Reuters Before the Bell: March 3, 2017

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Caterpillar shares flat day after U.S. authorities raid offices (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc's shares were flat in premarket trading on Friday, suggesting investors had put aside the company's tax risk as old news, a day after federal law enforcement officials searched three of its facilities.

Fed and ECB go their separate ways FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two of the world's biggest central banks are likely to find themselves with a bigger policy gap by the end of the coming fortnight

Murdoch's Fox seeks EU okay for $14.4 billion Sky takeover bid BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox has asked EU antitrust regulators to approve its $14.4 billion takeover bid for European pay-TV company Sky, a filing on the European Commission showed on Friday.

UK government 'minded' to refer Fox's Sky deal to regulator LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Friday it was inclined to investigate Rupert Murdoch's planned takeover of Sky to see whether it was in the public interest, the first step of what is likely to be a politically charged process.

Global stocks off highs, dollar edges lower as Fed rate rise looms LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar retreated on Friday after two days of gains while world stocks pulled further back from all-time highs as investors unwound positions on growing expectations that U.S. interest rates will be hiked later this month.

Futures dip ahead of Yellen's speech (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were down for the second straight day since January on Friday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech, which is expected to give further clarity on the possibility of an interest rate hike later this month.

Investors still chasing inflation trade with $9.8 billion equity inflows: BAML LONDON (Reuters) - Investors continued to chase the inflation trade in the week that U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his pledges on tax cuts and spending, and Fed officials hinted at a March rate hike, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said on Friday.

Nestle, Coca-Cola to end tea joint venture: Nestle ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle and The Coca-Cola Company have agreed to dissolve their tea joint venture Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) as of the start of 2018, Nestle announced on Friday.

Samsung chief's 'trial of the century' to start next week SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee will go on trial for bribery and embezzlement on Thursday, a court said, amid a corruption scandal that has rocked South Korea and led to the impeachment of the president.

Star-studded legal team will seek to save Samsung chief SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee has handpicked 13 top lawyers to defend him against charges of bribing the South Korean president, nearly all of them former judges or prosecutors, according to the court where one of the richest men in the country will be tried.

Friday Morning Briefing: 'The atmosphere has become toxic'

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Friday, March 3, 2017 By Derek Caney Computer system restrictions, checking aides’ cellphones and fears of phone and email monitoring. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the leaks to the media coming from his administration. But efforts to plug those leaks have fueled paranoia among Beltway civil servants to a point where some are afraid to speak their minds during internal discussions. Quote of the day   "There is a climate of intimidation, not just about talking to reporters, but also about communicating with colleagues." – anonymous official Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged to stay out of any probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. He also said he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose that last year while he was a senator and Trump's campaign ally, he met Russia's ambassador. Intelligence agencies later concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favor. Democrats want Sessions to resign. Trump said he has full confidence in the attorney general. One consequence of the investigations into alleged Russian hacking is that Trump isn't as effusive in his praise for Vladimir Putin. His top foreign policy advisers have started talking tougher about Russia. And his recent appointments reflect a more hawkish view of Russia. Gone with the Schwinn Confiscated sharing bicycles of different brands are seen at a parking lot of Huangpu District Vehicle Management Company in Shanghai, China, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer  Around the country Vice President Mike Pence said he used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana. The private email account was first reported by the Indianapolis Star, which said Pence used it at times to discuss sensitive matters and homeland security. The account was hacked last summer. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Pence criticized Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state, saying it endangered national security. The White House is proposing to slash a quarter of the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, targeting climate-change programs and those designed to prevent air and water pollution like lead contamination. In addition to cutting staffing by 20 percent, Reuters learned some other specifics: Grants to states for lead cleanup would be cut 30 percent to $9.8 million. Grants to help Native American tribes deal with pollution would be cut 30 percent to $45.8 million.  An EPA climate protection program on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming would be cut 70 percent to $29 million. The brownfields industrial site cleanup program would be cut by 42 percent to $14.7 million. Funding for enforcing pollution laws would be cut by 11 percent to $153 million. Around Wall Street Snap shares soared 44 percent on their first day of trading, overcoming doubts about the money-losing Snapchat app's slowing user growth. The stock closed at $24.48 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, well above the initial public offering price of $17 per share, giving the company a market value of $28.3 billion, on par with CBS and Target. More Snap coverage here: An unwelcome neighbor The asymmetry of venture returns The moment investors donned sweats Too big to fail? Federal law enforcement officials raided three of Caterpillar'sfacilities as part of a criminal probe. The company believes the search was part of an Internal Revenue Service investigation related to profits earned by a Swiss parts subsidiary, Caterpillar SARL, or CSARL. The U.S. Attorney General's office confirmed the searches, but didn't say why the facilities were raided. Around the world South Korean firms are being squeezed in China, in suspected retaliation for Seoul's deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, highlighting the tools China can deploy to hit back at the corporate interests of trade partners it disagrees with. The chill facing Korea Inc, from cosmetics and supermarket chains to autos and tourism, points to a risk for American companies. "This may be the last trip on which I can bring back cigars," Paul Segal, author of the Segal and Cigars blog, said during a recent visit to Havana. "So far, I have only got about 10 boxes but I still have five days left before I head home." Trump has threatened to reverse the United States' detente forged by Barack Obama with its former Cold War foe. Segal and other American visitors to the island are not taking any chances and are stocking up on Cuban cigars. Today's reason to live Superchunk – Sprung A Leak