Financial Markets and Economy
Stocks Rally With Commodities as Fed Speculation Weakens Dollar (Bloomberg)
Stocks rallied around the world, commodities jumped and the dollar sank on speculation that the Federal Reserve will look past a pick-up in the global inflation and stick with a gradual tightening of monetary policy.
Saudi Arabia: Give Us Your Money and Stop Asking About Oil (Bloomberg)
For Saudi Arabia, some things are better left unsaid.
As they swapped their traditional white robes for business suits and ties to meet with prospective investors ahead of the kingdom’s first-ever international bond sale, Saudi government officials talked at length about their vision for transforming the economy.
China’s Top Stock Loses Shine as Expansion Concerns Surface (Bloomberg)
China’s best-performing initial public offering of the year is looking tattered.
Nanjing Doron Technology Co., which provides computerized systems to grade driving tests, has tumbled 29 percent since reaching a record on June 29, making it among the worst performers on a Shanghai Composite Index that rose 3.9 percent.
Ryanair Finally Bows to Brexit With Cut to Profit Guidance (Bloomberg)
Ryanair Holdings Plc cut its profit guidance as the slump in the pound following Britain’s vote to quit the European Union weighs on fares, after previously holding out against a revision.
China Corporate Debt Window ‘Closing Quickly,’ IMF Paper Says (Bloomberg)
China urgently needs a plan to address a build up of corporate debt that is manageable but with a window to address it "closing quickly," said an International Monetary Fund working paper.
Five Things to Watch for in China’s GDP Report (Bloomberg)
With the world’s second-largest economy stable for now, you’ll need to look under the hood to see where the real action is when China releases its third-quarter economic report card on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee Said to Suspend Payment on $1 Billion Loan (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Co. suspended repayments on a 4 billion-riyal ($1.1 billion) loan while it holds refinancing talks, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Negative-Yield Bond Total Plunges on Biggest Slump in 19 Months (Bloomberg)
The market value of the world’s negative-yielding bonds contracted for the second week in a row and now totals $10.4 trillion.
Here's how the Costco portfolio has strengthened Citigroup (BI Intelligence)
In its Q3 2016 earnings report, Citigroup noted ongoing gains from the acquisition of the US Costco store card portfolio, which it purchased from American Express in June.
Goldman Says U.S. Bondholders Risk a $1.1 Trillion Hit if Rates Spike (Bloomberg)
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc analysis says investors could be mired in a world of pain if yields on long-dated assets snap higher. Just a modest backup in rates could inflict outsized losses on bond portfolios — a sobering prospect in light of the recent jump in longer-dated bond yields that's already eating into bondholders' capital returns.
Oil prices rise supported by market balance signals (Reuters)
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by signs that oversupply in the global market may be moderating ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that aims to curb crude oil output.
9 things you need to know about 'hard' Brexit (Bloomberg Brexit)
Unclear what it might mean for Britain and Europe? Don't worry. Here's a guide.
Enthusiasm For Solar Micro-Grids In Developing World Gets A Sobering Reality Check In India (Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago)
Last week, India helped the world get one step closer to an international climate pact when it ratified the Paris Climate Accord. Much of India’s strategy to reduce fossil fuels relies on a transition to renewable energy, namely solar. In fact, with solar prices worldwide plummeting, many countries are placing bets on solar.
Earnings Jolt Stocks Like Never Before as ETFs, Algos Get Blame (Bloomberg)
Just because U.S. corporate profit growth has ground to a halt doesn’t mean the impact of earnings announcements in the stock market has diminished. In fact, it’s never been bigger.
OPEC Reversal Is Gift to Oil Majors After 2 Years of ‘Hell’ (Bloomberg)
When the bosses of the world’s biggest oil companies gather in London on Tuesday, they might have the urge to track down the Saudi energy minister and shake him by the hand.
China Casino Detentions Cast Pall Over Macau’s Recovery (Bloomberg)
China’s detention of 18 Crown Resorts Ltd. employees may have been intended as a warning to foreign casinos, but it’s also unsettling gambling businesses in Macau, the nation’s own betting enclave.
The 10 most important things in the world right now (Business Insider)
Hello! Here's what you need to know on Tuesday.
1. Melania Trump spoke out for the first time at-length after multiple women accused her husband, US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, of sexual assault, and a 2005 tape surfaced of him making obscene comments about women.
Companies
Netflix Jump in New Users Fuels After-Hours Stock Surge (The Wall Street Journal)
Netflix Inc. blew through its forecast for subscriber additions in the September quarter, reassuring investors who were skittish about the streaming giant’s growth trajectory and sending its shares soaring 20% in after-hours trading.
Sick Bern: Bernie Sanders’ tweet cost Ariad Pharmaceuticals $387 million (Salon)
With a single tweet, Sen. Bernie Sanders has cost Ariad Pharmaceuticals $387 million.
The article retweeted by Sanders was from Stat, a publication that specializes in covering health and medical news. It reported that, since the beginning of the year, Ariad has raised the price of its Iclusig chronic myeloid leukemia treatment by 27 percent.
IBM Fails to Convince Investors Even as Positive Signs Appear (Bloomberg)
IBM came the closest in more than four years to reporting quarterly revenue growth on Monday, a sign that Big Blue may finally be about to turn its business around. Yet investors reacted negatively, with the shares dropping as much as 3.7 percent in extended trading.
Exxon Moves To Block NY Climate Fraud Investigation, Cries ‘Political Bias’ (The Huffington Post)
ExxonMobil has asked a federal court to throw out a subpoena issued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, claiming investigations into whether the oil and gas giant covered up the risks of climate change are politically motivated.
Ford To Idle Four Factories Due To Slowing Car Demand, Rising Inventories (Zero Hedge)
Over the weekend we recapped some of the less than impressive moments in the recent US car industry history, which suddenly appears to be bombarded with a barrage of bad news: starting with Ford's disastrous August sales when the company admitted "sales have reached a plateau", continuing to the surge in delinquent subprime auto borrowers hitting nearly a 7 year high as the marginal creditworthy car buyers disappears, then noting the record $4,000 in industry-wide new car incentives in September as preventing a plunge in last month's auto sales, and recalling last week's downgrade of the US auto sector by Goldman which said that the US "cycle has peaked."
Glencore’s Coal Hedge Gets More Painful as Prices Rally (Bloomberg)
The rally in thermal coal is taking a bigger bite out of Glencore Plc’s profits after the world’s biggest exporter of the fuel locked in prices prior to the surge.
Politics
Clinton’s Lead Over Trump Widens as Election Nears End: CBS Poll (Bloomberg)
Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump nationally 47% to 38% in four-way race that includes third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein with 8% and 3% respectively, a CBS News Poll finds.
Donald Trump and the G.O.P.: The Party of Lincoln, Reagan and, Perhaps, Extinction (NY Times)
Staunch in its opposition to the Democrats but rived by fierce internal schisms, the American political party stumbled toward defeat, its members cursing their fate. “We are slain,” cried Lewis D. Campbell, a representative from Ohio. “The party is dead, dead, dead!”
“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver on Sunday made the case for third-party candidates in the seemingly apocalyptic 2016 election cycle.
Trump Says U.S. Leaders Insult Putin Too Much: Politico (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump proposes idea of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin "prior to the start of my administration," Politico reports, citing Trump interview with radio host Michael Savage.
Showing Confidence, and Taunting Trump, Clinton Pushes Into Red States (NY Times)
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is planning its most ambitious push yet into traditionally right-leaning states, a new offensive aimed at extending her growing advantage over Donald J. Trump while bolstering down-ballot candidates in what party leaders increasingly suggest could be a sweeping victory for Democrats at every level.
Clinton targets Trump turf, China woos Hollywood and why billionaires have more sons (Financial Times)
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is planning its most ambitious push yet into traditionally right-leaning states, a new offensive aimed at extending her growing advantage over Donald Trump while bolstering down-ballot candidates in what party leaders increasingly suggest could be a sweeping victory for Democrats at every level.
Would-Be Leader of UKIP Quits, Saying Party Is in a ‘Death Spiral’ (NY Times)
LONDON — Nigel Farage had one of the great personal victories in British politics this year, pushing Britain, through his U.K. Independence Party, into voting in June to leave the European Union.
What If the Newspaper Industry Made a Colossal Mistake? (Politico)
What if, in the mad dash two decades ago to repurpose and extend editorial content onto the Web, editors and publishers made a colossal business blunder that wasted hundreds of millions of dollars?
Shameful Silence on Donald Trump’s Lies About Vote-Rigging (NY Times)
It may be too late for the Republican Party to save itself from the rolling disaster of Donald Trump, but the party’s top leaders still have the duty to speak out and help save the country from his reckless rhetoric.
Is there a more diminished figure in the post-Trump Republican Party than Paul Ryan?
The superstar policy wonk who was supposed to give 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney some intellectual heft by joining his ticket. The mild-mannered scholar who was the only person who could unite the fractious GOP caucus in the House in the wake of John Boehner’s surprise retirement last fall.
This Make America Great Again Song is the Funniest Thing You Will Watch This Week (I Agree To See)
Progressive group MoveOn.Org tried to inject some humor into this negative presidential cycle by hosting “Laughter Trumps Hate,” a friendly competition “to find the funniest and smartest comedians to take on Donald Trump and the GOP’s politics of hate.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence is being applauded for publicly rebuking his running mate Donald Trump’s repeated claims of a “rigged” election, yet what’s gone under the radar is that Indiana governor may be allowing voter suppression in his own state.
Technology
Google's AI can now learn from its own memory independently (Science Alert)
The DeepMind artificial intelligence (AI) being developed by Google's parent company, Alphabet, can now intelligently build on what's already inside its memory, the system's programmers have announced.
China’s Netflix Wannabes Spend Billions to Win New Viewers (Bloomberg)
Tomb-raiding soldiers and imperial court villains are leading the latest battlefront for China’s internet giants, which are pouring billions of dollars into new digital content to create the nation’s answer to Netflix Inc.
TASER International is trying to win back the NYPD from a competitor with free body cameras (The Motley Fool)
TASER International isn't taking its loss of a body camera contract with the NYPD to competitor Vievu, a subsidiary of Safariland Group, lightly.
At the outset of the third episode of “Westworld,” the theme park’s programming division head Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) asks an android host Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) to read him a passage from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
Health and Biotech
The Sinister Way Staph Avoids Arrest During Infection (Popular Science)
Of the 1,450 or so human pathogens, only a few have the ability to rapidly cause disease and kill. While most are exotic and rarely encountered by Americans, such as Ebola virus and plague bacteria, one on this list is commonly found in the US and more importantly, on up to one-third of its residents. It’s known as Staphylococcus aureus – commonly referred to as Staph.
Anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve symptoms of depression (New Scientist)
Is depression caused by an inflamed brain? A review of studies looking at inflammation and depression has found that a class of anti-inflammatory drugs can ease the condition’s symptoms.
Japanese Scientists Master Egg-Creation Process in Mice (The Wall Street Journal)
Japanese scientists have transformed stem cells into healthy mouse eggs from start to finish in a lab dish, in a feat that opens a new avenue for basic research into human fertility problems.
Life on the Home Planet
Are The Beginning And End Of The Universe Connected? (Starts With A Bang)
The very earliest stages of the Universe as-we-know-it began with the hot Big Bang, where the expanding Universe was filled with high energy particles, antiparticles and radiation.
New Study Reveals Every State's Favorite TV Show (Thrillist Entertainment)
Even in the age of "peak TV," where we're beset with dozens more streaming series than there are hours in the day, our viewing habits are hopelessly predictable. A new survey from CableTV.com has broken down favorite shows by state across the US. The findings prove that we love to see our own reality reflected onscreen.
1,000 more people shot in Chicago compared with same time last year (Chicago Tribune)
A thousand more people have been shot in Chicago this year compared with the same time last year after a weekend that saw eight people killed and at least 40 wounded, according to police and data compiled by the Tribune.
Most Young Americans Can’t Pass a Test on Global Affairs—Can You? (National Geographic)
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson was widely ridiculed last week when, in an interview, he failed to recognize Aleppo, a major city impacted by the war in Syria.
The mysterious private police force that’s killing people in the nation’s capital (Think Progress)
The last time Beverly Smith had a full conversation with her son, Alonzo, was October 30, 2015. It was a Friday, and even though the weekend had just begun, he was thrilled about the upcoming week. The 27-year-old, who worked with special needs students, had booked several gigs as a part-time portrait model.
Why the battle for Mosul is a turning point (The Economist)
SINCE the Iraqi army and its allies began their counterattack against Islamic State (IS) in late 2014, they have managed to liberate many cities in northern and western Iraq. So it might be tempting to view the battle for Mosul, which started in the early hours of October 17th, as just one more skirmish in the jihadists’ steady retreat. But the struggle for Mosul is concentrating minds like no other encounter with IS.
The Advance Toward Mosul: Traps, Smoke Screens and Suicide Bombers (NY Times)
SHEIKH AMIR, Iraq — The Kurdish pesh merga forces started their advance by moonlight, in the early hours of Monday. East of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, columns of tanks and trucks lumbered their way toward the objective: clearing villages of militants before any broader advance on the city could happen.
