Financial Markets and Economy
Oil Trades Near $48 as OPEC Negotiates Cut With Iran, Russia (Bloomberg)
Oil traded near $48 a barrel as OPEC negotiators worked to convince Iran and non-member Russia to cut output after Iraq’s prime minister signaled his country will curtail production.
Dollar’s 3-Week Rally Versus Yen Is the Biggest Since ’95 (Bloomberg)
The dollar is set to cap its biggest three-week gain versus the yen since 1995 as traders view a U.S. interest-rate increase next month as a certainty.
The Bank of Japan Can't Keep Stores From Cutting Prices (Bloomberg)
While Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s vow to overshoot the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target caused a stir among monetary policy watchers in September, it’s yet to have an impact among retailers.
Mexico inflation rises further above target after Trump win (Reuters)
Mexico's annual inflation rate quickened in early November to its highest in more than a year and a half, moving further past the central bank's target and supporting bets that policymakers could raise interest rates again after a deep slump in the peso.
Dollar Extends Weekly Surge as Fed Outlook Weighs on Bonds, Gold (Bloomberg)
The prospect of a higher interest-rate environment in the U.S. continues to course through markets, sending the dollar toward its steepest three-week climb against the yen since 1995. Treasuries and gold fell.
Japan’s CPI Falls Again, Extending Longest Streak Since 2011 (Bloomberg)
Japan’s consumer prices fell for an eighth straight month — the longest streak of declines since 2009-2011, underlining how distant the nation is from achieving its 2 percent inflation target.
A Proud Stock Exchange Fights for Life in Shadow of Tokyo Giant (Bloomberg)
Its stately but run-down entrance is a reminder of a prosperous bygone era, when the bourse on Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu was home to a bustling trading floor. Now, the traders are long gone, and the two old wooden doors open to face a large black monitor flashing stock prices into the silence.
Relentless Dollar Surge Continues: Asian Currencies Plunge To 7 Year Lows, Hitting Emerging Markets (Zero Hedge)
While most global equity markets were subdued due to the US Thaksgiving holiday, the FX world was very busy overnight, marked by the relentless dollar surge on expectations of a rate hike not only in December but further in 2017, sending Asian currencies to the weakest level in 7 years: the Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index reached 103.32, the lowest level since March 2009.
"A Million Dollars Ain't Worth What It Used To Be…" (Zero Hedge)
Being a millionaire is overrated, according to Visual Capitalist's Jeff Desjardins. The term itself has quite a few connotations, including many that have been ingrained in us since we were children.
China's Economy Looks Like It's Remaining Stable (Bloomberg)
China’s economy remains steady this month even amid efforts to cool property markets, according to some of the earliest private economic indicators.
Perils of Climate Change Could Swamp Coastal Real Estate (NY Times)
Real estate agents looking to sell coastal properties usually focus on one thing: how close the home is to the water’s edge. But buyers are increasingly asking instead how far back it is from the waterline. How many feet above sea level? Is it fortified against storm surges? Does it have emergency power and sump pumps?
ECB Warns There Is "Significant Risk Of Abrupt Market Reversal" (Zero Hedge)
One week after the BIS issued an unexpectedly stern, if completely ignored warning, that the surge in the USD is leading to an abrupt tightening in financial conditions around the globe, making the repayment of trillions in USD-denominated cross-border debt increasingly more difficult and suggesting that the Dollar index itself is the new "fear indicator," overnight another central bank, the European Central Bank warned that the risk of "abrupt" global asset market corrections "have intensified" on the back of rising political uncertainty, posing a threat to banks, stability and economic growth.
Japan consumer prices remain in decline (The Wall Street Journal)
Japanese consumer prices fell again in October, but deflationary pressure showed some signs of softening—a positive development for beleaguered central bankers.
Companies
J&J Said to Make Takeover Approach for Drugmaker Actelion (Bloomberg)
Johnson & Johnson has approached Actelion Ltd. about a potential takeover of the $17 billion Swiss drugmaker as the U.S. health-care giant works to expand its pharmaceutical lineup, people familiar with the matter said.
Wells Fargo Asks Court to Dismiss Account Scandal Lawsuit (Reuters)
Wells Fargo has asked a U.S. court to order dozens of customers who are suing the bank over the opening of unauthorized accounts to resolve their disputes in private arbitrations instead of court, according to legal documents.
Here's How IBM Crashed Australia's First Online Census (Reuters)
International Business Machines IBM -0.42% failed in its handling of the A$10 million ($7.4 million) IT contract for Australia’s first predominantly online census, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday.
Trump offers Tim Cook 'incentives' to make iPhone in US (CNet)
During his highly informative meeting with The New York Times on Tuesday — happily live-tweeted by Times journalists — Trump touched on the phone calls he'd had with two prominent tech figures, Tim Cook and Bill Gates.
Technology
Toyota Makes Breakthrough Battery Discovery, Hopes To Increase EV Range By 15% (Forbes)
Yes, you have read right. Toyota has developed what it says is “the world’s first method for observing the behavior of lithium ions in an electrolyte when a battery charges and discharges.”
5 ways to make your online activity more secure (Business Insider)
Your activity online and on your phone may be accessible to more eyeballs than you think. Free Code Camp founder Quincy Larson recently shared some of the best ways to secure your digital life.
Quantum Computers Could Crush Today’s Top Encryption in 15 Years (Singularity Hub)
Quantum computers could bring about a quantum leap in processing power, with countless benefits for fields like data science and AI. But there’s also a dark side: this extra power will make it simple to crack the encryption keeping everything from our emails to our online banking secure.
Delete yourself from the internet by pressing this button (The Next Web)
The internet can be a beautiful and horrible place at the same time, and it isn’t weird to sometimes feel like you want to leave — there’s wasn’t an easy way out, until now.
Tesla’s Autopilot and the double standard for automotive safety systems (Tech Crunch)
This summer saw the inevitable controversy arise when a Tesla automobile was involved in a fatal traffic accident while operating in its headline-grabbing Autopilot mode.
Amazon Just Kicked Off the Best Fire TV and Fire TV Stick Deals of the Year (Kinja Deals)
Amazon’s Fire TV is one of the only streaming boxes that can push out 4K content, and you can save $15 on yours today.
Pixel-rich VR display eliminates the 'screen door' effect (Engadget)
The problem with using smartphones to power VR headsets is simply that their screens weren't made for displaying virtual reality. Smartphone displays, although often high-resolution, just don't have the refresh rate that VR demands, leading to "screen-door effect," where you can make out the lines between pixels.
These $89 Airpods Competitors Are A Bet On The Power Of Branding (Digital Trends)
There has been plenty of jeering aimed at Apple’s as-yet unreleased AirPods — the fully wireless Bluetooth earphones announced at the iPhone 7 event — but you can bet plenty of iPhone owners will be eager to get their hands on them, whether their iPhone has a headphone jack or not.
Politics
Donald Trump Transition Team Aims to Raise Millions for Inauguration (TIME)
The scramble to shape his administration underway, President-elect Donald Trump’s team has simultaneously begun turning its attention to raising tens of millions of dollars for festivities related to his Washington inauguration.
Jill Stein raises over $4m to request US election recounts in battleground states (The Guardian)
Jill Stein, the Green party’s presidential candidate, is prepared to request recounts of the election result in several key battleground states, her campaign said on Wednesday.
The Stunning Effect Social Security Has Had on U.S. Elderly Poverty Rates in 1 Chart (Fool.com)
Social Security is arguably the most important program in place for our nation's retired workers. According to the Social Security Administration, more than 60% of retired workers count on their Social Security benefits to comprise at least half of their monthly income during their golden years.
Donald Trump’s Cabinet Is On Track To Be The Least Experienced In Modern History (The Huffington Post)
DeVos quickly accepted the nomination, which continues a trend that officials involved in previous transition teams say is concerning because, like many of Trump’s other early picks, she has no previous experience in government.
Health and Biotech
For the first time, living cells have formed carbon-silicon bonds (Science Alert)
Scientists have managed to coax living cells into making carbon-silicon bonds, demonstrating for the first time that nature can incorporate silicon – one of the most abundant elements on Earth – into the building blocks of life.
This is how teenage depression and anxiety could affect your body (Science Alert)
Research over the past decade has definitively shown that mental disorders such as depression aren't just in our heads – they affect our entire bodies.
Life on the Home Planet
Seven Wellington Buildings Face Demolition After Earthquakes (Bloomberg)
Seven Wellington buildings face demolition in the aftermath of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and several strong aftershocks that have rocked New Zealand’s capital city over the past 11 days.
Magnitude 7.0 Offshore Quake Rattles El Salvador (Associated Press)
San Salvador, El Salvador (AP) — A magnitude 7.0 earthquake rattled El Salvador's Pacific coast Thursday, but the country's civil defense agency said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.
American Is Killed in First Casualty for U.S. Forces in Syria Combat (NY Times)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States military suffered its first combat death in Syria on Thursday when a service member was killed in the northern part of the country, an area where the Americans are helping to organize an offensive against the Islamic State.
Power Imbalance at the Pipeline Protest (NY Times)
When injustice aligns with cruelty, and heavy weaponry is involved, the results can be shameful and bloody. Witness what happened on Sunday in North Dakota, when law enforcement officers escalated their tactics against unarmed American Indians and allies who have waged months of protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
Why Some People Get Burned Out and Others Don’t (Harvard Business Review)
Stress and burnout are not the same thing. And while we know that stress often leads to burnout, it’s possible to handle the onslaught of long hours, high pressure, and work crises in a way that safeguards you from the emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lack of confidence in one’s abilities that characterizes burnout.
Why J.K. Rowling May Be a Billionaire (Fortune)
J.K. Rowling is no doubt one of the publishing world’s most consistent money makers—if not its best ever—and she is notoriously private, especially when it comes to her vast fortune. That means her net worth is a close-kept secret and the subject of rampant speculation.
Parents urged to stop pretending Father Christmas is real (The Telegraph)
Parents have been urged to stop pretending Father Christmas is real in case the "lie" damages relations with their children.
