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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Bitcoin slips to around $16,300, futures volumes drop

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Virtual currency bitcoin dipped slightly from the previous session's record highs on Tuesday, after a month of whirlwind and volatile gains leading up to the launch of bitcoin futures on the weekend.

Trump's push to cut federal jobs has modest impact, mostly in defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's campaign to shrink the "bloated federal bureaucracy" so far has made a small dent in the federal workforce, and that largely because of a decline in civilian defense jobs.

European property giant makes $16 billion bet on U.S. shopping malls

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Unibail-Rodamco, Europe's biggest property group, has agreed to buy shopping mall owner Westfield Corp for $16 billion, marking the biggest takeover of an Australian company and a shift in global retail property to counter online shopping.

Futures flat with all eyes on Fed meet; Brent tops $65

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open flat on Tuesday ahead of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve that is widely expected to bump up the benchmark interest rate for the third time in a year as it continues to unwind its post-crisis stimulus.

Oil hits two-year-and-a-half year high on pipeline shutdown, stocks take breather

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped to their highest in more than two years on Tuesday after the shutdown of a North Sea pipeline knocked out significant supply from an already tightening market.

Comcast drops bid for Fox assets, leaving Disney in pole position

(Reuters) - Comcast Corp said on Monday it had abandoned its bid for most of the assets of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, leaving Walt Disney Co as the sole suitor in pursuit of the $40 billion-plus deal.

PepsiCo makes biggest public pre-order of Tesla Semis: 100 trucks

SEATTLE (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc has reserved 100 of Tesla Inc's new electric Semi trucks, the largest-known order of the big rig, as the maker of Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips seeks to reduce fuel costs and fleet emissions, a company executive said on Tuesday.

German watchdog recalls VW Touaregs over defeat devices

HAMBURG/BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's KBA automotive watchdog on Tuesday announced a recall of Volkswagen's flagship European sport-utility vehicles (SUV) with 3-litre diesel engines after detecting two illicit emissions control devices in the models.

Sanofi investors hungry for drug progress and deal news

PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi still needs to convince markets it can deliver on an exciting and sustainable growth path as it contends with fresh difficulties in its vaccines arm and looks set for another gloomy year in diabetes, investors told Reuters.

Bitcoin exchange Bithumb says 'right' regulations in South Korea would boost market

SEOUL (Reuters) - The Seoul-based operator of the world's busiest virtual currency exchange Bithumb said on Tuesday it will fully comply with potential regulations from the South Korean government and adequately capitalize itself to protect its clients.