Financial Markets and Economy
Dollar Buoyed by Factory Data as Australia Bonds Sink; Oil Falls (Bloomberg)
The dollar strengthened for a sixth day versus the yen and sovereign bonds fell after evidence of strength in the U.S. manufacturing sector bolstered bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. Asian stocks were mixed following a retreat in U.S. equities.
Banks to Miss Out on Special Favors in May’s Brexit Plans (Bloomberg)
British financial-services companies will get no special favors in Brexit negotiations from Prime Minister Theresa May, who wants to change the relationship between the government and the City of London.
High-Speed Traders Fear Regulator Spilling Their Biggest Secrets (Bloomberg)
Some of the biggest electronic traders are complaining that a new test in the U.S. stock market will compromise their top-secret strategies, one of their most valuable assets.
Bonds, Stocks Fall on U.S. Data as Pound Sinks Amid Brexit Angst (Bloomberg)
Government debt fell with stocks after data showing expansion in U.S. manufacturing bolstered wagers that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. The pound slid on concern Britain may face a so-called hard Brexit.
Buyback Mania Ebbs as Companies Repurchase Fewer Shares (The Wall Street Journal)
The buyback boom wasn’t going to last forever.
Here's how the price of everything has changed since 1993 (Business Insider)
A New York Times chart showing how the prices of various goods have changed relative to the overall inflation rate has been making the rounds on Twitter, so we decided to take a closer look at the varying aspects of inflation.
Costco is becoming one of the best places to buy a car by eliminating bargaining (Business Insider)
Costco's power in the auto industry is growing.
On Saturday, the budget retailer announced it is once again partnering with General Motors for its popular Holiday Sales Event, which will last from October 1 to January 3.
Fifteen Years After Decimalization, ‘Tick Size’ Widening for Some Small-Company Stocks (The Wall Street Journal)
Shares in some small companies will start trading in five- rather than one-cent increments Monday, in the first adjustment to “tick” sizes since the decimalization of the U.S. stock market 15 years ago.
US Construction Spending Crashes Into Contraction For First Time In 5 Years (Zero Hedge)
For the first time in 5 years, US construction spending fell YoY in August. The 2nd monthly drop in a row and large downward revisions reduced construction spending to its weakest since 2015. Public construction spending dropped considerably more than private, with highway construction tumbling.
Rents are falling in America's most expensive markets (Business Insider)
“The trend in rental prices this month was mixed”: so started out the Zumper October Rent Report for the month of September.
EU, US Stocks Slide After Deutsche Bank Default Risk Spikes To Record High On Bogus 'Deal' Hype (Zero Hedge)
Following confirmation over the weekend that the rumors were false of a lower-priced 'deal' with The DOJ somehow saved Deutsche Bank from its potential liquidity crisis; Deutsche Bank assets are notably marked down this morning. Despite Germany being closed, Credit markets are trading in the US and Europe with CDS spiking to new record highs (extending Friday's decoupling).
What OPEC "Production Cut": Iran, Libya To Boost Production, MS Warns Of Hedging, JPM Cuts Oil Price Target (Zero Hedge)
While last week's OPEC Algiers meeting was supposed to, eventually, lead a production cut, we warned that over the next two months the most likely outcome would be a boost in production ahead of the Vienna meeting where, in an ideal world, OPECs members would somehow agree to trim production despite vocal resistance already emerging from Iraq.
What the coffee industry can teach us about solving the world’s most challenging problems (The Conversation)
We live in a world burdened by large-scale problems that refuse to go away: the refugee crisis; terrorism; rising sea levels; frequent floods, droughts and wildfires; not to mention persistent inequality and violation of basic human rights across the world.
The Fed could make things ugly for bond investors (Mauldin Economics)
I’ve taken bond math classes out the wazoo. The best of them was in the summer of 2001 at Lehman Brothers. Lehman Brothers wasn’t going to teach a bad bond math class, not at the firm that became synonymous with bond trading itself. I was ready to start whipping ‘em around. Pity I ended up in stocks.
Japan Coalition Leader Says BOJ’s Negative Rates Stir Confusion (Bloomberg)
The Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy has stirred confusion among financial institutions and the public, the party leader of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s junior coalition partner said in an interview in Tokyo.
Systemic Risk: Deutsche Bank #1 at $100 Billion (BNP Paribas 2nd, Societe Generale 3rd) (Financial Sense)
Inquiring minds may be interested in a cornucopia of relevant numbers on Deutsche Bank including market cap, leverage, capitalization, deposits, liquidity, derivatives multiple ways, and systemic risk.
BOJ's Kuroda – Don't see immediate damage to banking sector from negative rates (Reuters)
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday he did not see any immediate damage to the country's banking sector from the central bank's negative interest rate policy.
Companies
Chicago to Pull $25 Million From Wells Fargo After Scandal (Bloomberg)
Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers plans to divest $25 million the city has invested with Wells Fargo & Co. after the company admitted to opening potentially millions of bogus client accounts, joining state officials who have pulled business from the bank because of the scandal.
Morgan Stanley sued for using 'sales contests' to churn out loans (CNN Money)
The lawsuit, filed by the state secretary on Monday, says the bank pressured employees to open customer accounts. Morgan Stanley ran "sales contests" targeting loans to wealthy clients. The lawsuit explains that in doing so, the bank ran afoul of its own internal rules.
Rebel Teens Are Killing America’s Clothing Giants (Bloomberg)
Two years ago, Aéropostale Chief Executive Officer Julian Geiger shared his view of the adolescent shopper. “The teenager today wants to fit in,” he told analysts. “They want to fit in by wearing things that make them feel safe. If there’s a brand promise to Aéropostale, it’s that the teenager can wear our clothes, go to school, and not be teased or made fun of the way they look.”
What Worked, What Didn’t in Q3: Bespoke’s Quarterly Outlook (Bespoke)
On Friday, September 30th, we held our Q4 Outlook call for clients. This is the third quarter in a row we’ve held an outlook call, which has proven to be a very popular feature among Bespoke clients. The quarterly outlooks are an outgrowth of Bespoke’s widely read and quoted annual outlook piece, The Bespoke Report…
Netflix stock is as bulletproof as Luke Cage (CNN Money)
So much for that brief Netflix outage on Saturday hurting its stock. Shares of the company proved Monday to be as bulletproof as Luke Cage, surging nearly 5% on heavy volume.
It seems that investors are once again betting on a Netflix (NFLX, Tech30) takeover. The two rumored bidders? Disney and Apple.
Sears Holdings CEO Blogs: Kmart Doing Just Fine, Thanks (Consumerist)
Sears Holdings chairman, CEO, and chief manifesto-writer Eddie Lampert wants shoppers like you and writers like us to know something very important: Kmart is doing just fine.
Politics
How Trump could lose a billion bucks but still live a billionaire life (CNN Money)
How could Donald Trump claim such a massive loss — nearly a billion bucks — on his 1995 tax return and yet still seem so rich?
Donald Trump's 1995 Return And A Lesson In Unrealized Appreciation (Forbes)
The New York Times publication of fragments of Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns is one of those things that those of us in the tax blogosphere consider a teachable moment.
Donald Trump says some veterans are not 'strong enough' to handle the mental health damage from war (The Telegraph)
Donald Trump has sparked a social media firestorm by telling a group of military veterans that some members of the military develop mental health issues because they are not "strong," and "can't handle it."
2016 Electoral Math — Hillary Begins Her Debate Bounce (The Huffington Post)
It’s time to take a look at the presidential race once again, and I have to begin with a program note. Up until now, I’ve been writing these columns every two weeks, but from now until the election, they’ll appear each Monday like clockwork, since the race is about to head into the homestretch.
Trump tries to sell himself as the comeback kid (Politico)
PUEBLO, Colo. — Sinking in the polls and facing a merciless barrage of negative news stories as he begins what may be the most important week of the presidential campaign, Donald Trump tried on a new persona Monday — the underdog.
Technology
Apple's Tim Cook says augmented reality, not VR, is the future (Mashable Asia)
The comments from Cook were delivered during an interview session at Sen. Orrin Hatch's Utah Tech Tour in Salt Lake City.
Why Sprint's advantage over other carriers allows it to sell the iPhone 7 for free (The Motley Fool)
Wireless carriers had a big opportunity to attract new customers with the release of Apple's iPhone 7, and they were very aggressive in courting them.
T-Mobile was the first to offer a free iPhone 7 to customers turning in a recent model iPhone. Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon soon followed.
Faraday Future Inks Battery Pact With LG Chem For Mystery Electric Car (Forbes)
Faraday Future, the Los Angeles-based automotive startup backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, formed a partnership with South Korea’s LG Chem to supply lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles it’s developing but has yet to reveal.
Verily's wearable microscope sees beneath your skin (Engadget)
UCLA and Verily,
Health and Biotech
Designer Babies and the New Technology of Having Children (Singularity Hub)
Imagine a near future where the process of having a child is not left up to the vagaries of Mendelian genetics. After all, we strive to give our children the best possible education, clothing, food, and upbringing… why not have them start with the best possible genetic code as well?
A new treatment appears to have erased HIV from a patient’s blood (Science Alert)
The initial signs are very promising, but it's too soon to say it's a cure just yet: the HIV may return, doctors warn, and the presence of anti-HIV drugs in the man's body mean it's difficult to tell whether traces of the virus are actually gone for good.
Life on the Home Planet
Hurricane Matthew Is The Most Powerful Storm Since 2007 (Popular Science)
The behemoth storm Hurricane Matthew is slowly churning towards the Caribbean nations of Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas. The exact path it will take over the next hours and days remains uncertain, but it is powerful and very dangerous.
Ukraine warns Canada not to trust Russian co-operation over Arctic (The Globe and Mail)
A senior Ukrainian envoy is warning a thaw in diplomatic relations between Canada and Russia will primarily benefit Vladimir Putin – a caution that came as relations abruptly deteriorated between Moscow and Washington on Monday over Syria and nuclear arsenals.
Heightened Earthquake Alert Issued for Southern California (Bloomberg)
Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) — Southern California residents should remain on heightened alert until Tuesday for the increased possibility of a major earthquake, officials said.
Taliban resist Afghan forces' counterattack in northern city of Kunduz (Reuters)
Pockets of Taliban fighters held out overnight against Afghan government forces in the northern city of Kunduz, a police official said on Tuesday, a day after the militants pushed deep into the city center.
North Korean missile advances expose Japan in two-decade arms race: sources (Reuters)
Successful rocket tests have propelled North Korea ahead in a two-decade long arms race with Japan, leaving Tokyo unsure it could fend off a missile strike by the Pyongyang regime without U.S. help, military sources told Reuters.
