Frontrunning: May 24

• Trump Meets With Pope Francis After Policy Clashes (WSJ)
• Fed Minutes to Offer Clues on Debate Over Path of Rate Increases (WSJ)
• Manchester bomber had ‘proven’ links to Islamic State (Reuters)
• U.K. Chides U.S. for Leaking Manchester Bombing Probe Details (BBG)
• Manchester Bomber, Salman Abedi, Is Thought to Have Traveled to Syria (NYT)
• ‘No defeat, no pity’: Manchester unites (Reuters)
• China Handed First Moody’s Downgrade Since 1989 on Debt Risk (BBG)
• Defiant Duterte threatens harsh measures as thousands flee Philippines unrest (Reuters)
• OPEC Boss Embraces Shift to Top Diplomat (WSJ)
• Trump’s Budgets Will Suffer a Double Whammy Thanks to Fed Policy (BBG)
• Icahn Guides Trump’s Policy and Scores $60 Million (BBG)
• Why Little Alaska Airlines Has the Happiest Customers in the Skies (BBG)
• In Modern Cyber War, the Spies Can Become Targets, Too (WSJ)
• Bahrain protester ‘killed in raid on sit-in’ near Shia cleric’s home  (BBC)
• SpaceX Technician Says Concerns About Tests Got Him Fired  (BBG)
• FCC Won’t Take Action Against Stephen Colbert Over Trump Jokes (WSJ)
• Tiffany Tumbles After Jeweler Reports Surprise Sales Decline (BBG)
• At least 20 migrants die at sea, rescues ongoing: Italy Coast Guard (Reuters)
• Chocolate tied to decreased risk of irregular heart rhythm (Reuters)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– Moody’s Investors Service cut China’s sovereign credit rating for the first time in nearly three decades, citing expectations that the country’s financial strength will deteriorate in coming years as debt keeps rising and the economy slows. on.wsj.com/2rflRJQ

– A contentious tax dispute between Australia and Chevron Corp could cost the company billions of dollars and open a new front in global efforts to crack down on the aggressive tax strategies used by many multinational corporations. on.wsj.com/2qQCE4Q

– Glencore Plc has approached grain trader Bunge Ltd about combining, a deal that would give the Swiss miner a major presence in the U.S. agriculture market at a time when low crop prices have forced farming giants to scale up through mergers. on.wsj.com/2q7SZTI

– Apple Inc and Nokia settled dueling lawsuits over what Apple should pay for intellectual property used in its iPhone, a surprisingly quick end to what analysts had said could have been years of litigation. on.wsj.com/2qeDS6P

– The U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and alleged it used illegal software to cheat on government emissions tests, escalating a battle over the company’s diesel engines. on.wsj.com/2qUcYmc

– Target Corp on Tuesday agreed to pay $18.5 million to resolve an investigation by state prosecutors into its massive 2013 hack, a deal that represents the largest multistate data breach settlement in history. on.wsj.com/2qUoFt5

FT

– Theresa May raised the UK’s ­terror threat level from “severe” to ­“critical”, after police identified the suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in Monday night’s Manchester attack as Salman Abedi.

– Glencore’s agriculture arm has approached its rival Bunge about a possible takeover. The company said its agriculture unit “has made an informal approach to Bunge Limited regarding a possible consensual business combination”.

– The U.S. government filed a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler accusing it of using software to violate emissions controls. The lawsuit alleged that the carmaker failed to disclose “defeat devices”, or auxiliary emissions controls, in 2014-16 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles.

– Uber is paying tens of millions of dollars in back-payments to drivers in New York. It had been overcharging them for over 2-1/2 years and each driver will now get $900 on average back.

NYT

– Uber Technologies Inc said Tuesday that it had made a mistake in the way it calculated its commissions, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars to its New York drivers, and the company vowed to correct the practice and make the drivers whole for the lost earnings. nyti.ms/2qNru0j

– Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage finance giant, said on Tuesday that it had stopped selling properties to the firm, Vision Property Management, after conducting a review of the firm’s rent-to-own program, which operates in more than a dozen states. nyti.ms/2qNBPcV

– Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its credit rating on China’s sovereign debt by a notch on Wednesday, saying the steady buildup of debt in the Chinese economy would erode the country’s financial strength in the coming years. nyti.ms/2qNv0Io

– Target Corp will pay $18.5 million to 47 states and the District of Columbia as part of a settlement with state attorneys general over a huge security breach that compromised the data of millions of customers. nyti.ms/2qNC4Vn

– Congressional Republicans greeted President Trump’s first full budget on Tuesday with open hesitation or outright hostility. But it was not clear that they could come up with an alternative that could win over conservatives and moderates while clearing a path for the tax cuts and policies they have promised for years. nyti.ms/2qNyv1q

– Glencore Plc, the mining and energy giant, said Tuesday that its agriculture business had made an informal takeover approach to the commodity company Bunge Ltd. nyti.ms/2qNAMcX

– The U.S. federal government filed a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Tuesday, accusing it of using illegal engine-control software to enable its diesel-powered vehicles to pass emissions tests. nyti.ms/2qNyURu

Britain

The Times

Touchstone Innovations was approached by IP Group about a potential combination and held talks after encouragement from top shareholders and because the proposal had “certain merits”.

Royal Bank of Scotland has been accused of incurring “extraordinary” and “unparalleled” costs in its legal fight against shareholders over its 12 billion pound ($15.55 billion) rights issue. bit.ly/2rO77i8

The Guardian

Amazon is to add more than 40 TV channels to its UK streaming service, including ITV and live sport for the first time, upping the stakes against rival Netflix and pay-TV operators such as Sky. bit.ly/2rNVYhq

John Lewis and Debenhams are among the high street names backing a new credit union for the retail sector, officially launching today, which aims to help shop workers “avoid the clutches” of payday lenders. bit.ly/2rNW7Bu

The Telegraph

Glencore Plc has made an “informal” takeover approach for Bunge, a U.S. grain trader with a market value of around 11.6 billion pounds ($15.03 billion), including debt. bit.ly/2rO5m4z

Barclays Plc is being sued for 1.6 billion pounds in damages by a U.S. credit card services firm which filed a High Court claim against the British bank for mis-selling a payment protection product at subprime credit card business Monument. bit.ly/2rO84Hl

Sky News

Lord Grabiner QC, who has led the board of Taveta Investments since 2002, is expected to step down from the helm of Sir Philip Green’s high street group. bit.ly/2rNXK25

Major companies including the Co-op Group, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Barclays Plc have signed up to a pledge to hire 12% more older workers by 2022. bit.ly/2rNNVkB

The Independent

Top oil executives have donated more than 390,000 pounds to the Conservative Party since Theresa May became Prime Minister. ind.pn/2rOmF5J