Financial Markets and Economy
Iron Ore Market Seen Collapsing Below Last Year’s Nadir: Chart (Bloomberg)
The iron ore market is about to swoon, according to Westpac Banking Corp., which forecasts benchmark prices may sink below last year’s nadir of $38.30 a metric ton.
Fear! M1 Money Multiplier Remains Below 1.0 Since End Of Great Recession (And Financial Crisis) (Confounded Interest)
The M1 Money Multiplier is the ratio of M1* to the St. Louis Adjusted Monetary Base and it has been below 1.0 since June 2009, the end of The Great Recession (at least according to the NBER). The culprit? The massive increase in excess reserves.
Oil Rises as Investors Parse Yellen Remarks for Rate-Hike Clues (Bloomberg)
Oil closed higher after swinging between gains and losses as investors parse a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for signs of when the central bank will raise interest rates.
Japan Stocks Fall Ahead of Yellen as Insurers, Carmakers Slide (Bloomberg)
Japanese shares retreated, erasing the benchmark equity index’s gains for the week, as insurers and carmakers led losses before Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech.
Existing Home Sales Fall -3.2% In July … Back To 2001 Levels (Inventory Has Declined For 14 Straight Months) (Confounded Interest)
Existing home sales are out for July and they were down -3.2% in July with 5.39 million units SAAR added.
Unfortunately, existing home sales are only back to 2001 levels.
China Tightening Risk Seen Looming as Bonds, Property Surge (Bloomberg)
Frothiness in parts of China’s financial markets is pushing the central bank closer to tightening monetary policy.
Mortgage Purchase Applications Fall -2.11% WoW (The Slow Recovery In One Chart) (Confounded Interest)
Hey, it is August! Mortgage purchase applications often peaked in April or May and then begin the long slide down until the end of the calendar year.
China’s Oil Industry Destined for Big Changes (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s largest oil fields are the stuff of Communist Party folklore, but today they’re potent symbols of the challenges facing China’s energy industry.
Still a Lot of Negativity on Housing (Bloomberg View)
There has been a steady drumbeat of negativity about housing ever since the residential real-estate market crashed. While there are some signs of recovery, psychological damage persists.
September Fed Bets Jump to 1-in-3 From Zero as Yellen Speech Key (Bloomberg)
Traders see one-in-three odds of higher U.S. interest rates next month as more Federal Reserve officials joined the chorus arguing the case for policy tightening before Chair Janet Yellen speaks Friday.
Bakken Update: Mega-Frac Well Comparison Shows Why EIA Weeklies Are Way Off (Seeking Alpha)
Mega-Fracs have significantly increased production in all US unconventional plays, but it isn't just initial production affected, more importantly it is decline rates.
Weak company profits dampen recovery hopes (Sky News)
The 2015/16 fiscal year will count as one of the worst for profit growth by Australian companies, so investors can't be blamed for hoping things will get a little better from here.
Fed’s Kaplan Says ‘Jury Is Out’ on Japan’s Negative Rates (Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said the “jury is out” on whether the Bank of Japan’s negative rate policy is working, and monetary policy alone won’t fix the key problems Japan faces.
Fed Releases Details of Jackson Hole Conference and Attendees (Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has released the schedule for its annual policy symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which officially kicks off with dinner on Thursday.
Cheap gas has Americans driving more than ever (Christian Science Monitor)
With the summer travel season more than halfway over and gas prices still quite low, U.S drivers have already logged a record-breaking number of miles traveled.
Amazon Pushes Deeper Into Auto Industry With Research Site (Bloomberg)
Amazon.com Inc. is pushing deeper into the auto industry and car-parts market with a new website featuring reviews, images and specifications on thousands of new and classic car models.
Fed’s George Wants to Raise Short-Term Rates to Around 3% Over Next Two or Three Years (The Wall Street Journal)
Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, laid out her case for raising short-term interest rates Thursday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
The Newspaper Ad Collapse: Bad News for Readers (Naked Capitalism)
Yves here. Although readers are no doubt familiar with the general story, that newspapers, and in particular, news rooms, have taken a huge hit in the Internet era, it’s useful to see long-term data on the trend and implications.
Chinese Takeovers Trigger Global Backlash Ahead of G-20 Summit (Bloomberg)
From Australia blocking a bid for a power network to the U.K.’s review of a proposed Chinese-funded nuclear plant, opposition to China’s outward push is opening a thornier and potentially more treacherous front in the country’s economic tug-of-war with the rest of the world. And it’s coming as China prepares to host a Sept. 4-5 summit of Group of 20 leaders.
Wage war (The Economist)
ILLEGAL immigration from Mexico is not quite a century old. A law of 1917 was the first to regulate the southern border.
China Lets The Oil Market Have It (Bloomberg Gadfly)
Chinese oil demand, so long the picture of a ravenous bull, is looking more like a vomiting bear.
PetroChina reported its worst-ever first-half profit on Wednesday.
When 2% is not enough (The Economist)
LIKE other areas of public policy, central banking is prone to fads and fashions. From limits on money-supply growth to pegging exchange rates, orthodoxies wax and wane. Yet the practice of inflation-targeting has proved remarkably long-lived.
OPEC Is Now in the “Danger Zone” – Just as Arab Spring II Is Coming… (Money Morning – We Make Investing Profitable)
For years my “day job” was being a university professor in political science and international economics. I’d often speak on the subject of “failed states” – countries in which the government had become so weak, while the economic and social problems grew so strong, that governance was no longer possible.
U.K. Consumer Confidence Rebounds as Brexit Vote Panic Subsides (Bloomberg)
U.K. consumer confidence rose the most in more than three years this month as the initial shock from Britain’s decision to leave the European Union faded.
China’s Biggest Oil Company Aims for 50% Natural Gas by 2020 (Bloomberg)
China’s biggest oil company wants natural gas to account for half its output by the end of the decade.
Forget the Salad Bar. A $50 Million Startup Bets on Healthy Grab-and-Go Meals (Bloomberg)
David Kirchhoff says that when he was chief executive officer of Weight Watchers in the mid-2000s, one thing that always bothered him was the trade-off many of his customers had to make to reach their desired weight.
Politics
No, Donald Trump, America Isn’t a Hellhole (NY Times)
Donald Trump has taken a strange turn lately. O.K., he has taken a lot of strange turns — that’s what happens when you nominate a short-attention-span candidate who knows nothing about policy and refuses to sit still for more than three minutes.
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There's a bizarre French conspiracy theory that the viral 'burkini' photos were staged (Fusion)
As outrage continues to unfold over photos appearing to show French police accosting a woman for wearing a headscarf and black undergarments at a Nice beach, some French are now alleging the photos showing the incident were staged.
Technology
Superfast Airborne Wi-Fi Is Coming to Europe's Planes (Bloomberg)
Starting early next year, travelers on some Lufthansa flights in Europe will be able to surf the web using airborne Wi-Fi that promises speeds and coverage that trounce existing offerings.
The Robot Surgeon of Your Nightmares Can Wiggle Its Way Inside You (Bloomberg)
The Flex Robotic System is equipped with a high-definition camera and can bend to conform to a patient’s anatomy, allowing a surgeon to guide instruments through the patient’s body.
Health and Life Sciences
The Future of Healthcare Is Arriving—8 Exciting Areas to Watch (Singularity Hub)
As faculty chair for Medicine and Neuroscience at Singularity University and curator of our annual Exponential Medicine conference (apply to join us this Oct 8–11th), I cross paths with many technologies which have potential healthcare applications.
We're finding more evidence that unconventional natural gas development is having detrimental effects on health (The Conversation)
The fracking industry has been an energy success story: Natural gas prices have decreased as fracking has skyrocketed, and natural gas now produces more electricity than coal does, which has resulted in improved air quality.
This crazy new virus just broke the rules of infection (Science Alert)
A new type of virus has been identified, and it’s so weird, it's challenging long-held notions of what it takes for a virus to infect and proliferate in an animal host.
Life on the Home Planet
Syrian war: US and Russia 'achieve clarity on path forward' (BBC News)
US Secretary of State John Kerry says he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov "have achieved clarity on the path forward" in Syria, but have "narrow issues" to resolve.
Good News For People Who Love Dunkin' Donuts Cold Brew (Fortune)
Chris Fuqua, a marketing executive for Dunkin’, says the coffee chain will continue serving the beverage despite its original plan to wrap sales up in September, according to Bloomberg.
Leo the dog helped rescuers find an 8-year-old girl in Italy quake rubble (Mashable Asia)
In the days following Italy's 6.2 magnitude earthquake, frantic rescue attempts have taken place in the towns hardest hit. Crews have been digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings trying to find survivors of the quake that has left at least 267 people dead.
