Financial Markets and Economy
Oil Heads for Weekly Drop After Erasing OPEC Algiers Deal Gains (Bloomberg)
Oil headed for its biggest weekly loss in almost 10 months after giving up all its gains since OPEC agreed to trim output as skepticism grows over implementing the deal and as rising U.S. inventories worsen a glut.
Oil set for sixth straight day of declines (Reuters)
Oil prices were on course for their sixth straight day of falls on Friday, dragged lower by a surge in U.S. crude inventories, timid demand and doubts over the ability of producers to coordinate output cuts.
British Shares Post Longest Losing Run of Year Amid Pound Gain (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks fell the most among major western-European markets, dropping for a fifth day amid a rebound in the pound.
The FTSE 100 Index lost 1.1 percent at 9:40 a.m. in London, taking its slide for the week to 4 percent.
Japanese Households in the Era of Abe and Kuroda (Bloomberg)
Here’s a broad picture of how households have fared over the past three-plus years of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic program, which was meant to reflate Japan’s economy, leaning heavily on the Bank of Japan’s extraordinary asset-buying.
Saudi economy avoids crisis but outlook murky for deficit, growth (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia has avoided an economic crisis due to low oil prices this year but the outlook for state finances and growth will remain murky for many months to come, businessmen and analysts in the kingdom say.
Biotech’s Got ‘Bad News and Worse News’ as Stocks Suffer (Bloomberg)
Investors are seeing little good news in the latest experimental drug data from the biotechnology industry.
On Thursday, after results from several clinical trials were released ahead of the upcoming American Society of Hematology, or ASH, meeting in San Diego, Spark Therapeutics Inc., Bluebird Bio Inc., and Trillium Therapeutics Inc. all plunged.
The pound is having another day in the sun (Business Insider)
The pound is climbing for a third consecutive day, holding onto the huge gains seen on Thursday after a landmark legal ruling put a spanner in the works for Britain's exit from the EU.
The pound took off on Thursday after the High Court ruled that the British government cannot begin the formal process to leave the European Union without first having a vote in parliament.
European Stocks Retreat as Banks Slide, Election Angst Persists (Bloomberg)
Amid the most volatile market in four months, European stocks can’t catch a break. On Friday, they extended a streak without notable gains to 11 days amid mixed earnings and ongoing jitters about the outcome of next week’s U.S. presidential election.
Turkish Markets Tumble as Kurdish Leaders Detained in Raids (Bloomberg)
Turkey’s lira plunged to a record and bonds fell with stocks after police rounded up pro-Kurdish opposition leaders, prompting investor concerns that an increasingly autocratic government is dismantling democracy in the country.
IMF Knocks on Doors in Quest for Intelligence on Chinese Banks (Bloomberg)
As part of the International Monetary Fund’s biggest review of China’s banking system in half a decade, a top official recently did some detective work that didn’t involve an Excel spreadsheet.
Bitcoin tanks on report China considering crackdown (Market Watch)
A Bloomberg report that Chinese authorities are studying measures to limit transactions on China-based exchanges in an effort to stop money flowing out of the country was the catalyst for the selloff, according to Charles Hayter, founder and chief executive of Cryptocompare, a provider of cryptocurrency data and analysis.
The European Banking Crisis Explained (DB) (Investopedia)
Fears of a European banking crisis are on the rise, as two banks – Germany's Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (BMPS.Milan) – could be in danger of failing in the near future. With governments less able and voters less willing than ever to bail out struggling lenders, some observers fear that a Lehman Brothers-like chain reaction originating at one of these banks could drag the world economy back into chaos.
Here's Why Your Home Is 24% Overpriced (Forbes)
There is overwhelming academic literature saying that government regulations cause higher housing costs. I wrote an article weeks ago listing about two dozen studies that identified multiple types of regulation, and the effects they had on increasing prices, exacerbating inequality, and forcing unwanted lifestyle shifts.
U.S. trade deficit sinks 10% to 19-month low (Market Watch)
The U.S. trade deficit plunged 10% in September to a 19-month low, aided by a fourth straight increase in exports that gave the economy a boost in the third quarter.
The nation’s trade gap shriveled to $36.4 billion from a revised $40.5 billion in August, the government said Friday.
Hong Kong’s Leaders Move to Cool World’s Highest Home Prices (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is taking additional steps to cool the world’s costliest property market, where prices have rebounded after a short-lived dip.
America's luxury housing market is headed for a correction (Business Insider)
Luxury home prices rose 1.4 percent in the third quarter of 2016 compared to last year, to an average of $1.6 million. Redfin’s analysis tracks home sales in more than 1,000 cities across the country and defines a home as luxury if it is among the top 5 percent most expensive homes sold in the city in each quarter.
The dollar jumps after the jobs report (CNN Money)
The dollar jumped into the green after the final jobs report before the November 8 election. The US dollar index is up by 0.2% at 97.34 around 8:44 a.m. ET.
Companies
Takata Says It Wants to Avoid Bankruptcy to Minimize Disruptions (Bloomberg)
Takata has sold all stakes it owned in Japanese automakers, Nomura said. The company held shares of Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. as of March 2015, according to its annual report.
China's Wanda Group buys Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion (CNN Money)
The deal marks the Chinese company's first move into television. Dick Clark Productions produces the Golden Globe Awards, American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards, among others.
L’Oreal Shares Surge as Demand Grows for Premium Makeup Brands (Bloomberg)
L’Oreal SA’s shares soared the most in almost seven months after revenue beat analysts’ estimates on rising demand for the cosmetic maker’s high-end brands in North America.
Technology
Living Like the 1% Is No Longer About Buying Cars, Boats and Jets (Fortune)
If you’re into yachting, flying private, or driving a classic car, but aren’t so much into the maintenance aspect of it all — don’t panic. You have a lot of options.
A number of startups are competing to provide consumers with the experience of traveling on a boat, jet, or vintagePorsche without the headache of ownership. XOJet, for example, offers on-demand private flights.
Amazon Prods Its Sellers to Free Up Warehouse Space (The Wall Street Journal)
Amazon.com Inc. has a holiday message for the millions of merchants who rely on it to fill their online orders: Don’t clutter its warehouses with stuffed Easter bunnies, Fourth of July banners or other out-of-season goods.
BMW Profitability Squeezed by Slide in U.S. Sales (The Wall Street Journal)
BERLIN— BMW AG reported higher profit in the third quarter even though a decline in sales in the U.S. and increased investment in electric vehicles and other technology eroded earnings at its automotive division.
British Airways Owner IAG Cuts Long-Term Earnings Goal (Bloomberg)
British Airways owner IAG SA pared its long-term earnings outlook and reined in its capacity and spending plans as sluggish demand and a slide in the value of sterling following the Brexit vote hurts revenues.
How Artificial Intelligence Will Redefine Management (Harvard Business Review)
Many alarms have sounded on the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to upend the workforce, especially for easy-to-automate jobs. But managers at all levels will have to adapt to the world of smart machines. The fact is, artificial intelligence will soon be able to do the administrative tasks that consume much of managers’ time faster, better, and at a lower cost.
Investors in GoPro and Fitbit Discover Hardware Is Hard (Forbes)
One of the great rise-and-fall stories in the history of tech gadgets was the Flip camera. A pioneering, inexpensive digital video camera, the Flip became a cultural phenomenon, was bought by Cisco Systems in 2009 only to be pulled from the market two years later.
GoPro Is Betting This Slick Drone Will Save the Day (Bloomberg)
For GoPro, there was nowhere to go but up–literally. Its first drone, dubbed the Karma, hit the market last week, a strategic moonshot aimed at carrying the struggling company beyond the increasingly saturated market for cubic cameras in a plastic case.
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Microsoft's HoloLens could power tanks on a battlefield (The Verge)
Microsoft might not have envisioned its HoloLens headset as a war helmet, but that's not stopping Ukrainian company LimpidArmor from experimenting. Defence Blog reports that LimpidArmor has started testing military equipment that includes a helmet with Microsoft's HoloLens headset integrated into it.
New Zealand mobile carriers are banning Samsung's exploding Note 7 phones from their networks (Business Insider)
New Zealand mobile networks are taking the nuclear option to tackle Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones — blacklisting them and kicking them off their networks.
China’s Huawei Technologies Aims Big in Smartphone Market (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s Huawei Technologies Co., the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, expects to grab a larger market share in the wake of Samsung Electronics Co.’s damaging recall of its high-end phone, a senior executive said.
Premium Economy Arrives on U.S. Airlines. Will Coach Suffer? (Bloomberg)
As space in economy class becomes ever more constrained, airlines have devised a more spacious cabin product for passengers priced out of business class but determined to escape the indignities of steerage.
Intel is getting into VR sports and live events (Engadget)
There's a glut of virtual reality headsets on the market now, but not nearly enough VR content. Intel, which just launched the "Project Alloy" mixed reality headset, is addressing that. It acquired a small firm called Voke that produces 360-degree content for live events like fashion shows and basketball games, the Wall Street Journal reports.
4 million dumped Samsung Note7 devices could hurt the earth (Mashable Asia)
Samsung's busted Galaxy Note7 phone may have become a punchline, but 4.3 million dumped devices is no joke to the environment, Greenpeace warns.
Now that the Korean phone giant has recalled millions of the devices after a recent global fiasco in which multiple devices were found to be fire hazards, it's important to dispose of them in a safe way, the environmental group says.
2017 Toyota C-HR to finally debut at LA Auto Show (RoadShow)
Toyota's elusive 2017 C-HR is finally coming to the US. It's set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which will be the first we've heard of it since its March debut at the Geneva Motor show.
Samsung to recall 2.8 million washing machines in the United States (Reuters)
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), which is already reeling from a global recall of its Note 7 smartphones, said it would recall about 2.8 million of its top-load washing machines in the United States to address safety concerns.
Politics
Three charts make painfully simple how American politics became so messed up (The Washington Post)
In 1780, John Adams, the second president of the United States, warned that the ideological division of this country into political parties would be “the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” Adams would really hate to see Twitter today.
Mexico prepares economic contingency plan for possible Trump presidency (The Guardian)
Mexico is readying a contingency plan for an “adverse” election result in the US, said the Central Bank governor, Agustín Carstens, who has previously stated that a victory for Donald Trump would hit his country like a hurricane.
Mississippi Probe Of Chruch Arson Advances Amid Secrecy (Associated Press)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A police chief in the Mississippi Delta says a "person of interest" is talking to investigators about the torching of an African-American church that was spray-painted with the words "Vote Trump."
Greenville Police Chief Delando Wilson said the man voluntarily went to the police department, without an attorney, and spoke to detectives Wednesday and Thursday.
Obama tax hikes on rich didn't hurt economy, or rich (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's 2013 tax increases for wealthy Americans neither slowed their income growth nor hurt the economy, according to a study that taps into a key debate in the current presidential race.
Hillary Clinton Wants You To Imagine The Headlines After A Trump Win (The Huffington Post)
In a digital ad push that begins Friday morning, Hillary Clinton’s aides are indulging a hypothetical that campaigns often avoid: the possibility that the opposition could win.
Everything that could go wrong on America’s Election Day (Quartz)
In this unpredictable campaign season, it’s hard to foresee what Election Day 2016 itself will look like. But many signs are worrying. The Republican nominee has essentially called for voter intimidation, and his supporters are taking up arms.
Remember, Trump does not have to win a majority of votes in order to become president (Business Insider)
With just a few days to go, and the polls getting tighter, a victory for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 has never looked more likely.
Clinton maintains a slight lead, 46.6% to 45.1%, according to Real Clear Politics' rolling average of polls. Several recent polls show a tie or are within the margin of error.
Health and Biotech
Scientists have found a bizarre similarity between human cells and neutron stars (Science Alert)
If you were to compare yourself to a neutron star, you probably wouldn’t find very many things in common. After all, neutron stars – celestial bodies with super strong magnetic fields – are made from collapsed star cores, lie light-years away from Earth, and don’t even watch Netflix.
These Pharma Stocks Plunged on Reports of Pending Price Collusion Charges (Reuters)
Two prominent U.S. lawmakers on Thursday called on federal antitrust regulators to probe whether Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Co, Merck & Co and Novo Nordisk colluded to set prices for insulin and other diabetes drugs.
Life on the Home Planet
Nuclear Plants Closing Early Leave Decades of Toxic Waste Stranded (Bloomberg)
Midway between San Diego and Los Angeles, the San Onofre Nuclear Plant waits to be dismantled. After more than 40 years of protests, lawsuits and safety scares, its two concrete-encased reactors, jutting from the pristine California coastline, are powered down and its massive steam turbines, once deafening, are quiet.
Farmers’ Unchecked Crop Burning Fuels India’s Air Pollution (NY Times)
MAULVIWALA, India — Desperate to reduce the pollution that has made New Delhi’s air quality among the worst in the world, the city has banned private cars for two-week periods and campaigned to reduce its ubiquitous fireworks during holiday celebrations.
20 devastating photos show what California's drought-stricken reservoirs look like now compared with a decade ago (Business Insider)
California is in the middle of its fifth year in drought. Experts say it has been the worst the state has seen in 1,200 years.
Dwindling reservoirs, shrinking lakes, and dried-up farm fields dot the state's landscape — and despite some recent signs of recovery, the overall outlook is still ominously dry.
Turkey detains pro-Kurdish lawmakers, car bomb kills at least eight (Reuters)
A car bomb killed eight people and wounded more than 100 in southeastern Turkey's largest city on Friday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, hours after police detained the leaders of the mostly Kurdish region's biggest political party.
