Financial Markets and Economy
We’re just 10 days from making the most terrible mistake on Europe (The Guardian)
With a bleak inevitability, I have reached the point in this referendum campaign where I see the vote and the argument over Brexit everywhere I look. Even at Glyndebourne’s sensational revival of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg I found myself struck by the topicality of the warning issued in the final scene by Hans Sachs, the civic hero and poet, concerning falscher welscher Majestät (“false foreign rule”) and the risk that welschen Dunst mit welschem Tand (“foreign delusions and trinkets”) will take hold of German lands.
Brexit Angst Hits Asian Stock Outlook as Pound Sinks; Yen Climbs (Bloomberg)
Caution reigned in markets as mounting concern over Britains vote on European Union membership fueled anxiety ahead of two key central-bank meetings this week, with Asian index futures signaling more losses and haven assets in demand.
Job Market Is Getting Stronger, Not Weaker (Bloomberg View)
The reaction after May’s disappointing jobs report was predictable: The candidates babbled, markets trembled and expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise rates this month or next was suddenly off the table.
After Record Week, How Much Lower Can Bond Yields Go? (Wall Street Journal)
Record-shattering declines in government-bond yields are forcing investors to reassess once again just how low interest rates can go.
The Japanese yen is skyrocketing (Business Insider)
The yen is "breaking higher and more gains are in store from here with falling global and local bond yields working as the catalyst," wrote Morgan Stanley's Hans W. Redeker in a note to clients.
Brexit and Fed fears weigh on world stocks; yen firms (Reuters)
World stock markets fell while the safe-haven yen firmed on Monday amid concerns that Britain may be on the verge of voting to leave the European Union in a referendum that is two weeks away.
What the LinkedIn Deal Reveals About Bubbles (Bloomberg View)
Microsoft’s move to purchase LinkedIn for $26.2 billion — the largest company-for-company acquisition in the technology industry since Hewlett-Packard’s 2002 purchase of Compaq — is bringing out the predictable talk of irrational exuberance. But if the deal does indicate a bubble, it’s not necessarily in tech or in stocks.
Asian shares slip as Fed, Brexit loom (Business Insider)
Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday amid growing worries this month's referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union, while markets were also nervous ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that begins later in the day.
Mutual fund born during Great Depression proves the value of buy-and-hold (Investment News)
If you want to convince your clients that doing nothing is sometimes the best thing to do, point them to Voya Corporate Leaders Trust.
Disney Plays by China Rules With Shanghai Park, Media Strategy (Bloomberg)
On the eve of the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland back in 2005, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, then president and chief operating officer, said that Disney would not open a theme park in mainland China unless it could have a television channel there.
How Norway’s Warren Buffett has banked 30% yearly gains since 1987 (Market Watch)
Kristian Siem is considered by many to be the Warren Buffett of Norway. Since 1987 Siem has compounded his money at a rate of about 30% annualized, increasing his worth from about $5 million in 1987 to around $2 billion by 2014. He has done this by focusing on two relatively narrow sectors: offshore drilling and shipping — about which he has extensive knowledge.
China ETFs Swell as Investors Weigh Fed Timing, MSCI Inclusion (Bloomberg)
Investors are returning to exchange-traded funds focused on China and Hong Kong as increasing odds that the Federal Reserve will move slowly in raising U.S. interest rates stoked demand and traders braced for MSCI Inc.’s decision about whether to add mainland stocks to its benchmark indexes.
Investors are sending a strong signal that they're tired of takeovers (Business Insider)
There may have been a sudden spurt in mergers and acquisitions activity over the past few days, but it has by and large been a quiet year so far for dealmakers.
Prosper changes suggest marketplace lending is losing investor interest (Business Insider)
Marketplace lender Prosper has made a significant change that could signal problems for this market.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – Flight to Safety (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
We continued to see an extension of the rally in gold, off the bottom that was set for the June option expiration.
Walgreen Terminates Partnership With Blood-Testing Firm Theranos (Wall Street Journal)
Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. formally ended a strained alliance with Theranos Inc. as regulators near a decision on whether to impose sanctions against the embattled Silicon Valley firm.
Re-Visiting the 1998 Bear Market (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Beginning in the summer of 1997 a number of southeast Asian countries experienced a financial crisis that would wreak havoc on their currencies and the broader emerging markets in general. Countries like Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea all experienced a severe depreciation in their currencies.
Politics
Trump Can’t Rise to the Occasion (Bloomberg View)
The only reaction to Donald Trump’s response on Monday to the slaughter at a gay nightclub in Orlando is: “Really, you couldn’t help yourself, with all the country is going through.”
He couldn’t. Even before he asked for a moment of silence for the 49 victims in Orlando, Trump was lighting into Hillary Clinton and “how bad a president” she would be.
Trump, Clinton talk national security, in vastly different ways (Market Watch)
Hillary Clinton, in her first extended response to the massacre in Orlando, on Monday scrapped plans to give a general-election kick-off speech and instead gave an address focused on national security, gun control and the need for a bipartisan response to terrorism.
“Today is not a day for politics,” the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee said in a policy-heavy speech that made no mention of Republican rival Donald Trump by name.
Technology
'Harmful' robot aims to spark AI debate (BBC)
A robot that can decide whether or not to inflict pain has been built by roboticist and artist Alexander Reben from the University of Berkeley, California.
The basic machine is capable of pricking a finger but is programmed not to do so every time it can.
What’s the point of virtual reality? (Tech Crunch)
VR needs content if it’s to be more than a flash in the early adopter pan. But it’s pretty clear that in the short term at least it’s not going to have a whole lot of compelling content.
And understandably so. It’s a new medium, after all, and figuring out how to create exciting ‘experiences’, as the VR pushers put it, is going to take time. Not least because perfecting the hardware remains a sizable distraction.
Health and Life Sciences
This Diabetes Drug Saves Lives. You Can Thank The FDA (Forbes)
This evening, researchers are announcing that Victoza, a diabetes drug sold by Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk , prevents heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.
It is only the second diabetes drug ever to do so. The first, Jardiance, a pill sold by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, presented its positive results just last year. Researchers say that the new results could change the way that doctors treat diabetes, shifting the treatments doctors reach for after metformin, the tried-and-true first-line drug, which is generic.
Bubbly drink trial 'to boost cancer therapy' (BBC)
Scientists are investigating whether bubbly drinks could boost the success of cancer treatments, after winning a Cancer Research UK award for ideas "outside the box".
Researchers from Oxford and Ulster universities say low oxygen levels in tumours is a key reason why radiotherapy and drugs fail.
Gene linked to cause of blindness in kids (Futurity)
Scientists have identified a gene that causes severe glaucoma in children and say the finding could lead to future therapies to treat the disease, which currently has no cure.
Life on the Home Planet
El Niño Is Dead And California Could Be “In A Drought Forever” (Buzz Feed)
The giant El Niño that fueled flooding rains in Texas this year but failed to make a big dent in California’s extreme drought, was declared dead Thursday, opening the door to a La Niña and extended period of dryness in the West.
Global Health: Malnutrition and Obesity Coexist in Many Countries, Report Finds (NY Time)
The latest Global Nutrition Report is the third since health ministers worldwide agreed on targets for improving nutrition by 2025.
