Financial Markets and Economy
It hasn't been this bad for US manufacturing since the financial crisis (Business Insider)
The manufacturing recession may not have ended yet.
American companies are 'masking' a $6.6 trillion mountain of debt (Business Insider)
Debt can be a good thing. It gets the wheels of the economy moving.
Wall Street's shrinking workforce in one chart (Business Insider)
Wall Street's workforce is shrinking.
China urges faster local government spending to support economy (Reuters)
China's local governments must quicken spending to help reduce the size of unspent budget funds and support the economy that faces downward pressure, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
The comment came after data showed China's fiscal expenditures in April rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier, slowing sharply from a 20.1 percent jump in March.
Asian shares trade languidly, dollar edges up (Business Insider)
Asian shares were nearly flat in early trading on Tuesday, while the dollar rebounded from steep losses against the yen in the previous session.
Brexit Campaigners Spar With Treasury Over Economy (Wall Street Journal)
The opposing camps in the debate over the U.K.’s membership of the European Union traded blows over the economy Monday, with anti-EU campaigners criticizing an official analysis suggesting Britain could be plunged into a yearlong recession if Britons vote to leave the bloc in a referendum next month.
The 'black swan event' that could send oil to $25 a barrel (Business Insider)
Oil's had a pretty good year.
Apple’s Suppliers Gear Up to Bring New Screens to 2017 iPhone (Bloomberg)
At least one company in Apple Inc.’s supply chain is already reaping the benefit from plans to outfit next year’s version of the iPhone with a brighter, higher-definition screen.
BOJ deputy governor Nakaso defends negative rate policy (Reuters)
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso on Monday defended the central bank's negative interest rate policy, saying that concerns it will undermine financial intermediation were unfounded.
"Given accommodative financial conditions, the real economy has evidently improved" with the employment and household income situation having recovered steadily, Nakaso said in a speech to a seminar hosted by Keio University.
Deloitte just trashed the hype around a $180 billion fintech market (Business Insider)
Deloitte just trashed the hype around the online lending industry.
Oil slides on Iran supply, U.S. rigs; Cushing draw cuts loss (Reuters)
Oil prices slid early on Monday as Iran vowed to ramp up output and rig reductions paused in the United States, then crude futures pared losses on data showing a stockpile drawdown at the U.S. delivery hub.
Did AMAT Chirp? Implications for the Economy and Gold (Value Walk)
The following is the opening segment of this week’s Notes From the Rabbit Hole,NFTRH 396. The report also covers, in detail, the technical status of US/Global stock markets, precious metals, commodities, currencies and even a few individual gold miners and a couple of new (non-gold related) NFTRH+ trade ideas.
Hedge Funds Bet Against Australia’s Big Banks in Record Numbers (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge funds are throwing their weight behind a notoriously risky trade that suggests Australia’s biggest banks, among the most profitable in the world, might be headed for trouble.
Money Monster Is Wish Fulfillment for Anyone Burned by the Economic Crash. It Doesn’t Go Far Enough. (Slate)
Lee Gates, the cable-news host played by George Clooney in Jodie Foster’s fine but forgettable movie Money Monster, is plainly a fictionalized version of Jim Cramer, even though both the star and director have denied the parallel. He hosts a show called Money Monster on a business news network; Cramer’s nightly CNBC show is Mad Money. Like Cramer’s show, Money Monster is replete with sound effects, flashing lights, and catchphrases.
Was That A Bear Market And Is It Over? (The Irrelevant Investor)
Maybe. It’s possible.
Foreign Developed-Market Stocks In The Lead Last Week (Capital Spectator)
Stock markets in the developed world outside the US led the major asset classes higher last week, based on a set of proxy ETFs. Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA) posted an 0.8% total return for the five trading days through May 20, delivering a slightly stronger performance vs. the rest of the field.
Politics
Bernie Sanders Slams the U.S. Bailout of Puerto Rico (Fortune)
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is breaking with the Obama administration and House lawmakers over a plan to restructure Puerto Rico’s $70 billion in debt, saying the legislation would make “a terrible situation even worse.”
What the Polls Are Telling Us Right Now (Bloomberg View)
With a bunch of new polls released over the weekend, speculation about how a general election race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ends is beginning to matter. Just not in the way you would think, based on all the hype.
Technology
Google's new app wants you to think like a scientist (CNet)
Google announced Science Journal, a new Android app for budding scientists in a blog post on Google for Education. Aiming to "bring out that inner scientist in all of us", the new app will use the existing sensors in your phone or Arduino-powered add-ons to record data.
Seagate 4TB Portable, Bus-powered USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $105 shipped (9to5 Toys)
Newegg/ebay offers the Seagate Slim 4TB portable hard drive bundled with 200GB of cloud storage for $104.99 with free shipping. That’s $95 off retail and tied for the lowest price we’ve seen for this very portable hard drive with massive 4TB of space. It is USB 3 fast and is bus powered meaning you don’t need to carry around power cables and it fits in a jacket/purse/bag pocket for convenient transport. Over 5,000 Amazon reviewers love this even at higher prices giving it an impressive 4.6/5 star rating.
Health and Life Sciences
Can vegans push themselves to physical extremes? (BBC)
The 34-year-old, a South Africa-born lecturer at a business school in Melbourne, was determined to climb the world's highest mountain with her husband – and to set an example.
In an interview published on her university's website in March, Ms Strydom said she and her husband Robert, both vegans, hoped to show the way by ascending Everest and the highest mountains on other continents.
Life on the Home Planet
Graphene de-icer adds a skill for milder weather (Futurity)
A graphene-based de-icer now melts ice from wings and wires when conditions get too cold and keeps ice from forming at all if the air is above 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
The tough film that forms when the de-icer is sprayed on a surface is made of atom-thin graphene nanoribbons that are conductive, so the material can also be heated with electricity to melt ice and snow in colder conditions.
Iraqi Leader Announces Offensive to Retake Falluja From ISIS (NY Times)
Iraqi forces have begun an assault on Falluja, a city that has been held by the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech on Monday.
“Today we will tear down the black flags of the strangers who have kidnapped this city,” Mr. Abadi, referring to the flags of the Islamic State that have been flying in Falluja for more than two years, said in a speech alongside military commanders just after midnight.
