Featured
Disposable Planet (George Monbiot, The Guardian)
Excerpt: The great acceleration towards a bare grey world is also reflected in this week’s State of Nature report, which shows that more than 10% of the remaining species in the UK are now threatened with extinction. Last week we learnt that one tenth of the world’s wild places, forests, savannahs and other lands in which human impacts are not obvious, have been lost – dewilded – over the past 25 years. The trajectory suggests that there could be almost nowhere left by the end of the century.
These should be among the central issues of our age. Yet we treat these losses as sad but peripheral, though we commission them through the things we buy. Elephants, rhinos, lions, polar bears, the great sharks, turtles, condors, whales, rainforests, wetlands, coral reefs: they are all the bycatch of consumerism. We assert both the right to consume – whatever we want, however we want – and the right to forget the consequences.
Financial Markets and Economy
Deutsche Bank to fight $14 billion demand from U.S. authorities (Reuters)
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said it would fight a $14 billion demand from the U.S. Department of Justice to settle claims it missold mortgage-backed securities, a shock bill that raises questions about the future of Germany's largest lender.
[Picture of Deutsche Bank via Pixabay]
Deutsche Bank Tumbles as DoJ Claim of $14 Billion Rebuffed (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG’s shares and its riskiest bonds dropped the most since the Brexit vote after the lender said the U.S. Justice Department is seeking $14 billion to settle a probe tied to mortgage-backed securities, more money than the bank is willing to pay.
Japan’s Central Bank Splits Over Easing Program (The Wall Street Journal)
The world’s leading experiment in monetary easing is floundering, and its engineers are divided over how to get it on track.
“All or Nothing Days” on the Rise (Bespoke)
After a long summer slumber, volatility has worked its way back into the equity market with gusto over the last week. Through yesterday’s close, the S&P 500 had seen four what we call “all or nothing days” in the prior five trading days, and that came after a 43 trading day stretch with no occurrences.
Japan Looks to Bring in More Foreign Workers as Population Falls (Bloomberg)
Two aides to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the nation is planning to bring in more overseas workers to bolster the shrinking labor force.
Earnings Secrecy to End in Junk-Bond Market Under EU Rules (Bloomberg)
Europe’s securities regulator said junk-bond issuers can no longer hide earnings behind password-protected websites, the first time it has commented on how new transparency rules affect market access to financial reports.
Hedge Funds Find a New Short-Selling Guru (Bloomberg)
As activist short sellers descend on Japan’s stock market for the first time, one local analyst is emerging from obscurity to contend for the title of Tokyo’s most influential bear.
Barc: Demand for commodity investments is running at its highest ever level in the year- to-date. (ValueWalk)
Here’s Good News And Bad From The World’s Biggest Gold Market (Pierce Points, Value Walk)
Things are topsy-turvy right now in the world’s top gold market, India. Where prices are rising, but warnings are emerging about further big declines in gold imports as 2016 continues.
John Mauldin argues the economy is rigged and the bad guys are Nobel laureates, tenured professors and members of the economic academic establishment (Interest.co.nz)
As is now the practice on many college campuses, I should preface this week’s newsletter with a trigger warning. What you are about to read could give you serious heartburn, especially if you are an economist or a central banker.
Americans See Current Economic Conditions Worst In 11 Months As Inflation Expectations Plunge (Zero Hedge)
University of Michigan survey results show Current Economic Conditions plunged to 103.5 – the lowest since Oct 2015. The biggest driver of this weakness is tumbling inflation expectations (with 1Y outlook dropping to 2.3% – the lowest since Sept 2010).
The Psychology of Dealing With Choppy Markets (Traderfeed)
Stocks have traded in a volatile range lately, with significant moves frequently reversed. This has proven challenging for those looking for trends.
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Brexit Bulletin: EU Seeks Unity While Banks Lobby for Certainty (Bloomberg)
European leaders are meeting today without the U.K. for the first time in 43 years, aiming to build a shared vision for their post-Brexit bloc.
Fed Rate Rise? Gold Price Goes Up Says History (Bullion Vault, Value Walk)
The FEDERAL RESERVE’s first interest-rate hike after 7 years stuck at zero last December finally put gold out of its misery, writes Adrian Ash at BullionVault.
Companies
Intel raises sales views after seeing new life in PC market (CNet)
Interest in personal computers ain't what it used to be, with PC sales generally sinking over the past few years.
Atlante manager's CEO says Popolare di Vicenza may need more capital (Reuters)
Italian bank bailout fund Atlante may need to pump more money into Banca Popolare di Vicenza, the regional lender it rescued from bankruptcy, a top official running the fund said on Friday.
RPT-Investors reluctant to back Monte Paschi's cash call (Reuters)
LONDON, Sept 13 Investors are reluctant to back Monte dei Paschi di Siena's bid to raise billions of euros, leading fund managers and a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, posing a huge challenge for a new CEO seeking to save the Italian bank.
Unilever Is in Talks to Acquire Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. (The Wall Street Journal)
Unilever PLC is in talks to acquire Honest Co., the consumer-products retailer co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, according to people familiar with the matter.
Politics
European leaders seek elusive "road map" after Brexit shock (Reuters)
Reeling from Britain's decision to leave, the European Union's remaining 27 states met on Friday to inject momentum into the ailing EU project, acknowledging deep divisions over the refugee crisis and the economy.
In Pennsylvania Senate race, unfamiliar battle lines on gun rights (Reuters)
As he seeks re-election to his U.S. Senate seat this November, Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey can make an unusual claim. He is the sole Republican nationwide running with the endorsement of top U.S. gun control advocates Gabby Giffords and Michael Bloomberg.
Johnson Said to Tell Italy Exit Talks Likely to Start Early 2017 (Bloomberg)
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told his Italian counterpart that the U.K. will likely begin formal Brexit negotiations early next year, according to an official briefed on the conversation.
Clinton visits North Carolina in campaign trail return; Trump up in polls (Reuters)
Hillary Clinton got back on the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off for pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential candidate faced a more challenging political landscape, with Republican rival Donald Trump rising in opinion polls.
Donald Trump Promises Tax Cuts, Offset by Robust Growth (The Wall Street Journal)
NEW YORK—Donald Trump offered an expanded economic blueprint and outlined an overhaul of his tax plan on Thursday, but skeptics in both parties questioned his promise to offset steep tax cuts with significantly stronger economic growth.
Emotional Obama Tearfully Thanks Trump For Granting Him Citizenship (Borowitz, The New Yorker, Humor)
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Calling this “the greatest day of my life,” a visibly moved Barack Obama held a news conference on Friday to thank Donald Trump for granting him U.S. citizenship.
Technology
Facebook steps up fight against fake news (The Hill)
Facebook says it is working to fight the spread of fake news on its platform after false stories claiming the 9/11 attacks were a conspiracy and that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly was backing Hillary Clinton appeared among its “trending topics.”
LG's new $150 midrange phone packs a huge battery (Engadget)
If your main concern with a phone is battery life, and basically nothing else, this new LG device could be up your alley. The LG X Power is available on Boost Mobile for $150, and comes with an impressive 4,100mAh battery. Everything else about the new handset is pretty meh.
Health and Biotech
We’re All Guinea Pigs in a Failed Decades-Long Diet Experiment (Vice)
Let's say you want to lose some weight. Which of these foods would you choose: A skim-milk latte, or the same drink with whole milk? A low-cal breakfast bar or steak and eggs? A salad tossed in light dressing or the same salad doused with buttermilk ranch?
Scientists discover 3 new strains of norovirus that are causing gastro outbreaks (Science Alert)
Australian scientists have discovered three new strains of norovirus, which they say are responsible for a local outbreak of viral gastroenteritis over the last couple of months.
Life on the Home Planet
China just successfully launched its second experimental space lab (Science Alert)
China's space program just took another leap forward, with the successful launch of the nation's second experimental space laboratory – called Tiangong–2.
White Ohio policeman kills black teen armed with BB gun (Reuters)
A white Ohio policeman responding to reports of an armed robbery fatally shot a black 13-year-old boy after he pulled out what appeared to be a weapon that was later determined to be a BB gun, police said on Thursday.
Arctic summer sea ice melts to second lowest level ever recorded (New Scientist)
Arctic sea ice has melted to the second lowest level on record despite a fairly cool summer – and the loss of ice may already be having ecological consequences.
The Syria ceasefire is growing even more fragile (Reuters)
Aid for the divided Syrian city of Aleppo was stuck on the Turkish border on the fifth day of a fragile ceasefire on Friday with rival factions arguing over how the supplies are to be delivered and violence increasingly undermining the truce.
