Financial Markets and Economy
Another financial crisis? Soaring global debt since 2008 raises risk as world economy sputters (LA Times)
Ancient Babylonian kings had a special tool at their disposal when economic or social conditions turned dicey: They would declare a "debt jubilee" and instantly wipe out borrowers' loans, allowing average people deep in hock to start over with a clean slate.
The global economy is 'complicated and grim' (Business Insider)
The global economic situation is grim and major economies must lead the way in tackling problems including sluggish growth and weak trade, China's trade minister Gao Hucheng said on Saturday.
Oil price rout slams Houston's commercial real estate market (Reuters)
The prolonged slump in oil prices has slammed the office market in the U.S. energy industry hub of Houston, where more than 10 million square feet is available and vacancy rates are at their highest in 20 years, the real estate firm CBRE reported.
Thousands of energy industry employees have lost jobs and companies have slashed their capital budgets during the steep slide in crude prices, which are still down more than 50 percent since 2014.
The Fed's focus on 'too big to fail' won't save taxpayers from the next bailout (Business Insider)
Last month, the Federal Reserve announced that 31 out of 33 U.S. banks had passed its latest “stress test,” designed to ensure that the largest financial institutions have enough capital to withstand a severe economic shock.
Why A Rising S&P 500 Has Been The Antidote To Crises (Forbes)
Earlier this week we said the Brexit drama would likely be dethroned, byFriday, as the dominant market narrative. Why? Because it’s jobs week.
The bond market has 99 solutions, and one problem (Business Insider)
Central banking policy has had an extraordinary impact on the US corporate bond market.
Valeant Is 'The Walking Dead' (The Street)
It's no time for a fire sale at Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
The troubled Canadian drugmaker — which is now being forced to walk back on its former debt-fueled strategy of snapping up companies and subsequently hiking prices on acquired drugs — will have to perform a careful balancing act it begins to unwind some of its businesses to shore up cash.
Bank of England poised to slash interest rates to shore up economy (Telegraph)
The Bank of England is poised to slash interest rates to close to zero this week as fears mount over a Brexit-induced recession.
2007 All Over Again, Part 5: Banking Crisis Imminent (Dollar Collapse)
Our good friend Michael Pollaro just sent a chart from the St. Louis Fed that shows the US drifting back into yet another banking crisis.
Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies (Pew Research Center)
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, both economically and socially, technology adoption remains one of the defining factors in human progress. To that end, there has been a noticeable rise over the past two years in the percentage of people in the emerging and developing nations surveyed by Pew Research Center who say that they use the internet and own a smartphone.
What Are Those Bear Market Forecaster's Missing? (Forbes)
The widely anticipated monthly jobs report on Friday shocked forecasters as for the second month in a row they were way off the mark. In the June report May’s numbers were revised even lower to just 11,000 new jobs.
Your crash course in… the murky and unregulated world of shadow banking (The Journal)
It's a term you may have heard of before due to its role in the worldwide financial crash in 2008, but ‘shadow banking’ isn’t everyone’s go-to Mastermind topic.
The term crept back into the headlines this week after the Irish Times reported that Aine Hollingsworth, a principal officer with the Revenue Commissioners, had concerns about how the law-firm Matheson was involved with shadow banking.
"America Is Broken" – The Week Anger Boiled Over (Zero Hedge)
Despite the fact a somewhat deluded President Barack Obama contends that racial relations have improved during his presidency – calling this week's black, former military Dallas shooter a "demented individual who's not representative of Americans," an atmosphere of crisis is enveloping the U.S. after a traumatic week; and as TheHill.com's Niall Stanage explains so 'fair-and-balanced'ly, it has left politicians, academic experts and private citizens searching for an explanation for the anger roiling the nation.
What’s Starting Now Will Overturn the Entire System: “Complete Collapse of Everything” (SHTF Plan)
“There’s too much of everything…” The debt, the currency collapse, the global economy, and the institutions we’ve all taken for granted.
Politics
Clinton and Sanders Reach Healthcare Compromise (Fortune)
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Saturday announced a proposal to expand mandatory healthcare funding by $40 billion over the next 10 years, highlighting the influence that rival Democrat Bernie Sanders has had on her campaign.
Trump looks at retired general Flynn as possible running mate (Reuters)
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is giving consideration to retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as a potential vice presidential running mate, a Republican source familiar with the process said on Saturday
Technology
Facebook is testing encrypted, secret, self-destructing Messenger chats (Mashable)
Need more security in your Facebook messaging, but not willing to switch to a security-oriented service such as Telegram? We've got good news: Facebook is testing a far more secure type of Messenger conversation, with several interesting features.
Health and Life Sciences
To Calm Food Allergies, Get Better Gut Bacteria via Fiber (Big Think)
Those with children, or who those work with them, know the struggle well. Bring something with peanut butter in it to a child’s event, and you will quickly see nervous parents go into hysterics. Food allergies are surprisingly common and growing more so. 15 million in the U.S. live with them currently, including one in thirteen children. The rate for such allergies increased 50% between 1997 and 2011. Some children grow out of it. Others never do.
Is Sushi ‘Healthy’? What About Granola? Where Americans and Nutritionists Disagree (NY Times)
Is popcorn good for you? What about pizza, orange juice or sushi? Or frozen yogurt, pork chops or quinoa?
Life on the Home Planet
Saudi Arabia Is Hit By Suicide Bombers: 3 Cities In 24 Hours (NPR)
From west to east, the targets ranged from a U.S. consulate in Jeddah to the holy city of Medina and a mosque in the city of Qatif. So far, at least, the casualties are relatively light when compared to recent similar attacks. In at least one case, the attacker died before reaching their target.
Dig to uncover rare undisturbed Bronze Age burial (BBC)
An archaeological dig is under way on what experts say is a rare undisturbed Bronze Age burial mound in Lancashire.
Digging got under way this week at the site near Morecambe Bay, which was found by metal detectors, and is being excavated under expert supervision.
