Financial Markets and Economy
Pippi Longstocking Economy Faces ‘Beating’ in Low Growth Reality (Bloomberg)
Just a few years ago, the Swedish economy was likened to Pippi Longstocking — the fictional girl who is so strong she can lift her own horse.
Saudi Stocks Lead Gulf Retreat on Weaker-Than-Expected Earnings (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabian stocks led Gulf markets lower after the nation’s biggest publicly traded bank became the latest in a growing list of companies whose earnings missed analysts’ forecasts.
Let the pound fall and the economy rise (The Guardian)
It has been just like old times. The pound has been falling on the foreign exchanges and, like a patient in intensive care, there are daily bulletins about its health. Charts show that when adjusted for different patterns of trade down the ages it is at its lowest for 168 years.
Construction Bank in $743 Million Debt Program With Yunnan Tin (Bloomberg)
China Construction Bank Corp., the nation’s second-largest lender, said it agreed to form an almost 5 billion yuan ($743 million) debt-to-equity pact with Yunnan Tin Group.
Nordea’s $22 Billion Flagship Fund Is Now Betting on the Pound (Bloomberg)
Nordea Bank’s Stable Return fund, Europe’s fastest growing asset manager, is betting the British pound is now on its way up.
Iran Kicks Off Oil-Development Tender to Woo Foreign Investors (Bloomberg)
Iran is ramping up efforts to woo foreign investment in an energy industry stunted by years of sanctions, with a request for companies to submit documents to pre-qualify as bidders to develop the country’s oil and natural gas fields.
Deutsche Bank Reported to Mull Partial U.S. Retreat to Cut Costs (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, is considering options such as scaling back U.S. operations as part of a wider overhaul to lower costs, according to several media reports.
The simple, popular, and naive way to address the looming pension crisis (Quartz)
Stock markets are volatile, interest rates are low, and people are living longer than ever. This is an ugly combination for pensions, which are struggling to fund increasingly long retirements with increasingly meager returns.
Companies
Why B2B CMOs Need To Demonstrate Social Media Savvy To Build Credibility (Forbes)
I recently interviewed Margaret Molloy, Global CMO and Head of Business Development at global brand strategy, design and experience firm Siegel+Gale, for my CMO Insights Series (see here). In addition to having 20+ years of experience in marketing B2B firms, Molloy (@MargaretMolloy) has also become a leading influencer of CMOs on Twitter (see here for the full list of influencers), landing in the #6 spot of all top influencers on Twitter.
For Tesla, Electric Car Sales Explode In All The Wrong Places (Forbes)
More than 2 million electric vehicles may be on the world’s roads by the end of 2016, wrote the Guardian, citing data of the electric vehicle world database EV Volumes. That should be good news for electric carmaker Tesla. It is not.
Bernie Sanders Tweet Causes Ariad Pharma Stock to Plunge 14% (ETF Daily News)
High-flying biotech Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) was called out for its rapid drug price raises today by Senator Bernie Sanders, and its stock quickly crashed as a result.
Politics
“Saturday Night Live” skewers the most absurd moments of Trump and Clinton’s second debate (Quartz)
It’s hard to satirize a US presidential campaign that already has taken such a sharp turn into the absurd, but Saturday Night Live keeps trying.
On Oct. 15, the NBC comedy show’s cold open once again featured cast regular Kate McKinnon’s masterful impersonation of Hillary Clinton, and Alec Baldwin’s almost-too-on-the-nose Donald Trump.
Nicola Sturgeon to Americans: Don’t vote for Donald Trump (Politico)
LONDON — Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon urged Americans to vote for Hillary Clinton, saying she had been “horrified” by Donald Trump’s remarks throughout the presidential campaign.
SNL’s ruthless second debate pits Donald Trump against ‘President’ Hillary Clinton (Vox)
Remember the point in this presidential election cycle when real life didn’t outpace satire? No? Neither does Saturday Night Live.
At this point, SNL’s spoofs on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are just barely heightened versions of reality — there’s no need to spruce up the truth; it’s already ridiculous.
Donald Trump Hates Alec Baldwin’s Portrayal Of Him On ‘SNL’ (The Huffington Post)
The brash businessman tweeted out his anger by first claiming that “SNL” had performed a “hit job” on him.
He also said Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of him “stinks” and that it was “time to retire the boring and unfunny show.” Trump conveniently forgot, however, that he actually hosted the show just 11 months ago in November 2015.
Peter Thiel will donate $1.25M to the Trump campaign, despite the latest controversies (Tech Crunch)
Peter Thiel surprised Silicon Valley enough when he endorsed controversial Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. Valley investors and entrepreneurs — the vast majority of whom do not support Trump — are likely to be even more taken aback by the news that Thiel has chosen this point to donate $1.25 million to his campaign.
Technology
It's Final: U.S. Department Of Transportation Bans Samsung Galaxy Note 7 From U.S. Flights (Digital Trends)
It’s over for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on U.S. planes. As of noon Saturday the smartphone that gave new meaning to no-smoking zones has been banned on U.S. aircraft by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), according to Reuters.
Qualcomm Takes Its Patent Battle Against Meizu To The U.S., Germany, And France (Digital Trends)
Mobile processor maker Qualcomm might be tired of keeping its patent battle with smartphone manufacturer Meizu confined to China, since the former filed further actions against the latter in multiple countries around the world.
Miyamoto came up with 'Donkey Kong' ideas in the bathtub (Engadget)
In an interview posted on Nintendo's Japanese website, Shigeru Miyamotoreminisced about the time he spent developing the classic arcade title Donkey Kong. According to Wired writer Chris Kohler, who translated the whole thing, Miyamoto dropped some previously unknown tidbits about the game in the interview.
Health and Biotech
Heavy Pot Smokers At Greater Risk For Bone Fractures, Study Shows (Medical Daily)
Smoking weed and coming down with a case of "the munchies" often go hand-in-hand. You ravenously go through packs of potato chips, candy, and any food within arms reach. Surprisingly, while getting high is associated with increased appetite, a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine has found marijuana smokers are more likely to have lower body weight and broken bones.
Life on the Home Planet
Typhoon Sarika Kills 2 in Philippines, Displaces Thousands (Bloomberg)
Typhoon Sarika made landfall in eastern Philippines on Sunday after leaving at least two people dead a day earlier, thousands of villagers displaced and hundreds of planes grounded.
Turkish-backed rebel fighters 'recapture' Syrian town of Dabiq from Isis (The Guardian)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian opposition fighters backed by Turkish warplanes and artillery captured Dabiq after Isis militants withdrew from the area.
What Ukraine Urgently Needs To Defend Itself (Newsweek)
After Russian aggression in Crimea and Russia’s support for the separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, there are many who believe the United States should take further action to help Ukraine defend itself.
Indeed, since 2014, the United States has provided approximately $600 million in security assistance to Ukraine, among other forms of aid.
Syrian rebels seize symbolic town of Dabiq from Isil (The Telegraph)
Free Syrian Army rebels backed by Turkish airstrikes have captured the Syrian town of Dabiq from Islamic State militants, averting, for now, the terror group’s long-promised battle of the apocalypse.
In Somalia, U.S. Escalates a Shadow War (NY Times)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has intensified a clandestine war in Somalia over the past year, using Special Operations troops, airstrikes, private contractors and African allies in an escalating campaign against Islamist militants in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.
6 ways climate change is threatening food security — and what we can do about it (Mashable Asia)
Climate change could have a devastating impact on food security around the world.
Eliminating hunger and curbing the effects of climate change are both U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which world leaders are committed to achieving by 2030. And, like many SDGs, these two pressing issues are interconnected.
