Financial Markets and Economy
Futures little changed day after Brussels attacks (Reuters)
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors remained cautious a day after the attacks in Brussels and ahead of the Good Friday market holiday.
Assessing Market Reactions to Brussels (Bloomberg View)
The reaction of financial markets to the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday was calm and mature, showing that they have learned the lessons of such tragedies, which have become all too common. Nonetheless, markets will find it increasingly difficult to price the longer-term effects, including unusual political developments that could affect the global economy.
Markets are jumping as European stocks recover following the Brussels terrorist attacks (Business Insider)
European markets are treading carefully on Wednesday morning, but have seen small gains, as the continent continues to react to the devastating terrorist attacks which hit the Belgian capital Brussels on Tuesday, killing more than 30 people.
Junk Bond Traders Are Really Oil Traders Now as Markets Converge (Bloomberg)
The fortunes of junk-bond traders have never been more closely linked to oil.
Oil Drops as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Seen Expanding Amid Surplus (Bloomberg)
Oil fell before U.S. government data forecast to show rising crude stockpiles kept supplies at the highest level in more than eight decades.
6 U.S. companies that are fattening profits (Market Watch)
It’s been a fun rally since mid-February. But don’t let all the excitement distract you from a basic problem that hasn’t gone away: Corporate profit growth is terrible.
Brexit just took the lead in the polls — and now the pound is slipping (Business Insider)
The pound is slipping on Wednesday morning, as a poll showed that the people of Britain currently favour voting to leave the European Union.
Goldman Sachs: Chinese workers want to have more fun (Business Insider)
It's not just talk. China's grand rebalancing of its economy away from manufacturing and towards services is finally having an impact.
Oil prices drop, with traders wary ahead of key stockpile news (Market Watch)
Oil futures fell on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to U.S. data on oil stockpiles and an upcoming meeting of major oil suppliers.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $40.98 a barrel, down 47 cents, or 1.1%, in the Globex electronic session.
FTSE 100 advances as easyJet, other travel shares recover ground (Market Watch)
U.K. stocks edged higher Wednesday, aided by gains in British Airways parent and other travel shares after Tuesday’s deadly terrorist attack in Brussels.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 6,202, but gains were limited as mining and financial shares slipped.
How Hedging Rises for European Stocks Getting Used to Terror (Bloomberg)
The rapid rebound in Europe’s equity markets after bombings in Brussels Tuesday may be a function of how much turbulence is already priced into the region’s shares.
IPOs and merger activity collapsed to start 2016 (Business Insider)
It's been a miserable start to the year for corporate dealmakers.
A Welcome Cease-Fire in the Currency Wars (Bloomberg View)
Call it the Shanghai Accord. There's been a burst of speculation that last month's Group of 20 meeting in China produced a secret agreement between policy makers to halt the dollar's advance against its peers in the currency market.
Credit Suisse is slashing another 2,000 jobs (Business Insider)
Credit Suisse will cut as many as 2,000 additional jobs, as it looks to accelerate the cost cutting programme it put in place earlier this year. The jobs will be cut in Credit Suisse's global markets business.
Turkish Investor Yildirim Pauses Africa Plans on Commodity Slump (Bloomberg)
Turkish investor Robert Yuksel Yildirim says it’s getting harder for foreign companies like his Yildirim Holding AS to expand in Africa because of the collapse in commodity prices.
Is Royal Gold cooling off after big rally (Yahoo! Finance)
Royal Gold is up sharply in recent months, but one trader apparently believes that further gains will be limited.
Ford Says It Could Make Money If U.S. Auto Sales Fell 30% (Bloomberg)
Ford Motor Co., responding to investor fears that the U.S. auto market is peaking, told analysts it could still earn a profit even if the industry’s sales plunged 30 percent in one year.
Oil Plunge Pushes PetroChina Profit to Lowest Since 1999 (Bloomberg)
PetroChina Co. profit tumbled to the lowest since 1999 as falling crude prices crimped earnings at the countrys biggest oil and gas producer.
Why 2 is the new 4 in financial markets (Market Watch)
The Federal Reserve stood pat this week on raising interest rates and lowered the number of times it expects to eventually lift them this year to two from the four it previously telegraphed in what is now widely known as its “dot plot.”
Mitsui Sees First Loss Since 1947 Amid $2 Billion Writedown (Bloomberg)
Mitsui & Co., Japan’s second biggest trading house, forecast its first net loss since it was founded in its modern form in 1947 due to impairment charges on mining and energy projects from South America to Australia.
Politics
Something Is Going Seriously Wrong at Arizona Polls Today (US Uncut)
Arizona’s primaries aren’t even done yet, and there’s already legal action being taken as a result of incompetence or possibly even intentional sabotage.
Brussels Attacks Will Jolt 2016 U.S. Presidential Race (Wall Street Journal)
The deadly terror attacks in Brussels abruptly refocused the agenda of the presidential race Tuesday, jolting the dwindling group of candidates into a renewed debate over who was best-equipped to protect America.
Misunderestimating Donald Trump (Market Watch)
Each day brings a new confession from some member of the political class for the sin of underestimating Donald Trump. The New York real estate mogul has gone from sideshow to front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in less time than it took him to change his position on Israeli-Palestinian relations from neutral to pro-Israel.
Jeb Bush Endorses Ted Cruz (Wall Street Journal)
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush endorsed Ted Cruz for president Wednesday, a big prize for the Texas senator as he tries to consolidate support of Republicans opposed to frontrunner Donald Trump.
The endorsement by Mr. Bush, who dropped his own presidential bid last month, is the latest sign that party leaders and old guard Republicans who have been at odds with the conservative firebrand are increasingly willing to shelve their reservations and back him in the face of Mr. Trump’s rise.
Technology
Lincoln's new Navigator concept shows how confident the car maker is about its comeback (Business Insider)
Lincoln will reveal a concept version of its next-generation Navigator SUV at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday — and the big new SUV is the boldest concept Ford's luxury brand has rolled out since its comeback began several years ago.
The nuclear industry: a small revolution (BBC)
After decades of building giant reactors in domes big enough to swallow a cathedral, nuclear engineers are thinking small.
They believe part of the solution to the energy crisis will come from factory-built mini-reactors, just 23m (75ft) long, delivered to the site on the back of a lorry.
Zap Your Way to Learning? (Science-Based Medicine)
Before I get into the details of this product, I want to back up and discuss some basic principles. There is a clear pattern that has played itself out countless times on SBM or with regular authors on SBM in their other outlets. A person, company, or industry makes a clinical medical claim. We examine the evidence and find it wanting, and state so. Believers in the claim then attack us for being shills, closed minded, and/or failing to do our research.
Health and Life Sciences
Frog foam could deliver drug therapy (BBC)
Tough bubbles could trap and deliver medication while providing a protective barrier between the wound dressing and the damaged skin, they believe.
Chocolate Can Boost Your Workout. Really. (NY Times)
Adding a little dark chocolate to a training diet may effortlessly improve endurance performance, according to a new study of sports nutrition. The findings provide ammunition both for athletes looking for an edge and those hoping for an excuse to indulge.
Rare form of diabetes needs its own treatment rules (Futurity)
Patients with a rare, genetic form of diabetes often are misdiagnosed as having type 2 diabetes because the two share symptoms.
Now, scientists say treating these patients with therapies designed for type 2 diabetes is potentially harmful and that treatment guidelines need to change.
Life on the Home Planet
A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg dies aged 45 (The Telegraph)
Rapper and Tribe Called Quest member Phife Dawg has died at the age of 45, according to reports within the hip-hop community. Although no statement from the band has yet been released on his death, the rapper had been struggling with ill health and diabetes for several years, and received a kidney transplant from his wife in 2008.
The news was broken by producer and broadcaster DJ Chuck Chillout on Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Is Zika coming to a city near you? Check out this map (Futurity)
More cities than previously assumed could soon be grappling with Zika virus if two species of mosquitos are found to be equally effective carriers of the disease. A new interactive map shows the relative risk for 100 cities worldwide, including many US locations.
Even if only one mosquito species proves capable of spreading Zika, the scientists say cities such as Miami and Houston are at high risk of seeing more of the disease this summer.
