Stocks took a breather yesterday (that’s turning into something of a global rally this morning), helped along in part by rising oil prices and hopes of a new ECB stimulus package this spring – WSJ

Let’s call it the big oil double whammy.  Not only has the drop in crude prices helped send markets into bear territory, but it’s not driving US economic growth as it often has in the past due in part to a gas tank windfall. Not so this time around – NYTimes

NY may soon have a new head of its Department of Financial Services. Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday nominated Paul Weiss partner Maria Vullo to replace Benjamin Lawsky, who stepped down this summer – Law360

A group of six global pension plans and sovereign-wealth funds is pushing a new stock index aimed at companies (246, for now) with long-term goals—a repudiation of the common criticism that “corporations have become too obsessed with the short-term satisfaction of investors, particularly vocal activist shareholders, at the expense of future growth” – WSJ

At the same time, others on Wall Street are finding ways to repackage the complex investments targeted by securities watchdogs as products untouched by regulators. The latest vehicle is proprietary index notes, which promise big results thanks to “backtesting”—projections by banks’ “rules-driven formulas back through time” – Bloomberg

Not all of the big banks are on the Bitcoin train yet, but at least a handful of the world’s biggest are dropping some old-school cash on a start-up devoted to the blockchain technology underlying the virtual currency – NYTimes

Barclays is reportedly cutting up to 1200 jobs across its global operations, with roughly 2/3 of the cuts focused in Asia. The cuts are part of a streamlining strategy announced by former CEO Antony Jenkins in 2014 – NYTimes

Work-life balance (and an effort to stem early burnouts) is behind a new “pencils down” initiative at JPMorgan that encourages employees to take an actual break on weekends (when not in the middle of a deal, of course) – WSJ

Carlson’s looking to shake things up, whether by partnership, merger, or sale – WSJ

Elon Musk’s 2013 pie-in-the-sky hyperloop idea is increasingly becoming a very real proposition, as two companies race to bring his vision to life (and make it economically viable) – WSJ

The blizzard causing runs on grocery (and liquor) stores from the mid-Atlantic to New York? Yeah, call it Jonas – NYTimes

Have a good weekend