Tuesday Morning Briefing: Johnson & Johnson moves to limit impact of Reuters report on asbestos in Baby Powder

Highlights

Johnson & Johnson moves to limit fallout from a Reuters report that showed that the healthcare conglomerate knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder. The company's shares fell nearly 3 percent Monday, on top of the 10 percent plunge that wiped out about $40 billion of the company's market capitalization following the report's publication on Friday. You can read the investigation here.

Oil prices fell 4 percent today after reports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record U.S. and Russian output combined with a sharp sell-off in stock markets. U.S crude dropped to a low of $47.84, its weakest since September 2017.

A judge will decide today if Michael Flynn should be sent to prison. President Trump's former national security adviser risks a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for lying to the FBI about his conversations with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador in Washington in the run-up to the 2016 election. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan will sentence Flynn in Washington at 11 a.m. ET.

The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve is set to deliver its fourth interest-rate hike of the year. It opens a two-day meeting on today, in the face of criticism from the White House. President Trump has warned board members not to "make yet another mistake", and trade adviser Peter Navarro called the Fed “crazy” for having signaled that it would continue to raise rates next year. Fears about a slowing global economy have also caused world stock markets to tumble.

Tightening has hit emerging economies particularly hard, as the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and shedding its asset holdings makes U.S. government bonds more appealing relative to riskier overseas investments. From Jakarta to Buenos Aires, the sting has been felt. Argentine economy, for example, had initially forecast to grow at 3.5 percent this year but it is now seen contracting 2.4 percent, according to a central bank poll of analysts.

World

Special Report: Erasing the Rohingya. Dozens of Rohingya refugees say they want to return to the homes they left in Myanmar when they fled a brutal army crackdown last year. But satellite images reviewed by Reuters reveal that hundreds of new homes are being built on land where the refugees once lived and farmed – for Buddhist settlers, not for them.

What's at stake in Democratic Republic of Congo presidential election? The long-delayed election, due to happen on Dec. 23, could enable the country’s first democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960. Congolese hope it will help turn the page on a violent history, but the election is also of keen interest to companies mining cobalt in country's vast reserves. Of the twenty-one candidates on the ballot only three are considered serious contenders. But whoever is victorious is bound to have their hands full.

Commentary: Five moments that defined 2018. From the rapprochement between North and South Korea at the Winter Olympics in January to December’s frantic news agenda, 2018 has had no shortage of surprises. Reuters global affairs columnist Peter Apps makes five key picks for the defining moments of the year.

British Airways to resume flights to Pakistan after a 10-year absence. BA halted flights following one of the most high-profile attacks in Pakistan’s history, the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing in the capital, Islamabad, which took place during a period of devastating Islamist militant violence that swept the country. It will be the first Western airline to restart flights to the South Asian nation.

Reuters Top News  @Reuters

Two @Reuters journalists have been imprisoned in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017. See our full coverage: https://reut.rs/2Ckgei2

3:18 AM - 18 Dec 2018

Business

Huawei to spend $2 billion over five years in cybersecurity push

The typically secretive Chinese technology giant Huawei said it would spend $2 billion over the next 5 years to focus on cybersecurity by adding more people and upgrading lab facilities, as it battles global concerns about risks associated with its network gear.

5 min read

Twitter tumbles on concerns about hacking activity

Twitter shares fell almost 7 percent on Monday after the company said it was investigating unusual traffic that might be from state-sponsored hackers and, in what appeared to be an unrelated issue, a security firm said hackers used the platform to try to steal user data.

4 Min Read

Malaysia says Goldman Sachs failed to disclose key facts in 1MDB bond sales

The Malaysian government filed the charges in Kuala Lumpur against three Goldman Sachs units on Monday. The charges were in connection with the bank’s role as underwriter and arranger of three bond sales that raised $6.5 billion for Malaysian state fund 1MDB.

2 min read

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