Financial Markets and Economy
ECB Hands Banks $51 Billion in Zero-Interest Loan Program (Bloomberg)
The European Central Bank handed 45.3 billion euros ($51 billion) to euro-area lenders at a zero interest rate, in the second round of its program to boost credit to the real economy.
Cash is king as correlations cloud asset allocation (Reuters)
Stocks and bonds are moving in lock-step more than at any time since the financial crisis, making life difficult for asset allocators and driving investors into the one asset guaranteed to bring zero return – cash.
Time is running out for Japan's economy (South China Morning Post)
Recently, Japan’s second quarter GDP growth was revised upwards, to 0.7 per cent, after four consecutive quarters of stagnation. But don’t set your hopes too high.
These housing markets are near the '7th inning stretch' before everything starts to crash (Business Insider)
The housing market has certainly made progress since 2008, when its crash nearly broke the global financial system.
But it works in cycles. And while few economists are warning about existing 2008-type conditions, some housing markets are getting close.
ECB President Says Crowded Banking Sector Hurts Profits (The Wall Street Journal)
FRANKFURT—European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that overcrowding in Europe’s banking sector is hurting profitability, pushing back somewhat against critics who blame the central bank for putting pressure on Europe’s banks.
Congressional Barbs Don’t Rattle Mylan Investors (The Wall Street Journal)
Washington D.C. has turned up the heat on a few companies recently, but Wall Street doesn’t seem to have much trouble keeping its cool. Mylan executives were under fire during Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing over price hikes of Mylan’s lead product, EpiPen.
Basic Income Might Be The Answer To Society's Productivity Crisis (Forbes)
With the decline of manufacturing jobs, and the onset of automation to take over almost all kinds of work, society is on the hunt for a long-term, scalable solution to our future productivity.
I listened to 82 finance startup pitches — here's what I learned about where Wall Street is heading (Business Insider)
The common narrative when it comes to financial technology startups is that they pose an existential threat to established players.
'Wells Fargo isn't the only one': Other bank workers describe intense sales tactics (CNN Money)
Most Americans were shocked when they learned that thousands of Wells Fargo employees had opened millions of fake accounts.
People who work at other banks weren't surprised at all.
Fortune's 40 Under 40 list of the most influential people in business has only 3 people from finance this year (Business Insider)
Finance is no longer the lifeblood of the business world.
At least that's what Fortune's 40 Under 40 list of the most influential young people in business would have you believe.
The 4 Horsemen Of A Teslapocalypse (UncleBrian Research, Seeking Alpha)
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has a tough row to hoe. It's a tiny auto manufacturer with dreams of dominating not only its own highly capital-intensive and competitive industry, but several other industries it hasn't even entered yet.
Helicopter money is back in the air (The Guardian)
Fiscal policy is edging back into fashion, after years, if not decades, in purdah. The reason is simple: the incomplete recovery from the global crash of 2008.
Hedge-Fund Son Thought Hedge-Fund Dad's Trades Were Pretty Fishy (Bloomberg)
It turns out that having Leon Cooperman for a grandpa is pretty much exactly like you'd expect…
Not Even Goldman Has Any Clue How The BOJ Will "Control" The Yield Curve (Zero Hedge)
The biggest news overnight, and certainly far bigger than this afternoon's non-event from Janet Yellen, was the significant change in monetary policy announced by the BOJ which (belatedly) unveiled its re-revised "QQE"… this time "with Yield Curve Control" (or "QQEWYCC"), a phrase used in lieu of "Reverse Operation Twist", whereby the BOJ is hoping to steepen the yield curve and undo the damage it itseld created in January when it introduced NIRP for the first time to Japan, without doing much of anything else.
Companies
What should be done to stop banks like Wells Fargo from scamming us? (Medium)
Wells Fargo’s CEO John Stumpf deserves every bit of the anger that the Senate Banking Committee directed at him for leading Wells Fargo while it created more than 2 million fake deposit and credit-card accounts, and then charged unknowing customers for them.
Former Pimco CEO Says Global Financial System Is Broken (Fortune)
I was listening yesterday to one of my favorite people, Mohamed el-Erian, chief economic adviser to Allianz and former CEO of Pimco, among other distinguished roles. For insight into economics and finance, plus an ability to communicate it clearly and memorably, he is hard to beat. Yesterday he told a story that leaders of all kinds should ponder.
Politics
Iran’s President Accuses U.S. of ‘Lack of Compliance’ on Nuclear Deal (NY Times)
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran accused the United States on Thursday of not complying with the landmark nuclear agreement that took effect in January, and said American credibility would suffer if the accord were not honored.
Fight Between Saudis and 9/11 Families Escalates in Washington (NY Times)
WASHINGTON — On Monday, a constellation of lobbyists for Saudi Arabia, which has spent more than $5 million this past year to buy influence in Washington, called a crisis meeting to try to stop legislation allowing the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the Saudi government for any role in the plot.
John Kerry launches blistering attack on Russia at UN (CNN Politics)
(CNN) – Secretary of State John Kerry launched a blistering attack on Russia Wednesday for its actions in Syria, pointing to the bombing of a UN aid convoy that left more than 20 dead and its inability to stop continued Syrian air attacks.
Governments are saving loads of money from low interest rates. Why aren’t they spending it? (Quartz)
Low interest rates may not be doing much for the savers among us, but they’re yielding all kinds of benefits for the spenders—including governments.
Wall Street Is Starting to Get Freaked Out About Donald Trump (Daily Intelligeneer, NY Mag)
The U.S. stock market, seven years into an almost nonstop bull run, went on a wild ride last week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung between 100 and 200 points — up one day, down the next — on four separate days.
White House Hacked: DC Leaks Releases New Emails Of White House Staffer (Zero Hedge)
DC Leaks has just revealed its latest email hack of White House staffer Ian Mellul. According to DC Leaks, Mellul works in the White House to coordinate official trips for the First Lady and VP Biden while also serving on Hillary's presidential campaign.
Technology
T-Mobile Just Suffered an National Network Outage (Fortune)
T-Mobile suffered a national outage of its high-speed LTE data wireless service on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
Hand-Delivered Hacking Malicious USBs Left In Mailboxes (Associated Press)
LONDON (AP) — Julien Ascoet was already suspicious when he pulled the plain white envelope from his mailbox this past July.
The letter had no stamp and was completely unmarked. Someone must have delivered it in person to Ascoet's home outside the French port city of Nantes.
You Can Leave Your Children In Your Tesla Now And They Won’t Die Because Technology (Jalopnik)
More than 30 people have died this year after being left in hot cars. That’s a very serious problem, to use a bit of understatement. There’s been a kind-of sort-of solution from the Toyota Prius before, but Tesla may have finally found a way to stop it.
Google opens Daydream VR platform to developers (Engadget)
From its debut at Google I/O, Daydream seemed like a much more ambitious smartphone-based VR software platform than the earlier Cardboard system.
Drive Small, Think Big: Smart Enhances It's Entire Lineup With Three Electric Drive Cars (Digital Trends)
Smart Automobile gave its gas-powered lineup a much-needed overhaul in 2016. Although we still have a few issues with the diminutive city cars, their revamped powertrains and improved interiors were a breath of fresh air.
Health and Biotech
Body clock gene may help lethal spread of breast cancer (New Scientist)
Can the body’s circadian rhythms influence cancer? Shift workers are more prone to cancer, and now a study in mice has found that changes to a gene that regulates the circadian clock seem to increase the likelihood of breast cancer spreading and becoming deadly.
Mylan CEO Faces Tough Questioning in Congressional EpiPen Hearing (The Wall Street Journal)
Mylan NV Chief Executive Heather Bresch faced tough questioning Wednesday from Republicans and Democrats in Congress probing price increases for the EpiPen allergy treatment.
Feelings of loneliness appear to be partially down to your genes (Science Alert)
New research suggests that it's not just the social situation you're in, but also the genes you're born with that affect your likelihood of feeling lonely.
Your "Sixth Sense" of Body Awareness Depends On This Gene (Popular Science)
Scientists have identified a gene that helps us feel and keep tabs on our body’s position in space.
Life on the Home Planet
Isle of Man, Flourishing in Britain’s Shadow, Faces Pivotal Vote (NY Times)
DOUGLAS, Isle of Man — The Isle of Man’s governing body, the Tynwald, was founded by Viking settlers and first gained notoriety in 1237 when a gathering degenerated into a pitched battle between two factions that left three men dead.
Scientists think we could hit a critical climate threshold in the next 10 years (Reuters)
OXFORD, England (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The planet could pass a key target on world temperature rise in about a decade, prompting accelerating loss of glaciers, steep declines in water availability, worsening land conflicts and deepening poverty, scientists said this week.
Obama Orders Pentagon To Plan For Climate Change (Popular Science)
“Climate change poses a significant and growing threat to national security, both at home and abroad,” declared a memorandum from the White House to the heads of executive departments and agencies.
John Oliver didn’t put up with annoying journalists backstage at the Emmy’s (Holy Kaw)
After being surprised by an award at the Emmy’s, John Oliver was surprised by something else backstage: a bunch of annoying reporters. Here’s how he dealt with them…
Humans Spread From Africa in a Single Migration, Studies Find (NY Times)
Modern humans evolved somewhere in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. But how did our species go on to populate the rest of the globe? Did humans flood out of Africa in a single diaspora, or did we trickle from the continent in waves spread out over tens of thousands of years?
Fifty Most Influential (Bloomberg)
When compiling a list of who commands the most power in financial markets, some decisions are easier than others. Jamie Dimon is an obvious choice—he heads the world’s most valuable bank, after all. Same goes for Zhou Xiaochuan, because when you run the People’s Bank of China, moving markets is part of the job description.
