Key leadership changes at Walmart International and Lucasfilm grabbed headlines, as major acquisitions by Verizon and Boston Scientific alongside Ford's talks with BYD underscored strategic industry realignments and mixed earnings results for J.B. Hunt, Saks, and Dunelm.

• Walmart International CEO McLay to Depart — Wall Street Journal -
• Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy to step down after rebooting Star Wars franchise — Financial Times -
• Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm President and ‘Star Wars’ Boss, Steps Down — The New York Times Business -

• Star Wars Gets New Leader for Franchise’s Next Era — Wall Street Journal -
• Verizon Gets Final California Approval to Secure $9.6 Billion Frontier Deal — Wall Street Journal -
• J.B. Hunt Fourth-Quarter Revenue Falls on Lower Intermodal Sales — Wall Street Journal -
• Ford, China’s BYD in Talks for Hybrid-Vehicle Batteries After EV Market Flames Out — Wall Street Journal -
• Warner Discovery Doesn’t Need to Disclose Netflix Deal Details, Judge Rules — Wall Street Journal -
• SpaceX partner EchoStar struggles to reach escape velocity — Financial Times -
• Boston Scientific to Buy Penumbra for $15 Billion in Cash, Stock — Wall Street Journal -
• Halliburton expects speedy return to Venezuela and plays down risks — Financial Times -
• Humble Hershey’s Gets a Marketing Makeover — Wall Street Journal -
• Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -
• Ericsson Could Cut 12% of Swedish Workforce — Wall Street Journal -
• Two Fitness Companies Are Merging With Jared Kushner’s Backing — Wall Street Journal -
• Home furnishing group Dunelm sinks 17% on weak Christmas trading — Financial Times -
• Richemont’s Jewelry Shines Once More as Luxury Eyes Stronger Year Ahead — Wall Street Journal -
• Asda hit by debt sell-off after Christmas sales slump — Financial Times -
• Inside the Mad Dash to Save Saks, America’s Last Luxury Retailer — Wall Street Journal -
• Boeing Knew About Flaws in UPS Plane That Crashed in Louisville, N.T.S.B. Says — The New York Times Business -
• UPS Crash Probe Turns to Jet Part With Past Problems — Wall Street Journal -

US President Trump's engagements with Venezuela's opposition and threats in Minnesota highlighted domestic and international political dynamics, while new trade tariffs on semiconductors and NATO troop deployments to Greenland further underscored geopolitical shifts and economic policy impacts.

• Venezuela’s opposition leader gives her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump — Financial Times -
• Opinion | Why Have Business Leaders Gone Silent? — Wall Street Journal -
• US and Taiwan strike trade deal tied to $250bn chip investment — Financial Times -

• Oil prices tumble as fears of US action in Iran ease — Financial Times -
• Oil Futures Fall As Iran Risk Premium Fades — Wall Street Journal -
• Trump threatens to deploy military to Minnesota after ICE shooting — Financial Times -
• Trump Vows to Make Venezuela Rich. It Will Take More Than U.S. Cash. — The New York Times Business -
• How Iran’s Islamic revolution devoured itself — Financial Times -
• U.S. Forces Seize Sixth Oil Tanker Near Venezuela — Wall Street Journal -
• Nato troops to be in Greenland on ‘more permanent’ basis — Financial Times -
• Venezuela needs predictability — not predation — Financial Times -
• Why Banks Are So Worried About a 10% Credit Card Rate Cap — The New York Times Business -
• US-Iran tensions have ‘de-escalated,’ Arab governments believe — Financial Times -
• Japanese opposition parties unite in challenge to Takaichi — Financial Times -
• Trump says he has received assurances ‘killing in Iran is stopping’ — Financial Times -
• The impotence of Europe’s governing elite — Financial Times -
• Europe must turn the tables on Putin before talking — Financial Times -
• Leading Prediction Firms Share a Commonality: Donald Trump Jr. — The New York Times Business -
• Europe sends troops to Greenland in attempt to ward off US threat — Financial Times -
• An unreliable America is making Japan turn to drumstick diplomacy — Financial Times -
• Trump’s ‘unpredictable’ policies to fuel shift from US, Pimco says — Financial Times -
• Why Japan’s prime minister might call a snap election — Financial Times -
• Second person shot by US federal agent in Minneapolis — Financial Times -
• White House sets tariffs to take 25% cut of Nvidia and AMD sales in China — Financial Times -
• Trump Imposes Limited Tariffs on Foreign Semiconductors — The New York Times Business -

**BlackRock achieved a record $14 trillion in assets, contrasting with underperforming earnings from major US banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan, even as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley saw strong investment banking results amidst insider trading lawsuits and concerns over the Bank of England's capital rules**.

• BlackRock Caps 2025 With Record $14 Trillion in Assets — Wall Street Journal -
• NY Attorney General Sues Former Emergent BioSolutions CEO for Insider Trading — Wall Street Journal -
• Earnings Fall Short at Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo — The New York Times Business -

• US bank results as it happened: Goldman’s equities traders recapture Wall Street crown, Morgan Stanley’s client assets top $9tn for first time — Financial Times -
• Goldman and Morgan Stanley investment bankers ride dealmaking wave — Financial Times -
• Solomon’s third act at Goldman Sachs may be the most dramatic — Financial Times -
• Goldman Sachs Profit Rises on Jump in Dealmaking and Lending — Wall Street Journal -
• Lebanon’s bonds rally on bets that Iran’s influence could be weakened — Financial Times -
• BlackRock assets surge above $14tn after record quarter — Financial Times -
• BoE accused of making ‘mistake’ in loosening capital rules — Financial Times -
• FirstFT: Pimco pivots from US assets — Financial Times -

Legal battles emerged over deepfake images generated by xAI's Grok, leading Elon Musk's X to implement restrictions, while Coinbase exerted influence over crypto regulation, and TSMC's earnings signaled a continued AI boom despite Apple's cautious AI strategy.

• Influencer Who Had Child With Elon Musk Sues xAI Over Deepfake Images — Wall Street Journal -
• Coinbase, the Biggest U.S. Crypto Company, Asserts Its Power in Washington — The New York Times Business -
• Coinbase and the Crypto Revolt Against a Crypto Bill — The New York Times Business -

• Elon Musk’s X Restricts Ability to Create Explicit Images With Grok — The New York Times Business -
• Venture capital’s ‘spray and pray’ playbook lowers AI barriers of entry — Financial Times -
• TSMC’s Blockbuster Spending Plans, Results Herald Continued AI Boom — Wall Street Journal -
• Apple sits out AI arms race to play kingmaker between Google and OpenAI — Financial Times -

Labour's decision to delay local elections and Jenrick's defection to Reform UK reshaped British political lines, as economic indicators showed modest growth and increased optimism in housing, juxtaposed with concerns over business rates, university grade inflation, and proposed disability benefit reforms.

• Labour to avoid risk of at least 10 council losses by delaying May elections — Financial Times -
• Jenrick joins Reform UK after being sacked from Tory shadow cabinet — Financial Times -
• Jenrick defection redraws battle lines on right of British politics — Financial Times -

• UK economy beat expectations to grow 0.3% in November — Financial Times -
• UK lowers threshold to bring older reservists back into service in event of war — Financial Times -
• Britain’s business rates system is not fit for purpose — Financial Times -
• Head of UK’s Serious Fraud Office retires halfway through tenure — Financial Times -
• Jenrick’s sacking is both threat and opportunity for Badenoch — Financial Times -
• UK estate agents’ optimism on home sales highest in over a year — Financial Times -
• Labour’s muddled thinking on police reform — Financial Times -
• Would a ‘mild zombie apocalypse’ be a good thing for the UK economy? — Financial Times -
• Disability benefits could be reformed to get more people into work, says UK minister — Financial Times -

Verizon experienced widespread, hours-long wireless outages linked to a software update, while Maersk announced the resumption of Red Sea shipping following a ceasefire, and Heathrow Airport pushed for faster approval for its major expansion project.

• Verizon’s Hourslong Wireless Outage Tied to Software Update — Wall Street Journal -
• The Day the Cell Towers Died — Wall Street Journal -
• Maersk resumes shipping through Red Sea after ceasefire — Financial Times -

• Maersk to Resume Sailing Through Red Sea — Wall Street Journal -
• Verizon Resolves Hourslong, Widespread Outage — Wall Street Journal -
• Verizon Outage Cuts Off Tens of Thousands of Users — The New York Times Business -
• Heathrow boss calls for faster runway approval to meet 2029 start date — Financial Times -

Italian courts closed a fraud case against influencer Chiara Ferragni, a transparency advocate David Webb passed away, and concerns were raised about rising university grades in England, alongside India's move to regulate delivery speeds and reports on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

• Opinion | David Webb, Transparency Advocate — Wall Street Journal -
• Italian Court Closes Fraud Case Against Influencer Chiara Ferragni — The New York Times Business -
• Regulator raises alarm over rise in top grades at English universities — Financial Times -

• A warning shot to our tech overlords — Financial Times -
• The UK nurses struggling to make ends meet — Financial Times -
• Sudan: inside the world’s worst humanitarian crisis — Financial Times -
• India tells delivery companies to stop promising 10-minute service — Financial Times -