Financial Markets and Economy
The Biggest Money Mistakes We Make—Decade by Decade (The Wall Street Journal)
Our relationship to money changes as we get older. So do the mistakes that we make with it.
U.S. Natural Gas Futures Slide Most Since July on Warm Midwest (Bloomberg)
U.S. natural gas futures slid the most since July, dragging shares of most major producers down as warmer-than-average weather in the Midwest prompted speculation that a mild winter will curtail demand for the heating fuel.
The Bearish Trading Underneath Caterpillar’s Stock Rally (The Wall Street Journal)
The best performance by its shares in six years and stubbornly high levels of shorts bets could set up for a volatile day after its earnings report on Tuesday.
FELDER: The probability of a market crash is 'as high as it's ever been' (Real Vision TV)
As short volatility market positions continue to build – largely as a consequence of central banks suppressing volatility to prevent recessions – maverick money manager Jesse Felder is warning the end result of the volatility trade could be a very painful lesson for investors with significant stock market repercussions.
Here's why doing nothing could be a good thing for investors (A Wealth Of Common Sense)
The Vanguard Total World Stock Market Index Fund holds a little over 7,600 securities.
A tiny region of Belgium could bring down a major European trade deal almost a decade in the making (Slate)
Have you ever heard of Wallonia, home of the Walloons? It sounds like a place Roald Dahl might have invented, but is in fact the small, French-speaking region of Belgium, with a population of about 3.5 million.
Offshore Yuan Trades Near Record Low as PBOC Seen Allowing Drop (Bloomberg)
The offshore yuan traded near a record low as Chinese policy makers signaled they are willing to allow greater currency flexibility amid a slump in exports and an advance in the dollar.
2017: The Year Ahead (David Deuchar, Seeking Alpha)
It's hard to believe 2016 is almost behind us, but as businesses begin to hang up their holiday decorations (to the chagrin of some), it's time to look ahead to what 2017 may have in store for us.
The 21 largest US cities ranked by ease of building wealth (Business Insider)
The best way to build wealth is to prioritize assets over income. But ensuring that your assets outweigh your liabilities can be impacted greatly by the city you call home.
This week, online personal finance consultant Bankrate.com released a report ranking America's best and worst metro areas for building wealth.
Climate change may spark next financial crisis, former Bank of England regulator says (Think Progress)
Climate change “is potentially a systemic risk,” Paul Fisher, who recently retired as deputy head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, told Bloomberg. “It could be the trigger for the next financial crisis,” he said, noting that climate change can force a sudden change in prices in a similar way that the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union damaged the sterling’s value.
Companies
CIBC: The Cheapest Canadian Bank (Jonathan Wheeler, Seeking Alpha)
This is the fifth article in a series comparing the largest Canadian banks. Feel free to check out the articles on The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS), Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD), The Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RBC), and The Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO).
Visa Profit Climbs 28% as Consumer Card Spending Increases (Bloomberg)
Net income for the period ended Sept. 30 climbed 28 percent to $1.93 billion, or 79 cents a share, from $1.51 billion, or 62 cents, a year earlier, the San Francisco-based company said Monday in a statement. Adjusted profit, which excludes one-time items such as severance costs and a tax expense related to its purchase of Visa Europe, was 78 cents a share, exceeding the 73-cent average estimate of 31 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
IBM Is Counting on Its Bet on Watson, and Paying Big Money for It (NY Times)
Watson, can you grow into a multibillion-dollar business and become the engine of IBM’s resurgence?
IBM is betting its future that the answer is yes. Its campaign to commercialize Watson, the company’s version of artificial intelligence technology, stands out, even during the current A.I. frenzy in the tech industry.
Technology
Swift Opposition to Resurrection of AT&T Giant (DealBook)
Over three decades ago, such was AT&T’s monopoly over the nation’s communications networks that the government forcefully shattered its empire.
Microsoft Expected To Move Surface Brand To Desktop With Surface PC (Forbes)
Microsoft is hosting a media event in New York this week. Official details for what Microsoft plans to unveil are sparse, but the general expectation is that it will be a Surface launch. Speculation, however, suggests that Microsoft will actually reveal a new desktop version of its Surface brand—the Surface PC.
Apple Watch Sales Tumble 70% As Global Smartwatch Market Majorly Contracts (Market Watch Pulse)
The worldwide smartwatch market significantly contracted in the third quarter, according to a new report from IDC. The industry shipped 2.7 million units last quarter, down 51.6% from 5.6 million in the same quarter last year.
The Galaxy Note 7 fiasco isn’t bad news just for Samsung, it’s bad for the whole Korean stock market (Quartz)
The fallout from Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphones could go well beyond Samsung. The fiasco of the Korean company’s recall, replacement, and then recall again of the fire-prone phones could affect the entire country’s stock market.
AT&T and Time Warner Seek to Mollify Deal’s Critics (DealBook)
First, there are the analysts.
“Vertically challenged,” was the headline from a research note by Craig Moffett, a play on the term “vertical integration,” where a company combines with its customer, rather than competitor.
T-Mobile soars to new high after crushing earnings (Business Insider)
Shares of T-Mobile US are trading at their highest level since their 2013 listing, after reporting blockbuster third quarter earnings. Ahead of Monday's opening bell, T-Mobile announced earnings of $0.42 per share on revenue of $9.24 billion — beating Wall Street's expectations.
Chinese webcam maker recalls devices after cyberattack link (The Guardian)
Chinese electronics firm Xiongmai is initiating a product recall after the enormous hacking attack that took down much of the internet on the eastcoast of the US and also affected Europe on Friday.
AI-powered security cameras recognize small details faster (Engadget)
San Mateo-based Movidius may still be in the process of getting bought up by Intel, but the company's latest deal will put its low-power AI and computer vision platform into more than just DJI drones and Google VR headsets.
Smart security cameras will be able to tell if you're texting and driving (The Verge)
Imagine a security camera that can understand and analyze the scene it's capturing. The camera can spot someone who is leaving a piece of luggage behind at an airport and issue an alert. It can identify a car being sought in connection with a crime based on its color, shape, and dented left bumper, even if the license plate has been covered up. And it can spot drivers who are texting when they should be watching the road, potentially passing on this information to law enforcement officials that can then issue a ticket.
Tesla could roll out its ride-sharing service next year and call it 'Tesla Network' (GreenCarReports.com)
In the updated "master plan" for Tesla Motors he released in July, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to continue pursuing self-driving cars, as well as a company-managed sharing service
Politics
EL-ERIAN: There are 2 election scenarios that'll cause the markets to go haywire (Business Insider)
Mohamed El-Erian is Allianz's chief economic advisor.
What is China’s plenum and why does it matter? (The Economist)
THE 200-odd highest-ranking members of China’s Communist Party—its central committee—usually meet only once a year. The closed-door gathering is called a plenum. This year’s starts today, October 24th, in Beijing and runs until the 27th. The agenda does not sound consequential. It will discuss, in the unlovely words of the official announcement, “the norms of political life within the party…and a revision to an intra-party supervision regulation.” So why does it matter?
Health and Biotech
All Signs Point to a Corporate Takeover of the Marijuana Industry by Bayer, Monsanto (The Event Chronicle)
The merger is reported to be one of the biggest of all-cash deal on record. There are many effects of this huge merger but as usual, the consumer loses out. Firstly, it strengthens the monopolization of the world’s food supply. It also means more GMOs and chemicals to be sprayed on them. Some are now predicting the merge could also mean the takeover of the marijuana industry.
Support for marijuana legalization continues to rise (Pew Research Center)
The share of Americans who favor legalizing the use of marijuana continues to increase. Today, 57% of U.S. adults say the use of marijuana should be made legal, while 37% say it should be illegal. A decade ago, opinion on legalizing marijuana was nearly the reverse – just 32% favored legalization, while 60% were opposed.
Life on the Home Planet
New York Today: How to Build a Subway (NY Times)
Nearly a century after the Second Avenue subway was first proposed, part of the line is finally scheduled to open in December.
[INFOGRAPHIC] Peer Pressure Can Be Multiplied Through the Social Media (SocMedia Sean)
Many people experience jitters from socializing with their peers, whether it’s a freshmen’s first day at school or an employee’s average day at work. In effect, peer pressure often gets the best of people. It pushes a person to do things he/she isn’t really comfortable of doing or refrains from doing it because of what others might think or say.
Has the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle finally been solved? (The Telegraph)
Researchers in the US claim they have discovered the answer to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
Covering more than half a million square miles of ocean located between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rica, the term "Bermuda Triangle" was first coined by writer Vincent H. Gaddis in 1964.
A police raid in India dramatically reduced the number of IRS scam reports (The Washington Post)
It took a big raid in India to slow down an IRS impostor scam that resulted in thousands of people, many of them retirees, being bilked out of millions of dollars.
World Population Growth (Our World In Data)
The UN calculates that there are more than 7 billion living humans on Earth, yet 200 years ago we numbered less than 1 billion. Recent estimates suggest that 6.5 percent of all people ever born are alive right now. This is the most conspicuous fact about world population growth: for thousands of years, population grew only slowly, but in recent centuries it has jumped dramatically.
International Whaling Commission debates the fate of world's remaining whales (DW Made For Minds)
Over 80 nations have gathered in Slovenia for the biennial International Whaling Commission meeting. Japan's controversial return to its "scientific" whale hunts and a possible whale sanctuary will likely top the docket.
Americans’ Respect for Police Reaches Highest Level Since 1967, Poll Finds (The Wall Street Journal)
Americans’ respect for local police jumped to its highest levels since 1967, according to a new Gallup poll Monday.
U.S. Completes Record 11 Straight Years Without Major Hurricane Strike (Info Wars)
“I can confirm that as of October 24, 2016, it will be a complete 11 years since a major hurricane has struck the United States, as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale of being a Category 3 or higher,” meteorologist Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC), told CNSNews.com.
Elon Musk Marsplains everything about traveling to and colonizing the Red Planet on Reddit (Salon)
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk offered Reddit users an optimistic glimpse into the possible future — his future — during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Sunday.
No, the Great Barrier Reef is not dead, but it is very, very sick (Think Progress)
The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living structure, was trending on social media Friday, after it was declared dead this week in a symbolic obituary presumably meant to increase awareness.
