• U.S. stocks hit record highs
Major U.S. stock indexes hit fresh record highs for the second straight session on Tuesday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index clearing new hurdles. For the DJIA, the index finished at 19,023.87, the first session it closed above 19,000. The average was led higher by gains for both Verizon Communications and Home Depot. At the S&P 500, the index also hit a record as nine out of 11 sectors closed higher, led by gains in telecom and real-estate stocks. Markets have swelled since the presidential election two weeks ago, as Donald Trump's victory was viewed as positive for Wall Street. MarketWatch • Facebook might accept censorship in China
While many analysts thought Facebook would never come back to China after its service was blocked there in 2009, it now seems that those observers underestimated the social network's willingness to make concessions to Chinese authorities over terms that have kept it out. Facebook's mission of making "the world more open and connected" is essentially at odds with China's policy of censoring content the government finds objectionable. But of course, money talks. Facebook is reportedly working on a program to restrict stories from showing up in news feeds based upon a user's geography, the New York Times reports, adding the tool was created to help Facebook get into China. Fortune • Lufthansa pilot strike grounds flights Pilots in Germany began a two-day strike on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights at one of Europe's largest airlines in a long-running pay dispute. Lufthansa management has so far refused to budge from its insistence that, despite record profit in 2015, the airline has no choice but to reduce costs if it wants to stay competitive with leaner rivals such as Ryanair, on short-haul flights, and Emirates, on long-haul flights. The airline had to cancel 876 of roughly 3,000 flights that were scheduled for Wednesday. Reuters • Merkel warns against trade isolation
Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germans against turning to economic isolationism, saying she was disappointed that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would likely collapse after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he'd withdraw from the trade accord. Now seeking a fourth term in next year's German election, Merkel used a speech to the lower house of parliament in Berlin to acknowledge voters' anxiety about globalization in Europe and beyond. She also expressed concern about election campaigns using fake websites to shape public opinion in ways that conventional politics is unprepared for. And though she didn't address Trump by name, Merkel—the leader of Europe's biggest economy—defended free trade and said she was "not happy that the trans-Pacific accord now probably won't become a reality." Bloomberg • Weak printer sales hurt HP
HP Inc. reported a 2% sales increase for the latest quarter, the first quarter-over-quarter growth since the printing and personal computer giant split from its data-center specialist sibling Hewlett Packard Enterprise last fall. HP was boosted by higher sales of laptops and desktops, though—notably—printing business revenue dropped 8%. HP's earnings guidance for the current quarter was also a bit lighter than Wall Street had anticipated, news that sent shares lower in after-hours trading Tuesday. Fortune | 
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