Financial Markets and Economy
Japan Pension Giant’s Losses Imply a $53 Billion Stock Splurge (Bloomberg)
The world’s biggest pension fund has room for a Japan stock shopping spree after the value of its investments tumbled last quarter.
U.K.’s May Orders Brexit Plans Ahead of G-20, Newspapers Report (Bloomberg)
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May asked her cabinet ministers to come up with a blueprint for how their departments may be able to benefit from Britain’s exit from the European Union ahead of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in China, according to newspaper reports.
Saudi Arabian Stocks Lead Gulf Gains as Oil Offsets Fed Concern (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabian stocks led gains across Gulf equities as an advance in the price of oil helped offset investor caution over the timing of U.S. interest-rate increases.
Dana Gas May Seek to Roll Over Part of $700 Million Islamic Bond (Bloomberg)
Dana Gas PJSC, a producer of natural gas in Egypt, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, may seek to roll over part of the $700 million Islamic bonds maturing next year, the chief executive officer said.
Huge hedge fund redemptions are horrible news for the industry (Wolf Street)
The toxic mix of crummy performance and high fees are having some impact. And it’s big money: The hedge fund industry has over $3 trillion under management.
Egypt Ban on Wheat With Ergot Fungus Adds Confusion for Traders (Bloomberg)
Egypt will no longer accept imported wheat containing any traces of the ergot fungus, the Agriculture Ministry said Sunday, sowing fresh regulatory confusion that has hampered shipments to the world’s biggest buyer of the grain.
The Bank of Japan is worried about a stock market crash (Wolf Street)
No central bank of a developed country equals the Bank of Japan in trying to manipulate the stock market up by buying equities. The BOJ has done this for years. With breath-taking ineffectiveness.
China’s middle class is exploding (True Wealth Publishing)
The American consumer has been a central driver of the global economy for decades. Fortunately for the overburdened American consumer, China’s middle class is going to be picking up more of the slack.
Guptas’ South African Selloff May Signal Zuma’s Waning Control (Bloomberg)
The decision by a wealthy Indian family close to President Jacob Zuma to sell its businesses in South Africa is the latest indication that his grip on power may be slipping.
Dear Congress: Have You Received Money From These Pharma Companies (Zero Hedge)
We have been following the latest melodrama involving a "greedy" Mylan, and numerous "humanistic" US politicians, all the way up to the Democratic presidential candidate, exchange blows over the company's dramatic price increases of its EpiPen anti-allergy medication, with a healthy dose of amusement for one simple reason: if Congress wants to crack down on someone, it should crack down on itself.
Fed's Dislike of Negative Interest Rates Points to Limits of Stimulus (The Wall Street Journal)
Fed officials don’t think negative rates are needed in the U.S. because the economy and job market are improving and they are hoping they will never have to use them in the future given their uncertainty about whether the policy works.
Uber, Rival Careem Suspend Services in UAE Capital Abu Dhabi (Bloomberg)
Ride-hailing service Uber said Sunday that it and competitor Careem have abruptly suspended services in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi due to "unforeseen circumstances," suggesting potential difficulties with local regulators.
Sears workers reveal why the company is bleeding cash (Business Insider)
Sears is bleeding cash.
The company's cash and equivalents have fallen to $276 million from $1.8 billion a year ago, Sears said Thursday.
Why Russia Won't Collapse (Zero Hedge)
In a column earlier this year when the oil price was falling through the $30-level, quite a few people thought that Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia would crumble.
Yellen on negative rates: we do not speak its name (FT Alphaville)
Janet Yellen opened the festivities at this year’s Jackson Hole economic symposium by musing on what central bankers had learned since the crisis and how they can deal with future recessions in a world where interest rates are far lower than in the past.
Central Banks Double Down on the Mistakes of 2008… Creating the Greatest Bubble in Financial History (Zero Hedge)
The common consensus in the financial community today is that the Fed and other Central Banks have somehow managed to end the business cycle.
Petronas $8.5 Billion Canada Gas Plan Buoyed by Aboriginal Vote (Bloomberg)
Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s proposed C$11 billion ($8.5 billion) liquefied natural gas export plant in Canada is getting a boost as an aboriginal community signals openness to the project amid speculation that the location may be changed.
Politics
Donald Trump's new pitch to African-American voters is hitting a wall (Business Insider)
Donald Trump's campaign over the last two weeks has gone out of its way to reach nonwhite voters.
Presidential Rivals Both Claim Vote Victory, Gabonreview Says (Bloomberg)
Gabon’s two main presidential candidates each claimed victory and accused one another of cheating as counting of election votes started in the oil-rich nation, according to Gabonreview.com.
Curt Schilling Is the Next Donald Trump (Rolling Stone)
Curt Schilling, cauldron-bellied baseball star turned political activist, has apparently decided to run for Senate in Massachusetts. His goal will be ousting an icon of the liberal hegemony he proudly despises.
Mike Pence Won’t Explain Donald Trump’s Stance On Deportations (The Huffington Post)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump muddied his position on immigration this week, making it unclear whether he stands by his previously articulated plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Technology
Dyson Commits $1.4 Billion for Battery Development (Fortune)
As electric-car maker Tesla beefs up its batteries and spins up a giant battery factory, a shadowy horse is moving up from behind. British vacuum magnate James Dyson tells Forbes that he will spend $1.4 billion over the next five years to build a battery factory and push battery technology forward, theoretically eclipsing Tesla’s existing tech.
Check out Alrobot, a gun-toting remote-controlled tank built to fight ISIS (Business Insider)
Although the US Marine Corps may have unveiled their futuristic Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT) recently, another unlikely source may have beaten them in the race to develop an automated combat-centric vehicle.
Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Solar Tents, Growing Furniture, A Beer Pong Bot (Digital Trends)
At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems.
Health and Life Sciences
An Auditory Component to Autism (Scientific American)
“The face is the index of the mind,” according to an ancient proverb. People with autism, however, are often unable to judge when a face conveys emotions such as happiness or sadness, and many researchers take this as evidence that autism involves serious deficits in processing social information.
Scientists might have just found a way to protect babies from Zika (Science Alert)
Scientists have discovered a key mechanism by which Zika virus affects the human foetal brain, and the findings suggest that two existing antiviral treatments might protect babies against the most damaging effects.
Weird magnetic bacteria could be key in targeting and destroying tumours (Science Alert)
Researchers have used bacteria that migrate towards magnetic fields to directly target tumours with cancer killing drugs.
Life on the Home Planet
Michigan may soon allow self-driving cars on the road with no one behind the wheel (CNN Money)
Michigan may soon become the first state to allow self-driving cars on the road without a human driver sitting behind the steering wheel.
Kansas City area hit by floods after three days of downpour (Reuters)
The Kansas City area was flooded late Friday after a three-day downpour, forcing emergency services to conduct about 10 water rescues in Missouri's largest city, officials said.
French support for the EU project is crumbling on the Left and Right (The Telegraph)
The drama of Brexit may soon be matched or eclipsed by crystallizing events in France, where the Long Slump is at last taking its political toll.
Singapore confirms 41 cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus (Reuters)
Singapore has confirmed 41 cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus, mostly among foreign construction workers, and said it expected more cases to be identified.
Iran arrests nuclear negotiator suspected of spying (Reuters)
Iran has arrested a member of the negotiating team that reached a landmark nuclear deal with world powers on suspicion of spying, a judiciary spokesman said on Sunday.
