Northman Trader’ (C) China Debt Risks Go Global Amid Record Junk Sales Abroad (B) Central banks Williams Says Three, Maybe More 2017 Fed Hikes Make Sense (B) Fed Could Allow Higher Inflation as Interest Rates Remain Low, Papers Suggest (W) ECB’s Free Money Has Helped Banks More Than It Aids the Economy (B) ECB needs to be original on tapering (FT) US Jump in U.S. New Home Sales Defies Expectations (W) The Outer Suburbs Are Once Again Outgrowing Cities (W) Is the U.S. Economy’s Slow Growth ‘As Good As It Gets’? (W) | Brookings Paper ‘Deaths of Despair’ Claiming More White Americans (W) I Brookings Paper Europe Schäuble moves away from federalist EU vision (FT) China Debt piles add to risk for China’s property groups (FT) US politics House Republicans Cancel Planned Vote on Health-Care Bill (W) Timing of crucial healthcare vote uncertain (R) Here’s what happens to tax reform if the health bill passes — or doesn’t (MW) Trump SEC Pick Says He Has No ‘Specific’ Plans to Gut Dodd-Frank (B) Warren Wants SEC to Review Icahn’s Role Advising Trump on Rules (B) Schumer Urges Filibuster to Block Gorsuch Confirmation (W) Geopolitics & terrorism Russia Uses Fake News to Sway Foreign Votes, Document Says (W) Europeans Won’t Follow Suit on Electronics on Flights (W) Attacker Was U.K.-Born, Probed for Extremism (W) Industries & companies Autos: Why America’s Auto Debt Boom Fuels Bubble Talk: QuickTake Q&A (B) Autos: Ford Says Higher Rates, Lower Resale Values to Hurt Results (W) Financials: Banks Trimming Compliance Staff as $321 Billion in Fines Abate (B) Health care: Health Rules Targeted by GOP Could Upset U.S. Insurance Markets (B) Media: Disney Extends CEO Iger’s Tenure (W) Pharma: Pharma Gets Roped Into the Trumpcare Maelstrom (B) Pharma: Drug Companies Are Buying Ads on Shows They Know Donald Trump Watches (B) Retail: 0% Financing Deals Bite Back Retailers as Fed Raises Rates (W) Retail: What Investors Missed in the Sears ‘Going Concern’ Warning (W) Tech: Google Faces Tall Order Policing Content (W) Tech: Apple to Start Making iPhones in India Over Next Two Months (W) Offbeat Populism emerges as key economic influence (FT)

March 23  (Thursday) Markets Reflation Trade Hangs in the Balance as Health Care Vote Looms (B) Stock Pickers Can Thank the Fed for the Drop in Correlated Moves (B) European markets join selling as Trump trade falters (FT) Everyone’s a Net Seller of Japanese Stocks This Year: Analyst (B) Currencies & commodities Investors Are Turning Bearish on the Dollar (B) EM currencies prosper as US dollar falters (FT) Gold’s Six-Day Winning Streak Ranks as Best Gain Since Brexit (B) US Home Sales Slide on Tight Supply, Higher Prices (W) US commercial real estate has plenty of room to keep booming (BI) ‘Subprime credit losses are accelerating’: There’s a problem in the auto loan market (BI) Qualified Teachers in Shorter Supply in Cities, Education Report Says (W) Europe Italy’s corporate spoils system unsettles investors (FT) Emerging How uncertainty became the ‘new normal’ for Mexico (FT) US politics Republican Leaders Search for Health-Care Bill Votes (W) Health Bill Would Bring Big Changes to Medicaid (W) Trump’s Misplaced Priorities Imperil His Economic Agenda (B) Republican Nunes Tries to Give Trump Some Cover on Wiretap Claim (B) Nunes: Trump Team Messages Incidentally Intercepted (W) Democrats Seize on Disability Ruling to Bolster Their Case Against Gorsuch (W) What Trump’s SEC Pick Needs to Explain (B) A Senator’s Plan to Reduce the Flow of Legal Migrants (W) Emirates to Let Travelers Keep Laptops, Tablets Until Boarding (B) Geopolitics & terrorism U.S. Preparing Cases Linking North Korea in Theft at N.Y. Fed (W) Attacker Leaves 3 Dead Near U.K. Parliament (W) London attack fits increasingly familiar pattern (FT) Lawyer for Russian Whistleblower’s Family Falls Out of Window (W) Industries & companies Financials: Deutsche slips in European investment bank ranking (FT) Financials: Meet the CFO-Banker Who May Be Next to Run Deutsche Bank (W) Financials: JPMorgan climbs up the prime brokerage rankings (FT) Health care: There’s a massive recall of EpiPens outside the U.S. after reports of failure (BI) Health care: Health-Stock Slump Deepens Before Obamacare Repeal Vote (B) Media: Game Publisher Tencent Warns of Risks Even as Profit Jumps (W) Retail: Sears Warning Slams Mall Stocks (W) Retail: Sears Plummets After Filing Sparks Concern That End Is Near (B) Retail: Payless Is Said to Be Filing for Bankruptcy as Soon as Next Week (B) Retail: Nike’s Biggest Sneaker Launch Ever Is a 1996 Reboot (B) Retail: Nike’s business is ‘going to get darker before the dawn’ (BI) Retail: Starbucks Doubles Down on Military Hiring After Boycott Threats (B) Tech: LinkedIn Wants to Hook Users With ‘Trending Storylines’ (W) Corporate finance Elliott Steps Up Pressure as Akzo Spurns New PPG Bid (W) Technology Smart Lights Are a Bright Idea, With Alexa and Siri (W) Offbeat Ray Dalio Says Populism May Be a Bigger Deal Than Monetary and Fiscal Policy (B) | Paper

March 22  (Wednesday) Markets Stocks Post Biggest Drop of Year as Trump Trade Stalls (W) As Easy-Money Era Winds Down, Markets Bet on Growth (W) Record Number of Fund Managers Say U.S. Equities Are Overvalued (B) High-Frequency Traders Fall on Hard Times as Costs Rise (W) Currencies & commodities Saudi Arabia’s Oil Supremacy Falters (W) Big Oil’s Plan to Buy Into the Shale Boom (B) Dollar Bulls Are Throwing in the Towel as Trump Wagers Evaporate (B) US Two in Five Americans Say They’ll Need $1 Million to Retire (B) Europe EU Trade Restrictions Would Hamper Productivity Growth, ECB Says (B) Emerging Emerging Markets Are on a Tear (B) China Has Risky Task in Rebalancing Economy (W) US politics House GOP Presses for Retroactive Investment-Tax Cut (W) Why Trump’s Tax Cut May Be Later, Smaller Than Thought (W) Tax Overhaul Threatens Affordable-Housing Deals (W) Trump Warns House GOP to Support Health-Care Bill (W) Ryan’s Leadership Is Tested by GOP’s Civil War on Health Bill (W) How the House GOP Health Plan Compares to the ACA (W) Partisan Divisions Weigh on Questioning During Gorsuch Hearing (W) There’s a big difference between Reaganomics and Trumponomics (BI) Geopolitics, trade, & terrorism China Ramps Up Charm Offensive With U.S. Business Leaders (W) China Sees a Manufacturing Future—in America (W) China’s Taxes on Imported Cars Feed Trade Tensions With U.S. (N) The Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel (B) Industries & companies Media: Channels You Pay for—but Don’t Watch—Are Dying (W) Media: Google Acts to Keep Ads Away From Controversial Content (W) Retail: Retailers Stare Into the Darkness, But It Keeps Getting Darker (B) Retail: Avon Freshens Up In a Bid to Win Back Middle America (W) Retail: Bebe Plans to Shut Its Stores and Focus on Web Sales (B) Shipping: FedEx shares fall 4% after earnings miss (C) Tech: Microsoft Modifies Windows 10 for China’s Government (W) Offbeat Remote workers are NOT watching daytime TV in their pajamas (MW)

March 21  (Tuesday) Markets YRI Press: Top strategist says this will keep the bulls running on Wall Street (C) ETFs Are Giving Mutual Funds a Run for Their Money (B) Outlook for US corporate profits dims (FT) Foreign investors net sellers of eurozone bonds (FT) World’s Biggest Hedge Fund Joins Pivot to Local Emerging Bonds (B) Why Not Everyone Thinks Smart Beta’s a Smart Idea: QuickTake Q&A (B) Currencies & commodities Oil Drops as U.S. Drilling Growth Threatens to Counter OPEC Cuts (B) Dollar bulls checked by US rate policy concerns (FT) Central banks Fed Is Stuck in the Past With Its Forecasts of the Future (W) Interest Rates After Inflation May Be a Real Bubble (B) Europe Investors ignore broader dangers of a Le Pen victory (FT) U.K. Says It Will Start Formal Brexit Process Next Week (W) Italy’s Struggling Economy Has World’s Healthiest People (B) Emerging China regulator warns on outbound M&A spree, says acquisitions like ‘a rose with thorns’ (C) Default Fears Resurface Over Singapore’s Looming Debt Wall (B) US politics President Trump’s approval rating has hit a new low, says Gallup poll (C) Comey Deals Trump a Political Blow When He Can Least Afford It (B) Comey: No Evidence Found for Trump’s Wiretapping Claim (W) Trump Mounts Lackluster Defense of Ryan’s Unpopular Health Bill (B) Wall Street is getting worried ‘Trumpcare’ could delay the biggest thing it wants from Trump (BI) Geopolitics & trade We may have just moved closer to a global trade war (BI) G-20 meeting was ‘disappointing’ and ‘disturbing’: Yale’s Stephen Roach (C) Choice of I.M.F. Critic Highlights Trump’s Reversal of Global Policy (N) Globalization is facing a ‘re-calibration,’ says Dow Chemical chief (C) Germany Fires Back at U.S. Critique of Its Trade Surplus (W) Trump Shifting Authority Over Military Operations Back to Pentagon (N) Saudi Arabia and China just hit the ‘next level’ for strategic collaboration, Saudi CEO says (C) Industries & companies Financials: BofA poaches veteran Morgan Stanley dealmaker (FT) Tech: Google apologises to advertisers for extremist videos (FT) Tech: Uber president resigns over corporate culture (FT) Tech: Snap’s stock is a buy, according to this analyst (MW) Technology Sorry, a Robot Is Not About to Replace Your Lawyer (N) Offbeat Norway ranked world’s happiest country as the US gets sadder (C) Stephen Hawking plans to ride to the edge of space inside Richard Branson’s ship (BI) What’s Attacking the Web? A Security Camera in a Colorado Laundromat (W)

March 20  (Monday) Markets Record ETF flows fuel fears of stock market bubble (FT) The Bull Market: 6 Things to Worry About, 3 to Ignore (BR) Are higher interest rates bad for stocks? (BI) Small-Caps Turn Sluggish as Trump Economic Policy Hangs in Balance (W) What Are Transports Telling Us? (BR) Nouriel Roubini warns: Markets are overestimating Trump policy positives (C) Oil OPEC’s Cuts Are Treading Water (B) Inventory Glut Could Push Oil Down Further (BR) Central banks While Markets See Growth, Fed Officials Rightly Wait and See (W) Why the Federal Reserve Could Turn More Hawkish (BR) Yellen’s exit may prompt the Fed to pare its balance sheet sooner rather than later, Goldman says (C) Europe Dutch Vote Allays Fears of a Euro Breakup for Now (BR) Scottish leader softens stance on possible independence vote timing (R) Emerging Emerging Markets Thwart Short Sellers (BR) US politics U.S. Republicans working on Medicaid, tax credit changes: Ryan (R) Tax reform may begin in late spring, Spicer says (C) Kill the Border Adjustment Tax (BR) What America would look like under the Trump budget (NN) U.S. Starts Bidding Process for Border-Wall Construction (W) Donald Trump: A Fox News president (NN) How Kellyanne Conway became one of America’s most powerful political operatives (BI) Trump adviser Roger Stone is in the crosshairs of the Senate’s Russia investigation (BI) G-20 G-20 Drops Anti-Protectionist Pledge as Price of U.S. Assent (B) Mnuchin at G-20 Plays Nice While Snubbing Rules of World Trade (B) Geopolitics & trade Tillerson finally speaks: ‘The threat of North Korea is imminent’ (BI) North Korea Tests U.S. as Tillerson Meets China’s Xi (W) Tillerson ends China trip with warm words from Jinping (R) Tillerson trip fails to narrow US-China differences (FT) Vietnam steps up islands battle in South China Sea (FT) Germany Trades Barbs With Trump on Defense After Merkel Meeting (B) Germany rejects Trump’s claim it owes NATO and U.S. ‘vast sums’ for defense (R) Syria Retaliates Against Israeli Airstrikes as Tensions Escalate (B) Industries & companies Tech: How Chip Designers Are Breaking Moore’s Law (W) Tech: Changes at Oracle, IBM, and Intel: Less Than Meets the Eye (BR) Tech: Apple Could Rise 10% In 6 Months (BR) Offbeat Bill Gates wants to tax robots, but ABB CEO says that’s ‘as intelligent’ as taxing software  (C) Marijuana Industry Presses Ahead in California’s Wine Country (N) Kalorama: The Charming Elegance and Urban Allure of the Obamas’ New D.C. Neighborhood (W)

March 18  (Saturday) Markets The S&P 500 and Dow have now gone 108 days without a 1% decline (MW) Oil Non-OPEC oil producers keep on pumping, deliver just 64% of pledged output cuts in Feb, source says (C) US Consumers Say Economic Conditions Best Since 2000 (W) Homebuyers Face Bidding Wars on Scarcer-Than-Ever U.S. Listings (B) US politics Trump wants to ax 19 federal agencies — here’s what they all do (BI) Trump Takes a Gamble in Cutting Programs His Base Relies On (N) Trump Budget Proposals Prompt Concern at U.N. (W) Key Conservatives Endorse House GOP Health-Care Plan (W) Republicans Move Ahead on Health Repeal Despite Weak Support (B) Trump to nominate Kellyanne Conway’s husband to lead the Justice Department’s civil division (BI) Sessions to Chicago Police: Don’t hold your breath for federal help (BI) Geopolitics I President blasts North Korea for ‘behaving very badly’ (MW) U.S. Would Consider Military Strike, Tougher Sanctions on North Korea (W) Tillerson delivers stark warning to North Korea of possible military response (R) Next Stop Beijing: Tillerson to Press China on North Korea (B) Geopolitics II Merkel hands Trump his second win of the week (C) Trump reiterates NATO support, presses Merkel on spending targets (R) It’s what Trump didn’t say with Merkel that worries Europe: Former US ambassador to NATO (C) Israel intercepts missile fired at its air force in Syria (R) Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings (R) Industries & companies Financials: More Hedge Funds Shut Last Year Than Any Time Since the 2008 Crisis (B) Financials: Blackstone Is Shutting Its Distressed-Debt Fund (B) Pharma: Amgen cholesterol drug cuts heart attack, stroke risk but shares fall (R) Retail: JC Penney isn’t the only major retailer leaving these malls (C) Tech: Snapchat continues to dive (BI) Offbeat The People From ‘Government Sachs’ (N) Edge or Liability? White House Ties May Cut Two Ways for Goldman (N)