Financial Markets and Economy
The World's Most Powerful Stock Pickers Dont Manage a Penny (Bloomberg)
MSCI Inc. isnt usually a name that springs to mind when one thinks of the most powerful players in the global equity market.
Stocks and bonds are expensive, so we prefer cash (Business Insider)
What a turnaround that it's been for markets since the Brexit vote. From fear to frenzy, the recovery in risk assets from the lows struck just eight days ago has been amazing to watch.
Data Gap Whipsaws Oil Prices on Differing Views of Stockpiles (Bloomberg)
Oil traders don’t know who to follow these days.
The world is horrible right now, and the stock market seems to love it (Quartz)
Congratulations, everything is terrible.
U.S. economy likely grew 2.3 percent in second quarter (Business Insider)
The U.S. economy likely expanded at a 2.3 percent annualized rate in the second quarter following the latest data on wholesale trade, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Tuesday.
IMF Lowers Forecasts for Italy’s Economic Growth (Wall Street Journal)
The International Monetary Fund slightly lowered its 2016 and 2017 growth forecasts for Italy, saying the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union will increase uncertainty and will likely weigh on the country’s economic performance.
We Are Witnessing The Greatest Dichotomy In The History Of Financial Markets (The Felder Report)
Interest rates are now hitting record-lows while stocks hit record-highs; this has never happened before. Nor should it ever happen.
The June Jobs Report in 15 Charts (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. employers added 287,000 jobs in June, a wild reversal from May’s report, in which the economy saw net job growth of just 11,000. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 4.9% as more Americans returned to the labor force.
The Richest Generation in U.S. History Just Keeps Getting Richer (Bloomberg)
Baby boomers started turning 65 in 2011, marking the unofficial beginning of their retirement years. The timing could not have been better for older boomers, who are already part of the wealthiest generation in U.S. history. Since then, the broad S&P 500-stock index is up 91 percent, including dividends. U.S. stocks hit a record high yesterday.
Stocks are at record highs — here's what one strategist thinks is going on and what's next (Business Insider)
After more than a year, stocks are finally at all-time highs again.
Here’s who’s driving stocks to record heights (Market Watch)
Investors have been bailing out of equity funds at a rapid clip. So how come stocks keep rising?
SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts – Beta Monkeys (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
We saw some continuing movement into assets that had gotten clobbered with the risk aversion sparked by Brexit.
Regulator Warns Commercial Real Estate Bubble Is Biggest US Bank Risk (Naked Capitalism)
ZIRP and a flat yield curve are leading to all sorts of imprudent behavior. The latest, flagged by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is profligate commercial real estate lending. The OCC warned that the rise in risky real estate lending is far more dangerous than subprime auto loans, which have been a pet worry of analysts for some time.
Politics
The Democrats Have Unified. The Republicans Won't. (Bloomberg View)
There is something anticlimactic about the news that Bernie Sanders has finally endorsed Hillary Clinton, like finding out that some young Hollywood couple has tremulously announced their mindful separation. We expected nothing else, so it is tempting to respond “What on earth took you so long?”
Trump’s Rhetoric About Crime In ‘Inner Cities’ Is All Bait And No Data (Think Progress)
In the wake of a historically violent week in America last week, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been promising to “make America safe again.”
Technology
Watch this humanoid robot walk in sneakers (Futurity)
The most efficient-walking humanoid ever created wears size-13 sneakers, report its creators.
While most machines these days hunch at the waist and plod along on flat feet, DURUS strolls like a person. Its legs and chest are elongated and upright. It lands on the heel of its foot, rolls through the step, and pushes off its toe.
Meet the robots changing modern farming: Prospero, Aquarius and SW 6010 (Market Watch)
I remember reading a piece about farmers using drones, and I must say I was impressed.
For farmers, the transition from manned aircraft to drones is an easy choice to make. Not only are they much cheaper, but they also provide imaging tools, which can be used for detecting a variety of crop-related issues, ranging from problems with irrigation to measuring chlorophyll levels in plants.
Health and Life Sciences
How Artificial Sweeteners May Mess With Your Brain (Forbes)
Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of a lot of scientific debate in recent years, partly owing to the fact that they don’t seem to help much with weight loss at all. In fact, they may actually contribute to weight gain: A study a couple of years ago suggested that they may do this in part by altering the friendly bacteria in our guts, and triggering glucose intolerance.
A new drug that could save the US billions just got one step closer to an approval (Business Insider)
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee just gave a critical recommendation for a version of Humira, the blockbuster arthritis drug made by AbbVie that brought in $14 billion in sales in 2015.
Life on the Home Planet
Never-before-seen sea creatures filmed in world’s deepest abyss (New Scientist)
The discovery of mysterious lifeforms has stunned scientists during a series of dives into the Marianna trench — Earth’s deepest abyss.
“It’s just so exciting,” says Shirley Pomponi at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. “We’re finding new things every day.”
