BB&T agreed to buy SunTrust for the world’s largest bank merger in more than a decade. They're betting the $28 billion union will allow them to keep up as bigger rivals race for technological supremacy. Both will lose their names and headquarters in the deal. So for now, America's sixth-largest commercial bank by assets has no name. —David E. Rovella

Here are today's top stories

U.S. stocks fell as investors worry that the Trump administration won’t reach a trade deal with China before a March deadline.

SoftBank just transformed $5.5 billion into $17 billion overnight. Here's how it happened.

President Donald Trump is worried the House Intelligence Committee is trying to hire former White House staffers as it investigates foreign attempts to influence him.

The U.S. filed an extradition request to Germany seeking the transfer of a terrorism suspect, but Germany deported him to Turkey instead. 

First the Humane Society filed a complaint with the government about how Pilgrim's Pride advertises its treatment of chickens. Now the company has been sued in a Washington court for marketing the birds as "natural." 

A London student prepaid $500,000 in rent for a penthouse apartment. His father, the former prime minister of Moldova, is in prison for his role in the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. U.K. authorities were not amused.

What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director said the only exciting news today is about jobs. With the report showing unemployment claims falling less than expected, it may indicate the damage from the government shutdown is lingering. 

What you'll need to know tomorrow

• South Africa strikes oil offshore, and strikes it big.
• Seven fixes for U.S. capitalism from Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Amazon may be crushing the global advertising industry.
• Republicans balk at a possible House probe of Trump's tax returns.
• Qantas dumped an order of the embattled A380 superjumbo.
• These are the places where homeowners are seriously underwater.
• Trump said he may support altering a tax aimed at Democrats.

What you'll want to read in Bloomberg Opinion

The Best Diet for Earth Isn’t the Best for Humans

A team of 37 scientists has designed a diet for the long-term future, and the good news is that it doesn’t require anyone to eat insects or soylent green. But some nutrition experts are still turning up their noses at the plan, which was designed to minimize environmental degradation while still feeding the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2050.

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