Frontrunning: May 31

• Trump Faces Instability as Russia Probe Expands to Inner Circle (WSJ)
• Huge bomb in sewage tanker kills at least 80, wounds hundreds in Afghan capital (Reuters)
• Russia fires cruise missiles at Islamic State targets from Mediterranean (Reuters)
• Trump blasts Russia probe, urges testimony from former adviser Page (Reuters)
• Activist probing factories making Ivanka Trump shoes in China arrested (Reuters)
• Franken: ‘Everything Points’ to Collusion Between Trump, Russia  (BBG)
• This Is What the Demise of Oil Looks Like (BBG)
• Oil Slumps on Investor Skepticism Over Output Cuts (WSJ)
• Euro-Area Inflation Slows More Than Forecast Before ECB Meeting (BBG)
• Masayoshi Son Is Betting $100 Billion to Conquer the 24th Century  (BBG)
• The Billionaire Gadfly in Exile Who Stared Down Beijing (NYT)
• Morgan Stanley’s 16,000 Human Brokers Get Algorithmic Makeover  (BBG)
• Michael Kors gives weak forecast, to shut some stores (Reuters)
• Tillerson’s Enigmatic Chief of Staff Wields Power, Not the Spotlight  (BBG)
• South Korea defense ministry ‘intentionally dropped’ THAAD units in report: Blue House (Reuters)
• Top to Bottom: Pay for 500 CEOs (WSJ)
• Goldman Sachs Gave Big Hand to Venezuela ‘Hunger Bonds’ Movement (BBG)
• What Gap? Female CEOs Earn More Than Male Chiefs (WSJ)
• Bain Doubles Down on Risky Gymboree Bet Even as Bankruptcy Looms (BBG)
• Another Warning Sign Flashes for Subprime Auto Loans (BBG)
• Injunction Request Aims to Stop German Role in ECB’s Bond Buying (WSJ)
• Uber Fires Engineer in Bid to Contain Legal Battle With Google (WSJ)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– The Pentagon on Tuesday conducted a successful test of a system designed to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile, U.S. defense officials said, a demonstration that came amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. on.wsj.com/2rmu7qA

– Uber Technologies Inc fired its top driverless-car executive Anthony Levandowski, nine months after buying his startup for $680 million, in a bid to contain an ongoing legal battle with Google parent Alphabet Inc. on.wsj.com/2rmlUmy

– Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will turn over documents from his businesses to the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to a person familiar with the matter, easing the possibility of a protracted legal standoff over his cooperation with the panel’s investigation. on.wsj.com/2rD51oy

– Whirlpool Corp plans to ask the U.S. government to impose broad barriers on imports of household washing machines, part of the company’s efforts to fight what it calls unfair trade practices by South Korea-based rivals spanning half a dozen countries, company executives said late on Tuesday. on.wsj.com/2r9V28N

– Two former Theranos Inc directors said they did not follow up on public allegations that the Silicon Valley blood-testing firm was relying on standard technology rather than its much-hyped proprietary device for most tests, according to newly released court documents. on.wsj.com/2rfLYgW

FT

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon, at the launch of her party’s election manifesto, warned that a vote for Labour in the June 8 election would let the Conservatives in “by the back door” and that only SNP could “keep the Tories in check”.

U.S. coatings maker PPG Industries Inc said on Tuesday that the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets did not grant its request to extend a June 1 deadline for making a tender offer for Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel NV.

Activist investor Cevian Capital spent $1 billion amassing a 5.6 percent stake in Sweden’s Ericsson and said it sees significant potential in the struggling mobile telecom equipment maker.

The European Commission is advocating for sovereign debt from across the eurozone to be bundled into a new financial instrument and sold to investors as part of a proposal to strengthen the single currency area.

NYT

– Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told the New York Association for Business Economics that the Fed should raise its benchmark interest rate “soon”, despite new evidence that inflation remains below the level the Fed desires. Brainard’s comments reinforced expectations that the Fed will raise rates in mid-June at its next meeting. nyti.ms/2r9VXWV

– A labor activist who had been working undercover at a Chinese factory that makes shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands has been detained by the police. Hua Haifeng, who was working on behalf of the advocacy group China Labor Watch, was detained on suspicion of illegal eavesdropping. nyti.ms/2r9GMN5

– Scott Pelley is leaving his anchor role with “CBS Evening News”, a position he has filled since 2011. Pelley will continue his duties at “60 Minutes” and devote more time to that role but no replacement has been chosen for him. nyti.ms/2r9EvBv

– Uber said it had fired Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer brought in to lead the company’s self-driving automobile efforts, and who was accused of stealing trade secrets when he left a job at Google. nyti.ms/2r9TsDJ

Canada

** Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley declared Tuesday that Ottawa’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will not be derailed by a pact between the NDP and Green Party in British Columbia, raising the spectre of high-stakes political and court battles. tgam.ca/2r77KFm

** The Public Sector Pension Investment Board said on Tuesday that it will take a 40 percent stake in the operating company that runs Puerto Rico’s largest flight hub, Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. tgam.ca/2qFd4fD

** After two years of independent review, the Canadian government unveiled proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act and Labor Relations Act Tuesday, including a rise in the minimum wage to C$15 an hour by 2019. tgam.ca/2r7TLil

NATIONAL POST

** Granite REIT in response to the claims made by FrontFour Capital and Sandpiper Group Granite said Tuesday that a letter was required to help unit holders “see through the dissidents’ disingenuous arguments” and to set the record straight. bit.ly/2sdiYGM

** On Tuesday the province of Ontario returned to the market with a 100 million pound ($128.25 million) floating rate offering. The terms for that offering — it matures on Nov 20, 2020 — were the same as what the province paid for a 400 million pound offering done earlier this month. bit.ly/2rTDAGE

** Canada’s political fundraising rules are getting another overhaul, as the Liberal government is set to introduce a bill that will force all parties to follow stricter standards on transparency in fundraising events. bit.ly/2rSn0aj