Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Economic Confidence Index Stable at -12 (Gallup)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy remained steady for another week, with Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index at -12 for the week ending Sept. 11.
Oil demand falters and a ‘Lehman moment’ for global trade (The Globe and Mail)
Futures markets indicate a sharply lower opening for equity markets this morning, and, thanks to a report from the International Energy Agency, the selling is expected to be particularly acute in oil markets.
Cash Still King But Mood Brightens (WSJ City)
Global investors are more certain than ever that stocks and bonds are overvalued, according to the monthly Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, published Tuesday.
China’s PBOC Injects 28-Day Funds for First Time Since February (Bloomberg)
China’s central bank resumed the use of a 28-day lending tool for the first time since February, lowering the interest rate as it injected funds into the financial system before a series of onshore holidays.
Confidence Waning in Central Banks’ Ability, Rogoff Says (Bloomberg)
Markets are losing confidence in the ability of central banks to boost inflation and there is a limit to how much quantitative easing programs can accomplish, Harvard University Professor of Economics Kenneth Rogoff said.
NFIB: Small Business Optimism Index decreased Slightly in August (Calculated Risk)
The Index of Small Business Optimism declined two-tenths of a point in August to 94.4, with owners refusing to expand; expecting worse business conditions; and unable to fill open positions, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
U.S. Household Incomes Surged 5.2% in 2015, First Gain Since 2007 (The Wall Street Journal)
A surge in U.S. incomes last year delivered the first significant raise for the typical family after eight years of stagnant and declining earnings, the result of sustained job growth finally lifting a broad swath of American households.
The Short-Term Nature Of Robo Portfolios (Value Walk)
Robo advisors have become what textbooks refer to as “disruptive” advancement: the traditional way of doing business in an industry changes dramatically, often due to the introduction of new technology.
Buying Dividend Stocks in Europe Is Now a Losing Strategy: Chart (Bloomberg)
One of the most successful European stock strategies since the financial crisis is unwinding.
The Estate Tax Debate We Shouldn't Be Having (Bloomberg)
Greg Mankiw, the Harvard professor and former adviser to President George W. Bush, has called for abandoning the estate tax. His argument, supported by anecdotal evidence and some wonky explanations, isn't terribly persuasive.c
Goldman Slashes September Rate-Hike Odds As Hilsenrath Warns Of Divided Fed (Zero Hedge)
Goldman Sachs' estimate of September rate-hike odds continue to collapse faster than Hillary Clinton as the absence of a clear signal from a series of speeches by Fed officials (concluding with Lael Brainard's headfake).
The World Map of Billionaires (Value Walk)
Billionaires are the richest of the rich. Many young entrepreneurs hope to one-day reach this ultimate financial milestone.
2015 Drop in Poverty is Largest on Record Since 1999 (US Census Bureau)
Estimates released today from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) show the official poverty rate in the United States declined to 13.5 percent in 2015, a 1.2 percentage point drop from 2014.
Companies
Amazon Is Joining a Vicious Grocery Price War in U.K. (The Wall Street Journal)
It is a wonder Amazon is interested in U.K. grocery.
Ocado, Britain’s largest online-only grocer, blamed intense competition for “sustained and continuing margin pressure” in a trading update Tuesday. The shares fell 13% in morning trading.
The founder of Shake Shack is backing a startup that delivers home-cooked food — and it looks delicious (Business Insider)
When you order takeout, you're usually paying for the convenience of enjoying a restaurant-cooked meal in the comfort of your own home.
Wells Fargo CEO Throws Employees Under The Bus: "There Was No Incentive To Do Bad Things" (Zero Hedge)
Earlier today we reported that as a result of the public (and market) outrage following news that Wells Fargo rewarded Carrie Tolstedt, the head of the group that was recently exposed as creating some 2 million fake credit card and bank accounts so it could churn late fees, and was in charge of what the bank's employees called "sandbagging", was leaving the bank with a $125 million package, this morning a panicked Wells Fargo said that it would eliminate all product sales goals in retail banking, starting next year.
Politics
61% of Americans say the presidential election is the biggest threat to the economy (Value Walk)
When asked about the biggest risk to the U.S. economy over the next 6 months, more than 6-in-10 Americans stated the upcoming presidential election, according to a new study by Bankrate.com.
The real New York Times scandal: Ignoring why Democrats can’t win the House (Salon)
The March 4, 2010, edition of The Wall Street Journal must not have arrived at either then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office or at The New York Times. It was a bad day to miss the paper, because Karl Rove took to the op-ed page and displayed the GOP playbook to dominate the House of Representatives for the next decade.
How Trump has inspired violence across the country, in one map (Think Progress)
The violence at Donald Trump campaign events is attracting more and more attention as attacks on protesters have escalated over the past month. Yet the Republican nominee has steadfastly refused to condemn his supporters’ actions.
The Parties on the Eve of the 2016 Election: Two Coalitions, Moving Further Apart (Pew Research Center)
Ahead of the presidential election, the demographic profiles of the Republican and Democratic parties are strikingly different. On key characteristics – especially race and ethnicity and religious affiliation – the two parties look less alike today than at any point over the last quarter-century.
Why some police departments are already shelving their body camera programs (Associated Press)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police departments in at least two states that outfitted their officers with body cameras have now shelved them, blaming new laws requiring videos to be stored longer, which they say would significantly increase the cost.
“Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee returned from hiatus to weigh in on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s inability to generate positive headlines.
How is Hillary Clinton still alive? (The Washington Post)
Let us suppose, for a moment, that everything we have ever heard about Hillary Clinton’s health is true.
She has had multiple strokes. Also, she has multiple sclerosis.
JAMIE DIMON: 'I would love to be president of the United States' (Business Insider)
In a Monday conversation at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Dimon was asked by David Rubenstein, the head of the Economic Club, whether he would run for political office.
Technology
Drones Will Use Lasers So Other Lasers Can't Shoot Them Down (Popular Science)
Drones will be getting their first lasers. They won’t be used to attack enemy targets, though–the lasers are to stop enemy lasers from shooting them out of the sky.
This autonomous Volvo will be handed over to customers next year (Mashable Asia)
Forget Ford's 2025 benchmark to sell self-driving cars to the public. Volvo is handing over a fleet of autonomous SUVs to Swedish families next year.
Why Drones Are Finding a Home on the Farm (Singularity Hub)
When I hear the word 'drone', the first thing I think of is a top-secret mission: spying, rescues, clandestine deliveries, and other James Bond-worthy uses of a seemingly mysterious technology.
The WatchOS 3 Update Triples Speed on the Apple Watch (Gizmodo)
The Apple Watch is much maligned. Compared to competitors it’s ugly as sin. Worse, it’s slow and clunky to use. I bought one back in April when the price dropped to $299 and immediately named it My Great Regret.
Facebook, Twitter Join Network to Tackle Fake News (Reuters)
Facebook and Twitter have joined a network of over 30 news and technology companies to tackle fake news and improve the quality of information on social media, the group said on Tuesday.
Health and Biotech
Here’s why “two-dad” babies aren’t yet a biological reality (New Scientist)
Healthy mice have been created using sperm and cells that aren’t quite eggs for the first time. New Scientist questions whether this really brings us any closer to making babies with two biological fathers.
Ebola virus lingers longer than scientists thought (Nature)
Ebola survivors are teaching scientists some surprising lessons. Long-term studies have revealed that the virus lasts longer in survivors’ bodies than previously suspected.
Is Evolution Over? Synthetic Biology Anticipates Nature’s Next Steps (Singularity Hub)
Some biological processes are so central to life as we know it that it’s tempting to assume all the key innovations in biochemistry have already happened.
Life on the Home Planet
There's now even more evidence that the Moon triggers our most powerful earthquakes (Science Alert)
Scientists have long debated whether the movements of the Moon and the tidal stresses it generates play a role in triggering earthquakes, and now it looks like we might have an answer.
Syria truce largely holds as aid preparations begin (Reuters)
A new ceasefire in Syria brought a full day with no combat deaths in the war between President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents, a monitoring body said on Tuesday, as efforts to deliver aid to besieged areas got cautiously under way.
Quick, Where’s Sudan? Are Mexicans Coming or Going? College Students Say: Uh … (Bloomberg)
American college students bombed on a recent test of their global literacy, showing that many "are not prepared to understand the world they will enter," said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Taiwan and China Brace for the ‘Strongest Storm On Earth,’ Super Typhoon Meranti (TIME)
Super typhoon Meranti will sweep across the island of Taiwan Wednesday morning, before making landfall on China with torrential rains and dangerous winds.
Typhoon Meranti: fears for tiny Philippine island in eye of a megastorm (The Guardian)
Fears were held for the 3,000 inhabitants of the tiny island in the Philippines after satellite images showed it directly in the eye of the world’s strongest tropical cyclone so far this year.
ISIS Fighter Reveals Group's Plan If Defeated In Syria (CounterPunch.org, Zero Hedge)
ISIS will flourish and survive even if it is defeated in the present battle for Syria and Iraq an Isis militant has told The Independent. In an exclusive interview, Faraj, a 30-year-old veteran fighter from north east Syria, says that “when we say that the Islamic State [Isis] is everlasting and expanding, it is not a mere poetic or propaganda phrase”.
A giant meteor has just been unearthed in Argentina (Science Alert)
A 30,800-kilogram meteorite has been unearthed in Argentina over the weekend, and experts have declared it to be one of the largest meteorites ever found on Earth.
