Financial Markets and Economy
Fed seen holding rates steady as inflation watch continues (Reuters)
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week, deferring any possible increase until September or December, as policymakers hold out for more evidence of a pickup in inflation.
U.S. stock futures waver ahead of Fed, key earnings (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures struggled for direction on Tuesday, with investors opting for the sidelines ahead of the closely watched Federal Reserve meeting and a deluge of earnings, including updates from McDonald’s, Verizon and Apple.
Here’s your second chance to buy into oil’s recovery (Market Watch)
West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at fresh three-month lows this morning, after Monday’s selloff seemed to reawaken the bears.
Asia could be barreling toward a financial crisis (Business Insider)
Asia could be walking into a financial disaster.
How Does This Hedge-Fund Manager Make So Much Money? (Business Insider)
Ten miles south of downtown Atlanta, in an anonymous business center overlooking the airport, sits the headquarters of what, on paper, is a hedge-fund powerhouse.
'It is very possible that the long bull market in real estate is over' (Business Insider)
Stockbroker Peel Hunt is warning that "long bull market" in UK property could be at an end thanks to the Brexit vote and is predicting a huge collapse in London office values.
Trillion-Dollar Manager Amundi Sees Treasury Gains as Fed Delays (Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates this year and Treasuries are poised to rally, according to Amundi Asset Management, which oversees $1.1 trillion.
Oil could drop as low as $35 this year (Business Insider)
The oil industry is facing renewed headwinds, and prices are set to fall again in the second half of 2015, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley who say that they've had their "bearish bias" on the industry confirmed in recent weeks.
Yen surges against dollar, other rivals as Japan stimulus plan falls short (Market Watch)
The yen strengthened against its rival currencies during Asian trade on Tuesday, hitting its highest level against the dollar since mid-July, as expectations receded for policy steps Tokyo will likely put together.
A high street bank could charge businesses to hold their cash (Business Insider)
NatWest warned its business customers that it may have to charge to accept their deposits if "future market conditions" for interest rates don't improve.
This is huge. While banks like Santander already make some customers pay to hold their money, this is a conscious business decision meant to bring in a regular stream of revenue. NatWest is saying it may be forced to introduce these measures because of the global market environment.
U.S. Oil-Train Boom Is Ending (Wall Street Journal)
The oil-train boom is waning almost as quickly as it began.
Rail became a major way to move crude after companies began unlocking new bounties of oil from shale formations, with volumes rising from almost nothing in 2009 to more than one million barrels a day by 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
BP Profit Sinks as Lower Oil, Weak Refining Strain Industry (Bloomberg)
BP Plc posted a 45 percent slump in earnings, pointing to a poor set of results from the industry as oil production barely breaks even and profits from refining sputter.
Oil prices edge away from three-month lows, but mood remains bearish (Business Insider)
Oil prices edged away from three-month lows on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar, but concerns of ongoing oversupply weighed on markets and many traders are raising their bets on further price falls.
The Death of OPEC (Project Syndicate)
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is dead. Saudi Arabia killed it. Now, OPEC is just a toothless zombie, attracting attention, but without having any impact on the living.
Politics
Our Political Pros Give Democrats High First-Night Marks (Bloomberg View)
Two of America's smartest political strategists are analyzing the Democratic National Convention this week for Bloomberg View, giving their perspectives on how the proceedings are coming across to millions of viewers and voters.
Donald Trump is seriously close to winning (Business Insider)
Donald Trump now has a very real chance of becoming the next US President, according to bookmakers.
Most bookies now give him odds of 13/8 to win the election in November — far shorter than the 150/1 outsider odds he started with.
DNC Leak Shows Mechanics of a Slanted Campaign (Rolling Stone)
As is sadly the case with most political stories these days, whether or not you care about the so-called "DNC leak" probably depends on which candidate you supported in the primaries.
Technology
Amazon to begin UK delivery drone trials to make them safer (New Scientist)
Amazon is about to start trials that will explore the safe use of drones for home deliveries.
The technology giant has been developing drones that can deliver its parcels to private addresses over a short distance as part of its Prime Air initiative.
Health and Life Sciences
Scans reveal how teenage brain develops (BBC)
A University of Cambridge team has identified the areas of the brain that change the most during the teenage years.
Brain scans showed that they are the areas associated with complex thought processes.
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Detected in Sewage Spill (Medicine Net Daily)
Sewer line breaks can release antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose a public health threat, a new study says.
Consider the 2014 sewer line break in St. Petersburg, Fla., that released 500,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into neighborhoods and Boca Ciega Bay.
Life on the Home Planet
Solar Impulse II Successfully Completes Round-The-World Trip (Popular Science)
Solar Impulse has successfully landed in Abu Dhabi, completing a round-the-world trek that began in that same city in 2014.
Priest killed in French church, police shoot two attackers dead (Reuters)
Two attackers killed a priest with a blade and seriously wounded another hostage in a church in northern France on Tuesday before being shot dead by French police.
The attack took place during morning mass at the Saint-Etienne parish church, south of Rouen in Normandy. Five people were initially taken hostage.
Sri Lanka prime minister: Mangroves curb climate threat (BBC)
Sri Lanka's prime minister has said mangroves' ability to swiftly absorb carbon make the forests vital in the fight against climate change.
