Financial Markets and Economy
Fed's Williams Sees Gradual Hikes as U.S. Economy on Track (Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said the U.S. economy appears to be weathering cooler global growth and he repeated that the central bank will raise interest rates at a gradual pace.
Oil drops as investors grow weary of rising supply (Reuters)
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, reflecting growing concerns that a two-month rally may be fading, as supply looked set to keep rising and there appeared to be little immediate prospect of demand keeping pace.
The oil price has risen more than 45 percent since mid-February ahead of a meeting next month of the world's major producers to discuss an output freeze. But there is growing scepticism about the outcome of the meeting.
China Bull Who Beat 99% of All Bond Funds Says Yuan Drop Is Over (Bloomberg)
For an investor whose fortunes are tied to a currency that most forecasters warn is destined to decline, Andy Seaman is surprisingly upbeat.
Wall Street's nightmare stock got thrown under the bus by its own subsidiary — and now it's below $1 (Business Insider)
One of Sun Edison's subsidiaries, Terra Form Global, announced Tuesday that its parent was in danger of going bankrupt.
Terra Form Global will also join its parent company in delaying its annual financial report.
BlackRock Joins Pimco Warning Investors to Seek Inflation Hedge (Bloomberg)
BlackRock Inc. joined Pacific Investment Management Co. in recommending inflation-linked bonds and warning costs are poised to pick up.
Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns: A Financial-Crisis Mystery Is Solved (Wall Street Journal)
It has been called the bombshell that blew up Bear Stearns.
Europe shares fade, dollar slips as investors look to Yellen (Reuters)
European shares traded flat on Tuesday while the dollar dipped as investors looked to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues to the interest rate outlook following weak U.S. data.
Contract Workforce Outpaces Growth in Silicon-Valley Style ‘Gig’ Jobs (Wall Street Journal)
Uber drivers aren’t the only “gig” workers rattling the U.S. economy. Older workers, especially women, increasingly are filling in as contractors across a range of traditional industries, from highway inspectors to health aides.
Corporate debt has had a historically ugly start to the year (Business Insider)
Corporate debt has had a terrible start to the year.
Negative interest rates put the global economy on a razor’s edge (Market Watch)
Negative interest rates, which central banks in several countries have implemented as a way to spur economic growth, is a radical move. In this three-part series, ‘Negative Thinking,’ commentator Satyajit Das examines this policy and the risk it carries.
Filed Your Taxes? Good. (Or Is It?) (Bloomberg)
Your dental surgery. Your colonoscopy. Your income taxes.
Imminent QE Boost Sends Spain's 5-Year Debt Yield to Record Low (Bloomberg)
Government bonds across the euro zone rose as the European Central Bank prepared to increase its debt purchases and investors awaited economic reports that are likely to show officials are still far from achieving their policy objectives.
Under the Hood of Japan’s Jobs Data: Part-Timers on Low Pay (Bloomberg)
Here’s a key point from Japan’s employment data released Tuesday: While the labor market is tight — reflected in a jobless rate of just 3.3 percent — part-timers are playing an ever larger role in the workforce and this doesn’t bring significant increases in income.
Lenders ‘Freaking Out’ Over London Luxury Home Woes (Bloomberg)
Lenders are charging higher interest rates for development loans for London luxury homes as slumping commodity prices and increased taxes deter overseas buyers, fueling concern the market is oversupplied.
Banker Accused of $25 Million Fraud Arose From Gilded Legacy (Bloomberg)
Andrew Caspersen, the banker accused of stealing $25 million, seemed to have it all, at least on paper.
Politics
Brazil party set to abandon Rousseff, making impeachment more likely (Reuters)
Brazil's largest party will decide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff's floundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising the odds that the country's first woman president will be impeached amid a corruption scandal.
Newt Gingrich: Wives spat is Trump's 'wake-up call' (Politico)
It was "utterly stupid" for Donald Trump "to get sucked into" a fight over his and Ted Cruz's wives, Newt Gingrich scolded the frontrunner on Monday night while discussing the Republican candidate's retweet of an image perceived to negatively compare the physical attributes of his wife, Melania, against Heidi Cruz last week.
Obama says journalists partly to blame for tone of presidential race (Reuters)
President Barack Obama on Monday laid some of the blame for the tone of the presidential campaign on political journalism that has been pinched by shrinking newsroom budgets and cheapened by a focus on retweets and likes on social media.
Technolgy
This Electric Fork Simulates a Salty Flavor By Shocking Your Tongue (Gizmodo)
Dousing every meal in salt might make food tastier, but all that extra sodium is eventually going to raise your blood pressure—giving you bigger problems than bland food. Soresearchers in Japan have built a prototype electric fork that uses electrical stimulation to simulate the taste of salt.
Designed and engineered using the research on electric flavoring at the University of Tokyo’s Rekimoto Lab, the battery-powered fork features a conductive handle that completes a circuit when the tines make contact with a diner’s tongue, electrically stimulating their taste buds.
The first cyborg Olympics is coming to Switzerland in October (Quartz)
Governing bodies of pretty much every sport in the world generally consider it an unfair advantage for athletes to ameliorate themselves in any way. But what if that was the whole fun of the sport? Researchers at ETH Zurich, a Swiss technical university, plan to host a “cyborg Olympics” in Zurich this October to find out.
Health and Life Sciences
Carotid Artery Stenosis: Surgery, Stent, or Nonsurgical Stroke Prevention? (Science-Based Medicine)
The carotid artery in the neck is a common site of atherosclerosis. As plaque builds up, it leaves less room for blood flow and can cause strokes through clotting or embolization. Carotid stenosis is defined as a greater than 70% narrowing of the lumen (the space through which the blood flows in an artery). It can cause symptoms, including transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and minor strokes; but it is frequently asymptomatic. It can be treated with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAAS). There has been much discussion about which procedure is better and when it is better not to do either.
Early Links To Alzheimer's Can Appear In Your 40s (Forbes)
For the first time a study has found that people as young as their 40s can show signs of arterial stiffening associated with subtle brain damage, a condition linked to cognitive decline and eventual development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Ask Well: Can Vinegar Aid Weight Loss (NY Times)
Vinegar in various forms — including cider, wine, rice, white distilled and others — has been put to use for medicinal purposes for centuries, with Hippocrates recommending it for treating sores. And some people today apply it to soothe jellyfish stings, said Carol S. Johnston, associate director of the nutrition program at Arizona State University.
Life on the Home Planet
The Clean-Energy Deadline Is Sooner Than We Think (Bloomberg View)
Everyone knows that at some point, if we want to contain climate change, we'll have to stop building polluting power plants. New research suggests that moment may come much sooner than we realize.
Germany wants refugees to integrate or lose residency rights (Reuters)
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he is planning a new law that will require refugees to learn German and integrate into society, or else lose their permanent right of residence.
The initiative comes after voters punished Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in regional elections earlier this month, giving a thumbs-down to her open-door refugee policy and turning in droves to the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD).