🚗 Tesla kicked off production in China, marking a major step in Elon Musk’s global push for electric-vehicle domination: https://bloom.bg/2umuG7q

🌿 Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are finally on the decline as coal-fired power plants continue to close: https://bloom.bg/2sTbDRK

👮 Finland is not considering a four-day work week, dispelling viral reports circulating online: https://bloom.bg/2QSjHKG

Breaking: Iran fired a series of rockets at a joint U.S.-Iraqi airbase early Wednesday morning Baghdad time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on its news website.

An American defense official confirmed that an attack was underway against the Ayn al-Asad base in western Iraq’s Anbar province.

U.S. stock futures fell on the news.

Read more here: https://bloom.bg/2N2S1kY

A Boeing 737 jet carrying 180 people crashed in Iran due to technical problems shortly after takeoff, according to state media. It was headed for Ukraine.

Boeing is already mired in crisis following crashes in October 2018 and March 2019. Those disasters, which killed nearly 350 people, involved the 737 Max jet, which has been grounded globally for 10 months.

Keep reading: https://bloom.bg/2FqIb8y

Iran’s targeted missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq appear to be carefully calibrated to appease growing anger at home while providing Donald Trump with a chance to avoid war. https://bloom.bg/303c08p

Smoke from deadly bush fires that have devastated Australia has now spread halfway across the world, darkening skies in Argentina and beyond. https://bloom.bg/39NhdG1

Carlos Ghosn is set to give a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, where he is expected to address his reasons for skipping bail in Japan and fleeing to Lebanon. https://bloom.bg/2QTLQks

🇺🇸 Donald Trump backed away from the precipice of war with Iran after the country attacked U.S. bases in Iraq: https://bloom.bg/2sbMFNm

🚨 Carlos Ghosn went on the attack against Japan’s criminal justice system less than two weeks after becoming the world’s most famous fugitive with a daring escape to Lebanon: https://bloom.bg/2tGwOXk

👑 Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle said they’ll “step back” from their roles as senior members of the royal family and “work to become financially independent”: https://bloom.bg/2Qyktxt

Hello, here’s what we’re reading today:

🍕 A SoftBank-backed pizza startup is cutting half of its staff and shutting down its pizza business. Zume, which was known for serving robot-made pies, is the latest in a long line of SoftBank investments forced to slash spending. https://bloom.bg/39PKJLi

🐨 As many as a billion animals may have been killed in Australia’s wildfires since September, a scientist said, doubling his earlier estimate. “We’re probably looking at what climate change may look like for other parts of the world in the first stages in Australia at the moment,” he added. https://bloom.bg/2T1nfgm

💬 Bitcoin enthusiasts are starting 2020 fixated on something that likely won’t happen until May. Here’s what traders are saying about the planned reduction in rewards for mining Bitcoin: https://bloom.bg/2t30Kge

The Boeing jet that crashed in Iran on Wednesday killing 176 people tried to turn back soon after takeoff before plunging to earth in a fireball. https://bloom.bg/35wZIXa

China's Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the U.S. next week. https://bloom.bg/39Paziy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced they are stepping back as senior members of the royal family, but how exactly will that work? https://bloom.bg/2uzUtcF

🔴 U.S. intelligence officials increasingly believe that the Ukrainian jet that fell from the sky after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday was shot down by a missile: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-09/missile-strike-seen-by-u-s-officials-as-likely-iran-crash-cause

💼 It was both a great year for the U.S. jobs market, and the worst in almost a decade: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-09/a-great-year-for-u-s-jobs-is-also-likely-to-be-worst-since-2011

🇨🇳 China announced that Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the U.S. next week, locking in Beijing’s commitment: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-09/china-says-liu-to-visit-washington-from-jan-13-for-deal-signing

⚠️ Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson suspect it was a missile that brought down a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran this week, killing 176 on board. It should be easy to tell if that's the case, according to experts. https://bloom.bg/2seuzu6

📈 The rise of the stock market index fund has made BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street the most important players in corporate America. https://bloom.bg/39XG9un

🌮 Looking for a new job? You can now make $100,000 working at fast-food chain Taco Bell. https://bloom.bg/2Nd63AE

✈ A Boeing employee said the grounded 737 Max was "designed by clowns," according to internal messages from the company. https://bloom.bg/35F722X

🇬🇧 Brexit has already cost the U.K. economy £130 billion ($170 billion), with a further £70 billion set to be added by the end of this year, according to Bloomberg Economics research. https://bloom.bg/3067ar2

💸 Life on the run is proving expensive for Carlos Ghosn: His fortune has shrunk by an estimated 40% since he was arrested more than a year ago. https://bloom.bg/2R1Mqg1

💻 In an all-out cyber war, Iran would be a formidable foe. Since 2012, it has carried out dozens of major attacks: https://bloom.bg/3092fpn

🚗 Tesla fanatics are paying $50,000 to hot-rod their electric cars: https://bloom.bg/36HT7uu

🏡 A 45-room mansion is ready to smash London real estate records when it’s sold for more than 200 million pounds ($262 million): https://bloom.bg/2tR8kdV

🇴🇲 The longest-reigning monarch in the Arab world has died.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Omani leader who turned an isolated Middle Eastern country torn by civil war into a stable oil exporter and an ally to both the U.S. and Iran, has passed away aged 79.

His death follows a years-long struggle with an illness and ends almost half a century of rule. Qaboos was just 29 when he overthrew his father in a 1970 palace coup supported by London and aided by Oman’s British-controlled armed forces.

Using bountiful oil revenue, Qaboos transformed the country into an independent nation of 4 million people with a $79 billion economy.

Read his full obituary here: https://bloom.bg/2R4gPdQ

Breaking News: Iran said it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner this week after mistaking it for a hostile target, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

A human error by the country's military led to the shooting down of the plane, Iran's Foreign Minister said. The Boeing 737-800 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 aboard.

As recent as Friday, Iran denied that it had fired a missile at the plane and accused western governments of “psychological warfare.” https://bloom.bg/2tRNzPe

🗳 Xi Jinping’s goal of bringing Taiwan under his control moved further out of his grasp as the island’s voters re-elected Tsai Ing-wen. She vowed to defend its sovereignty, raising questions about the success of China’s Taiwan strategy. https://bloom.bg/2t01jYv

🇹🇭 “We want a true democratic government, not a dictatorship in disguise.” Thousands joined a rally in Thailand to protest against the military-backed administration. https://bloom.bg/36MHTom

🇮🇶 Elsewhere, Iraq’s government could lose access to its dollar account at the Federal Reserve if the Trump administration imposes sanctions. https://bloom.bg/2QLjMkq

🇮🇷 Details about why Iran air defense forces mistook a Ukrainian airliner for a cruise missile remain murky. But experts say the error, which killed all 176 people aboard, is probably the result of multiple layers of failure. https://bloom.bg/36Rz6By

🚨 A mass evacuation is under way in the Philippines, where an erupting volcano south of Manila has triggered some 75 earthquakes and spewed “ballistic fragments.” Here's the latest: https://bloom.bg/30cCsg8

📈 The world’s most precious metal is leaving everything else in the dust. Rhodium — five times more costly than gold — has surged 32% already this month. https://bloom.bg/30dQPke

💾 India has more than 560 million internet users. They're about to gain unprecedented access to their own data, as the country joins a movement to return control of data to consumers. https://bloom.bg/3a76JRR

📱 The head of one of Canada's biggest food companies blasted the U.S. on Twitter after the family of an employee was killed when Iranian forces mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner.
https://bloom.bg/36PhEO7

🇨🇳 Publicly, Goldman Sachs has only spoken in broad strokes about its China strategy. But a massive effort is taking shape inside the bank to ramp up ambitiously.
https://bloom.bg/2Rp0yAr

👑 Queen Elizabeth II says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be allowed “period of transition” in which they will spend time in Canada and the U.K.: https://bloom.bg/35TkYq5

🎥 “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” were nominated for an Oscar best picture, giving Netflix its best chance yet to win Hollywood’s most coveted prize: https://bloom.bg/2ThnC6B

🐨 Australia’s koala population has taken such an “extraordinary hit” from the wildfires that it could be classified as endangered in some areas: https://bloom.bg/30g2rmO

🇨🇳 China’s total exports expanded in 2019 on stronger global demand while trade with the U.S. dropped almost 11%. The latest data comes in the same week that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the U.S. in Washington. https://bloom.bg/2QRdf7L

😢 Middle age misery peaks at age 47.2 in the developed world, according to a new economic study. https://bloom.bg/36Swl39

💰 And the end of bonus culture is coming to Wall Street. "The idea that you are responsible for your own destiny has gone. It’s a team sport now,” says the head of UBS’s Strategic Development Lab. With tech platforms center stage, bankers’ compensation will be determined more by the strength of a broader desk or unit. https://bloom.bg/2NkDhhC

💷 The pound is on its longest losing streak in eight months, driven by increased speculation that a Bank of England interest-rate cut is imminent. https://bloom.bg/37YZBoS

💰 More than $29 million in cash was found hidden in the home of a Chinese banker who has been charged with taking bribes in one of China's biggest financial corruption cases. https://bloom.bg/2FPXOGA

📈 European stocks headed higher along with American equity-index futures as investors await the start of U.S. earnings season and officials prepare to sign the China trade deal in Washington. https://bloom.bg/2QRuWEj

💸 The Netherlands decriminalized marijuana in 1976, but risks falling behind as other nations legalize weed. The big area of concern? Producing or selling weed in bulk remains a legal gray zone: https://bloom.bg/2TnEs3z

❌ The world’s fastest growing economy is grinding to a halt. Here’s how India went from boom to bust: https://bloom.bg/3873jNu

🏦 JPMorgan Chase just posted the best year for any U.S. bank…in history: https://bloom.bg/384sTT3