Financial Markets and Economy
Global Money Is Fleeing Japan Stocks at Fastest Pace Since 1987 (Bloomberg)
After dumping their Tokyo stock holdings for four of the past five months, foreigners are on track for their biggest annual exodus since 1987. Back then, they were fleeing bubbly valuations and the Black Monday crash.
Recession Alert From The US Treasury—-Tax Collections Have Slumped Big Time (David's Stockman Contra Corner)
When it comes to reading the economic tea leaves there is no better data source than the US Treasury. Unlike the imputations, birth/death guesstimates and seasonal maladjustments of the BLS jobs data, the millions of US businesses which pay Federal taxes, including withholding from their employees, have a stubborn tendency to remit taxes only on work and production actually performed.
The auto industry is losing steam (Wolf Street)
It’s been years since we’ve heard about production cuts by automakers, but here they come.
After a record-breaking 2015, the hot air is audibly hissing out of the auto industry. September sales were down 0.5% from a year ago. Year-to-date sales were about flat. Some individual models got clobbered. Inventories are piling up on dealer lots. Automakers lavished incentives on the market. Nothing worked.
Sector Weights of S&P 500 vs Dow Jones (Bespoke)
In a post earlier today, we noted that despite the quirky manner in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is constructed, it tends to track the broader S&P 500 pretty well over time, including so far in 2016. The fact that the two have tracked each other so closely is even more impressive given the way different sectors are weighted in each index. The chart below compares the percentage weighting of each sector in the S&P 500 versus the Dow.
CEOs Go Silent on Future as S&P 500 Seesaw Rocks for Another Day (Bloomberg)
The S&P 500 Index is having its worst bout of earnings-season indecision in 16 years. Don’t look to chief executive officers to help cure it.
CFTC regulator oversaw compliance at firm accused of illegal trades (Reuters)
A U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission senior regulator is being thrust into the spotlight after the agency fined her former employer for a supervisory breakdown over illegal wash trades that primarily occurred on her watch.
72% Are Financially Stressed: Here's How To Get Out From Under Money Woes (Forbes)
Do finances keep you up at night? Are you spending time at work dealing with creditors? How about raiding your retirement account to survive, or taking out payday loans? Trying to figure out the next thing you can pawn or hawk on Craigslist for some fast cash? If any of that sounds familiar, you’re likely feeling money stress, and it’s taking a toll on your health.
The world’s nine largest operating power plants are hydroelectric facilities (US Energy Information Administration)
An estimated 62,500 power plants are operating around the world, with a total installed generating capacity of more than 6,000 gigawatts (GW) in 2015. The nine largest operating power plants in the world by capacity are all hydroelectric power plants.
Abe’s Nuclear Japan Goals Face More Ballot-Box Battles in 2017 (Bloomberg)
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ambition to restart the country’s fleet of nuclear reactors may face further challenges from local elections.
China Growth Holds at 6.7%, Backed by Government and Consumers (Bloomberg)
China’s economic growth remained stable in the third quarter, all but ensuring the government’s full-year growth target will be hit and paving the way for a policy switch toward reining in financial risks.
China Injects Economy With A Quarter Trillion In Debt In One Month, But The Full Story Is Much Scarier (Zero Hedge)
Overnight the PBOC reported its debt statistics for the month of September and it will probably not come as a surprise that for yet another month, China flooded its economy with the latest massive new loan injection, while the country's broadest aggregate measure of new credit, Total Social Financing, again surpassed estimates with the number exceeding a quarter trillion dollars in total new debt, in order to fuel, what Bloomberg dubbed, "the economy’s continued stabilization", even though the economy is inherently unstable due to the massive stock of debt already present inside China's financial system.
‘Africa Rising’? ‘Africa Reeling’ May Be More Fitting Now (NY Times)
NAIROBI, Kenya — For decades Africa was eager for a new narrative, and in recent years it got a snappy one.
The Economist published a cover story titled “Africa Rising.” A Texas business school professor published a book called “Africa Rising.” And in 2011, The Wall Street Journal ran a series of articles about economic growth on the continent, and guess what that series was called?
Will Subprime Credit Card Loans Fuel the Next Great Recession? (Money Morning)
Though big banks have been reporting explosive Q3 earnings, we could be on the verge of a subprime credit cardcrisis.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) topped analyst expectations yesterday morning (Monday) when it boasted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 on revenue of $21.64 billion.
How the Paris Climate Deal Will Change Energy Markets (Money Morning)
Seven miles from Paris' city center, where I'm sitting right now, lies Le Bourget, a little hamlet of barely 13,000 residents. Until recently, it was best known as the location of the French Air and Space Museum.
Hardy Boys: The Secret Of The Public Debt (And The Mystery Of Vanishing GDP Growth) (Confounded Interest)
Some economists spin a story that the public debt can be expanded rapidly to facilitate GDP growth.
Bitcoin Price Analysis: Hyperinflation to push the price higher? (Max Keiser)
The Long Term chart has been in an uptrend from the start of this year, with no sign of any set up change currently. The market has traded constantly over $630 with very low residual volumes in the range of $620 – $630.
Companies
Yahoo profit beats Wall St., some analysts worry over effect of hack (Reuters)
Yahoo Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly adjusted profit on Tuesday, a boost for the beleaguered company whose deal to sell its core business to Verizon Communications Inc has been shaken by a massive data breach.
StubHub: EBay’s Ticket to Growth (The Wall Street Journal)
EBay Inc.’s turnaround without PayPal Inc. is taking shape with a new growth driver in the spotlight: StubHub.
Tesla, Apple and Uber Pushing Up Lithium Prices (EconMatters)
After more than tripling in price this year, Lithium is no longer that dull commodity we take for granted in our consumer electronics: It's the commodity powering the next, undeniable energy revolution.
Technology
VW Judge Says He ‘Strongly’ Favors $14.7 Billion Settlement (Bloomberg)
Volkswagen AG and car owners will likely secure a federal judge’s final sign-off on their $14.7 billion settlement as the automaker continues to seek regulators’ approval of a fix for 482,000 pollution-spewing vehicles still on U.S. roads.
Samsung Faces First Consumer Class-Action Suit Over Note 7 (Bloomberg)
Samsung Electronics Co.’s woes over the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone have moved into the courtroom.
Three people who bought the phones, which were recalled because the Note 7 is prone to catching on fire and exploding, sued the electronics maker’s U.S. unit.
Intel’s Earnings Rise, but Sales Outlook Disappoints (The Wall Street Journal)
Intel Corp. reported an 8.7% rise in its third-quarter earnings, as a lengthy slide in the personal computer market reversed and cloud-computing companies stocked up on servers.
Netflix: Look Past the Headline “Beat” (New Constructs)
In the wake of 3Q16, Netflix (NFLX) is up nearly 20%. Is this price reaction justified? Have investors gotten too caught up in the “membership beat” or recently lowered expectations? Who’s paying attention to core issues like cash flow and competitive advantage? One thing is for sure; this jump in stock price only exacerbates the already high risk in the stock’s valuation.
A revolutionary AI technique is about to transform the self-driving car. (MIT Technology Review)
When the Google self-driving-car project began about a decade ago, the company made a strategic decision to build its technology on expensive lidar and detailed mapping. Even today, Google’s self-driving technology still relies on those two pillars.
Google Flights just got an update that can help you save money on your next trip (Business Insider)
This week, Google released the latest update to its Google Flights online travel booking service. Even though the service has been around for a few years, it can now provide more specific buying advice like when to book a flight to get the best deal.
I trolled my IRS scammers for weeks. I learned something really dark. (Vox)
These scammers had called me so many times that I knew their script.
They always introduced themselves as IRS officers with inconspicuous American names, like "Paul Thomas." They called to collect the $6,000 I owed the IRS. And if I didn't pay, they threatened to send the local police to arrest me.
Robot Pilots May Someday Fly Passenger And Cargo Planes (Bloomberg)
Manassas, Va. (AP) — Think of it as the airborne cousin to the self-driving car: a robot in the cockpit to help human pilots fly passengers and cargo — and eventually even replace them.
Ink and drink: New nano-tech tattoos can tell you when you’re too drunk to drive (Salon)
It’s generally considered a bad idea to mix drinking and tattoos. That said, what if you could get a tattoo that would tell you when you’ve drunk too much?
Thanks to the nano-engineers at the US National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, you can now put a biosensor patch on your arm that looks just like a temporary tattoo.
WeChat made a drone that flies around and streams video to your friends (Recode)
Tencent, the maker of WeChat, has a new drone on the way, expected to be available for sale by the end of October for $299.
The Ying drone will stream video directly to WeChat, the most popular messaging platform in China, which boasts over 800 million active users.
Politics
Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci promises to 'repeal' DOL fiduciary rule (Investment News)
One of Donald Trump's top Wall Street supporters — and a recently named adviser to the campaign — promises that the Republican presidential nominee will rip up a Labor Department investment advice rule if he is elected.
‘Dinner with Donald’ super PAC raises $1 million, 1 percent goes to backing Trump (OpenSecrets.org)
Remember American Horizons PAC? The committee advertised a ‘Dinner with Donald‘ in July, prompting Trump’s lawyers to send a cease-and-desist letter about the fundraiser, accusing the committee of defrauding its donors.
Record low share of young people plan to vote Republican this November (The Washington Post)
Think millennials are insufficiently enthused about Hillary Clinton? Wait’ll you see how much they despise Donald Trump.
How Trump has slumped in battleground polls (The Economist)
IT WOULD have been unthinkable to question Utah’s political allegiances one year ago. The state last sent its vote to a Democratic candidate for president when Lyndon Johnson was in office—in 1964. But the publication, on October 7th, of a video from 2005, in which Mr Trump boasts about grabbing women’s genitals, may break the spell in the conservative western state. Recent polls show Mr Trump holding only a slim lead over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
BULLSH**TER OF THE DAY: Renee Ellmers, for a baffling take on the 2000 election (Salon)
Ellmers has now brought up twice in two days the Bush-Gore election as an example of voter fraud. In a Monday interview on MSNBC, the Republican congresswoman argued that “it isn’t an odd concept to think that an election could be stolen.” Yet another Trump surrogate preparing the field for bitter defeat.
Many Americans demand more regulation of money in politics, but Democratic donors want it most (You Gov US)
To many Americans, the idea of restricting the role of money in political campaigns is an appealing one. Indeed, after the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which relaxed spending regulations, the push for reform has only grown in prominence, as both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have repeatedly addressed the problem in their own way while touring the country.
Obama Says Donald Trump Should ‘Stop Whining’ Over Claims of Rigged Election (The Wall Street Journal)
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Donald Trump’s complaints about a rigged election and favorable comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin unprecedented, urging the Republican presidential nominee to “stop whining” and make his case to voters.
Just ten days ago Sen. John McCain found a principle worth defending. The poor guy must have had nothing but sleepless nights since, because on Monday he went back to being a principle-free member of the Republican wrecking crew that has spent the past few years smashing every norm that used to allow our government to function.
President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance in a sketch on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on Monday, giving a mock job interview as he prepares to leave office in January.
Health and Biotech
Consciousness could be a side effect of 'entropy', say researchers (Science Alert)
It's impressive enough that our human brains are made up of the same 'star stuff' that forms the Universe, but new research suggests that this might not be the only thing the two have in common.
A screwed up body clock seems to be even worse for health than we thought (Science News)
When the body's internal sense of time doesn't match up with outside cues, people can suffer, and not just from a lack of sleep.
Such ailments are similar in a way to motion sickness — the queasiness caused when body sensations of movement don't match the external world.
Life on the Home Planet
Climate change could drive 122m more people into extreme poverty by 2030 (The Guardian)
Up to 122 million more people worldwide could be living in extreme poverty by 2030 as a result of climate change and its impacts on small-scale farmers’ incomes, a major UN report warned on Monday.
Saudi Arabia Executes a Prince Convicted in a Fatal Shooting (NY Times)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — For the first time in four decades, Saudi Arabia executed a member of the royal family for murder on Tuesday after he was convicted of shooting another man to death during a brawl.
Scientists Accidentally Discover Efficient Process to Turn CO2 Into Ethanol (Popular Mechanics)
Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have discovered a chemical reaction to turn CO2 into ethanol, potentially creating a new technology to help avert climate change. Their findings were published in the journal ChemistrySelect.
The 20 best islands in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveler (Insider)
Condé Nast Traveler just released its 2016 Readers' Choice Awards.
Another month, another broken global temperature record (Mashable Asia)
The planet's hot streak is crawling to a temporary end, but it's not over quite yet. September was the hottest such month on record, according to NASA, coming in at 0.91 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above average. This marks nearly a year straight of record heat, according to NASA, with 11 of the past 12 months ranking as the warmest on record.
How to be happier and have fewer regrets: Stop buying stuff and start doing things (Salon)
For three years now, cognitive psychologist Art Markman has been broadcasting a show on the human mind, “Two Guys on Your Head,” with his fellow University of Texas at Austin professor Bob Duke. The show, on KUT, considers a wide range of subjects that nonspecialists wonder about: How can I be happy? Does multitasking really work? Does music like Mozart’s make us smarter? What’s the value of forgiveness?
Flight plan: Pack your bags — airfares have taken a nose-dive to their lowest point in years (Salon)
If you’re planning to fly anytime soon you might encounter a rarity in modern air travel: an empty middle seat. The airline industry is in one of its so-called shoulder seasons (a sweet spot for air travelers between late summer and the holiday travel crunch) and also experiencing a confluence of factors that have come together at the right time for consumers, say industry experts.
How the Cubs Defense Became Historically Elite (The Wall Street Journal)
With five starting All-Stars and three Cy Young candidates, the Chicago Cubs have a lot of ways to win with bats and arms. But it’s their unprecedented ability to catch the ball that has maneuvered the Cubs to within three wins of their first World Series appearance in more than 70 years.
