What’s News
Berlin Hunts Terror-Truck Driver
The man initially suspected of ramming a truck into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12, has been released for lack of evidence. Separately, ISIS said one of its fighters executed the attack. 756
Berlin Attack Raises Stakes for Merkel
By the time German authorities said Tuesday they weren’t sure they had the right man in the Berlin truck attack, one thing was already clear: A turning point had arrived for Chancellor Angela Merkel. 59
Turkey Targets U.S.-Based Cleric After Killing of Envoy
Turkey said Fethullah Gulen was behind the assassination of Russia’s envoy to Ankara, expanding a fight against the imam, who denies the charge.
Trump’s Israel Envoy Pick Helped Fund Settlers
Donald Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has helped raise millions of dollars for a West Bank settlement, a connection that could complicate a promised effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Lloyds Buys Bank of America’s MBNA for $2.4 Billion
Lloyds Banking Group said it is buying the credit-card business of Bank of America, MBNA, for £1.9 billion ($2.35 billion), as part of its plan to grow its consumer-finance business.
Euronext in Talks to Buy LSE’s French Clearing Unit
London Stock Exchange Group’s move to sell the French arm of its derivative exchange could help win regulatory approval for a planned merger with Deutsche Börse.
FedEx Plays Hardball With Retailers as Profits Get Squeezed
FedEx is playing hardball with some e-commerce shippers as the package delivery giant strains to manage the surge in holiday shopping packages.
Work & Family
A Manifesto to End Boring Meetings
The A-Hed
Come to Church! There’s Beer
Volkswagen to Repurchase or Fix More Diesel Vehicles for $1 Billion
Volkswagen has agreed to pay around $1 billion to repurchase or fix an additional batch of diesel-powered vehicles tainted with emissions-cheating software, resolving what had become a sticking point more than a year into Volkswagen’s diesel-emissions crisis.
Praxair, Linde to Merge Into Gas Giant Worth $67 Billion
Industrial-gas giants Praxair and Germany’s Linde concluded a two-year courtship, agreeing to join forces to create the industry’s biggest player with a combined market value of $66.6 billion.
GlaxoSmithKline’s New Drug Challenges HIV Orthodoxy
GlaxoSmithKline’s ViiV Healthcare announced positive phase-three trial results for its new HIV drug in a dual-drug regimen, supporting the company’s audacious bet that it can shift the treatment orthodoxy away from three-drug combinations.
Russian Hackers Scammed Advertisers, Company Says
Ad fraud detection firm White Ops said it discovered a sophisticated online operation it calls “Methbot” that stole more than $3 million a day from online advertisers.
Libya National Oil Co. Says Pipelines Reopened in the Country’s West
Libya’s National Oil Company said Tuesday long shuttered pipelines had reopened in the country’s west that could supply 270,000 barrels a day of crude oil in the next three months—almost half its current output.
Russia Accuses Deutsche Bank Ex-Employee of Market Manipulation
A former Deutsche Bank employee in Russia manipulated markets through $4.8 billion in trades carried out from 2013 to 2015, Russia’s central bank said.
World’s Largest Trading Floor Put on the Block
A former UBS office complex in Stamford, Conn., that once housed the world’s largest trading floor is up for sale on the cheap.
NYSE ETF Trading Suffers a Second Straight Outage
NYSE Arca, the largest listing venue for U.S. exchange-traded funds, suffered a trading glitch for a second straight day on Tuesday.
Violence Erupts in Congo Amid President’s Bid to Stay in Power
Gunfire rang out across Congo’s capital and protesters poured into the streets after President Joseph Kabila appointed a new government five minutes before his two-term limit was set to expire.
Aleppo Evacuations Could Be Finished Wednesday
Negotiations to secure access for U.N. monitors to supervise evacuations from Aleppo hit a snag, but aid officials said the operation may be completed by Wednesday.
Bolivia Says Pilot, Company to Blame in Plane Crash That Killed 71
Bolivia’s government blamed the fatal crash of a charter plane in Colombia, which killed all 71 people aboard, on the company that owns the aircraft and the pilot that died in the accident.
Obama Administration to Block Some Offshore Drilling
The Obama administration announced plans to indefinitely block oil and natural-gas drilling in parts of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, part of last-minute actions seeking to lock in the departing president’s environmental legacy. 52
Travel
A Customized Ski Holiday, Italian-Style
In the Dolomite Mountains—where skiers can be overwhelmed by the abundance of slopes—a local outfitter tailor-makes a cushy inn-to-inn “ski safari.”
Technology
Amazon’s Echo Sells Out—Except in Stores
On Amazon’s main website, the Echo and smaller Echo Dot devices aren’t in stock until after Christmas. However, because of a quirk in the retailer’s increasingly complex supply chain, the speakers were still on shelves as of Monday at three brick-and-mortar locations.
Privacy Groups Seek Review of Google Policy
Two privacy groups filed a complaint asking U.S. regulators to review changes to Google’s privacy policy that enable it to build more-robust user profiles.
Video
Blast in Mexican Fireworks Market Kills at Least 29
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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Berlin Attack
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Merkel: 'We Must Assume Attack Was Terror Attack'
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Photos
Sports
An American Soccer Coach in England Learns to Speak British
Swansea manager Bob Bradley was criticized for saying “PK”, but a WSJ study shows he’s been good at avoiding Americanized soccer lingo.
It’s ok to eat chocolate, as long as it's the fancy stuff with high cocoa content. WSJ’s Ellen Byron and Lunch Break’s Tanya Rivero discuss the allure of premium and dark chocolate and how clever packaging has contributed to a jump-start in sales. Photo: F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Leah Latella
Books
A Book on Life and Death Becomes a Best Seller
How Paul Kalanithi’s widow helped turn his memoir, “When Breath Becomes Air,” into a bestseller.