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Quote of the Day

" I know one thing; that I know nothing " - Socrates

Word of the Day

Repudiate - Disown refuse to accept or pay

In the news...

 The EU releases fourth-quarter GDP. Economists estimate that the region grew by 2.4% in 2017 (paywall), the strongest increase in a decade. Further signs of a robust recovery could fuel the euro’s yearlong rally.

German industrial workers go on strike. Workers at metals and engineering companies across the country will walk out after labor union IG Metall said negotiations over wages and working hours failed to result in an agreement. Around 260 companies will be affected.

Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address. The US president has said that he plans to unveil more details on his immigration policy in the speech. Multiple Democratic members of Congress have said that they do not  plan to attend the event. 

 Blackstone plans to buy a huge chunk of Thomson Reuters. The private-equity group is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the media company’s financial and risk business for $17 billion. The unit supplies financial data and news to banks and other financial firms around the world.

Jamie Dimon announced plans to stay on at JPMorgan. Dimon, who is Wall Street’s longest-serving CEO, said he plans to remain as the chief of the investment bank for another five years. He will have been in charge for 17 years by 2023.

Facebook said it would prioritize local news. In yet another announcement about its News Feed, the company said users will see more posts from local sources “so that you can see topics that have a direct impact on you and your community and discover what’s happening in your local area,” as part of its ongoing efforts to “prioritize high-quality news.” 

Tensions eased as a round of NAFTA talks ended.Officials from the US, Canada, and Mexico said they made progress in the penultimate round of negotiations  over the future of the free-trade treaty. Differences remain, but negotiators said there is less risk of the US withdrawing completely, as Trump has threatened. 

France’s Nutella riots were no joke. After customers literally fought to get their hands on heavily discounted Nutella last week, the government is now investigating whether the promotion was a sale or an instance of product dumping. 

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