British lawmakers are voting today on Theresa May’s updated Brexit plan, and by all accounts, it’s been a mad dash for the Prime Minister in recent weeks to shore up support for a plan “that could go down to a humiliating defeat in Parliament.” Rampant speculation aside, May has so far ruled out asking for more time to negotiate Britain’s exit from the EU – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Marketplace
PG&E’s disastrous couple of months are uncomfortable for more than just the company (and its looming bankruptcy). Investors long viewing the utility as an “ultrasafe bet” are in for a world of hurt as well – WSJ and Bloomberg
An update on Malaysia’s preparations for a mega dispute with financial mega-firm Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB scandal that the country claims has cost it billions – NYTimes
The White House has reopened a key home-lending program run by the IRS that processes forms lenders use to verify borrower incomes in a bid to keep the housing market chugging along despite the continuing federal government shutdown – WSJ
SDNY Judge Katherine Polk Failla has signed off on the resolution of a years-long RMBS action by Royal Park and other investors against Wells Fargo for its alleged failures as trustee. More details here – Law360
Canadian cannabis firm Canopy Growth has announced plans to invest as much as $150 million to “build its first production facility in the U.S.” after receiving a hemp license from NY state, a direct result of the recently passed US farm bill that “legalized hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol – Bloomberg
New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital has made an unsolicited offer to purchase USA Today owner Gannett (which also owns more than 100 other newspapers). Among the reasons that the $1.3 billion offer is noteworthy: Alden’s reputation as a “destroyer of newspapers” – NYTimes and Bloomberg and WSJ
Not that anyone needs it, right? (hey, put down that phone). But here are some helpful tips on “actually, truly” focusing on the task at hand in an era when “deep work” often feels like an impossibility – NYTimes
