Financial Markets and Economy
Oil Prices Capped by Doubts Over Production Cut (Reuters)
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday but gains were capped by investors' doubts that oil cartel OPEC would agree to a large enough production cut to significantly reduce the global surplus when it meets next week.
Bad Outcome at OPEC Meeting Could Derail Saudi Stock Rally (The Wall Street Journal)
A burst of bullishness in Saudi Arabian stocks is on a collision course with OPEC.
Business growth in euro zone rises to highest rate this year (Reuters)
Euro zone business activity expanded the most in nearly a year in November on strong manufacturing and buoyant services growth in Germany, stirring some optimism that economic momentum is picking up again.
Q&A With Jack Bogle: ‘We’re in the Middle of a Revolution’ (Bloomberg)
John “Jack” Bogle wrote his Princeton senior thesis in 1951, arguing that mutual funds “may make no claim to superiority over the market averages.” Sixty-five years later, the Vanguard founder is still being forced to defend his argument—perhaps now more than ever.
EU Commission proposes adopting global rules on bank capital, with tweaks (Reuters)
The European Commission proposed new rules for banks on Wednesday in line with capital requirements agreed by global regulators – but with some tweaks, in a sign of a growing fragmentation of international financial controls.
'Chapter 22' looms over some U.S. oil and gas bankruptcy survivors (Reuters)
At Global Geophysical Services LLC headquarters in a Houston suburb, a few employees are winding down what is left of an oil and gas industry data provider that only three years ago had a staff of more than 1,000 and offices around the world.
Dow breaks 19,000; Fed in focus; U.K. budget update (CNN Money)
The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 19,000 for the first time ever on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each hit new record highs.
Black Friday: Will It Signal a Resurgent American Economy? (Fortune)
Americans across the country are gearing up for what looks to be the most active holiday shopping season in years, and there’s reason to believe that this Black Friday could offer signs that consumers are ready to put the economy on its shoulders again.
Norway Oil Producers Deepen Record Spending Cuts Amid Rout (Bloomberg)
The companies expect to invest 147 billion kroner ($17.2 billion) next year, down 3.6 percent from a previous estimate, according to a quarterly survey published Wednesday by Statistics Norway. They previously reduced their forecast in August.
Heres Why Steel and Metals Stocks Were Red Hot Tuesday (Fool.com)
Metal mining companies and steel stocks surged Tuesday after analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs turned bullish on the sector. Leading the way wereU.S. Steel (NYSE: X), AK Steel (NYSE: AKS), Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), Teck Resources(NYSE: TCK), and Vale (NYSE: VALE).
Premarket: Investors play policy split between U.S. and Europe (Reuters)
Financial markets showed the diverging path of U.S. and euro zone monetary policy on Wednesday with Wall Street breaking new ground and the dollar perched near a 14-year high, as German bond yields plumbed new record lows.
Forget Deutsche Bank, These 2 American Banks Are Now "The Most Systemically Dangerous In The World" (Zero Hedge)
Back in the summer we wrote about an IMF report that flagged Deutsche Bank as the "most important net contributor to systemic risks" (see "'Deutsche Bank Poses The Greatest Risk To The Global Financial System': IMF").
Gold demand plummets as central banks, consumers hold off — WGC (Mining.com)
Global gold demand dropped by 10% to 992.8 tonnes in the third quarter of 2016 as central banks and jewellery buyers held off on purchases during the period data published Tuesday by the World Gold Council shows.
Companies
South Korean Officials Raid Samsung (Euro News)
The South Koran headquarters of Samsung Group have been raided by prosecuters along with the offices of country’s National Pension Service (NPS).
Why Microsoft Is Expected to Win EU Approval for LinkedIn Bid (Reuters)
Microsoft is set to gain EU approval for its $26 billion buy of professional social network LinkedIn with tweaks to concessions aimed at addressing competition concerns, three people close to the matter said on Wednesday.
Technology
Microsoft launches Office 365 in 10 new markets, bringing total to 150 (Venture Beat)
Microsoft today announced Office 365 is now available in 10 new countries: Bhutan, Cambodia, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Laos, Maldives, Martinique, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Vatican City. This brings the total for Office 365 to 150 markets, with support for 44 languages.
Google's Pixel phones get lift-to-wake and double-tap features (Engadget)
Google's well-reviewed Pixel and Pixel XL are the Android phones to have right now, but they're still missing some much-liked features from the Nexus 6P and 5X.
Artificial Spinal Cord Wirelessly Restores Walking in Paralyzed Monkeys (Singularity Hub)
Until a few years ago, reversing paralysis was the stuff of movie miracles.
Yet according to Dr. Andrew Jackson, a neuroscientist at Newcastle University in the UK, as early as the end of this decade, we may witness patients with spinal cord injuries regain control of their own two legs and walk again.
Forget Building Walls, Technology Is Tearing Them Down (Singularity Hub)
With all the talk of building walls, it seems to me that technology has actually been rapidly tearing down walls.
Besides your passport, what really defines your nationality these days?
UBER Expands Into Bangladesh, Adds 150 Million Potential Customers (Digital Trends)
Uber just took yet another step towards ubiquity. Earlier this week, the transportation titan announced its expansion into Bangladesh, adding to the ever-growing list of countries and cities in which Uber is available.
Security researchers can turn headphones into microphones (Tech Crunch)
Security researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have created a proof-of-concept exploit that lets them turn headphones into microphones to secretly record conversations.
Volkswagen exec admits company's diesels in US are dead (Roadshow)
Once upon a time, there was a magical German engine that could produce excellent fuel economy with legal levels of emissions. Then, the second part turned out to be a big fat lie. Now, Volkswagen's formerly lauded TDI diesel lineup will disappear from the US for good.
Microsoft brings Solitaire Collection to Android and iOS (Venture Beat)
Microsoft today announced that the Microsoft Solitaire Collection is now out for iOS and Android as a free app. Microsoft’s version of the single-player card game has become iconic, since it has long come built-in with the Windows operating system.
Politics
Trump denies any conflict of interest over business empire (BBC News)
Billionaire US President-elect Donald Trump has said he is not obliged to cut ties to his business empire when he takes office on 20 January.
Media Stars Agree to Off-the-Record Meeting With Trump, Break Agreement, Whine About Mistreatment (The Intercept)
A Glittering Array of media stars and network executives made pilgrimage on Monday to the 25th floor of Trump Tower to meet with the president-elect. They all agreed that the discussions would be “off the record”: meaning they would conceal from their viewers what they discussed.
Washington State Youth Sue Government Over Climate Change (Associated Press)
SEATTLE (AP) — Eight children asked a judge to find Washington in contempt for failing to adequately protect them and future generations from the harmful effects of climate change, part of a nationwide effort by young people to try to force action on global warming.
The swamp won’t be drained: Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick will almost certainly oppose campaign finance regulationOne of the most alarming aspects of the Roberts Court, at least when Justice Antonin Scalia was alive, was the way in which a 5-man conservative majority seemed ready, eager even, to dismantle decades of campaign finance law that restricted the amount of money that wealthy people and corporations could use to influence elections.
Exclusive Interview: How Jared Kushner Won Trump The White House (Forbes)
It’s been one week since Donald Trump pulled off the biggest upset in modern political history, and his headquarters at Trump Tower in New York City is a 58-story, onyx-glassed lightning rod. Barricades, TV trucks and protesters frame a fortified Fifth Avenue.
Experts call on Clinton to challenge election results over hacking fears (The Next Web)
While democrats are still reeling from the shocking outcome of the US presidential elections, some experts are questioning whether Trump actually won fair and square.
South Carolina governor and Trump critic Haley picked for U.N. job (Reuters)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who has little foreign policy experience and who sharply criticized him during his election campaign, for the high-profile post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
With The Election Of Donald Trump, The Two-State Solution Is At Stake (Newsweek)
Celebrating Trump’s election, the Israeli right-wing was single-minded. It was not worried about democratic values, nor was it concerned with pluralism or for the American Jewish community.
Clinton Now Leads Trump By More Than 2 Million Ballots In Popular Vote (The Huffington Post)
Hillary Clinton’s popular vote lead surpassed 2 million or about 1.5 percent of the overall vote on Wednesday morning, with 64,225,863 ballots now counted in her favor, compared to 62,210,612 for Trump, according to David Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
15 Trump Flip-Flops in 15 Days (Politico)
In May, Politico compiled the most comprehensive list ever of the then likely GOP presidential nominee’s history of self-contradictions, flip-flops and even flip-flop-flips.
Life on the Home Planet
Gravity may have chased light in the early universe (New Scientist)
It’s supposed to be the most fundamental constant in physics, but the speed of light may not always have been the same. This twist on a controversial idea could overturn our standard cosmological wisdom.
Astronomers have discovered one of the most massive objects in the universe (Science Alert)
Through the thick fog of our own galaxy, astronomers have spotted an ultimate prize: one of the largest-known structures in the Universe.
10 Books That Can Change Your Life in One Long Weekend (Quora, Buzz Affcart)
Life is more than about just making money. In fact, I have found a lot of rich people are still unhappy or unfulfilled. This book does a great job addressing other life concerns.
Scientists are trapping CO2 and turning it into stone (Science Alert)
Researchers have turned carbon dioxide (CO2) into solid rock by injecting volcanic basalt rock with pressurised liquid CO2, and letting natural chemical reactions trigger the transformation.
Killer bird flu has spread across Europe – are humans next? (New Scientist)
Bird flu is back, and it’s got nastier – for birds, at least. The H5N8 virus has spread into Europe and is killing wild birds as well as invading poultry farms – a major worry for farmers in the run-up to the festive season. So far the virus doesn’t seem to infect humans, but it is evolving.
