Financial Markets and Economy
Chinese companies are starting to default on their debt (Business Insider)
A huge Chinese cement manufacturer will default on a 2 billion yuan ($314 million) domestic bond on Thursday, as cracks begin to show in the country's corporate debt mountain.
China Shanshui Cement Group's move to reneg on its Chinese debt "will also constitute an event of default" on its $500 million dollar-denominated bonds due in 2020, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Charting the Markets: The China Glass is Half Full (Bloomberg)
Copper sinks for a fifth day, the kiwi gains and SABMiller shares jump on ABInBev offer.
A £71 billion deal just created a beer giant — here’s how much of the world’s supply it controls (Business Insider)
The megamerger between Budweiser maker AB InBev and SABMiller, the maker of Stella Artois and Fosters among many others, is finally official.
AB InBev and SAB confirmed in regulatory filings on Wednesday that AB InBev is coughing up £71 billion ($108 billion), or £44 a share ($67), after AB InBev played a long game of hardball. The original bid was £38 a share.
Gas-Gushing Wells Have Stockpiles Swelling to Record in the U.S. (Bloomberg)
U.S. natural gas drillers facing the lowest seasonal prices in two decades are trying to cut back supplies. The only problem: They’re too good at their jobs.
Dollar slips as investors shift away from selling the yen (Market Watch)
The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro during the Asia session Wednesday, with position adjustments by investors leading the relatively thin trade.
The U.S. currency USDJPY, -0.01% was at ¥122.92, compared with ¥123.21 late Tuesday in New York.
Buying Stocks to Win the Gods' Favor Will Not Save Modi Reforms (Bloomberg)
In India, if you pray for shares to rise, they probably will.
Once a year, for the Hindu festival of Diwali, the country’s two main equity markets — BSE Ltd. and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. — throw open their doors for a special one-hour session where traders buy shares to win the favor of the goddess of wealth. In 12 of the last 14 years, she has answered their prayers. BSE’s benchmark Sensex has climbed an average of 0.7 percent in each Muhurat trading session. The traders believe good Muhurat trading is a good omen for the new Hindu year.
U.S. stocks eye gains as rate-hike fears abate (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures gained early Wednesday, with the S&P 500 eyeing a second up day in a row after halting a four-session losing streak.
Shares in Macy’s Inc. are likely to see active trading, with the department store chain due to post quarterly earnings before the open, while brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and SABMiller PLC have also grabbed the spotlight by sealing their mega-deal.
Britain's Stocks Rise for First Time in Five Days on M&A News (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks rebounded, rising for the first time in five days, amid deals activity.
Why 100% of your investment portfolio should be in stocks (Market Watch)
I recently wrote an article for USA Today about asset allocation strategies and the rather antiquated notion of a 60% stocks/40% bonds portfolio. For it, I interviewed several financial experts who advocated a heavy allocation in stocks — including as much as 100% of your portfolio — even if you're in your 40's.
Unsurprisingly, I heard from many readers who considered that advice irresponsible. Their logic is simple: If you’re 100% in stocks, it’s nice while the market goes up, but your savings will be cut in half or worse when the market inevitably crashes.
Vivendi Plummets as Investors Question `Heavy' Investment Plan (Bloomberg)
Vivendi SA fell the most in seven years in Paris after saying it intends to use a $10-billion cash pile to invest heavily in media and content, raising investors’ concerns that the plan may limit the return of funds to shareholders down the road.
Oil prices under pressure as investors brace for rising stockpiles (Market Watch)
Crude-oil prices surrendered earlier gains in Asia trade on Wednesday as expectations for U.S. crude stockpiles to build spurred profit-taking ahead of the official data release.
Traders were also making cautious bets ahead of China’s data release for October industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment.
Negative Interest Rates the New Normal Next Time Economies Slump (Bloomberg)
The report from once-uncharted monetary territory: there’s little to be scared of.
A Glut of Coal-Fired Plants Raises Doubts About China’s Energy Priorities (NY Times)
Just outside the southwest border of Beijing, a new coal-fired power and heating plant is rising in Dongxianpo, a rural town in Hebei Province. Cement mixers roll onto the site. Cranes tower above a landscape of metal girders.
Centum of Kenya First-Half Profit Climbs on Investment Income (Bloomberg)
Centum Investment Co. shares gained the most in more than a year after first-half profit surged as the company shifted money from equities to cash to benefit from high interest rates.
One Less Hurdle for Fed Hike: China Comes Back From Danger Zone (Yahoo! Finance)
For Janet Yellen, what a difference two months can make.
"It's A Bloodbath" – Here Is The Biggest Casualty Of Canada's Recession (Zero Hedge)
Since then it has only gotten worse for Canada, and as of two it culminated with the first official recession in 7 years.
Rationing Plan to Revive Bond Market Liquidity Shows Taiwan Mire (Bloomberg)
A plan toration bond holdings in Taiwan shows just how desperate authorities are to revive activity in a market plagued by near-zero inflation.
China Fund That Gained 24% on Bonds Sees Substantial Correction (Bloomberg)
An executive who oversees Chinas top bond fund, which returned 24 percent in the first nine months, predicts a substantial correction in riskier debt as the restart of initial public offerings drives money back into shares.
Osram Shares Tumble as 2016 Outlook Disappoints Investors (Bloomberg)
Osram Licht AG shares fell the most since a spinoff from Siemens AG more than two years ago after analysts said the lighting companys outlook for 2016 was worse than they expected.
Politics
Every Republican On Debate Stage Refuses To Name One Democrat They Admire (Think Progress)
During the first round of the fourth Republican presidential primary debate on Tuesday — consisting of the four candidates with poll numbers to low to qualify for the main stage — Fox Business Channel moderators asked each contender to name one Democrat in Congress whom they admire. Noting that if elected president, they would have to work with Democrats in some capacity to “get things done in Washington,” the moderators said: “I need one name from each of you.”
Hillary Clinton’s hawkish foreign policy works in her favor (Market Watch)
Presidential campaigns, especially in the current primary election phase, traditionally focus on domestic issues, from the culture wars to the economy.
But in an increasingly unstable and dangerous world, the race for the White House could well be decided next November by foreign policy, making former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the runaway favorite.
Technology
Innovative energy-absorbing materials have potential uses in buildings, helmets (Phys)
Purdue University is collaborating with General Motors to develop a new type of energy-absorbing material that might be 3-D printed and that could have an impact in areas ranging from earthquake engineering to safer football helmets.
This German Machine is Hitting People to Make Tomorrow's Robots Safer (Bloomberg)
A German scientist has tied Pastor Stephan Bernstein to a metal structure. Bernstein is wearing a blindfold and earphones to ensure he doesn't see or hear the machine that's about to punch him.
Don't worry — Bernstein, a 54-year old with a thick moustache and a warm smile, is going to be fine. He's one of 15 volunteers working with researchers at the Fraunhofer IFF Institute in Magdeburg, Germany, to find out what needs to be done to ensure robots don't crush their human colleagues when working alongside each other in a factory.
Scientists built an AI robot that’s figuring life out just like humans do (Quartz)
There are so many precious moments in a newborn’s life that parents love to capture on film: The first time their child sits up on her own, the first time she stands, her first cautious steps. Igor Mordatch, a robotics post-doctorate student at the University of California, Berkeley, has been doing similarly for a humanoid robot, called Darwin, which he programed to learn just like a human child might.
Health and Life Sciences
Widely Used Antibiotics May Raise Heart Risks, Review Finds (Medicine Net)
A widely used class of antibiotics is associated with a small but measurable increased risk of sudden cardiac death, researchers report.
These antibiotics — called macrolides — are used to treat infections such as pneumonia,bronchitis and some sexually transmitted diseases.
Psychiatry’s Mind-Brain Problem (NY Times)
Recently, a psychiatric study on first episodes of psychosis made front-page news. People seemed quite surprised by the finding: that lower doses of psychotropic drugs, when combined with individual psychotherapy, family education and a focus on social adaptation, resulted in decreased symptoms and increased wellness.
Life on the Home Planet
Tokyo is trying to transform this boulevard into its own Champs-Élysées (Quartz)
As Tokyo prepares to host the 2020 Olympics, one of its more interesting infrastructure design projects is to make a part of town feel more like… Paris.
The Japanese capital is embarking on what it is calling the Champs-Élysées Project—named after the famous tree-lined Parisian shopping boulevard—aimed at “generating vibrancy and revitalizing communities through such measures as opening outdoor cafés on wide sidewalks.”
