Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Indexes Rise to Records as Bond Rout Eases Ahead of the ECB (Bloomberg)
U.S. stock benchmarks jumped the most in a month, powering to fresh records as the bond selloff eased, fueling demand for dividend-yielding equities amid mounting speculation the European Central Bank will extend its asset-buying program.
Goldman Tells Stock Pickers to Rejoice as Correlations Decline (Bloomberg)
America’s bull market in equities has been tough on active managers who have mostly failed to beat the performance of ETFs and mutual funds that track indexes.
The ‘Weird’ Commodity Hurting the Bears as Prices Double (Bloomberg)
Iron ore’s probably heading for a retreat in 2017 as new mine supply comes online and a surplus builds, according to UBS Group AG, which acknowledged that the commodity’s recent surge was unexpected and had torpedoed an earlier forecast for a slump this quarter.
In mammoth task, BP sends almost three million barrels of U.S. oil to Asia (Reuters)
Oil major BP (BP.L) is shipping almost three million barrels of U.S. crude to customers across Asia, pioneering a lengthy and complex operation likely to become more popular after OPEC last week announced deep production cuts.
Fed May Struggle to Signal What Comes After December (The Wall Street Journal)
When Federal Reserve officials meet next week, agreeing to raise short-term interest rates will be the easy part. The trickier task could be debating the likely path of interest rates in the months and years ahead.
Airline Profits Set to Slide Back From Record as Oil Price Rises (Bloomberg)
Global airline earnings are set to decline next year after reaching a record in 2016 as higher oil prices clip margins, according to the industry’s main trade group.
China premier says steady growth this year to lay good foundation for 2017 (Reuters)
China will reach its key economic targets this year, which will lay a good foundation for 2017, state television quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying on Wednesday.
Li said China's economy maintained steady growth this year, amid structural transformation and upgrading.
Pound Surges Ahead of Analyst Forecasts That Predict 2017 Slide (Bloomberg)
That’s according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey, who see sterling dropping about 4 percent to $1.21 by the second quarter of 2017. The pound, which has been buffeted by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, is currently exceeding forecasters’ estimates for that period by close to the most in three months.
China Car Sales Rise 20% as Buyers Rush to Beat Expiring Tax Cut (Bloomberg)
China’s passenger-vehicle sales rose for a ninth consecutive month as consumers rushed to buy small-engine autos before a tax cut is due to expire at the end of the year, boosting deliveries at local carmakers including Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
Deutsche Bank Records Said to Show Silver Rigging at Other Banks (Bloomberg)
Eight months after Deutsche Bank AG settled a lawsuit claiming it manipulated gold and silver prices, documents it disclosed as part of the accord provide “smoking gun” proof that UBS Group AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Bank of Nova Scotia and other firms rigged the silver market, plaintiffs claim.
The euro is slipping after the ECB extended its QE programme (Business Insider)
The euro is sliding on Thursday, after the European Central Bank announced a six-month extension to its quantitative easing programme.
10 things you need to know in markets today (Business Insider)
A Deutsche Bank rates trader has been suspended after asking a trading counterparty to join a WhatsApp group, according to a source familiar with the matter. The incident happened two weeks ago, and the bank's internal investigation is yet to close, the source told Business Insider.
Wall Street, bond prices jump as markets await ECB meeting (Reuters)
U.S. stocks jumped to record levels and bond prices climbed on Wednesday as investors prepared for the European Central Bank to signal an extension of its bond-buying at its Thursday meeting.
Forget Robots—People Skills Are the Future of American Jobs (Bloomberg)
Automation may be gutting American manufacturing jobs, but there's one thing the robots still can't beat us at: people skills.
It just so happens that the future of American labor will require a lot of them.
Entrepreneur Raising Money? Avoid This Sleazy Investor's Trap (Forbes)
As a parent, I try to teach my kids that “a deal is a deal”. If my son trades his José Bautista baseball card to his big brother in return for a mint condition Russell Martin, there is no going back on that exchange.
Wall Street surges to new highs; transports set record (Reuters)
Wall Street surged on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials and S&P 500 hitting fresh records, as equities continued their march upward after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, and a new high for transportation stocks added to the bullish tone.
Companies
Americans Are Paying Apple Millions to Shelter Overseas Profits (Bloomberg)
Over the years, Apple Inc. has become the poster child for U.S. multinationals accused of sheltering overseas profits to avoid the IRS. What’s gone largely unnoticed is that it’s been paid more than half a billion dollars by the U.S. government to do just that.
Starbucks Plan to Win Lunch Crowd Creates Tough Task for New CEO (Bloomberg)
Starbucks Corp. wants to persuade its coffee-loving customers to come back for lunch, after stumbling several times in previous attempts to expand its food offerings.
Technology
Samsung's Galaxy S8 might have a true edge-to-edge display (Engadget)
With the Galaxy Note 7 debacle weighing heavy on its balance sheet, Samsung needs the Galaxy S8 to be a massive success. It isn't expected to be unveiled for another few months, but already details are starting to emerge about what the flagship Android smartphone will offer.
Google is searching for hardware love (CNet)
That seemingly infinite breadth of knowledge made Google one of the most powerful companies on the planet. Now, the internet giant is hoping that search prowess is potent enough to carry it through a new mission on less-worn territory for the 18-year old company: Building gadgets — and getting you to buy them.
AT&T CEO: Time Warner Deal Would ‘Disrupt’ Cable TV Model (The Wall Street Journal)
AT&T Inc. Chairman Randall Stephenson plans to tell senators Wednesday his company’s deal with Time Warner Inc. will “disrupt” the long-established cable TV model in ways that will benefit consumers, according to his prepared testimony.
Quantum computers ditch all the lasers for easier engineering (New Scientist)
They will be the ultimate multitaskers – but quantum computers might take a bit of juggling to operate. Now, a team has simplified their inner workings.
This Ultra-Precise Drawing Robot Is The Most Mesmerizing Thing You'll See Today (Digital Trends)
Ever wanted a robot that can draw pictures, forge signatures, and take care of all those handwritten wedding invitations you’ve been meaning to finish? Probably not — but even though you never asked for it, Evil Mad Scientist Labs went ahead and built a robot that can do all that stuff for you anyway.
Apple's guiding voice(over) helps the blind create software (CNet)
When Dean Hudson was 12 years old, he'd bribe his brothers and sisters to read computer manuals to him.
Hudson's vision was muddled by glaucoma, and he wanted to learn how to code on the computer his dad brought home.
Windows 10 preview lets Cortana play music, turn off your PC (Engadget)
Cortana is the star of a big new Windows 10 Insider Preview build. Microsoft says that voice control of your PC was one its "top requests," so the latest update now lets you shutdown, restart, lock or sleep your system using the voice assistant.
Politics
Finding Risk in All the Wrong Places as Trump Era Begins (Bloomberg)
The tables have turned.
The U.S. and Europe, for decades bastions of political stability, are now exporting political risk to the rest of the world.
Trump picks longtime friend of Beijing as U.S. ambassador to China (Reuters)
President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the next U.S. ambassador to China, choosing a longstanding friend of Beijing after rattling the world's second largest economy with tough talk on trade and a telephone call with the leader of Taiwan.
Trump’s Mexico Border ‘Wall’ Vanishing as GOP Lawmakers Bolt (Bloomberg)
The Mexican border wall that Donald Trump promised in the campaign doesn’t really have to be a wall, says Representative Dennis Ross, a member of the president-elect’s transition team.
Thursday’s Morning Email: Meet Trump’s Picks To Lead The DHS AND EPA (The Huffington Post)
TRUMP’S PICKS FOR DHS, AMBASSADOR TO CHINA, EPA The president-elect has chosen retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as Department of Homeland Security secretary, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China and Scott Pruitt, who is currently suing the Environmental Protection Agency over climate change, to lead the EPA.
Brazil top court rules Senate head can stay, defuses crisis (Reuters)
Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned an injunction that ordered the indicted head of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, to step down, voting to allow him to continue in the post but not in the presidential line of succession.
Barack Obama Says He ‘Absolutely’ Faced Racism In Office (The Huffington Post)
President Barack Obama opened up about racism he faced throughout his presidency in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday.
The many contradictions of Trump's secretary of state candidates (Politico)
At first blush, they seem remarkably alike: 10 older white men, all successful in their chosen fields, and all willing to serve the country if called upon by the incoming president, Donald Trump.
Health and Biotech
Light therapy could break down Alzheimer’s brain deposits (New Scientist)
An hour a day of light therapy has been found to break down Alzheimer’s-like brain deposits in mice. That’s a long way from it working in people, but because it seems a safe therapy, it could move quickly into human trials.
Fat Fuels Cancer's Spread in Mice (Scientific American)
The cells responsible for cancer’s spread — and for most deaths from cancer — may have a fatal weakness according to studies in mice: a reliance on certain fats to fuel their invasion.
‘I feel young again’: Why a woman injects her ovaries with blood (New Scientist)
The use of fertility treatments – many of which are experimental, and have not been through clinical trials – is on the rise. To find out why people are opting for them, we spoke to a woman who hopes one could help her conceive.
Life on the Home Planet
Aleppo rebels call for five-day ceasefire (Reuters)
Syrian rebels in besieged eastern Aleppo called for an immediate five-day ceasefire, negotiations about the future of the city and for medical and civilian evacuations, in a humanitarian plan published on Wednesday.
Pakistan mourns 47 killed in air crash, as investigators seek answers (Reuters)
Pakistan on Thursday mourned the 47 victims of its deadliest plane crash in four years, among them a famed rockstar-turned-Muslim evangelist, two infants and three foreigners, as officials sought to pinpoint the cause of the disaster.
Pearl Harbor Survivors Gather for 75th Anniversary Reunion (The Wall Street Journal)
HONOLULU—Gray-haired veterans in flowered shirts, military commanders and enlisted men and women began gathering before sunrise around a pier overlooking the site of the USS Arizona, sunk by Japanese bombers 75 years ago Wednesday.
Nearly 100 killed, hundreds hurt as quake strikes Indonesia's Aceh (Reuters)
Nearly 100 people were killed and hundreds injured in Indonesia on Wednesday when a strong earthquake hit its Aceh province and rescuers used earth movers and bare hands to search for survivors in scores of toppled buildings.
How Iran closed the Mosul 'horseshoe' and changed Iraq war (Reuters)
In the early days of the assault on Islamic State in Mosul, Iran successfully pressed Iraq to change its battle plan and seal off the city, an intervention which has since shaped the tortuous course of the conflict, sources briefed on the plan say.
