Financial Markets and Economy
Oil Falls as U.S. Supply Seen Rising While Russia Resists Cuts (Bloomberg)
Oil dropped for a third day after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles expanded as Russia reiterated it would prefer freezing output at current levels rather than cutting.
Wall Street's top oil watcher explains what's happening in Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Libya (Business Insider)
Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, spends her days keeping tabs on geopolitics and oil.
Croft recently spoke with Business Insider about OPEC's agreement to limit production, how Russia and Iran play into that, Saudi Arabia's agenda to go in a new direction, and the prickly situation in Libya.
Dollar struggles to move higher; Aussie dollar surges on inflation (Market Watch)
The dollar was struggling to go upside against the yen during Asia trade Wednesday, amid a lack of fresh trading cues to drive the U.S. currency higher.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar soared after faster-than-expected inflation growth helped recede expectations for the central bank to launch an extra easing in the near future.
Fed’s Task Next Week: Signal December Rate Rise (The Wall Street Journal)
Federal Reserve officials, wary of raising short-term interest rates amid the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election, are likely to stand pat at their November policy meeting and remain focused on lifting them in December.
Should The Fed Adopt A 3% Inflation Target, Generate High Pressure Economy? (Value Walk)
In a speech October 14, US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated a high pressure economy, one tolerant of elevated inflation, may be the only way back from the 2008 financial crisis. Why would the Fed open its mind to higher inflation in advance of a potential December rate hike?
Goldman Sachs Still Thinks Sterling Is 10 Percent Too Expensive (Bloomberg)
While some analysts' currency-valuation models show sterling looks cheap after hitting record lows, examining the pound from a perspective that incorporates Brexit's impact on trade and the wider economy paints a different picture, Goldman argued in a note published last week. On that basis, sterling is still overvalued by as much as 10 percent, according to Goldman analysts Robin Brooks, Silvia Ardagna and Michael Cahill.
Losses Accelerate for Europe Stocks as Bayer Falls on Earnings (Bloomberg)
European shares slid for a third day on growing worries about the health of the region’s companies as energy producers suffered from declines in oil prices.
The world's key trading authority doesn't think Britain will suffer in a post-Brexit world (Business Insider)
The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has dismissed fears that Britain will face a "vacuum or disruption" in trade when it leaves the European Union.
British Consumers Are Binge-Borrowing on Record Low Rates (Bloomberg)
U.K. consumer credit is rising at the fastest pace in a decade and the Bank of England’s interest-rate cut is fueling borrowing, according to the British Bankers Association.
Is Weak Productivity To Blame For Sluggish Consumer Spending? (Value Walk)
Last week I presented at the MoneyShow in Dallas, where sentiment toward gold was a bit muted compared to other recent conferences I’ve attended. The yellow metal has certainly taken a breather following its phenomenal first half of the year, but the drivers are still firmly in place for another rally: low to negative government bond yields; economic and geopolitical uncertainty; and a lack of faith in global monetary policy.
The deficit is too small, not too big (The Hill)
First things first: I am (early, via mail) voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
My progressive pedigree is robust. I am proudly a liberal Democrat. Not a centrist Democrat, but a liberal Democrat.
Win or Lose, World Series Cities Still Lag on Home Prices: Chart (Bloomberg)
While either the Chicago Cubs or Cleveland Indians will successfully end their long-standing World Series championship drought this year, both U.S. cities are lagging the competition when it comes to home prices.
Millennials Are Coming and They Want Sustainable Investments (Bloomberg)
"Everyone is always so curious about millennials,” says Audrey Choi, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing. “Especially in this space.”
Companies
Hilton Cuts 2016 Forecast, Says Spin Offs On Track for Year’s End (The Wall Street Journal)
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., in the process of turning itself into three separate entities, cut its profit forecast for the year as a key indicator of pricing power grew less than expected in the latest period.
Bayer Profit Stokes Concern as Pharma Once Again Eclipses Crops (Bloomberg)
Bayer AG’s third-quarter profit grew 6 percent, powered by its prescription drugs unit — the very business that risks being sidelined after its $66 billion takeover of Monsanto Co.
Coke Profit and Revenue Fall Less Than Expected (The Wall Street Journal)
Coca-Cola Co. said profit and revenue fell less than expected in the latest quarter as developed markets buoyed the top line despite softness abroad.
Overseas weakness and the stronger U.S. dollar have dragged results lately for the company, which generates about half its sales abroad but translates results into dollars.
Technology
Apple Pay Has Rocky Debut in Japan as Commuters Hit Snags (Bloomberg)
Apple Inc.’s entry into Japanese digital payments is off to a rough start, with commuters struggling to register their train passes onto iPhones.
Toyota Recalls 5.8 Million Cars Following Takata Air Bag Orders (Bloomberg)
Toyota Motor Corp. recalled about 5.8 million vehicles worldwide to replace Takata Corp. air bags, the latest in a series of repairs phased over the coming years linked to safety devices behind 17 deaths.
Apple and Google are failing to capitalise on Samsung's Note 7 fiasco due to a lack of phones (Business Insider)
A supply shortage has meant Apple and Google haven't been able to take advantage of Samsung's exploding phone nightmare, according to a report in The Financial Times.
Intel Capital Invests $38M In 12 Innovative Technology Startups (Forbes)
After admitting earlier this year that he was undertaking a comprehensive review of the chipmaker’s corporate venture capital arm, including possibly dumping some of its assets for an estimated $1 billion, Intel Capital’s president Wendell Brooks committed this week to keep its existing investment portfolio of just over 400 companies.
Privacy Rule Imperils Data Riches as AT&T Pursues Time Warner (Bloomberg)
AT&T Inc. says one reason it wants to buy Time Warner Inc. is to enrich the consumer data it sells to advertisers, offering insights gleaned from viewers of a trove of newly acquired programming such as HBO and CNN.
This is how Microsoft is preventing hackers from hijacking IoT devices (Business Insider)
Worse, it looks like the attack was carried out by unknown hackers using software called "Mirai," or something like it, to hijack a bunch of unsecured Internet of Things (IoT) devices, mainly security cameras, and use their computing power to fuel the assault.
Nintendo won’t sell Switch at a loss; plans to ship 2 million units in March (Venture Beat)
Nintendo didn’t give any more details about how the Switch will work or what games will debut alongside it, but the publisher provided some goals for the system as part of its most recent quarterly financial report.
Google’s Dart programming language returns to the spotlight (Tech Crunch)
Once upon a time, Google’s Dart programming language seemed ready to take on JavaScript as the default language of the web. Google was even going to give it equal billing with JavaScript in its Chrome browser.
How to Stop Hackers From Spying With Your Webcam (Gizmodo)
You know a security risk is serious when Mark Zuckerberg starts paying attention. While putting tape over your webcam is one surefire way of making sure no one’s watching you on your webcam, you don’t have to rely on such primitive methods. There are a couple of apps that can do the job for you.
Politics
The Fury and Failure of Donald Trump (Rolling Stone)
Saturday, early October, at a fairground 40 minutes southwest of Milwaukee. The very name of this place, Elkhorn, conjures images of past massacres on now-silent fields across our blood-soaked history. Nobody will die here; this is not Wounded Knee, but it is the end of an era. The modern Republican Party will perish on this stretch of grass.
Iceland, a land of Vikings, braces for a Pirate Party takeover (The Washington Post)
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — The party that could be on the cusp of winning Iceland’s national elections on Saturday didn’t exist four years ago.
Iceland election could propel radical Pirate party into power (The Guardian)
A party that favours direct democracy, complete government transparency, decriminalising drugs and offering asylum to Edward Snowden could form the next government in Iceland after the country goes to the polls on Saturday.
Trump's strategy to cut property taxes — his own (CNN Money)
Donald Trump has repeatedly said he pays "tremendous" amounts in taxes, but when it comes to his properties, he fights to pay as little tax as possible. And that often comes with a cost to the towns or cities where Trump owns property.
Five things Democrats won’t tell you about Hillary Clinton (Market Watch)
Promises, promises. By all rights, this should be the subtext of every presidential election campaign. Candidates promise us the moon and deliver something far less celestial. All that pie-in-the-sky stuff about healing the planet and slowing the rise of the oceans? Time is running out for President Barack Obama to deliver on his 2008 campaign pledges.
Donald Trump Allies Focus Anger on Another Target: G.O.P. Leaders (NY Times)
Faced with the demoralizing prospect of a third consecutive loss in a presidential race, conservative Republicans are girding for an extended clash on two fronts in the months ahead: one with a Hillary Clinton administration that could look like a reprise of the partisan battles of the 1990s, and another with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill who rejected Donald J. Trump.
‘I’d Love That.’ Donald Trump Ready for Fight with ‘Mr Tough Guy’ Joe Biden (TIME)
Donald Trump has said he would “love” to fight Joe Biden, after the Vice President suggested last week that he would rough up the Republican nominee.
Health and Biotech
CRISPR identifies genes that might be targeted to hobble HIV infection (Stat News)
Whether or not CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing can create superheroes as depicted on a new Netflix show, what it’s indisputably good at is this: editing a lot of genes really, really fast.
Kamikaze cells wage biowarfare and fight viruses with viruses (New Scientist)
Giants, self-sacrifice, biological warfare: this story has them all. A voracious marine predator plagued by a giant virus has a defence system we’ve never seen before – it fights back by making its very own virus.
The individuals that make these bioweapons sacrifice themselves for the greater good, saving their fellow predators in the process.
Life on the Home Planet
No fracking, drilling or digging: it’s the only way to save life on Earth (The Guardian)
Do they understand what they have signed? Plainly they do not. Governments such as ours, now ratifying the Paris agreement on climate change, haven’t the faintest idea what it means – either that or they have no intention of honouring it.
End of Nuclear in U.S. Seen by Carlyle Group Without Subsidies (Bloomberg)
Nuclear power will come to an end in the U.S. if the industry doesn’t get more government support, according to Carlyle Group LP, one of the world’s largest investment firms.
ISIS Kills 23 Civilian Hostages in Western Afghanistan (NY Times)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen who claim to be followers of the Islamic State killed 23 civilian hostages in a remote province in western Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.
China to carry out more military drills in South China Sea (Reuters)
China routinely holds drills in the disputed waterway, and the latest exercises come less than a week after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands, prompting a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area.
Spain reviewing refueling permission for Russian warships (Reuters)
pain is reviewing a request by a Russian flotilla to refuel in its North African enclave of Ceuta, the foreign ministry said as Madrid drew criticism from NATO allies for assisting warships they believe could be used to target civilians in Syria.
Russia beefs up Baltic Fleet with ships armed with cruise missiles: paper (Reuters)
Russia is reinforcing its Baltic Fleet in Kaliningrad with two small warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to counter what it sees as a worrying NATO build-up in the region, Russia's daily Izvestia reported on Wednesday.
