Financial Markets and Economy
Uncertainty Looms as Triple-Leveraged Oil Bets Go Dark (The Wall Street Journal)
Thursday is the final day of ordinary trading for a pair of popular exchange-traded products that deliver turbo-charged returns on the price of crude oil.
China warns WTO members not to use non-market economy clause after December 11 (Reuters)
China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday it would take "necessary measures" if World Trade Organization members continue to use a non-market economy clause in its to WTO deal to assess dumping duties against it after Dec. 11.
Deutsche Bank's 'smoking gun' evidence to expand U.S. silver rigging case (Reuters)
Lawyers for investors accusing several major banks of conspiring to rig silver prices are seeking to add five new defendants to the case, based what they call "smoking gun" evidence they obtained from Deutsche Bank AG following a settlement.
Oil, Gas Exploration Spend to Fall to 12-Year Low as Prices Bite (Bloomberg)
Global spending on oil and natural gas exploration is set to fall next year to the lowest level in 12 years as the industry cuts costs and shuns more expensive areas such as the Arctic, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
Beyond Calm Chinese GDP Numbers, Volatility Runs Deep: BofAML (Bloomberg)
Beneath the stability of China's infamously suspect gross domestic product figures lies a volatility that betrays policy-induced changes, according to economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Draghi Braces for More Upheaval as Europe Heads to Election Year (Bloomberg)
If you thought this year has already exceeded the limit for political upheavals, Mario Draghi is warning there may not be much respite in 2017.
Canada Wonders, if U.S. Balks, Is Carbon Pricing Still the Answer? (NY Times)
OTTAWA — When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets on Friday with the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories to work out a national carbon pricing plan, Donald J. Trump will also be in the room, in a manner of speaking.
The Stock Market 'Trump Bump' May Have Hit a Turning Point (Fortune)
On Thursday, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which uses options-trading patterns to calculate how volatile investors expect the market will be, rose for the second day in a row, as much as 9%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 continued its post-election rally but rose only modestly, closing up 4.84 points, or 0.22%.
Casino Tycoon Adelson Loses $3.3 Billion as Stock Slides: Chart (Bloomberg)
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s fortune fell $3.3 billion Thursday after the South China Morning Post reported China will lower one bank’s ATM withdrawal limits by 50 percent in Macau, the world’s largest gambling market.
The Cure for Costly Housing Is More Costly Housing (Bloomberg)
I was talking to a friend the other day, a San Francisco anti-eviction activist, and said that allowing more housing construction in the city would be a great way to lower rents. She looked at me in horror, blinked and asked “Market rate?” I nodded. She was speechless.
Clean Energy ‘Moving Forward’ Despite Trump’s E.P.A. Pick, Experts Say (NY Times)
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice of a fossil-fuel advocate and climate-change denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency comes at a moment when the American energy market has already shifted away from the most polluting fossil fuels, driven more by investors and economics than by federal regulations.
U.S. Gas May Rally Further as Arctic Air to Wipe Out Supply Glut (Bloomberg)
U.S. natural gas bulls see futures that rallied to a two-year high climbing even further as an arctic blast helps wipe out a supply surplus that emerged in late 2014.
The 10 most important things in the world right now (Business Insider Australia)
Hello! Here's what you need to know on Friday.
1. The Brexit legal case in the UK Supreme Court has come to an end. After four days of vigorous legal debate, Gina Miller and the claimants who brought the case against Theresa May's government will have the ruling in early January.
The Chinese government has started clamping down on the amount of money its people can take out of the country to curb capital flight, and that's going to hit the world's gambling Mecca, Macau, pretty hard.
What Happened to the Financial Blockchain Revolution (Bloomberg)
Once upon a time, there was a lot of optimism that the blockchain — the technology underlying Bitcoin — would help the finance industry deal with a big headache: post-trade processing, the often long and arduous task of making sure money and securities change hands and everybody knows who owes what to whom.
Did Trade with China Make U.S. Manufacturing Less Innovative? (Harvard Business Review)
In early 2016 economists David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson published an influential paper that highlighted some of the costs of global trade.
If you’re trying to make more money, studying the rich is a great place to start.
Some wealthy people were born into money, while others worked their way to the top. However they got there, many have figured out how to stay rich.
Offshore Yuan Shows Depreciation Stress as Fed Rate Hike Looms (Bloomberg)
The offshore yuan outpaced declines in the Shanghai rate this week, adding to signs of renewed stress on the Chinese currency as investors brace for higher borrowing costs in the U.S.
These dolls are spying on your kids, consumer groups say (CNN News)
A group of consumer watchdogs say that a pair of items made by Genesis Toys records conversations, and the watchdogs alleges that they upload the recordings to Nuance Communications, a voice technology company that has military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies as clients.
After Trump Meeting, SoftBank Billionaire Masayoshi Son Gains $2 Billion, Becomes Japan's Richest (Forbes)
SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son became $2 billion richer this week after his technology giant's stock popped 6.1% upon news that SoftBank would invest $50 billion in America's technology sector. He's now worth $19.7 billion, making him Japan's richest person.
OPEC’s Historic Deal Won’t Be Enough to Drain Oil Stockpiles (Bloomberg)
OPEC is likely to bring the oil market into balance by the middle of next year, but its production cut looks set to fall short of its stated goal of draining the stockpiles that are depressing prices.
Twelve ‘grey swans’ to watch for in 2017? (COG News)
A ‘black swan’ event is supposedly a major event that occurs that was not considered possible or predictable.
For 2017, the Japanese financial holding company Normura came up with a list of ‘grey swan’ events. Essentially meaning that they are possibly predictable.
Is the bond market embarking on a 1946-like 35-year cycle of rising rates? (Market Watch)
Interest rates follow very long-term cycles. This chart highlights a 35-year (1946-1981) bond market, but unlike our most recent-35 year (1981-2016) bond market, it was in a rising rate environment.
Chinese Consumer Inflation Heats Up (The Wall Street Journal)
BEIJING—China’s consumer inflation picked up for a third-straight month in November, while industrial inflation came in much stronger than expected. Beijing will need to watch price levels closely to contain asset bubbles.
From your pocket to the CEO's: How the stock option loophole works (iPolitics)
It is a favourite of bank presidents and other wealthy CEOs. Under current tax laws, they can be paid in stock options and later cash them in, drawing millions in income. But, unlike a regular salary, the first 50 per cent of stock option income is tax free. What’s not for these guys to love?
Should You Invest In Graphene Stocks? (Fool.com)
The good news: There are a small handful of companies exploring graphene technologies today, and some of them are publicly traded such that you can invest in them.
Why Biotech is Getting Killed…And Why It WIll Bounce Back (Barron's)
RBC’s Michael Yee and team explain why biotech stocks have been getting killed (Hint: It’s not just Donald Trump)…and why they should bounce back.
Shiller Warns: Stocks Are Partying Like Its 1929! (Zero Hedge)
I hate to rain on this parade. But the latest lurch upwards in stock prices has just taken market valuations up into the skybox levels, according to the market timing measure with the longest pedigree on Wall Street. It’s just gone from flashing amber to flashing red – meaning, if it’s right, that there is now a significant and rising risk of a crash, and a bigger risk of simply very poor returns.
Economists See Impeachment as Way Forward for South Korea (Bloomberg)
Parliament’s overwhelming vote on Friday to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye lifts some of the political uncertainty clouding the nation’s economic outlook, likely preventing the crisis from worsening in the near term.
You Take the Risk, Billionaires Collect the Profits (Daily Reckoning)
The real estate “steal of the century” is moving into its final, most rapacious and decadent phase. Team Trump wants to hand over $5 trillion in assets to billionaires — assets for which you, dear taxpayer, are shouldering the risk.
New Home Sales Data Says This Is The Beginning of The End (The Wall Street Examiner)
Yesterday I reported that the sky may not be falling for new home sales yet, but that the dawn of destruction should show up in the November data. I mentioned that there’s a treasure trove of additional data in the Commerce Department’s New Home Sales release that paints a very grim picture.
Companies
Wells Fargo Wants a Quiet End to Its Scandal, Risking More Noise (Bloomberg)
Wells Fargo & Co.’s attempt to force aggrieved customers into closed-door arbitration over its fake-accounts scandal is drawing a legislative backlash in its home state of California and risks subjecting the bank to another round as a public punching bag.
Starbucks's $10 Cup of Coffee Is Priced Just Right (Bloomberg)
Critics have derided Starbucks Corp.'s push into higher-end coffee bars, which the chain discussed in detail on Thursday, at an all-day confab with Wall Street investors and analysts.
Technology
Microsoft Confirms Massive Windows 7, Windows 8 Upgrade Changes (Forbes)
For Windows 7 and Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 users life has been getting worse as Microsoft MSFT -0.60% gradually morphed them ever more into Windows 10. Forced updates may be over, but commercially they have since been killed off and there’s added telemetry tracking.
Is Apple Now The Wearables Leader? (Bill Maurer, Seeking Alpha)
There have been various opinions regarding the success of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch since the product was first unveiled in 2015. While the company does not release sales figures for the device, it probably has delivered at least a few billion in revenues in its history.
Samsung may disable Galaxy Note 7 units in the US by preventing them from charging (Android And Me)
The US may soon join Australia, Canada, and New Zealand on the list of countries where Samsung has disabled the Galaxy Note 7.
Cellphones have lifted hundreds of thousands of Kenyans out of poverty (Vox)
In Kenya, a so-called “mobile money” system allows those without access to conventional bank accounts to deposit, withdraw, and transfer cash using nothing more than a text message.
The Russian App That Has Destroyed Privacy Forever (Bloomberg)
It’s the sort of thing you see in a Jason Bourne movie. A security camera watching over a crowded space snaps a picture of someone. A few seconds later, a supercomputer churns through a database and returns the person’s identity. The CIA knows all.
Faraday Future just teased images of the electric car it plans to reveal in January (Business Insider)
Startup Faraday Future is generating hype for its January electric car debut despite reports of setbacks within the company.
Politics
South Korea Parliament Votes to Impeach President Park Geun-hye (NY Times)
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s Parliament voted on Friday to impeach President Park Geun-hye, an aloof conservative who took a hard line against North Korea and rose to power with strong support from those who revered her father, the military dictator Park Chung-hee.
Obamacare repeal could be biggest 2017 tax cut for wealthy (Politico)
Rescinding the Affordable Care Act means not only taking away health coverage from some 20 million Americans. It also means scrapping two big tax increases Democrats imposed on the wealthy to help pay for it all.
Secretary of state candidate Dana Rohrabacher thinks Russia’s human rights violations are “baloney” (Salon)
A Republican congressman from California who Breitbart claims is on the shortlist for secretary of state just displayed a trait that might very well endear him to President-elect Donald Trump — that is, obsequiously sucking up to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump’s labor secretary pick Andy Puzder, who makes 300 times his employees, opposes minimum wage hikeThe CEO of the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., Puzder is a staunch opponent of a federal minimum wage increase — views he expressed in a March Business Insider interview about automated restaurants.
‘Old Friends’ Aside, China Says Trump Must Toe Line on Taiwan (Bloomberg)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will face “serious” consequences should he attempt to revise U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a state newspaper China Daily said.
The problem with Congress' $1.1 trillion stopgap spending bill (The Fiscal Times)
Congressional Republican leaders have agreed to beef up spending for military readiness and anti-terrorist efforts around the globe in the coming months as part of another stop-gap spending bill being rushed through Congress to avoid a government shutdown on Friday when the current temporary budget authority is set to expire.
Donald Trump’s pick for FDA chief wants drugmakers to sell first, then test later (Salon)
It appears that President-elect Donald Trump is thinking of appointing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) head who doesn’t much believe in the purpose of that agency.
Donald Trump attacks Carrier union leader, blames employees for being laid off (Salon)
President-elect Donald Trump wasn’t happy with Chuck Jones, the president of United Steelworkers 1999 who said Trump “lied his ass off” about the numbers saved in the Carrier deal. And so, he took to Twitter.
Italy on the Brink (Project Syndicate)
LONDON – Political instability in Italy is nothing new. But Italian voters’ rejection of constitutional reforms in a referendum has not only led Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to resign; it has dealt another blow to a crisis-ridden European Union.
Michael Moore predicts Electoral College will deny Donald Trump: “He’s not president of the United States yet”Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who accurately predicted that Donald Trump would end up winning the general election, has made yet another bold prediction — on Wednesday on Seth Meyers’ “Late Night.”
Why Trump’s Focus on Labor-Participation Drop Is a Losing Battle (Bloomberg)
On the day the U.S. government reported that unemployment dropped to a nine-year low, Donald Trump’s team turned the spotlight on a depressed participation rate to highlight weakness that the president-elect’s policies can turn around.
Irexit: Ireland May Have to Consider Leaving the EU (Financial Sense)
Since the Brexit vote this summer most national and international media outlets were focused on the American presidential election. However, one story that got lost in the Trump firestorm was the fact that it increasing looks like the Irish government will have to seriously contemplate leaving the EU should the terms of the British Brexit “divorce” be hard rather than soft.
Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump’s pre-inauguration actions (Holy Kaw)
He’s not even president yet, but Donald Trump is already hogging the political news on light night TV. Here’s Seth Meyers looking at some of his recent gaffs.
Trump Fakes A Deal (The Daily Show)
Donald Trump negotiates a deal with the company Carrier to save U.S. jobs, but Trevor explains why the agreement isn't as savvy as the president-elect is framing it to be.
Health and Biotech
A Simple Way to Measure Health Care Outcomes (Harvard Business Review)
Despite the current uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health care leaders must not let debates over access detract from what needs to happen regardless of the legislation’s fate: Their organizations must improve the value of care they deliver.
Life on the Home Planet
Forget Kobe Beef: These Are the Cult Steaks Everybody Wants Right Now (Bloomberg)
Once upon a time, it was enough to impress people with your fancy steaks just by saying "Kobe" and "Wagyu." No longer.
NASA just unveiled its new climate mission — but Trump could put it at risk (The Christian Science Monitor)
On Tuesday, the space agency announced its first new earth science mission since the 2016 election: the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory, or GeoCARB.
U.S. life expectancy declines for the first time since 1993 (The Washington Post)
For the first time in more than two decades, life expectancy for Americans declined last year — a troubling development linked to a panoply of worsening health problems in the United States.
