CL,CN,CX,DL,DM,DX,EE,EU,FL,HO,KC,MW,NC,NE,NY,PH,PN,RM,SA,SC,SL,SW,TU,WB,WE BG,BM,BP,CC,CH,CK,CP,CT,DN,DR,FW,HL,HW,KS,LA,LG,LK,MI,ML,NM,PA,PI,PV,TD,TS,UT,WO Paramount Pictures; Sundance Selects; Fox Searchlight; Weinstein Co. P2JW016000-6-A00100-1--------XA CMYK Composite TODAY IN AreNA Oscar’s Biggest Surprises mANsION Stylish Hair Salons—at Home FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015 ~ VOL. CCLXV NO. 13 ****** DJIA 17320.71 g 106.38 0.6% NASDAQ 4570.82 g 1.5% NIKKEI 17108.70 À 1.9% STOXX 600 348.45 À 2.6% Central Bank’s Surprise Action Wreaks Havoc in Currency Trading, Signals Perilous Times for Policy Makers BY NEIL MACLUCAS AND BRIAN BLACKSTONE T he Swiss central bank scrapped its cap on the franc-euro rate in advance of the ECB’s expected bond-buying program, bringing new volatility to bonds and currencies world-wide. A1, A10, C1-2  Currency broker FXCM suffered losses that wiped out its equity and a New Zealand trading house failed as fallout from the Swiss move spread. C1 n Bank of America’s net slid 58% in 2014 and Citigroup’s profit plunged 47%. Both banks were hurt by regulatory fines and sluggish revenue. A1 n The Dow shed 106.38 points to 17320.71, government-bond yields fell and gold climbed. Japan’s Nikkei was down 2.5% early Friday. C4 n Economists said falling oil prices should be a boon to the U.S. and forecast GDP will grow 3% this year. A2 n Target is closing its moneylosing operations in Canada, wiping out billions in investment to focus on the U.S. B1 n Google is halting individual sales of its Glass eyewear and developing the next generation out of the limelight. B1 n BlackRock said investors poured a record amount of money into the firm in 2014. C1 n Schlumberger laid off 7% of its staff late last year and profit slid as oil prices fell. B1 n Caesars’ largest unit filed for Chapter 11 after months of talks with creditors. B3 n Intel’s net rose 39%, aided by sales of server chips, but the firm gave a cautious outlook. B3 i World-Wide Big Switch The Swiss franc soared Thursday after the SNB removed its cap on the currency’s value vs. the euro. Meanwhile, ﬁve-year government bond yields in some countries have slumped below zero, indicating buyers are paying governments to hold their money. Thursday 0.99 1.00 Swiss francs that €1 buys n Afghan authorities said they arrested militants suspected of being accomplices in the massacre at a school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. A14 n The U.S. will let many Americans travel more freely to Cuba beginning Friday and allow some U.S. firms to do business on the island. A3 n Major League Baseball scored a legal win that preserved its antitrust exemption, setting the stage for a Supreme Court appeal. A3 n BP faces a $13.7 billion maximum penalty under the Clean Water Act after a judge’s ruling on the 2010 Gulf oil spill. B6 n The pope, speaking of the Paris attacks, called killing in the name of religion an “aberration” but cautioned against deriding other faiths. A5 n The Obama administration is proposing new rules aimed at making food served at daycare centers healthier. A3 n Winter storms in the Mideast have left hundreds of thousands of refugees living in inadequate shelter. A14 n China’s anticorruption agency said it has placed a top spy under investigation. A8 Opinion................... A11-13 The Oscars.............. D1-4 Sports........................... D10 Theater........................... D9 U.S. News................. A2-4 Weather Watch........ B6 World News..... A6-8,14 > s Copyright 2015 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved Five-year government bond yields 1.5 1.20 U.S. 1.224% U.K. 0.983% 1.0 1.40 1.60 Scale inverted to show strength of franc 2010 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 0.5 Japan 0.0115% 0.0 Germany –0.049% –0.5 Switzerland –0.31% 2014 Sources: Tullett Prebon (currency); FactSet (international yields); Thomson Reuters (U.S. yield) ’15 The Wall Street Journal Franc Fallout  Bracing for ECB shift...... A10  Bankers, traders scramble... C1  Heard on the Street: Swiss tarnish central banks.......... C1 People line up to change currency in Geneva on Thursday. The euro plunged as much as 30% versus the franc. EUROPE ON EDGE Belgium Thwarts Terror Plot, Paris Attacks Stir Political Waters Reflecting a Rising Threat Europe’s fragile political equilibrium was shaken by the attacks perpetrated last week by France’s homegrown Islamic terrorists, which exposed a gaping divide between the continent’s native populations and immigrant communities. BRUSSELS—Belgian police killed two people in a firefight on Thursday evening, disrupting what authorities called an imminent terrorist plot just a week after Islamist extremists set Europe on edge with massacres in Paris. The plot was aimed at attacking the police, authorities said, and involved people who had returned from Syria, possibly fighting alongside terrorist groups there. The police operations, which resulted in 10 raids, were the product of an investigation that began several weeks ago, before last week’s killings in Paris at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery, authorities said. “This group was on the verge of committing a terrorist attack in Belgium,” said Thierry Werts, Biggest Banks Lag Behind As Economy Gains Steam BY CHRISTINA REXRODE AND SAABIRA CHAUDHURI More than five years into the economic recovery, the nation’s biggest banks are still on the outside looking in, as their fortunes grow increasingly disconnected from the rest of the country’s. Once looked to as a proxy for the financial health of American consumers and businesses, banking giants are struggling to boost profits despite safer balance sheets, a boom in global deal making and pockets of loan growth. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. on Thursday posted disappointing results. While bank profits have bounced back from the dark days of the financial crisis in late 2008 and Please turn to the next page  Heard on the Street.................... C8 By Matthew Karnitschnig, Anton Troianovski and Jenny Gross European Pressphoto Agency n Amnesty International released satellite photos that it said suggest Boko Haram killed hundreds of people when it stormed a Nigerian town. A8 2.0% Previous ﬂoor 1.20 BY MATTHEW DALTON n Belgian police killed two people in a firefight, disrupting what authorities called an imminent terrorist plot that involved individuals who had returned from Syria. A1 CONTENTS Art...................................... D7 Books............................ D5,6 Corporate News... B2-5 Global Finance............ C3 Heard on the Street C8 In the Markets........... C4 ZURICH—Switzerland’s central bank triggered turmoil in the markets Thusday when it unexpectedly scrapped its cap on the Swiss franc’s exchange rate against the euro, a move that unleashed new volatility among bonds and currencies around the world and further underscored growing concerns about global economic prospects. Against the cloudy backdrop of collapsing oil prices, a sharply rising dollar, fresh doubts about the stability of the euro and mounting global concerns over deflationary pressures, the move by the Swiss authorities was the starkest sign yet of the pressure policy makers face in dealing with unusual financial conditions that threaten the world’s already fragile economy. Some of the fallout was felt early Friday in Asia as FXCM Inc., the biggest retail foreign exchange broker in Asia and the U.S., said it suffered “significant losses” that wiped out its equity. (See related story on C1.) The abandonment of the cap, which had essentially pinned the currency at 1.20 francs per euro for the past 3½ years, prompted a collapse of as much as 30% in the euro versus the franc—the biggest single-day move in a developed market traders could recall. Swiss stocks fell 8.7% as traders worried the stronger Composite i franc would hurt Switzerland’s exports, especially to Europe. The currency move was accompanied by further cuts in interest rates by Swiss authorities, pushing some European government bond yields deeper into negative territory. The Swiss National Bank became the first of what is expected to be a series of central banks to act in light of the European Central Bank’s anticipated launch of a new bond-buying program to boost the currency area’s sagging economic prospects. The reaction shows the ECB’s bond-buying program is having a big impact on markets before it even takes effect. It also increases the market glare on the ECB’s action next Thursday, and potentially sets investors up for disappointment if the central bank doesn’t deliver a convincing package to fight off deflation. Tim Adams, president of the Institute of International Finance, said given the market expectations for the ECB, not acting could spark a market firestorm. “I think markets would be incredibly disappointed if it doesn’t happen,” Mr. Adams, a former U.S. TreaPlease turn to page A10 Agence France-Presse/Getty Images i Business & Finance i GOLD $1,264.70 À $30.30 EURO $1.1633 YEN 116.17 Riot police block a street in Verviers, Belgium, on Thursday, after an antiterrorism raid sparked a gunbattle that left two people dead. spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office. The authorities raised the nation’s terror alert and said police operations continued Thursday evening. A Belgian police spokesman said extra security Please turn to page A6  Focus on gunmen’s wives....... A5 Europe’s establishment politicians, after years of playing down concerns about the growing influence of Islam in their communities, are rushing to reassure constituents worried about further violence. And antiimmigrant parties, which stand to gain ground, face the dilemma of how to capitalize on public fears without appearing insensitive to the victims. Even before the Paris attacks, rising public disquiet over what many Europeans regard as the New Soap Operas: Office Showers Don’t Wash With Everybody i i i Amenities Offer a Clean Break but Can Put Workers in a Lather; Using T-Shirts as Towels BY RACHEL FEINTZEIG ers. Many workers have mastered the perils of the corporate gym One day before work, Shaun locker room—studiously avoiding Martin made a moist unpleasant eye contact to avert a glimpse of discovery. the boss in boxer briefs—but the The Austin, Texas, software de- showers near their cubicles have velopment manager had just fin- raised a host of new issues, from ished a workout and purloined towels to hit the shower in his hot-water hogs. office to clean off Showering at before settling into Brooks Running Co. work. Then the 32has become more of year old reached for a relay race than an his navy blue towel. exercise in relax“The towel was ation, thanks to timdamp. Worse than ers in the Seattledamp,” he says, debased apparel and scribing the mofootwear company’s Shower timer ment he first realshowers. The showized a co-worker ers shut off after had been secretly using his terry four minutes, and to deter an emcloth. ployee from doubling the length of The latest homey amenity to a rinse, don’t turn on again for crop up in the workplace, office five minutes. showers are going mainstream, Designed to conserve water, the ushering in a new era of intimacy showers have led to unexpected Please turn to page A8 and awkwardness among co-work- P2JW016000-6-A00100-1--------XA i OIL $46.25 g $2.23 HHHH $3.00 Swiss Move Roils Global Markets What’s News i 10-YR. TREAS. À 17/32 , yield 1.777% WSJ.com establishment’s failure to integrate Muslims was fueling antiimmigrant movements across the region. “Our political class has failed,” says Joerg Forbrig, a political scientist at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin. The ascendancies of the anti-immigrant parties, he predicts, likely will push the political center to the right, further isolating Europe’s Muslim communities. Such concerns aren’t new. Europe’s chronic economic malaise and resentment over the growing influence of the Brusselsbased European Union have fueled a surge of support for antiestablishment parties. But the brutal attacks in Paris and the slaying of a British soldier in 2013 in London have brought the discussion of immigration, religious tolerance and national identity to a boil. Please turn to page A6 MAGENTA BLACK CYAN YELLOW