Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Stocks on Track for Fifth Straight Week of Gains (Wall Street Journal)
The S&P 500 erased its losses for the year Friday, joining the Dow industrials in positive territory as major indexes notched their fifth straight week of gains.
The Fed is crushing the dollar — and that’s great for stocks (Market Watch)
The brutal U.S. stock-market selloff that dominated the first six weeks of the yearhas been erased — and investors might have the dollar to thank for that.
Slowing global growth, worries about a sharp devaluation in the Chinese yuan, stubbornly low oil prices, and the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates in December are all factors that investors have blamed for the turmoil in global markets this year.
Struggling U.S. oil and gas companies eye rare financing deals (Business Insider)
Some cash-strapped U.S. oil and gas companies are considering creating an unusual layer of debt as a way of surviving the rout in oil and gas prices, according to restructuring advisors.
Chesapeake Energy Corp for example is considering the strategy to swap some of its roughly $9 billion debt.
The Mystery of America’s Missing Capital Investment (Bloomberg)
The public is in a foul mood this campaign season, in part because living standards have stagnated.
BAML: The Fed's views on inflation are 'stale' (Business Insider)
The Fed is still worried that the US doesn't have enough inflation.
About That U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance … (Bloomberg)
After a brutal period of downsizing and reorganizing, the U.S. manufacturing sector has become the most competitive in the world. Output per worker is higher than in any other major manufacturing country.
Eyes on the dollar with stocks out of the hole (Business Insider)
U.S. stock market investors will be watching currency markets next week for signs that the recent, related trends of a weakening dollar and a strengthening stock market will continue.
The Art of Marketing Marijuana (The Atlantic)
In the summer of 2014, The New York Times published its first-ever marijuana ad. The occasion was the enactment of New York’s Compassionate Care Act, which legalized pot for some medical uses. The ad, a congratulatory note from a Seattle start-up, depicted a well-dressed, newspaper-toting man standing on his stoop while a young woman jogged past. Both wore determined expressions; the man, according to the text, consumed marijuana “to relieve his MS symptoms,” and the woman used it “while fighting cancer.” The ad made sense for its time and place.
U.S. Stock Rebound Reaches Five Weeks as Worst-Ever Start Erased (Bloomberg)
It took took five straight weekly gains, and now investors can finally say the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is higher for the year.
Muni Fund Ownership Growing (ETF)
Rates are low and the Fed is on hold; municipal finances are stressed and bond market liquidity is down. While there would seem to be many reasons for investors to be avoiding municipal bonds.
Can Big Data Help Measure Inflation (The Atlantic)
There are two economic acronyms that should ring a bell even with those who aren’t experts: GDP and CPI. They’re two of the most important government statistics regarding the economy: The first, the gross domestic product, measures a country’s economic output, while the second, the consumer price index, records the rises and falls of the prices of everyday goods—which, when combined together, describe inflation. Accurate measurements of GDP and CPI are hugely important for central bankers, because they use those determine monetary policy.
People Over Products (Value Plays)
Give me a good manufacturer of ‘pumps’ or any company which does or makes something normally thought as ordinary but does it very well and one can make a lot of money. Danaher ($DHR) is a good example.
“Safe” Assets (The Personal Finance Engineer)
Many investors hold bonds or bond funds as part of a diversified portfolio. Bonds can be used to reduce portfolio volatility while providing a reliable stream of income. Given the current economic environment–near zero interest rates and persistent speculation about when and by how much they rise–the risks taken in the fixed income arena are an appropriate subject to review.
Dow's Freakish Bounce Makes Investors Whole, Can't Erase Doubts (Bloomberg)
Just as fast as U.S. stocks tumbled in what was the worst-ever start to a year, they have staged one of the biggest turnarounds in history — and yet all anyone seems to focus on are the negatives.
Advisors who follow best practices can add up to about 3% in net returns (Vanguard)
Financial advisors can add up to about 3% in net returns for their clients using Vanguard Advisor’s AlphaTM, a wealth management framework that focuses on portfolio construction, behavioral coaching, asset location, and other relationship-oriented services, according to a paper released today by Vanguard.
Wynn Resorts Stock Jumps, Macquarie Research Upgrades Macau Casino Sector (The Street)
Wynn Resorts stock is rallying 2.76% to $91.25 in Friday's pre-market trading session as analysts at Macquarie Research turn more positive on the Macau casino industry.
The Boomtown Economy (Bloomberg View)
I spend a decent amount of time traveling around the U.S. speaking at conferences and visiting clients. Doing this is a visceral form of economic research — you can see just how various regions are recovering and expanding with your own eyes.
Crude prices fall from 2016 highs as U.S. oil rig count rises (Reuters)
Crude prices settled lower on Friday after the U.S oil rig count rose for the first time since December, renewing worries of a supply glut after an output freeze plan helped boost the market to 2016 highs and multi-week gains.
BlueCrest Money Manager John McNiff Said to Leave Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
John McNiff, a money manager at BlueCrest Capital Management, has left the hedge fund, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – Shenanigans for Option Expiration, Silver Cup and Handle (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
On the bright side, option expiration antics aside, silver has set a proper handle, but has yet to 'activate' it by taking out 16 with some authority, and refusing to give it up.
Politics
Sanders calls notion he should quit Democratic race 'absurd' (Reuters)
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, responding to reports President Barack Obama called on Democrats to rally around Hillary Clinton as the likely nominee, said on Thursday it was "absurd" to suggest he drop out of the race.
Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Sanders was nearing the point at which his campaign against Clinton would end, and that the party must soon come together to back her, the New York Times reported.
‘What Do Some White Males Fear Even More Than a Black President?’ (The Atlantic)
I am on the road without time to do any set-up (or, sigh, to finish several pending posts on aspects of modern America that are more encouraging than the presidential race). So, unadorned, further reader thoughts on the rise of Trump and “she’s just as bad!” bitterness against Hillary Clinton
John Kasich Is Wrecking the Republican Party (Bloomberg View)
Could John Kasich be single-handedly destroying a political party?
Either by helping Donald Trump win the Republican nomination or by dragging the party into an ugly contested convention, Kasich seems to be causing a lot of trouble.
Technology
Driverless bus system showcases future of public transit (The Verge)
As technology companies and automakers race to put a driverless car on the road, they might want to take a look at a small experiment being conducted in the Netherlands. WEpods, an abbreviation of Wageningen and Ede, two towns in the south-central province of Gelderland, will soon play host to a driverless bus system, ferrying dignitaries and visitors to a local university via six-passenger vehicles that look a bit like enclosed, oversized golf carts. Unlike similar autonomous transport systems currently in use, such as the Rotterdam Rivium bus or Heathrow airport shuttles, these electrically powered vehicles won’t run on dedicated tracks, instead rolling on the same roadways used by human drivers.
South Korean Team Makes Wall Climbing Flying Rescue Drone (Popular Science)
South Korea’s robots are future-proof. Or, well, fire-proof, but as rescue robots, that’s definitely part of their future. A rescue drone by the Korean Advanced Institute Of Science and Technology is a flying wall-climbing fireproof building inspection machine. It’s Spider-Man, essentially, with more batteries and fewer hangups about Mary Jane.
Health and Life Sciences
Should You Worry About Catching Lassa Fever? (Forbes)
A German undertaker has the distinction of becoming the first person to contract and become ill with Lassa fever outside of Africa, according to early reports. ProMed, a critically important site for monitoring and reporting emerging infectious diseases, today notes a previous report of a surgeon who developed antibodies to Lassa after caring for a patient, but who remained asymptomatic.
Is Everything You Think You Know Wrong? (Neurologica)
Does sugar make kids hyper? Has science proven bumble bees can’t fly? Does the average person only use 10% of their brain capacity? Are routine multivitamins good for you? Were the dinosaurs killed off by an asteroid impact?
It is often observed that when a fact is accepted uncritically because, “everyone knows it to be true,” it is probably false. The answers to the above questions are no, no, no, probably not, and it’s more complicated than you think.
Life on the Home Planet
Americans’ Concern About Climate Change Is Growing (Think Progress)
If you are concerned about global warming, you are part of a growing majority that hadn’t been this large since 2008, a new Gallup poll has found.
In fact, 64 percent of adults say they are worried a “great deal” or “fair amount” about global warming, up from 55 percent at this time last year. According to the poll, concerns about global warming have increased among all party groups since 2015, though concerns remain much higher among Democrats than Republicans and Independents.
China's forest recovery shows hope for mitigating global climate change (Phys)
China's sweeping program to restore forests across the country is working.
The vast destruction of China's forests, leveled after decades of logging, floods and conversion to farmland, has become a story of recovery, according to the first independent verification published in today's Science Advances by Michigan State University (MSU) researchers.
