Financial Markets and Economy
Crude Rally May Clinch Top Stock Market Status for Canada in ’16 (Bloomberg)
Gold’s best run since 2010 pushed Canadian equities to the top spot among developed-market stocks this year. Fifty dollar crude will give them an opportunity to stay there.
Would Cutting Corporate Tax Rates Really Grow the Economy? (The Atlantic)
One of the things Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump disagree most strongly about is how to stimulate the economy. Donald Trump has one idea that conservative economists would probably agree with: He wants lower taxes.
UBS’s Currency Trading Volume Hit Record as Pound Crashed (Bloomberg)
UBS Group AG, the world’s third-biggest currency trader, said it processed a record number of currency trades during the minutes of the pound’s flash crash this month.
Rupee Faces Longest Run of Weekly Losses Since May Amid Outflows (Bloomberg)
India’s rupee headed for a third weekly decline, the longest stretch of losses since May, amid signs demand for the nation’s assets is waning.
Wall Street's China Wake-Up Call (Bloomberg)
Frustrated with its Chinese partner, JP Morgan is in talks to sell its stake in their investment banking venture, just days after it emerged that Goldman Sachs's Beijing-based Asia Pacific chairman, Mark Schwartz, is retiring from the firm.
Hedge funds are getting whacked, and it could spell bad news for the global economy (Business Insider)
Hedge funds' dismal performance might be a warning sign to the greater economy.
Several hedge funds have blamed their poor performance on central bankers, whose low interest rates, in the funds' view, are distorting markets.
Hedge Funds Hurt as Investors Remove $28 Billion in 3 Months (NY Times)
It has been a bruising year for hedge funds. Big bets have been disastrous, investors have voiced discontent and some managers have been forced to rewrite their playbooks or call it quits.
Oil prices could hit $90 sooner than you think (OilPrice.com)
In the oil business, modish pundits are now pronouncing, “60 is the new 90,” championing the thesis that productivity gains, cost improvements and price wars have pulled the global clearing price of oil to $60/B, down from $90/B a couple of years ago.
New Zimbabwe Notes Stir Memory of 500,000,000,000% Inflation (Bloomberg)
Zimbabwe’s tentative return to its own currency is getting a hostile reception from citizens, who fear a recurrence of the 500 billion percent inflation that plagued the southern African nation before it abandoned its dollar seven years ago.
An Inflation Trade Gathers Steam (The Wall Street Journal)
A bet on inflation that’s long been favored by big money managers may finally be having a moment. U.S. Treasury securities that are built to protect against inflation, known as TIPS, have returned 7.1% so far this year as expectations for the pace of price increases have rebounded.
U.S. mall investors set to lose billions as retail gloom deepens (Reuters)
(Reuters/IFR) – The dramatic shift to online shopping that has crushed U.S. department stores in recent years now threatens the investors who a decade ago funded the vast expanse of brick and mortar emporiums that many Americans no longer visit.
The Snowball Method in Real Estate Investing (Mashvisor)
Do you know about the “snowball momentum?” If so, then maybe you have an idea about what we mean by “the snowball method.” You start by making a small snowball, and as you roll it down the snowy field, it increases in both size and speed.
CRISPR's Bad IPO Timing Is Costly (Bloomberg)
If you're going to IPO a company based on red-hot but unproven technology, a bit of urgency helps.
The Winklevoss brothers are speeding up SEC approval for their bitcoin fund (BI Intelligence)
Tech entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have appointed State Street as the transfer agent for their bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Winklevoss Bitcoin Fund, according to their latest regulatory filing on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports.
For The First Time In 2016, Junk Bond Defaults Are Decelerating (Zero Hedge)
Earlier this week, we pointed out that we have now anniversaried the low print of oil and gas prices from 2015, and going forward the "base effect" will kick in, sending headline inflation higher, and maybe even sharply higher if oil continues its ascent into the Vienna OPEC meeting.
ECB Pulls Out The Stops: More Stimulus And Negative Interest Rates (Kai Telage, Seeking Alpha)
Earlier this week, I wrote an article published in SA that focused on the economic slowdown in world markets and growing global debt. At the conclusion, I suggested that investors should review important economic reports scheduled for later this week.
World Stocks Drift As Investors Factor In Fed Rate Hike (Associated Press)
HONG KONG (AP) — World stock markets drifted Friday as investors increasingly factored in a Fed rate hike soon, based on the brightening U.S. corporate and economic outlook.
"Dear Janet"? – China Devalues Most Since August, Yuan Tumbles To Lowest Since Sept 2010 (Zero Hedge)
For the 10th day of the last 11, onshore yuan has weakened against the dollar. A 0.35% devaluation of the Yuan fix – the most since August – catching down to offshore Yuan's weakness, suggests (for now) PBOC policy is 'allowing' the drop and perhaps sending yet another 'turmoil-induing' message to The Fed as their hawkishness grows.
El-Erian Warns Of "Enormous Risk In Public Markets… Better Seller Of Stocks Than Buyer" (Zero Hedge)
Investors "have been conditioned to believe, over and over again, that central banks can shield them," but, as Allianz' Mohamed El-Erian warns "the probabilities are now starting to tip in the likelihood of a bad outcome."Simply put, El-Erian explains that financial markets have "decoupled" from the economic problems of the world leaving "enormous risk in public markets because that’s the one that central banks have distorted to the greatest extent."
Trick Or Treat? Critics Blast Big Soda's Efforts To Fend Off Taxes (NPR)
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you may have seen ads urging you to vote "no" on a grocery tax. "Don't Tax Our Groceries" is the tagline of the $9.5 million campaign, which is funded by the American Beverage Association.
David Rosenberg Calls For A Multi-Trillion, "Helicopter Money" Stimulus Package (Zero Hedge)
With the inherent weakness in US GDP and the rising probability of a recession (two weeks ago Bank of America modeled that the next recession would likely start roughly one year from now), Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg thinks that with monetary options exhausted it will take a fiscal boost in the trillions of dollars to kickstart the economy.
Companies
De Beers Harvests Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea (The Wall Street Journal)
ORANJEMUND, Namibia—A dozen miles off the southwestern edge of Africa’s Atlantic coast, a 285-ton vacuum machine operating 400 feet below sea level is sucking some of the world’s most valuable diamonds from the ocean floor.
Even the Better Business Bureau has disowned Wells Fargo (The Washington Post)
For more than 100 years, Wells Fargo has been ubiquitous in San Francisco. The City by the Bay is the bank’s hometown and Wells Fargo is one of its largest employers. There is even a museum in the city dedicated to the stagecoach Wells Fargo once used to cross the Western Plains.
Technology
IBM Says Macs Are Up to $543 Less Expensive Than PCs Over Time (Mac Rumors)
At the Jamf Nation User Conference yesterday, designed for IT management professionals, IBM VP of Workplace as a Service Fletcher Previn talked about IBM's decision to start letting employees choose between Windows or Mac machines, the cost of PCs vs. Macs, and the resulting changes to the company.
Automakers and Google balk at California's self-driving rules (Engadget)
Google and a cadre of automakers are not happy about the state of California's proposed rules for autonomous vehicles, which they say would severely slow their progress towards a self-driving future.
A Driverless Tesla Will Travel From L.A. to NYC by 2017, Says Musk (NBC News)
By 2017, Tesla cars could be driving all the way across the country without any hands on the wheel, according to CEO Elon Musk and his vision for driverless technology. The enigmatic entrepreneur also had a few choice words for the media during the surprise announcement Wednesday, accusing journalists of "killing people" by over-reporting Tesla Autopilot crashes, which he described as "basically almost none."
The Pixel goes head to head against the iPhone 7 in speed tests, with interesting results [Video] (9TO5Google)
The Pixel may have just come out today, but that doesn’t mean that some people — including us — haven’t had the chance to use one some time before the general public. And what does the public love more than a good ol’ speed test to check out how the latest and greatest measures up to its direct competition?
This new, magical video mapping technology is perfect for clothing (The Next Web)
If you’ve ever seen an example of projection mapping or video mapping before, prepare to have your mind blown by the latest advancement in this technology.
Apple investigating report an iPhone 7 burst into flames in man's car (Mashable Asia)
A surfer from the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, has captured footage of the aftermath of a car fire he claims was caused by his week-old iPhone 7 on Thursday.
Politics
Widening Attack on G.O.P., Obama Targets Marco Rubio in Florida (NY Times)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — President Obama joined a parade of Democrats on Thursday in rebuking Donald J. Trump for threatening not to abide by the results of the election.
Donald Trump Is Running Some Really Insecure Email Servers (Motherboard)
In what might be one of the more delicious cases of irony to ever grace a presidential election, a researcher has found that a number of email servers linked to Donald Trump’s hotel and others businesses are running horribly out of date software which receive no security patches, and are lacking other precautions for keeping hackers out.
‘Brexit,’ Migration, Walloons: E.U.’s List of Crises Keeps Growing (NY Times)
BRUSSELS — It has come to this for the European Union: Its trade policy was being held hostage on Thursday by the Walloons.
A right-wing think tank has denounced Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans for adding nearly $6.8 trillion to our national debt.
With Empty Rooms and Bookings Plummeting, Trump Hotels Are Taking a Beating (NBC News)
Donald Trump may already be calling for a recount of votes in what he claims will be a rigged election — but he may also want to recount the empty rooms at his hotels.
Trump, Clinton tension seeps into jokes at annual charity dinner (Reuters)
U.S. presidential campaign tensions seeped into a high-profile charity dinner on Thursday as Donald Trump joked about sending Hillary Clinton to prison and she alluded to Trump’s statements about women by estimating how he might rate the Statue of Liberty's attractiveness a four, maybe a five.
As Duterte embraces China, Japan's Abe set to roll out warm welcome (Reuters)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans private personal meetings with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Tokyo next week, three sources said, seeking to keep him onside with U.S.-led efforts to contain Beijing's South China Sea ambitions.
Health and Biotech
STD Infections Rise To New Highs After States Close Health Clinics (NPR)
The number of people infected with three major sexually transmitted diseases is at an all-time high, according to a CDC report released Wednesday. And the increase in reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis is hitting teenagers and young adults hardest.
Could Diet Change Help Treat Blood Cancer or Transplant Patients? (Scientific American)
A team of researchers from California and Japan has found that an essential amino acid plays a crucial role in the creation of blood stem cells—a discovery the scientists say could offer a potential alternative to chemotherapy and radiation in treating blood cancer patients.
Life on the Home Planet
Stunning and Creepy Photos of Abandoned Amusement Parks and Malls (Vice)
ABANDONED has been described (by us) as "part travel log, part epic skate vid, and part in-depth documentary series." It's also a treasure trove of visually stunning locations.
Winter Outlook: Warm South; Cooler North; Murkey In Middle (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal forecasters predict this winter may paint the U.S. in stripes of different weather: Warmer and drier than normal in the south, and colder and wetter than usual in the far north.
Scientists say data from NASA's 1976 Mars landing need to be reconsidered for signs of life (Science Alert)
Scientists have revisited data from NASA's 1976 mission to Mars, and say the recent evidence of water, organic molecules, and methane in the Martian environment means we have to consider that life was discovered on the Red Planet four decades ago.
Iceland drills hottest hole to tap into energy of molten magma (New Scientist)
Drilling into hot rocks to tap geothermal energy is one thing. Drilling deep enough to tap the energy from magma oozing into volcanoes is quite another, offering a massive increase in the potential to exploit Earth’s inner heat.
Islamic State attacks Kirkuk as Iraqi forces push on Mosul (Reuters)
Islamic State launched a major counter-attack on the city of Kirkuk on Friday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces pursued operations to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the jihadists' last major stronghold in Iraq.
