What you need to know right now

It's a big day for corporate news today.

First up, here's the deal news:

The telecommunications giants

In macro news, UBS asked 2,000 Americans if their loan applications were "completely accurate and factual," and the results are worrying. And the US has been downgraded to a "flawed democracy."

Donald Trump’s border tax would make filling your car up with gas a lot more expensive, according to top oil trader Pierre Andurand.

The Mexican peso is tumbling after Mexico's president says he won't meet with Trump. And it's already fairly obvious where Trump's infrastructure push will turn into a dogfight.

In markets news, the Dow opened above 20,000 for the second day in a row. Here's why Dow 20,000 is the "picture-perfect" moment Wall Street has been waiting for.

Heading back to corporate news:

What to expect from Alphabet's Q4 earnings: Pay attention to those 'other' bets
Trump's policies have Nike facing one of its biggest threats in history
Caterpillar beat on earnings but issued a gloomier outlook
Dow Chemical profit beat estimates
GM is on an epic run — and it has no plans of slowing down with Trump in office
Ford is comfortable with the number of factories it has in the US
Fiat Chrysler said it will nearly halve net debt in 2017
Blackstone's income nearly doubled
RBS is setting aside another £3 billion to deal with its mortgage-backed security case in the US
Bristol-Myers slashed its 2017 outlook

Lastly, taccidentally published a list of George Soros' short bets

How to save America's broken retirement system, according to the man who revolutionized investing for Main Street -

Why Donald Trump is inadvertently going to accelerate the rise of robots - President Trump argues that too many US workers have lost their jobs to foreign peers as companies have offshored manufacturing.

Harvard's endowment is expected to lay off half its staff -

There's a troubling trend brewing in how medical diagnostics startups are funded - Diagnostic and medical tools companies are getting a lot of attention from tech investors lately.

2016 was the best year for the US housing market since the financial crisis -

MOBIUS: Fears about China's shadow banking system are unfounded -

Barclays has reportedly chosen Dublin for its EU HQ after Brexit -

Photos of the exclusive Caribbean resort where the Obamas are vacationing right now - Barack Obama famously promised his wife Michelle a special vacation post White House.

What you need to know right now

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insiders summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!