Financial Markets and Economy
Central Bankers Spurn Call for Radical Approach at Jackson Hole (Bloomberg)
Central bankers aren’t retreating from the fight against low inflation, although they’re wary of launching a fresh assault on any daring new fronts.
Asian Stocks Erase Losses as Japan Shares Gain on Stimulus Bets (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks erased losses and most Tokyo shares rose amid speculation policy makers will move to shore up financial markets after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Indian Stocks Retreat for Third Day as Fed Rate Hike Bets Climb (Bloomberg)
Indian stocks declined for a third day, with the benchmark gauge set to end five months of gains, amid concern flows to emerging markets may slow after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the case for raising interest rates is getting stronger.
Nigeria Manufacturers Say Dollars Still Scarce After Devaluation (Bloomberg)
Nigerian businesses are struggling to get hold of foreign exchange even after the central bank devalued the currency in June to try and attract investment from abroad, according to the West African country’s main manufacturers’ lobby group.
Wall Street Redoubles Fight to Manage $100 Billion at Endowments (Bloomberg)
When the University of Connecticut sought help managing a slice of its small endowment, TIAA found it was competing with 26 other money managers. So the financial services giant sent its biggest gun: President Roger Ferguson, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, to pitch in person.
Trudeau Heads to China to Woo Trade Amid Weak Canada Growth (Bloomberg)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading for his first official visit to China, seeking to reset relations and boost economic ties with Canada’s second-largest trading partner.
Winners and Losers in the New China (Bloomberg)
Economists too often talk about policy changes in abstract, ignoring the drawbacks that even sensible reforms can bring. For years, analysts have been urging China to shift its economy away from heavy industry and toward services and consumption.
European Stocks Retreat as Bets on Imminent U.S. Rate Hike Rise (Bloomberg)
European stocks slid as the possibility of a U.S. interest-rate increase as soon as next month outweighed upbeat comments about the world’s biggest economy.
Pimco at Odds With Goldman on Yellen as September Rate Bets Rise (Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech Friday was hawkish enough for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to boost the odds of a September interest-rate increase, while Pacific Investment Management Co. said there was nothing of note in her remarks.
Italy Manufacturing, Consumer Trust Falls on Stagnant Economy (Bloomberg)
Italian manufacturing confidence in August fell to the lowest since early last year, as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi struggles with a stagnant economy compounded by the massive destruction from last week’s deadly earthquake. Consumer confidence also fell.
One Chart Shows What Investors Are Dreaming About (Bloomberg)
You've probably heard the old saw about equity markets "climbing a wall of worry." Stock market prices can rise even when the economic backdrop is gloomy as investors look ahead and anticipate better times.
Massive BOJ Stimulus Shock Looms, Says $2 Trillion UBS Investor (Bloomberg)
The Bank of Japan could announce a “massive stimulus program” as the nation seeks to reach a 2 percent inflation target, according to UBS Wealth Management.
Oil Pessimists Exit as OPEC Cap Talk Spurs Bets Glut Easing (Bloomberg)
Oil investors are turning the car around.
For a second week, money managers slashed bets on falling prices by a record and boosted wagers on a rally.
European Stocks Retreat as Bets on Imminent U.S. Rate Hike Rise (Bloomberg)
European stocks slid as the possibility of a U.S. interest-rate increase as soon as next month outweighed upbeat comments about the world’s biggest economy.
Controversial Trade Talks Between U.S. and E.U. Have Failed, German Economy Minister Says (Frank Jordans, AP, TIME)
Free trade talks between the European Union and the United States have failed, Germany’s economy minister said Sunday, citing a lack of progress on any of the major sections of the long-running negotiations.
Cash hoarding reinforces China view further monetary easing futile: sources (Reuters)
On the face of it, China's central bank has room to cut interest rates to try to lift the economy, but sources say evidence companies and banks are hoarding cash has reinforced policymakers' view there is no major benefit in easing policy further.
Draghi Silence Puts Numbers in Spotlight Before ECB Meeting (Bloomberg)
After five weeks of silence, the European Central Bank president is leaving it largely to a raft of economic data to fine-tune policy expectations ahead of the Governing Council’s next meeting on Sept. 8. Reports covering inflation to business confidence and unemployment in the coming days may signal whether more stimulus is needed to sustain the recovery and revive price growth amid potential fallout from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Hong Kong retail sales fall below expectations (Financial Times)
Retail sales in Hong Kong dropped 7.7 per cent year on year last month in value terms, falling farther than expected.
Tata Motors shares rise 4.6% on JLR sales, new models (Live Mint)
Mumbai: Shares of Tata Motors Ltd on Monday rose as much as 4.6% after most of the brokerage firms have increased its target price as investors expects that the strong growth in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sales will continue going forward and some of its new models have well received in the markets.
Forget Helicopter Money: BOJ May Prefer to Fund Rail, Sewers (Bloomberg)
Forget helicopter money. The Bank of Japan might next target financing a bit closer to the ground — trains, hospitals, power plants and sewers.
Why The Fed Will Never Reduce Its $4.5 Trillion Balance Sheet Again (Zero Hedge)
Back in early April, one of the foremost experts on the practical applications of QE (there are many more "experts" on the discredited theoretical framework of QE, most of whom are career economists), Credit Suisse's Zoltan Pozsar wrote a note titled "What Excess Reserves", in which the former NY Fed analyst made a very clear case for why the Fed's balance sheet will never shrink again (particularly in the context of the broken Fed Funds market).
Santander’s flagship 123 accounts costs it almost £1 billion (Financial Times)
Santander UK has been spending nearly £1 billion ($1.3 billion) a year to cover the cost of its flagship current account, the Financial Times has discovered, which explains its decision to slash interest rates as bank margins come under pressure.
Oil Booms Leave the Poor in the Dark (VOX)
Measuring poverty is expensive. It involves running surveys in faraway places, which are slow and have bad coverage. The global standard, the World Bank Poverty Rate (World Bank 2016), covers less than one third of countries in any given year.
"It May Take A Massive Program, Large Enough To Shock Taxpayers" – The Jackson Hole Post-Mortem (Zero Hedge)
On Saturday, the 2016 edition of the Fed's Jackson Hole two-day symposium came to an end, and as many expected, following long bouts of rhetoric, circular statements and hollow bluster, much of it contradictory, both the participants and markets remain as confused as ever.
Big Tobacco Wants to Turn Japan's Smokers Into Vapers (Bloomberg)
Competition to sate Japanese nicotine addicts is heating up.
Philip Morris International Inc. and Japan Tobacco Inc. have rolled out products that are heated — not burned — in battery-charged devices, seeking to appeal to smokers who want their nicotine fix without the usual smell and smoke.
It Was a Union for the Ages, Until Suddenly It Wasn’t. Is Europe Lost? (Bloomberg)
The U.K.’s vote to quit the European Union is the enterprise’s worst setback since it was conceived in the 1950s. Until now, the EU has always grown in scale and ambition. For the first time, Brexit shows that Europe’s manifest destiny—ever closer union—may not be destiny after all.
Housing starts to fall in 2017 & 2018 (Pete Wargent)
So believes the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
And looking at the new dwelling sales figures for July 2016, they are probably right.
Politics
DIPLOMAT: Triggering Article 50 will be like turning the engines off on an airplane (Reuters)
Triggering the procedure for Britain to exit the European Union is like turning off the engines on an airplane, a top European diplomat says: best only do it if you can see a landing strip.
Cameron Heads to Last Supper in Brussels Amid Impasse in London (Bloomberg)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is set to face his fellow European Union leaders for the first time since triggering a political earthquake that’s shaken the bloc’s foundations. Back in London, the race to succeed him is heating up.
Florida Contests Could Tip the Congressional Balance (NY Times)
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Senator Marco Rubio went down the list of political enemies and rivals like a roll-call vote: President Obama.
Nationalist Tensions Rise As Sarkozy Slams "Calais Jungle", Demands "Britain Deal With Asylum Seekers In Britain" (Zero Hedge)
As we've noted many times, soaring numbers of refugees seeking asylum in Europe and the simultaneous increase in terrorist attacks is bringing the political fight between "globalists" and "nationalists" to a head.
Takeover Complete (Talking Points Memo)
Over the last few years, as 'government shutdown' went from being a crazy ass thing Newt Gingrich did twenty years ago – never to be tried again – to the top item on the Republican policy agenda, you could hear more and more Republicans saying something like this …
Technology
The Hype—And Hope—Of Artificial Intelligence (The New Yorker)
Earlier this month, on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver skewered media companies’ desperate search for clicks.
VMware New Cloud Plan: Sell Stuff for Rival Clouds (Bloomberg)
VMware Inc. is set to unveil new products in a bid to eke out greater relevancy for the company in internet-based cloud-computing.
VW Aiming For Tesla with Affordable 300-mile range Golf (Forbes)
Volkswagen, still in the midst settling with various plaintiffs and regulators over its diesel engine scandal, is working to change the conversation about its brand to progress it is making electric vehicles much more affordable and convenient to own.
Health and Life Sciences
Signs of Hope for Nature in a Rapidly Degrading World (Scientific American)
Humanity has been reshaping Earth’s ecosystems for millennia in two basic ways. We engage in large-scale conversion of natural habitats to agricultural crops and cities to feed and house our burgeoning population.
Krill Are Disappearing from Antarctic Waters (Scientific American)
They may be small, but krill—tiny, shrimp-like creatures—play a big role in the Antarctic food chain. As climate change warms the Southern Ocean and alters sea ice patterns, though, the area of Antarctic water suitable for krill to hatch and grow could drop precipitously, a new study finds.
Life on the Home Planet
A Powerful Russian Weapon: The Spread of False Stories (NY Times)
With a vigorous national debate underway on whether Sweden should enter a military partnership with NATO, officials in Stockholm suddenly encountered an unsettling problem: a flood of distorted and outright false information on social media, confusing public perceptions of the issue.
The Transatlantic Squabble Over Apple's Taxes (Bloomberg)
The U.S. Treasury thinks it's bad enough that companies such as Apple park piles of cash overseas to avoid paying tax. What's worse is when foreign authorities change the rules that attracted the money in the first place, and tax those holdings for themselves.
Iraq Can Crush OPEC's Oil Freeze Believers (Bloomberg)
When the OPEC nations last met with Russia to agree an output freeze, back in April, it was Saudi Arabia that shot down the deal — refusing to take part without Iran.
7 things you could buy for $1 in 1950 (The Cheat Sheet)
Living the good life didn’t cost a lot in 1950, at least at first glance.
The average home was worth $7,354, a new Volkswagen Beetle could be yours for $1,280, and tuition at the University of Pennsylvania was $600.
Stop the press: Turkey's crackdown on its media goes into overdrive (The Guardian)
Turkey has intensified its crackdown on the media since last month’s attempted coup, with rights groups decrying a wave of decrees that have turned the country into the world leader in locking up journalists.
Pink elephant prank convinces bystanders that they’re crazy (Holy Kaw)
Imagine trying to tell a police officer issuing you a citation that you’ve seen a pink elephant with polkadots walking just behind them. That’s exactly the premise of this hilarious prank.
Conan’s contagious laughter in this segment will have you in stitches (Holy Kaw)
You’ve probably never seen Conan laugh this hard––we sure haven’t. And the funniest part is what set him off: people throwing waffles.
The great Mexican wall deception: Trump’s America already exists on the border (TomDispatch)
At the federal courthouse, Ignacio Sarabia asks the magistrate judge, Jacqueline Rateau, if he can explain why he crossed the international boundary between the two countries without authorization.
