Financial Markets and Economy
The market is going to suck for the next 20 years, and you're going to have to double your life savings (Business Insider)
The "golden age" of stock market returns is over.
Bank of Japan Keeps Policy Unchanged; Yen Rises (Wall Street Journal)
The Bank of Japan on Thursday brushed aside calls for additional stimulus despite new data that showed prices falling, a decision that quickly sent the yen up and Japanese stocks down.
The US economy was weaker than expected in the first quarter (Business Insider)
The US economy slowed more than expected in the first quarter.
How to Protect Yourself from Deutsche Bank’s Gold and Silver Market Rigging (Wall Street Examiner)
Deutsche Bank AG just can’t seem to get out of its own way.
Currency Trading's 20% Drop Raises Specter of Flash-Crash Future (Bloomberg)
The world’s biggest financial market has shrunk by 20 percent during the past year and a half.
ECB's Nowotny can't say exactly when inflation will pick up (Reuters)
The European Central Bank's current policy aimed at spurring inflation should have the desired effect in the second half of the year, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Thursday, but it is not possible to say exactly when.
What’s concerning about the GDP numbers — economist reactions (Market Watch)
Here are reactions to the news to the U.S. economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter.
Why Risky Behavior Is Essential For Success As An Entrepreneur And Investor (Forbes)
“We should all jump off cliffs as often as possible,” advisesGordon Ritter, a founder and general partner of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Emergence Capital. Ritter gave the keynote speech at Princeton University’s Keller Center’s Innovation Forum in February and that was some of his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. The Forum is designed to showcase research that has the potential to be commercialized. Teams compete to present their research in three-minute pitches to an audience that includes angel investors, venture capitalists, staff, faculty, students and members of Princeton’s entrepreneurial community.
Futures are getting smacked (Business Insider)
Stock futures are weaker on Thursday after a stunning policy decision by the Bank of Japan.
Dow Chemical Beats Profit Estimates as Margins Widen on Cuts (Bloomberg)
Dow Chemical Co., which plans to merge with DuPont Co. by year-end, posted first-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates as cost cuts and the sale of the chlorine business contributed to wider profit margins.
Markets Get the Worst Kind of Kuroda Surprise as BOJ Stands Pat (Bloomberg)
Haruhiko Kuroda hasn’t lost his power to jolt markets: but now he’s moving them by doing nothing.
Why iRobot Corporation Stock Popped Today (Fox Business)
Shares of iRobot climbed as much as 10.9% early Wednesday, and traded up 9.3% as of 3:30 p.m. EST after the home robot maker announced strong first-quarter 2016 results.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals to Make Sweeping Changes to Board (Wall Street Journal)
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is planning sweeping changes to its board of directors as it moves to set a new tone at the top of a company under fire from politicians and investors for its management and drug-pricing practices.
Sanofi Makes $9.3 Billion Bid for Medivation (Wall Street Journal)
Sanofi SA on Thursday said it has made an unsolicited offer to acquire Medivation Inc. in a deal valued at $9.3 billion, the French drugmaker’s latest effort to expand its cancer-treatment business.
Ford Profit Surges to Record as Sales of SUVs, F-150 Gain Speed (Bloomberg)
Ford Motor Co. reaped the benefits Americans’ love of sport utility vehicles and pickups in the first quarter, posting record net income of $2.5 billion that exceeded analysts’ estimates on the back of those popular models.
Elon Musk Supports His Business Empire With Unusual Financial Moves (Wall Street Journal)
Since October 2014, SolarCity Corp. has tried to lure individual investors to the solar-power business by pitching $214 million of what it calls “solar bonds” through the company’s website.
Politics
Donald Trump Mocks Cruz: ‘What’s He Doing Picking Vice Presidents?’ (Wall Street Journal)
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday mocked rival Ted Cruz‘s decision to name a running mate as premature, while boasting of his own strength in the nomination race after his five-state sweep Tuesday night.
How to Save the Republican Party (The Atlantic)
Donald Trump’s big victories in the Mid-Atlantic primaries don’t represent quite the end of the ballgame—but they come damn close.
And now Donald Trump’s many and fierce opponents in the Republican Party and the conservative movement face the hour of decision. Trump looks ever more certain to be the party nominee. Yet not perhaps since George McGovern in 1972 has a presumptive nominee so signally failed to carry the most committed members of his party with him.
Trump breaks taboos, attacks Clinton on gender issue (Reuters)
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump waded into politically risky territory this week when he accused Democrat Hillary Clinton of exploiting her gender to win votes and said she would have little support if she were not a woman.
Technology
The Next Generation of Chinese War Robots (Popular Science)
DSA 2016 Kuala Lumpur is one of Asia's leading arms shows, as arms manufacturers from around the world congregate in Kuala Lumpur to pitch their weapons to Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. In spite of territorial tensions over the South China Sea, China has given its weapons makers carte blanche to offer advanced systems to Southeast Asian countries. Chinese defense contractors, in addition to pitching the usual array of frigates, fighter jets, anti-ship missile and air defense radars, have taken the leap of offering new unmanned systems that are still undergoing testing by, or have just entered service with the Chinese military.
Nimble-fingered robot hands could help clean up nuclear waste (New Scientist)
There’s nothing quite like the human touch. Nimble-fingered robots that exactly mimic the movements of a human hand could soon be used to help decommission nuclear power stations.
Health and Life Sciences
The surprising health benefits of drinking beer (Telegraph)
Could beer help you lose weight?
Researchers at the State University of Oregon seem to think so. They've published a study showing that a compound called xanthohumol, commonly found in hops, can lower an individual's chances of developing metabolic syndrome – a condition that indicates obesity, elevated blood pressure, increased blood sugar, and bad high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.
Exercise Can Impair Fertility (NY Times)
“There certainly is a link between the amount of physical activity someone does and whether they’re likely to become pregnant,” said Dr. Richard J. Paulson, the director of USC Fertility at the University of Southern California. “Extreme exercise, where you’re straining the body, puts stress on the body that can be perceived by the brain as too stressful to allow ovulation to occur.”
The Battle Over Pain in the Brain (Scientific American)
Pain is an unpleasant but necessary sensation. The few people born without the ability to feel it must approach day-to-day tasks with extra caution. Without the ability to sense the effects of a broken bone or burned skin, it’s difficult to avoid harm. On the other hand, too much pain can be debilitating. Individuals with chronic pain often experience a host of additional negative effects on mental and physical health. Despite recent advances in uncovering the underlying mechanisms of pain perception in the brain, scientists are still debating the questions of where and how pain is processed.
Life on the Home Planet
Glaciers with a flotilla of 'ice sails' (BBC)
Rare and somewhat esoteric. These are the huge pyramids of ice that stand proud of the surface on some glaciers.
To date, the phenomenon has only really been seen around the Karakoram mountain region of Pakistan.
