- German jitters weigh on stocks, ECB doubts lift yields (Reuters)
- Chinese Billionaire Linked to Giant Aluminum Stockpile in Mexican Desert (WSJ)
- Monte dei Paschi CEO to be replaced as cash call looms (Reuters)
- German exports plummet in July, hit trade surplus (MW)
- North Korea conducts fifth and largest nuclear test (Reuters)
- Hedge Fund and Cybersecurity Firm Team Up to Short-Sell Device Maker (NYT)
- Lavrov, Kerry express concern after latest North Korea nuclear test (Reuters)
- There's a Simple Reason Why UBS is Hiring So Many Quants (BBG)
- Iranian oil output stagnates for third month amid OPEC bargaining (Reuters)
- It’s Tough Being Over 40 in Silicon Valley (BBG)
- Elon Musk’s SpaceX Explosion Most Vexing Failure in 14 Years (BBG)
- Barroso's Goldman job hits post-Brexit EU as it battles for trust (Reuters)
- From steaks to furniture, Hanjin Shipping collapse to raise freight costs (Reuters)
- Ford Stock Stubbornly Sinks as Bosses Try to Rally Investors (BBG)
- Duterte says he told Obama he never insulted him, thinks U.N.'s Ban a fool (Reuters)
- It’s Millionaire Versus Billionaire in Beverly Hills Tower Spat (BBG)
- David Geffen’s New York City Apartment Seeks $27.5 Million (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- North Korea conducted a fifth nuclear test hours after President Barack Obama wrapped up a tour of Asia, highlighting the U.S.'s struggle to rein in the rising threat from dictator Kim Jong Un. http://on.wsj.com/2cdV1Zr
- U.S. executives contend Liu Zhongtian, founder of aluminum conglomerate China Zhongwang Holdings, used a factory in Mexico to game global trade; Liu denies the accusation. http://on.wsj.com/2ccVucb
- Wells Fargo & Co was slapped with a $185 million fine Thursday for "widespread illegal" sales practices that included opening as many as two million deposit and credit-card accounts without customers' knowledge, federal and local authorities said. http://on.wsj.com/2cJ3KWx
- U.S. air-safety regulators have taken the unusual step of singling out Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone as a potential airborne fire hazard, urging passengers to avoid using the devices entirely on board airliners, dealing another blow to the technology giant's smartphone recovery efforts. http://on.wsj.com/2cb8aRf
- U.S. military forces tried but failed to rescue two civilian hostages in Afghanistan in a raid launched last month under presidential authority, the Pentagon said Thursday. http://on.wsj.com/2bXP7ha
- Hillary Clinton's campaign, heavy on attacks against Donald Trump, has concluded that it hasn't done enough to telegraph a positive message, and plans a series of speeches aimed at defining her vision for the presidency. http://on.wsj.com/2cwcw5T
NYT
- For years, Wells Fargo & Co employees secretly issued credit cards without a customer's consent. They created fake email accounts to sign up customers for online banking services. They set up sham accounts that customers learned about only after they started accumulating fees. On Thursday, these illegal banking practices cost Wells Fargo $185 million in fines, including a $100 million penalty from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the largest such penalty the agency has issued. http://nyti.ms/2bWJ9rR
- The former chief financial officer of the real estate investing giant American Realty Capital Properties Inc was arrested on Thursday morning at his home in Pennsylvania on charges that he fraudulently inflated financial performance numbers for the company in 2014. http://nyti.ms/2bY7iDg
- Short-term rental company Airbnb, under fire over the ease with which its hosts can reject potential renters based on race, age, gender or other factors, told its rental hosts on Thursday that they needed to agree to a "community commitment" starting on Nov. 1 and that they must hew to a new nondiscrimination policy. http://nyti.ms/2bY6G0z
- U.S. regulators are seeking to impose further restrictions on the ability of Wall Street banks to make risky investments with their own money. If the new rules proceed, banks will be prohibited from buying and selling commodities, like copper, and would have to shut down what remains of their in-house private equity operations. http://nyti.ms/2bY98nF
- With the iconic Palace of Westminster, Britain's seat of Parliament, crumbling dangerously after decades of neglect, legislators moved a step closer on Thursday to agreeing on a plan for renovation, which includes vacating the entire building for at least six years. http://nyti.ms/2bY8u9A
- On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Investment Advisers Modernization Act of 2016, a bill that will loosen the information that the industry must report to regulators about the nature of its investments. http://nyti.ms/2bY7qCJ
Britain
The Times
Britain's software company Micro Focus International company confirmed that it is to buy Hewlett Packard Enterprise's software business in an $8.8 billion deal. (http://bit.ly/2bXAFpo)
Dixons Carphone's CEO Seb James has suggested that the vote to leave the European Union has had "no detectable impact" on consumer confidence. (http://bit.ly/2bXziXv)
The Guardian
A Labour party-commissioned report into reforming tax collection has proposed that big companies should publish their tax returns and whistleblowers who expose financial wrongdoing must have protection under the law. (http://bit.ly/2bXyMZR)
The number of UK workers on zero-hours contracts has leapt 20 percent in a year to more than 900,000. The Office for National Statistics said 903,000, or 2.9 percent, of the employed workforce were on zero-hours contracts - which do not offer guaranteed hours or sick pay. (http://bit.ly/2bXA7Qq)
The Telegraph
Economic forecasts should be taken with "a pinch of salt", according to Sir Charlie Bean, the incoming board member of the Office for Budget Responsibility - the body which analyses the state of the economy and public finances. (http://bit.ly/2c1YTx6)
Tullett Prebon has passed a crucial hurdle in its plan to take over arch-rival Icap's telephone-based broking business, after the competition regulator gave its blessing to the £1.1 billion ($1.46 billion) deal. (http://bit.ly/2cmxXKu)
Sky News
British Chancellor Philip Hammond has set 23 November for his first setpiece statement on economic and fiscal policy. The Autumn Statement will be Hammond's first chance to reveal his plans for keeping the economy on track. (http://bit.ly/2bXAKZW)
HSBC is poised to become the third of Britain's five biggest high street banks to enter an increasingly competitive bidding war for MBNA, the credit card issuer. (http://bit.ly/2bXzohT)
The Independent
Britain's economy continued its bounce from the initial shock of the Brexit vote with two positive jobs and housing surveys. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation recorded an increase in firms hiring permanent staff. (http://ind.pn/2bXxE8w)
A "hawkish twist" from Mario Draghi sent the euro up against the dollar today when the president of the European Central Bank surprised many traders by saying that the question of extending its money printing programme was not even discussed at the ECB's latest meeting. (http://ind.pn/2bXyBOd)