Financial Markets and Economy
Here's the bright spot in that disappointing GDP report (Business Insider)
The bright spot in that disappointing GDP revision? Gross domestic income.
Gross domestic income, or GDI, measures "the value of the production of goods and services in the United States as the costs incurred and the incomes earned in production," according to the BEA.
Final May Consumer Sentiment at 90.7, Chicago PMI declines Sharply (Calculated Risk)
The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for May was at 90.7, up from the preliminary reading of 88.6, and down from 95.9 in April.
This was close to the consensus forecast of 90.0.
Chicago PMI Bounce Is Dead, Crashes Back Near 6 Year Lows (Zero Hedge)
Following Milwaukee ISM's plunge to 15-month lows this morning with a plunge in new orders (missing for 4 of last 5 months), Chicago PMI printed a disappointing 46.2 (against expectations of a slight rise to 53.0 from 52.3 last month) – lower than the lowest economist estimate. After last month's modest (dead-cat) bounce back from winter's collapse to 6 year lows, this re-collapse is hardly the kind of Q2-recovery-reinforcing data the mainstream wants. With the level now back at the same when Lehman hit, New Orders, Production, and Employment all contracted in May.
When the talking has to stop (Economist)
THE latest episode in Greece’s long-running economic drama is coming to a head. Since the victory of the radical-left Syriza party in the election of late January, Greece’s creditors and the new government headed by Alexis Tsipras have been exchanging threats. A resolution of some kind must occur in June, and sooner rather than later in the month.
U.S. economy shrank in first quarter, but don't panic (CNN)
Thank goodness spring is here. Winter really wore down the U.S. economy.
America's economic growth was actually negative in the first three months of 2015. Gross domestic product, the widest measure of growth, fell -0.7%, according to revised government data out Friday.
With 100%-Plus Interest Rates, Lawsuit Finance Draws Investors — And Scrutiny (Forbes)
On June 2 the Colorado Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that forces conservatives and liberals to flip-flop their traditional ideological stances: Whether “litigation finance” should be regulated as a form of consumer lending.
The Colorado Attorney General thinks so, and in 2010 issued a cease-and-desist order against Oasis Legal Finance and another firm for operating without a license under the state’s Uniform Consumer Credit Code. While Oasis maintains it buys interests in pending litigation, Colorado and several other states say those payments are actually loans, with effective interest rates above 100% when monthly “convenience charges” and fees are added up.
GDP Report Confirms Global Trade Is Crashing, And Why That Is Good News For Some (Zero Hedge)
We did not actually need confirmation that global trade is slowing to a crawl (and has in fact reversed): after all, we have been showing just that for the past year, most recently earlier this week…
The economy actually is not in a recession (Market Watch)
U.S. gross domestic product declined at a 0.7% annual rate in the first three months of the year, according to a government report released today, but don’t think that means the economy is actually contracting.
Stocks and Trading
Apple stock is great. So are many of its suppliers' stocks (CNN)
There are quite literally hundreds of Apple suppliers. The top 200 of these companies help the Mac maker procure over 97% of what it needs, including manufacturing, assembly, and materials.
Gold futures set for first monthly gain since January (Market Watch)
Gold futures erased earlier losses Friday to trade higher as revised data showed the U.S. economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter.
Prices were poised to mark their first monthly gain in four months, but still traded lower for the week on the back of strength in the U.S. dollar.
Politics
North Carolina Governor Vetoes ‘License To Discriminate’ Bill (Think Progress)
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has vetoed a bill that would have allowed state officials to refuse to officate marriages. The legislation (SB 2), which passed in the House on Thursday having previously passed in the Senate back in February, would have allowed state magistrates to opt out of conducting marriage ceremonies based on a sincerely held religious objection. Though the bill does not specifically reference same-sex marriage, its purpose was to allow officials to retain their jobs without officiating for same-sex couples.
This New Ad for Rand Paul Has Everything, Including Fire-Breathing Eagles (Bloomberg)
The first rule of the Internet: If you want attention, pour on the memes. The PAC’s debut ad for Paul, "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday," begins with a fire-breathing eagle and features an announcer affecting his best monster-truck promo twang to promote this weekend's PATRIOT Act debate.
Some artistic liberties are taken with Rand Paul.
Technology
Apple Posts A Workaround For The iOS Messages Bug, Promises A Fix Is Coming? (Tech Crunch)
Apple has published a support document detailing a workaround to temporarily resolve the situation with the nasty Messages bug that was capable of crashing iPhones. The document offers a simple series of steps that will allow users to re-open the Messages app after being hit by the bug, and notes that a fix will be made available in a future software update, as previously promised.
Sony Can’t Kill PlayStation Vita Because It’s Already Dead (Wired)
OH, DON’T WORRY: Sony isn’t killing PlayStation Vita. It’s been dead for years.
Sony gave its annual end-of-fiscal-year presentation to investors this week, and the Internet quickly picked up on Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House using the phrase “legacy platform” in reference to PlayStation Vita. This would seem to imply the portable game machine introduced in 2011 is now part of Sony’s past, not its present.
Health and Life Sciences
HIV drugs should be given at diagnosis, trial suggests (BBC)
HIV drugs should be given at the moment of diagnosis, according to a major trial that could change the way millions of people are treated.
People currently get antiretroviral therapy only when their white blood cell levels drop.
But a US-led study has now been cut short as early treatment was so beneficial for patients.
Life on the Home Planet
India's 'man-eating' tiger to stay in Rajasthan zoo (BBC)
Nine-year-old Ustad was tranquilised and shifted from a national park to a zoo earlier this month after he killed three men, including a forest guard.
A tiger lover had petitioned the court, saying caging the tiger was against India's wildlife laws.
India's tiger population stood at 2,226 in 2014. The country is home to 70% of the world's tigers.
See What a Herd of Elephants Did When a Calf Collapsed in the Middle of a Road (Time)
This viral video claims to show a baby elephant collapsing at Kruger National Park in South Africa and a herd of elephants “helping” it get back on its feet.
Some scientists argue elephants can show empathy. For example, a study of Asian elephants in Thailand published in February 2014 suggested “elephants adopted the emotional state of, touched and called out to those in distress, and did so in ways that seemed to mirror the consolatory behavior we see in other species,” Joshua Plotnik, one of the researchers from the University of Cambridge, said in an interview. In the study, “elephants often rumbled or chirped toward those in distress, and reached out to touch the distressed individual’s mouth and face. If a distressed elephant put their ears out and straightened their tail, the bystanders often did the same.”
