Financial Markets and Economy
Seven big banks settle U.S. rate-rigging lawsuit for $324 million (Reuters)
Seven of the world's biggest banks have agreed to pay $324 million to settle a private U.S. lawsuit accusing them of rigging an interest rate benchmark used in the $553 trillion derivatives market.
Here's What Usually Happens to Stocks in Years Like 2016 (Bloomberg)
Despite the huge comeback in the S&P 500, investors remain skeptical of the bull rally. If history is any guide, they shouldn't be so worried.
Oil bankruptcies are coming 'fast and furious' (Business Insider)
The bankruptcies are continuing fast and furious across the energy sector. With the ill-effects spreading beyond just the oil and gas business — evidenced by major renewables firm SunEdison filing for Chapter 11 last month.
BANK OF AMERICA: We've never seen investors rush to sell stocks like this before (Business Insider)
Bank of America Merrill Lynch's big-money equity investors are rushing for the exits.
In a note Tuesday, equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall said the firm's institutional clients were net sellers of stocks for a 14th straight week.
That's the longest such streak the firm has seen since it started keeping track in 2008.
China's Improbable Commodities Frenzy Leaves Stocks in the Dust (Bloomberg)
The wild ride in Chinas commodity futures is making the nations $5.9 trillion stock market look docile.
Do Optimists or Pessimists Manage Their Money Better? (Yahoo! Finance)
When it comes to our ability to make healthy and sound financial choices, mindset matters. If you’re an optimist, you’re likely someone who focuses on growth and advancement. You anticipate the best possible outcomes and — according to some experts — that’s how most of us approach life. “Generally, human beings have optimistic biases,” says Tim Pychyl, associate professor of psychology at Carleton University and author of “Solving the Procrastination Puzzle.” “We wear rose colored glasses a lot of the time.”
Global Stock Drop Deepens in Asia as Oil Below $44 Sinks Ringgit (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks fell a sixth day, on track for their longest drop since February, with anxiety over the global economy unnerving investors as crude oil lingers below $44 a barrel. New Zealand’s currency rallied, while the dollar climbed against emerging-market peers.
Hedge Fund manager David Einhorn just revealed a bet on a ‘five star’ stock (Yahoo! Finance)
Hedge fund titan David Einhorn has just given the ultimate Yelp review.
Nasdaq Weakness as a Headwind (The Reformed Broker)
Stocks are having a rough open this morning and the Nasdaq is leading the carnage. The tech component of the Nasdaq looks even worse.
High Anxiety: Markets Get Roiled (Wall Street Journal)
Stocks and oil futures tumbled and Japan’s yen hit its highest intraday level against the dollar since October 2014, as investors struggled to reconcile recent market gains with unease over the pace of global growth.
Gold at Two-Year High Smothers Demand in Second-Biggest Consumer (Bloomberg)
Gold demand in India, the worlds second-biggest user, will probably shrink in the second quarter as a surge in local prices to the highest in two years deters buying for a festival next week and weddings this month.
Activists Have Declared War on Hedge Funds — and They Might Be Winning (NY Mag)
When Henry Garrido, the executive director of the largest municipal employees union in New York City, learned a year ago what a raw deal investing in hedge funds had been for his union’s pensioners, he couldn’t restrain himself. In a fit of pique, Garrido suggested it wouldn't be wrong for his members to conclude that “the system is rigged” after a report by the New York City comptroller concluded that the pension fund had been lining the pockets of hedge-fund managers while the retirees were getting what Garrido termed “lousy” returns.
Tesla Motors is valued at roughly $620,000 for every car (Value Walk)
With a market capitalization of $31 billion, Tesla Motors is valued by Wall Street at roughly $620,000 for every car the company delivered in 2015. Tesla’s lofty valuation has made shares of the company one of the most popular plays among short sellers.
Biotech Remains Stuck in Downtrend (Bespoke)
The Biotech group managed to rally 18% off its February lows, but it’s worth pointing out that over the last couple of weeks, it has begun to roll over again. Below is a chart of the iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) over the last five years. After surging for multiple years from late 2011 through mid-2015, the group has been a serial underperformer and is down 33% since peaking last July.
Valeant May Be Tip of Accounting Iceberg (Bloomberg Gadfly)
Abbott Laboratories may be worried it has another Valeant on its hands. And investors should be on the lookout for future look-a-likes.
The Puerto Rico crisis, explained (Vox)
On Monday, Puerto Rico is expected to skip payment on $389 million in debt owed by the island's Government Development Bank to bondholders. Gov. Garcia Padilla of Puerto Rico has been warning for over a year that this government will be unable to fully pay what it owes, and has asked Congress to provide for a structured path to bankruptcy. He didn't get it, largely due to opposition from congressional Republicans, so he is now being forced to resort to unilateral repudiation of debt.
The $571 Billion Debt Wall That Points to More Defaults in China (Bloomberg)
Chinese debt investors are turning bearish at just the wrong time for the nation’s corporate borrowers, which face a record 3.7 trillion yuan ($571 billion) of local bond maturities through year-end.
Kuroda Warns Current Yen Strength Risks Harming Recovery (Bloomberg)
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that the yen’s biggest rally since Abenomics began risks harming the nation’s economic recovery.
iPhone Warning Signs (Above Avalon)
Apple has spent years proving iPhone doubters wrong. Those who made a habit of calling for the iPhone's demise have watched the product go on to bring Apple over $600 billion of revenue and close to $250 billion of gross profit over the years. Ironically, just when it seemed like iPhone skeptics had thrown in the towel and accepted the iPhone's supremacy, warning signs are beginning to appear in the iPhone business.
Warren Buffett’s Epic Rant Against Wall Street (Wall Street Journal)
The “Oracle of Omaha” went on an epic rant against Wall Street this weekend.
Politics
Bernie Sanders wins Indiana primary (Business Insider)
Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled off a slight upset in the Indiana Democratic primary on Tuesday.
Several hours after the polls closed, multiple news outlets projected that Sanders would win in the Hoosier State.
[Screenshot of picture by Kamil Krzaczynsky at Reuters.]
Ted Cruz Drops Out (Business Insider)
Sen. Ted Cruz suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday following a crushing primary loss in Indiana to Donald Trump.
The Five Stages Of Grieving A Trump Nomination? (Forbes)
For that beleaguered, bewildered portion of the Republican Party derogatorily referred to as the “GOPE” (as in: “GOP Establishment”) we have a new acronym–DABDA, as in “Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.” The Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross coined the words to explain how humans cope with death and loss.
Ted Cruz’s Bitter End (NY Times)
If you listened much to Ted Cruz over these last furious months, you heard him talk frequently about “the abyss,” as in what this county was teetering on the edge of. If you listened to him over these last furious hours, you heard him mention the “yawning cavern of insecurity” that motivates Donald Trump and other bullies.
It’s OK That Our Political Parties Aren’t United … for Now (Political Standard)
The country’s major political parties don’t appear to be very united right now. Hillary Clinton looks to have pretty much sewn up the Democratic nomination, but many of Bernie Sanders’ supporters are threatening not to back her. And the Republicans are in major disarray despite Donald Trump’s near lock on the nomination. Just how much will this hurt the parties in the fall? Will divided constituencies or contested conventions derail the best laid November plans?
Sanders Has Two Paths to Success (Bloomberg View)
Can Bernie Sanders do something productive with all the enthusiasm he has generated? Something besides wage a campaign against Hillary Clinton he is set to lose?
While Greg Sargent of the Washington Post has an optimistic take — that Sanders can lead his young idealistic supporters to do useful things beyond the Democratic presidential race — Kevin Drum at Mother Jones is skeptical. He thinks the Vermont socialist is invested in selling a pipe dream, so any efforts he makes outside the Democratic race would amount to nothing, or worse than nothing.
Technology
Puma Robot Helps Runners Go Faster (PSFK)
Sports brand Puma has created a programmable, line-following robot to help runners reach their target speeds. BeatBot has been designed to inspire runners of all levels to push harder by giving them a visual target to beat.
When gadgets were king (The Verge)
For the past nine years or so, the smartphone has been such an amazing, versatile, and powerful digital gadget that the industry's desire to create other devices to complement the personal computer seemed to wane. The smartphone is still as awesome as ever, but it has matured — even replacing the PC as the base computing device in many people's lives. So, other gadgets are coming back, often complemented by smartphone apps.
Health and Life Sciences
Fat Labradors give clues to obesity (BBC)
The Labrador retriever, known as one of the greediest breeds of dog, is hard-wired to overeat, research suggests.
The dog is more likely to become obese than other breeds partly because of its genes, scientists at Cambridge University say.
How salts in the brain make us wake up (Futurity)
Salts in the brain appear to play a bigger role that scientists previously thought in whether we are asleep or awake.
By influencing the level of salts, researchers were able to control a mouse’s sleep-wake cycle.
Life on the Home Planet
Australia to destroy alien carp by releasing herpes into rivers (New Scientist)
A herpes infection in humans is usually an annoyance, featuring intermittent blisters. In fish, herpes can be deadly.
And that's exactly what Australia is counting on. In an effort to rid their waterways of tons of invasive European Carp, the Australian Government is planning on releasing a carp-specific herpes virus into a river system in Australia in 2018 to try to stop what government officials are calling 'carp-ageddon'.
Half of American teenagers feel addicted to their phones (Business Insider)
Half of teenagers in the United States feel addicted to their mobile phones, with most checking the devices at least every hour and feeling pressured to respond immediately to messages, a survey released on Tuesday found.
The majority of parents concurred, with 59 percent of those with children between ages 12 and 18 saying their kids cannot give up their phones, according to a poll of 1,240 parents and children by Common Sense Media.
