Financial Markets and Economy
World’s Safest Market Beset by Most Volatility Since 2008 (Bloomberg)
The $1.5 trillion market for U.S. Treasury bills, known as an oasis of stability for investors worldwide, is experiencing the most volatility since the financial crisis.
Global Stocks Extend Gains, Supported by Higher Oil Prices (Wall Street Journal)
The S&P 500 was poised to open within 1% of its all-time closing high on Tuesday as rising oil prices and hopes for low U.S. interest rates helped propel gains in global stock markets.
Stock futures up after Yellen eases worries over economic health (Business Insider)
U.S. stock index futures were higher on Tuesday, a day after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen expressed confidence in the health of the economy, but was less hawkish on raising interest rates in the near-term.
Yen to Climb to 90 as Negative Rates Fizzle for Mad Dog Analyst (Bloomberg)
The yen will strengthen almost 20 percent to 90 per dollar by early next year as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s negative interest rates fail to weaken this year’s best-performing Group-of-10 currency, says former trader Eishi Wakabayashi.
U.S. stock futures indicate S&P 500 will stretch for a fresh record (Market Watch)
Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Wall Street on Tuesday, as investor appetite for riskier assets grew on the view that timing of the next Federal Reserve interest-rate hike has been pushed out.
Current Conditions and the Outlook for the U.S. Economy (Ritholtz)
I am delighted to be with you today. I will discuss recent economic developments, the outlook, and their implications for monetary policy.
Goldman Puts July Rate-Boost Odds at Twice What Bond Market Sees (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says there’s a 40 percent chance the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in July — almost double what the bond market projects — as Chair Janet Yellen kept prospects for a move this year alive.
This 87-year-old stock market indicator is bullish — for now (Market Watch)
One of the oldest Dow Jones’ stock market averages just hit a new all-time high.
Beware China's Shadow Banks (Bloomberg View)
China's "shadow" banks, which hold assets worth about 80 percent of the country's GDP, have become dangerously intertwined with commercial banks. Christopher Balding explains why they pose a growing systemic threat.
Wall Street hopes software helps it hire loyal bankers (Business Insider)
Clinching a job on Wall Street soon may have as much to do with beating an algorithm as nailing the interview.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc and UBS Group AG are exploring the use of artificial intelligence software to judge applicants on traits – such as teamwork, curiosity and grit – that help in the workplace but don't always show up on a resume or come through in an interview.
Why portfolio theory is wrong (Value Walk)
Some people in finance have a sniffy attitude towards academics, writes Buttonwood in the latest Economist magazine.
How China turned the global steel industry upside down in just 15 years (Quartz)
As officials from China and the US meet this week, they’re scheduled to talk about everything from the US Federal Reserve’s decision-making process to the disputed South China Sea. But China’s “excess capacity” problem is top of the agenda.
Iran could have the upper hand in the OPEC oil war (Business Insider)
Traditional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, continue to fight to prove their supremacy in OPEC. Neither gives up an opportunity to hurt the other, whenever and wherever they can, and oil seems to be their favourite playground.
The pound is going crazy after a suspected 'fat finger' trade (Business Insider)
The British pound is going crazy again Tuesday as volatility in the currency continues to ramp up ahead of the UK's June 23 referendum on whether it stays in the European Union.
European Commission in Panic Over New Brexit Poll (Financial Sense)
In 17 days time, on the 23rd. of June, Britain goes to the polls to decide whether to stay in the European Union or not.
Smartphone sales growth will drop to single digits in 2016, says Gartner (Tech Crunch)
Analyst Gartner is expecting a big drop in smartphone sales growth, projecting the market will shrink from 14.4 per cent growth in 2015 to just 7 per cent in 2016 — with only 1.5 billion smartphone units being shipped globally this year.
The high watermark for smartphone sales was back in 2010, when Gartner notes the market grew 73 per cent.
"The Pain Trade Is Always Down In The End" (Zero Hedge)
Volatility-selling activity is continuing to drive the short-term performance of the S&P. Starved for yield, Ice Farm Capital's Michael Green explains that investors are selling volatility against their equity positions – and likely feeling their greatest risk is an upside move that takes them out of their underlying position.
Politics
Clinton clinches Democratic nomination: AP delegate count (Reuters)
Hillary Clinton has reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, the Associated Press said on Monday, putting her on course to become the first woman to head a major U.S. party ticket.
Will Minority Voters Sway the California Senate Race? (The Atlantic)
In California, Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez are seeking to replace retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, raising the possibility of a runoff in November and testing the influence of minority voters along the way. Last year, Boxer announced she wasn’t going to run for reelection, opening up the Senate seat she’s occupied since 1992 and setting off a hotly contested race to take it.
Technology
Samsung might launch smartphones with foldable screens next year, but will anyone care? (The Next Web)
Bloomberg reported that Samsung is working on ‘Project Valley’, a program to develop smartphones with bendable and foldable screens. The company is said to be aiming to reveal two new devices next year, including one that folds in half a la flip-phones, as well as a 5-inch handset that unfurls into an 8-inch tablet. They might be similar to the concepts Samsung showed off in a video from 2014. However, those models aren’t likely to be flagships. Instead, they’ll serve to gauge the market’s interest in phones with foldable screens.
Drones emerge from shadows to become key cog in U.S. war machine (Reuters)
When U.S. drones obliterated a car carrying Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour last month, it was the kind of targeted killing that unmanned aircraft are best known for.
But 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the U.S. military's drone program has expanded far beyond specific strikes to become an everyday part of the war machine.
Health and Life Sciences
The Primo Vascular System: The N-rays of Acupuncture? (Science-Based Medicine)
Acupuncture meridians and acupoints are imaginary until proven otherwise. Anatomists have have never been able to detect them by microscopy or autopsy, and they are not mentioned in anatomy textbooks. For decades, acupuncturists have been trying to prove that their pre-scientific belief system is grounded in scientific reality. Now they are telling us that acupuncture meridians and acupoints have been discovered in the form of the Primo vascular system (PVS). A typical website trumpets “Science Finally Proves Meridians Exist.”
A Blood Test To Personalize Treatment For Depression (Forbes)
When your doctor selects a medicine to treat you for any given condition, it’s done by looking at the drug’s mechanism of action, safety profile, along with consideration for other types of medications you might be currently taking.
Breast cancer drug increases survival (BBC)
Palbociclib works by disabling two key mechanisms that allow a tumour to grow.
Data presented at the world's biggest cancer conference showed that time without a tumour progressing increased from 15 months to 25 months with palbiciclib.
Life on the Home Planet
Strong wind, heavy rain to douse southeast U.S. as storm moves into Atlantic (Reuters)
Strong winds and heavy rainfall were expected across the southeastern United States on Tuesday even as the center of Tropical Storm Colin was moving into the Atlantic Ocean.
The storm was 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Charleston, South Carolina, at 4 a.m. eastern time (0800 GMT) and moving at 31 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
