Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Economic Confidence Index Stable at -14 (Gallup)
Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy has leveled off, with Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index averaging -14 for the week ending May 8. This score is similar to the -15 and -16 found the previous two weeks.
China’s Steel, Iron-Ore Futures Plummet, Obliterating Recent Gains (Wall Street Journal)
Steel and iron-ore futures traded in China have gone into sharp decline, reversing a huge run-up in recent weeks caused by a flood of speculative money into these hitherto little-watched markets.
The most bullish Amazon analyst on Wall Street thinks the stock will soar another 47% from here (Business Insider)
In a note Tuesday, Bernstein's Carlos Kirjner and team raised their 12-month target price on the stock to $1,000 from $770. That's 47% higher than where it closed on Monday.
Saudi Arabian Fight for Oil Market Intensifies (Wall Street Journal)
Saudi Arabia’s economic battle over the oil market with Iran, Russia and others is intensifying even as it attempts to reduce its dependence on oil, Benoit Faucon, Selina Williams and Summer Said report. Officials with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, say the contest won’t settle down until geopolitical rifts in the Middle East cool.
Job Openings Back To All Time Highs: Yellen's "Favorite Labor Indicator" Says Its Time To Hike (Zero Hedge)
When last Friday's disappointing payrolls report hit, which saw just 160K jobs added in April, stocks initially tumbled only to surge as the case of a June rate hike was quickly taken off the table. Not only that, but according to Fed Fund futures as of this moment, the Fed won't hike until some time in early 2017. However, one look at the latest JOLTS data, admittedly Janet Yellen's favorite jobs indicator, paints a very different picture.
This Is One Paragraph That Should Make American Workers Very Happy (Bloomberg)
This morning we got the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism survey, which showed a modest uptick in April, from 92.6 to 93.6.
An Investment Banker's Worst Nightmare (Wall Street Journal)
One day late last month, two big companies announced takeovers that had something in common: Neither Comcast Corp. nor AbbVie Inc. used a banker.
Germany's Middle Class Is Endangered, Too (Bloomberg View)
The plight of the middle class is one of the hottest topics in the U.S. presidential campaign. Candidates compete to offer plans for the revival of the dependable middle, the foundation of society. The polarization isn't only occurring in the U.S., though. In Germany, with its far more socialist income redistribution model, the middle class also is endangered.
Amazon stock passes $700 — is $1,000 within reach? (Market Watch)
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. crossed $700 for the first time on Tuesday and closed at a record high of $703.25 — $10 above the previous record — after analysts at Bernstein said the stock is undervalued and could soar by nearly 50% to $1,000 within the next year.
Apple Stock Has a ‘Floor’ at $90, Even As Estimates Fall, Says Baird (Barron's)
R.W. Baird’s William Power on Monday reiterated an Outperform rating on shares of Apple, while cutting his price target to $115 from $120, writing that investors should “wait until estimates are better reset” for the iPhone “before buying more aggressively.”
China Stock Investors Flock to Consumer Staples as Trading Wanes (Bloomberg)
Chinese stocks trading in Hong Kong resumed losses, sending the benchmark index toward a two-month low.
Endogenous Short-Selling Constraints: Who Is Buying When Shorts Are Selling? (Value Walk)
When short sellers are selling and a stock becomes expensive to borrow, the marginal stock buyer becomes the marginal stock lender. We show that the marginal buyer’s lending rate is vastly smaller than the average lending rate, thus dynamically restricting stock loan supply and endogenously contributing to short- sale constraints.
The rhetoric is rising almost as fast as production in an oil war between Saudi Arabia and Iran (Quartz)
The world oil war is getting hotter, with Saudi Arabia vowing to produce even more than its record-setting output, and Iran slashing prices to capture market share from its rival.
Credit Suisse Posts Loss as CEO Signals Cost-Cuts Progress (Bloomberg)
Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said he’s confident in delivering planned cost cuts this year after a tumultuous first quarter sparked a second quarterly loss. The shares jumped.
Anonymous Takes 9 Central Banks Offline — Unleashes Massive Assault on ‘Global Banking Cartel’ (Free Thought Project)
After a global call to arms, the Anonymous campaign against the global banking industry, OpIcarus seems to be gaining major momentum, as eight more financial institutions have been taken down after the initial attack on the Central Bank of Greece – followed by a similar DDoS attack on the Central Bank of Cyprus.
We Need a Complete System Overhaul: 5 Charts That Blow Up the Status Quo (Charles Hugh Smith)
In an auto-mechanic analogy, the Powers That be are assuring us those grinding noises under the hood and the black smoke chugging out of the tailpipe are no big deal and can be fixed with a minor tuneup. They’re wrong; we need a total overhaul to avoid a total system breakdown.
Surging Emini Update and Fibonacci Grid Targets May 10 (Afraid to Trade)
Price is rallying sharply up away from the 2,040 level as expected and achieving our upside targets.
Politics
Here's What Sanders Still Thinks He Can Win (Bloomberg View)
Bernie Sanders is still telling supporters he can win the Democratic presidential nomination, but his practical goal is slighter: to win concessions on the party platform and nominating rules for future elections.
Sanders, according to people close to him, realizes he’s not likely to be the nominee.
Bernie Sanders Wins West Virginia’s Democratic Primary (Huffington Post)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary in West Virginia, edging out rival Hillary Clinton for a majority of the state’s 29 delegates.
It’s a minor win for Sanders: West Virginia awards delegates proportionately, and while votes are still being counted, he’s unlikely to win by enough percentage points to significantly dent Clinton’s lead in the delegate race.
Out of nowhere, Bernie Sanders appeared on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” cold-open sketch last night.
After Colbert has his arm caught in a vending machine trying to retrieve a Kit Kat bar, the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate arrived to teach him a lesson in perseverance.
Would Clinton really appoint a cabinet that’s half women and half men? (Washington Post)
Recently, Hillary Clinton promised that, if elected, she will name women to half of her presidential cabinet posts. If that happens, Clinton would join a handful of other global leaders who have appointed equal numbers of men and women — including, most recently, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Technology
Drones could replace $127 billion worth of human labor and services (Quartz)
For many people, drones are what they found neatly wrapped underneath the Christmas tree this past holiday season. But piloting flying lawnmowers around the park for fun is just part of the consumer side of the technology. Drones are also expected to transform how companies do business.
This guy has an idea to deliver cheap, super-fast internet to your home (Business Insider)
The internet may be the most important pipe into your home, but at times it feels like progress is happening slowly.
Poor customer service. Dropped connections. Routers that behave erratically.
Icon A5, An Airplane For Non-Pilots, Hits Turbulence After Fast Start (Forbes)
Icon is betting that the A5 speaks to people interested in flying but overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of study required to fly within a complicated air transport system. Neophytes can learn to safely operate the A5 with just 20 hours of training, according to Icon marketing material. That’s enough to qualify for a sport pilot certificate, which allows the holder to fly light aircraft during daylight hours, in good weather, below 10,000 feet.
Health and Life Sciences
Being overweight 'now less unhealthy' (BBC)
Being overweight may not be as unhealthy as it was 40 years ago, Danish research suggests.
The study found the "moderately" overweight now had lower rates of early death than those who were normal weight, underweight or obese.
Life on the Home Planet
Russia to test unstoppable 'Satan 2' stealth nuke capable of wiping out an entire nation (Mirror)
Russia is preparing to test-fire a nuclear weapon which is so powerful it could reportedly destroy a whole country in seconds.
The "Satan 2" missile is rumoured to be the most powerful ever designed and is equipped with stealth technology to help it dodge enemy radar systems .
Five Solomon islands swallowed by the sea (CNN)
Rising sea levels that submerge entire islands were supposed to be a distant possibility of an apocalyptic future. But in the idyllic Pacific, that future is here.
Five of the Solomon Islands have completely disappeared under water over the past seven decades, one drawing its last breath as recently as 2011, according to a study published in Environmental Research Letters.
