Financial Markets and Economy
Fed's Bullard says global markets seem well-prepared for summer rate hike (Reuters)
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Monday global markets appear to be "well-prepared" for a summer interest rate hike from the Fed, although he did not specify a date for the policy move.
Oil States Expected to Stick With Saudis : OPEC Reality Check (Bloomberg)
OPEC members gathering in Vienna June 2 are expected to go along with a Saudi Arabia-led policy focused on squeezing out rivals amid signs the strategy is working. That means the meeting may be less fraught than the previous summit in December, which ended with public criticism of the Saudi position from Venezuela and Iran.
Oil prices drift lower as OPEC meeting nears (Market Watch)
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as investors wait to take cues from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting Thursday, where the supply issue is expected to take center stage.
The Greatest Cost of All (Value Walk)
One of the things about finance that has often baffled me is how it is that so many are very familiar with the basics of investing, but very few seem truly to understand its wider implications.
Stock futures rise in shortened trading day as investors brush aside Yellen comments (Market Watch)
Stock futures pointed slightly higher in a shortened session on the Memorial Day holiday Monday, rising against a backdrop of a stronger dollar after heavy hints of a U.S. interest rate cut from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen late last week.
Could Banks Down Under Go Under? (Bloomberg View)
It may seem to be in ruddy economic health, but Satyajit Das says Australia's financial sector is on shakier ground than many realize. And as long as the banks remain dependent on a debt-fueled property market and a now-slowing natural resources sector, he says, the entire country will be at risk.
Iraq joins Mideast rivals raising oil exports ahead of OPEC meeting (Rueters)
raq will supply 5 million barrels of extra crude to its partners in June, industry sources familiar with the issue said, joining other Middle East producers by lifting market share ahead of an OPEC meeting this week.
Iraq, which is the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, had already been targeting record crude export volumes from southern terminals next month of 3.47 million barrels per day.
Oil prices dip on strong dollar, rising Canadian output (Reuters)
Oil prices dipped on Monday as a strong dollar weighed on markets and Canadian oil sands production was expected to increase this week.
Crude markets, however, did receive some support from the start of the U.S. summer driving season coinciding with a fall in U.S. crude output to its lowest since September 2014.
Gold Nearing Oversold Level as Metal Approaches $1,200 (Bloomberg)
Gold’s on track for its worst month in nearly three years after a fourth straight weekly decline. The drop has sent gold’s 14-day relative strength index, a gauge of momentum, toward 30, indicating the metal is oversold.
Metals lead pack in broad-based commodity selling (Trading Floor)
The strong demand for dollars last week was reflected in commodities where the net-long across 22 commodities dropped by 13% to 1.1 million lots. The metal sector was the hardest hit with all five tracked here seeing reductions.
Draghi’s First Good News in a Year Has $267 Billion Cost (Bloomberg)
Mario Draghi may have bought himself a brief respite from the threat of deflation. The cost? More than a quarter of a trillion dollars.
Shinzo Abe postpones Japan tax rise after warning of economic slump (The Guardian)
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is to postpone an unpopular tax rise in a last-ditch attempt to breathe life into the economy, reports said on Monday, days after he told fellow G7 leaders that the world was on the brink of a crisis comparable to the Lehman shock.
Euro-Area Economic Confidence Rises as ECB Stimulus Kicks In (Bloomberg)
Euro-area economic confidence rose for a second month in May as the European Central Bank prepares to present updated economic projections that could provide further clues about the impact of its stimulus program.
Central bank warns of rising financial threats (China Daily)
China has developed a multilayered financial system with more diversity and sophistication, but new business models bring about rising risks, a senior central bank official warned on Sunday.
The Six-Hour Workday Works in Europe. What About America? (Bloomberg)
For about a year, nurses at the Svartedalens retirement home have worked six-hour days on an eight-hour salary. They're part of an experiment funded by the Swedish government to see if a shorter workday can increase productivity. The conclusion? It does.
Twitter Stockholders Approve CEO Jack Dorsey's Plan To Give One Third Of His Stock To Employees (Forbes)
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is following through on a promise he first made to his employees in a tweet last October. On Wednesday, stockholders gave preliminary approval to Dorsey’s plan to donate one third of his Twitter shares to his employees.
Don't Expect Tesla's China Business To Ramp Anytime Soon (Forbes)
Tesla generated $319 million in revenue in China during 2015, down 33% from 2014, which was less than 8% of the company’s revenue, 6% when lease revenue is included per the company’s 2015 10-K filing. The positive news is that per Ren Yuxiang, Tesla’s Asia Pacific head, the company is seeing a “considerable” amount of Model 3 preorders from China, making it the country with the second largest number after the United States.
China Sends Yellen Another Warning, Fixes Yuan At Lowest In Over Five years (Zero Hedge)
We got an early hint of what the PBOC would do tonight on Friday and Saturday, when as we reported, an unprecedented volume burst of bitcoin buying out of China, sent the digital currency soaring to the highest level since 2014.
Politics
We may be just this screwed: Donald Trump has an easier path to victory than you think (Salon)
As the 2016 presidential primaries got underway, there seemed to be several incontrovertible truths: Hillary Clinton’s nomination was inevitable, and Donald Trump stood no chance. Yet, here we are six months before the election, and Trump has seized the Republican nomination while Clinton is still working to box out Bernie Sanders’ insurgency (without losing his voters, who it turns out, may peel off after all).
Remembering Those Who Wore the 'Boots on the Ground' (The Atlantic)
This election year, Memorial Day comes amid debates about how to respond to those who threaten the United States and its allies. A military response or preventive action is a common suggestion to deal with threats. The rhetoric from candidates, from political leaders, from cheering sections, and from pundits has been aggressive. Recent months have brought proposals for increased air strikes, carpet bombing, establishing and enforcing no-fly zones, congressional declarations of war, authorizing torture of suspects, and arming and aiding those whose weapons now seem aimed in what America currently considers the right direction.
Technology
The House That Learns: Bringing Artificial Intelligence Into The Home (Forbes)
A new London startup wants to make controlling a smart-home more natural and intuitive. The startup, AI Build, is making a home-hub prototype that it says will make turning on a light as easy as asking your mate to get up and do it.
Health and Life Sciences
Brain 'Heal Thyself': New Insight Into Schizophrenia (Forbes)
A new study using specialized MRI scans provides evidence that patients with schizophrenia actually possess the ability to reorganize and battle the mental illness. This is the first time that imaging scans have been employed to demonstrate the ability of the brain to actually reverse the devastating effects of schizophrenia.
Is Intelligence Hereditary? (Scientific American)
Scientists have investigated this question for more than a century, and the answer is clear: the differences between people on intelligence tests are substantially the result of genetic differences.
Life on the Home Planet
Drowned baby picture captures week of tragedy in Mediterranean (Reuters)
A photograph of a drowned migrant baby in the arms of a German rescuer was distributed on Monday by a humanitarian organization aiming to persuade European authorities to ensure safe passage to migrants, after hundreds are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean last week.
Bleaching May Have Killed Half the Coral on the Northern Great Barrier Reef, Scientists Say (NY Times)
Mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in the past three months has killed as much as half of the coral in the north but left large parts of the southern reaches with only minor damage, scientists in Australia said on Sunday.
