Financial Markets and Economy
Dow Jumps 371 Points After FBI Says It Won’t Charge Clinton (The Wall Street Journal)
Investors rushed back into U.S. stocks, sending the S&P 500 to its biggest gain since March.
Oil Rises as OPEC Promises a Cut is in the Cards (Reuters)
Oil rose more than 1 percent on Monday, boosted by a commitment from OPEC to stick to a deal to cut output, but prices remained more than $7 below last month's high due to persistent doubts over the feasibility of the group's plan.
Obama’s Successor Inherits Bond Market at Epic Turning Point (Bloomberg)
Barack Obama will go down in history as having sold more Treasuries and at lower interest rates than any U.S. president. He’s also leaving a debt burden that threatens to hamstring his successor.
How Economic Data Is Kept Politics-Free (NY Times)
Talk about an October surprise. The post on Twitter warning of a government conspiracy to swing the presidential election in the Democrats’ favor popped up just moments after the Labor Department reported the biggest monthly decline in the unemployment rate in nine years.
China's Foreign-Exchange Reserves Drop to Lowest Since 2011 (Bloomberg)
The world’s largest foreign currency hoard tumbled the most since January as a stronger dollar helped spur capital outflow pressures and shaved the value of the stockpile.
A baffling obsession with growth is distorting the US auto market (Business Insider)
After booming for several years and setting sales record in 2015, as 17.5 million new cars and truck rolled off dealers lots, the US auto market now looks as if its flattening out.
Implications Of An Overvalued Market On Corporate Merger And Acquisition Activity (S&P Global)
Over the past few months, the mergers and acquisition market has experienced a wave of large “mega” deals. These deals include Bayer’s $65 billion acquisition of Monsanto and SoftBank’s $31.5 billion acquisition of ARM Holdings.
Best and Worst Performing Stocks Between Comey Letters (Bespoke)
In an earlier post, we highlighted the strange performance of sectors during the periods between FBI director James Comey’s letters to Congress regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop. In this post, we wanted to look at the best and worst performing stocks during the period from 10/27’s close through last Friday’s (11/4) close.
Shackled to a Maniac: the Fed Can’t Withdraw Its Fake Money (Bill Bonner, Econ Matters)
It’s been eight years since the Fed introduced its “emergency” zero interest rates.
Phony Jobs, Phony Recovery, Phony Regime – Now Comes The Reckoning (David Stockman's Contra Corner)
We just had another "Jobs Friday" report and the underlying message could not have been more inimical to the "all is awesome" meme of the Wall Street/Washington establishment. Nor could it have been more timely and apt on the eve of an election where Donald Trump's insurgent candidacy has a fighting chance of crossing the finishing line.
The Nine-Day Losing Streak In S&P 500 Is A Random Pattern (Price Action Lab)
While we are preparing our weekly premium report, we thought it is a good idea to share an excerpt about the nine-day losing streak in S&P 500. We are surprised by the large number of professionals who have paid attention to this random event.
SNB ready to intervene in currency markets after U.S. election (Reuters)
The Swiss National Bank stands ready to intervene in the currency markets if the outcome of the U.S. election triggers a rush into the safe haven currency, a member of the central bank's governing board said on Monday.
Gifting Equity in a Home (Conversations)
Updated September 2016 — Preserving family tradition and effective tax planning may not often intersect. But when parents gift the equity in a home to their children, they may be able to accomplish both goals.
Natural Gas Traders Are Too Focused On Winter Weather (Geoffrey Caveney, Seeking Alpha)
Natural gas traders and analysts are stunned by the sudden drop in nat gas prices over the past few weeks, but they simply followed oil, which fell from $52 to $44.
U.S. crude oil production in 2015 was the highest since 1972, but has since declined (US Energy Information Administration)
U.S. field production of crude oil increased in 2015 for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 9.42 million barrels per day (b/d). This was the highest crude oil production level since 1972, based on final production numbers in EIA’s Petroleum Supply Annual.
Oil Tries & Fails To Reach $45 Overnight – Should Investors Take OPEC Seriously Anymore? (Zero Hedge)
Between risk-on sentiment from Comey's latest bombshell and the earthquake in Cushing overnight, WTI crude prices rallied to $44.99 but as OilPrice.com's Gregory Brew notes that in the midst of a week of bad to terrible news for oil prices, OPEC tried and failed to alleviate concerns that its meeting this November will, in fact, produce a meaningful deal on production cuts.
Little Love for Beats, Misses Crushed (Bespoke)
In various reports for Bespoke subscribers over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been highlighting the extreme weakness that stocks reporting earnings have experienced this earnings season. Below is a chart showing the average one-day price change for stocks reporting earnings by quarter going back 15 years to 2001.
Companies
"The Money Has Vanished": Tesco Bank Halts Online Payments After Cash Taken Out Of 20,000 Accounts (Zero Hedge)
While we doubt this particular intrusion will be blamed on Russian hackers, thousands of British citizens were unable to access their money today when Tesco Bank, the lending arm of the U.K.’s biggest grocer, said it suspended online transactions after about 20,000 customers had money fraudulently taken from their accounts.
Alibaba's Singles' Day: What We Know About The World's Biggest Shopping Event (Forbes)
I am running up to Shenzhen this week to help out with Singles’ Day, which has become not just the largest e-commerce shopping day in China but the largest in the world. Alibaba launched this annual November 11 online sale in 2009 with just 27 participating merchants.
Boeing’s Retiring Boomers Underscore U.S. Manufacturing Plight (Bloomberg)
John Rothery said his goodbyes, handed in his badge and walked away from Boeing Co. He had worked on almost every commercial jet model over four decades, from a 707 bristling with military radar in the late 1970s to today’s sleek 787 Dreamliner.
WATCH: John Oliver exposes Herbalife, multilevel marketing schemes (Salon)
“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver on Sunday shined a spotlight on the predatory infrastructure of multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes like nutrition supplement company Herbalife.
Technology
Tesla is killing one of its biggest benefits for new customers (Business Insider)
Tesla's extensive Supercharger network is one of the great benefits of being a Tesla owner, but after January 2017 it will no longer be free for new customers.
Elon Musk Thinks Automation Will Lead to a Universal Basic Income (Fortune)
In addition to addressing issues at SpaceX, Elon Musk spent some time during a Friday CNBC interview addressing how automation will impact the job market. Musk’s Tesla Motors is leading the way to self-driving cars, while also pushing factories to new levels of automation. And he thinks that workers displaced by those and other forms of automation will need help permanently, and on a broad scale.
Banks Passed Up Uber Share Sale on Lack of Data (Bloomberg)
The potential fees and reputation boost that could come from working on Uber Technologies Inc.’s initial public offering are the stuff of bankers’ dreams.
Billion Dollar Contract Puts Arconic Sheet and Plate on Every Airbus Platform (Yahoo Finance)
Precision engineering and advanced manufacturing leader Arconic (ARNC) today announced a multi-year contract with Airbus valued at approximately $1 billion. The contract gives Arconic aluminum sheet and plate an unprecedented position on Airbus’ highest volume programs.
Apple is basically the only company making any money selling smartphones (Quartz)
Apple is still the king of profitability among smartphone makers. And it’s not even close.
Yes, the company experienced three straight quarters of declining iPhone sales before registering an uptick in its most recently completed quarter.
Chinese Billionaire Cuts Salary to 15 Cents Amid Cash Crunch (Bloomberg)
LeEco is the umbrella holding company for a sprawling family of businesses that includes sports media, automobiles, smartphones and TVs. The company known for its LeTV streaming service has aggressively pursued funding and placed bets on new ventures, from an electric car plant in Nevada to a $2 billion acquisition of California TV maker Vizio Inc.
Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing & Advertising, 2016 Adds Predictive B2B Marketing Analytics (Forbes)
Real-time marketing techniques, personalization, the use of contextual clues, and the rapid convergence of marketing technology (Martech) and advertising technology (Adtech) are four key forces driving the future of data-centric marketing.
Report Of Different Samsung Phone Model Exploding (Associated Press)
PARIS (AP) — A Samsung phone user in France says her Galaxy J5 smartphone caught fire and exploded on Sunday. The model is different from the Galaxy Note 7 that has been recalled worldwide.
Adobe is developing an audio app that literally lets you put words into someone's mouth (TechSpot)
Adobe at its recent MAX 2016 conference for creative professionals demonstrated an experimental technology that’s sure to stir up its fair share of controversy.
Toyota Sets Its Sights on Long-Range Electric Cars (Reuters)
Toyota Motor TM 1.74% is looking at mass-producing long-range electric vehicles (EVs) that would hit the market around 2020, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday, in what would be a dramatic reversal in strategy for the world’s top-selling automaker.
Google Search will show election results as they come in (Engadget)
The US election has been good business for Google, thanks in part to its localized ballot data and state voting guides. The search giant wrote that it will soon show election results directly in search after polls close, including "Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions."
Politics
Republicans react in fury to FBI director's decision to clear Hillary Clinton (The Telegraph)
Republicans in congress reacted with fury to the FBI director's announcement clearing Hillary Clinton of criminal wrongdoing two days before the election.
Barack Obama Skewers Donald Trump For Losing His Twitter Access (The Huffington Post)
President Barack Obama on Sunday mocked Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for having his Twitter access taken away by his campaign staff, who hope to minimize the real estate mogul’s frequent social media ramblings in the last days before the election.
Christie: George Washington Bridge Verdict Confirmed My Conclusions (The Wall Street Journal)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said a jury’s verdict confirmed his conclusion that three former allies, and nobody else on his staff, were responsible for lane closures at the George Washington Bridge.
Attempting To Woo Latino Voters, Marco Rubio Gets Booed At Orlando Festival (NPR)
It happened at Calle Orange, a street festival in downtown Orlando geared toward the city's large Puerto Rican community. The icy reception was an indication of the challenges that Rubio, a Republican of Cuban heritage, has faced in locking down support from Latinos in Florida as the state's Latino electorate has begun to shift to the left.
Pension Burdens Of 50 Largest Local Governments Hit 147% Of Revenue: Moody’s (Value Walk)
Pension burdens have outstripped outstanding debt at a majority of the 50 largest local governments, according to Moody’s Investors Service. What’s more, the liabilities, which aggregated $367 billion in fiscal 2015, is expected to rise 40% to $513 billion in fiscal 2017 because of a poor investment climate.
Sector Performance Between Comey Letters to Congress (Bespoke)
It was a hectic 10-days for the political and financial world, but what seemed like a major election curveball two Fridays ago on 10/28 straightened back out on Sunday when FBI director James Comey said that the FBI would not be changing its recommendation (originally issued in July) regarding Hillary Clinton. Perhaps the biggest winner of the whole drama was the news media, especially the New York Post.
Kellyanne Conway Explodes On Jake Tapper — Accuses CNN Of Saying race Is Over (Info Wars)
Host Jake Tapper first broached the subject of the Saturday Donald Trump rally, during which the Republican nominee was ushered off stage by his Secret Service detail.
The Trump campaign’s war on reality made me question what I saw (The Washington Post)
“I just want to make sure,” my editor asked me as he closed the door to his office. “He definitely grabbed her?”
Bill Clinton Evokes Past, but From the Periphery of His Wife’s Campaign (NY Times)
After obliging a request for a selfie from a woman in the lobby, Bill Clinton left his hotel here on Friday and rode to his rally, where he made the case that Hillary Clinton cared more about restoring jobs to forgotten workers than Donald J. Trump did.
Health and Biotech
Harvard scientists think they've pinpointed the physical source of consciousness (Science Alert)
Scientists have struggled for millennia to understand human consciousness – the awareness of one's existence. Despite advances in neuroscience, we still don't really know where it comes from, and how it arises.
Everyone wants a piece of the drug industry and it's one reason prices are rising so fast (Business Insider)
Don’t just blame drug companies for rising prescription prices. For all the outrage over Mylan increasing EpiPen prices by 500%, and insulin prices, which are up 300% over the past decade, drug prices are a lot more complicated than pointing the finger at a lone villain.
Life on the Home Planet
Dangerous smog has engulfed Delhi and pollution levels are now 90 times what's considered safe (AFP)
New Delhi (AFP) – Authorities in Delhi on Monday closed schools, halted construction work and shut down a major power plant after days of choking smog led to warnings of a health "emergency" in the world's most polluted capital.
Albert Camus on the Will to Live and the Most Important Question of Existence (Brain Pickings)
“If the universe is meaningless, so is the statement that it is so… The meaning and purpose of dancing is the dance,”Alan Watts wrote in his 1951 meditation on how we wrest meaning from reality. But if to dance or not to dance is the central question of existence, are both choices endowed with equal validity, dignity, and moral courage?
Westworld's Roman Arena And The History Of Elite Amusement Parks (Forbes)
The twists, turns and enigmas that permeate Westworld have made the HBO show a success, but the idea of an amusement park reserved for the super wealthy is nothing new. All we have to do is look to the Roman gladiatorial arena for traces of the very first Delos.
De Beers Tries to Counter a Growing Threat: Man-Made Diamonds (The Wall Street Journal)
MAIDENHEAD, ENGLAND—A small team of scientists working for De Beers is scrambling to stave off a looming threat that could tarnish the luster of natural-mined diamonds: high-quality man-made stones.
