Financial Markets and Economy
Euro Climbs Along With Oil as Japan Stocks Decline: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)
The euro spiked higher as the dollar weakened for a second day and oil rebounded in thin end-of-year trading. Asian stocks fell, with Japan heading toward its first annual loss since 2011.
Japan Wants Its Overworked Citizens to Start Weekends Early (Bloomberg)
The country that coined the word "karoshi," or death by overwork, wants companies to let workers finish early on the last Friday of every month, go out and have fun.
U.S. Steel to Restart Idled Plant, Call Back 202 Employees (Bloomberg)
U.S. Steel Corp. said it will restart production at an idled plant and call back employees following an agreement to supply iron-ore pellets to third-party customers.
U.S. Stocks Little Changed After Jobs Data; Utility Shares Gain (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks ended the session little changed as filings for U.S. unemployment benefits fell for a third week in the last four and a rally in utility shares offset losses in financial companies.
Modi Set to Face Fallout From His 50-Day Cash Promise to India (Bloomberg)
Short of a miracle, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi will fail to meet his own 50-day deadline to restore order to the country’s economy and ease the hardship faced by ordinary citizens following the chaos of his sudden currency ban.
Eleventh Hour Stock and Bond Reversals Fire Up Rebalancing Talk (Bloomberg)
The U.S. stock market’s torrid rally since Election Day may be its own worst enemy as year-end approaches, renewing focus on a theory that giant funds cause reversals as they buy losers and sell winners to keep weights in check.
Dollar Drops to Weekly Low as Dip in Treasury Yields Adds Weight (Bloomberg)
The dollar dropped to its lowest of the week and remained defensive as U.S. Treasury yields fell to fresh lows after another well-received auction saw $28 billion of 7-year notes snapped up at a yield of 2.284%, while month-end portfolio rebalancing also weighed, though foreign exchange flows remained modest and participation light overall.
Stocks continued their quiet post-holiday stretch on Thursday with all three major indexes little changed from the start of the day.
Trump and trade: What you need to know before he takes office (CNN Money)
It's a promise President-elect Donald Trump made over and over this year. Now he has to deliver, and he plans to start by getting tough on two of America's top trade partners: Mexico and China.
U.S. Refiners Open Export Spigot to Meet Latin American Need (Bloomberg)
U.S. refiners exported record amounts of oil products last week, taking market share from struggling competitors in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Asian stocks mixed ahead of New Year’s weekend (Market Watch)
Asian shares were mixed early Friday in the last trading session of 2016, with a weaker dollar hurting the competitiveness of exports in the region, while an overnight drop in oil prices sent key energy stocks lower.
These 14 giant corporations dominate the global auto industry (Business Insider)
The automotive industry has experienced some incredible growth over the past couple of years. In the US alone, more than 30 automotive brands vie for the 17 million autos that are sold each year.
Goldman Sachs describes two different Trump economies, so which is right? (Market Watch)
It must be confusing to write about President-elect Donald Trump at Goldman Sachs these days: Just weeks after CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s face turned up in a closing-argument ad for Donald Trump that just happened to feature three Jewish villains of a system rigged against the little guy (George Soros and Janet Yellen were the others), Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn left to become the chief economic mind of a new administration devoted to cutting plutocrats’ taxes and little guys’ health insurance.
This Time, Bounce in U.S. Stocks Goes Unmatched in Rest of World (Bloomberg)
U.S. markets are going it alone as the post-election advance in the S&P 500 Index has failed to lift most of its peers around the world.
Inflation Sensation: The New Big Deal (Bloomberg)
It's finally coming. Inflation. President-Elect Donald Trump's promised a whole lot of infrastructure spending, raising the prospects for a great slug of price pressure the likes of which we haven't seen in years.
Italy Slams ECB For Revealing It Has A "Bank Run" Problem (Zero Hedge)
With the world still napping in a post-Christmas daze, the ECB surprised Italian bank watchers on December 26 when it advised the insolvent, and nationalized, Monte dei Paschi that its capital shortfall had increased by 76% from €5 billion to €8.8 billion as a result of a deposit flight, aka "bank run", that had accelerated and led to a deterioration in the bank's liquidity.
A self-made millionaire shares the money lesson his grandmother taught him over a meal at McDonald's when he was 7 (Business Insider)
David Bach started learning about money early.
The self-made millionaire and author of "The Automatic Millionaire" told the personal finance site Grow that as a kid his family "talked about investing all the time." That's likely related to the fact that his father was a stockbroker and financial adviser.
Companies
Sears and Kmart are closing more stores — see if your store is on the list (Business Insider)
Sears just announced a fresh round of store closures.
The company told employees on Tuesday that it will close more than 30 Sears and Kmart stores in early 2017, half a dozen employees told Business Insider.
Sears is borrowing more money from CEO Eddie Lampert's hedge fund to stay afloat.
The company announced Thursday that it obtained a loan called a secured standby letter of credit for an initial $200 million, with the option to expand the amount to $500 million.
Trump isn't responsible for Sprint bringing 5,000 jobs to the US (Engadget)
President-elect Donald Trump said he was contacted by Sprint executives today and told that the company was making an investment in domestic jobs, according to Reuters and Bloomberg.
Kate Spade Said to Kick Off Formal Sale Process Next Month (Bloomberg)
Kate Spade & Co., which is exploring a sale of the handbag maker, plans to kick off a formal auction process next month, with interest from six possible bidders, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Technology
US tech companies are by far the biggest beneficiaries of skilled foreign workers (Business Insider)
As 2017 draws nearer, the tech industry’s eyes are on President-elect Trump, and how his administration may enact previously suggested policies that seem certain to clash with Silicon Valley’s ideals.
Tesla Makes Reno a Critical Stop on Way to Las Vegas and CES (Bloomberg)
As far as Tesla’s concerned, what’s happening in Las Vegas can stay in Las Vegas. The real action is some 400 dusty miles northwest, across the state in Reno.
Watch a Tesla predict an accident and react before it even happens (Business Insider)
This video shoes how Tesla's autopilot could save your life. The Tesla's front collision warning alerts the driver and breaks the car a full second before the oncoming crash even happens.
Uber and Lyft answer concerns about discrimination (Engadget)
A study published earlier this year documenting the discrimination ride-hailing passengers face compelled Senator Al Franken to call Uber's and Lyft's attention. Now, the Senator's office has published the companies' responses to the letter he sent on November 2nd.
Carmakers Are Learning Japan’s Tech Talent Doesn’t Come Cheap (Bloomberg)
Headhunter Casey Abel spent four months trying to hire a data-center architect for a Japanese automaker, including five meetings with the client — one with the top executive. In the end, the IT specialist joined an e-commerce company abroad for significantly more money.
iPhone 7 was a top holiday gift, but Apple Watch is fading (Tech Crunch)
More iPhone 7 devices were unwrapped over the 2016 holidays compared with Google Pixel smartphones, according to new data released by analytics service Mixpanel.
Samsung enters the smart inbox fray with 'Focus' (Engadget)
Samsung's Focus (no, not the Windows phone from ages ago) wants to be your Android productivity app of choice. The latest update brings the application out of beta and fixes a deleted email sync issue, according to patch notes.
Amazon drones, meet your mothership (CNet)
In recently discovered patent images, Amazon drafted a plan to have an airship 45,000 feet above the Earth, storing a fleet of drones and packages to deliver. Amazon said these unmanned aerial vehicles would take "little to no power" to transport goods to consumers' doorsteps if they are dropping down and gliding instead of lifting off and taking flight.
Politics
Cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey begins across Syria (The Washington Post)
A cease-fire announced by the Syrian government went into effect across the country early Friday as part of a broader deal that includes a return to peace talks after more than five years of a war.
U.S. Strikes Back at Russia Over Interference With 2016 Election (Bloomberg)
President Barack Obama retaliated against Russia for cyberattacks aimed at interfering with the 2016 presidential campaign, imposing sanctions on top Russian intelligence officials and agencies, expelling 35 Russian operatives from the U.S. and releasing technical evidence on the hacking.
AFP corrects misleading story that suggested Russia tampered with US election vote (Business Insider)
The Agence France-Presse on Thursday updated a misleading headline that suggested that Russia manipulated US vote totals on Election Day through hacking.
Russia’s ‘Grizzly Steppe’ Cyberattacks Started Simply, U.S. Says (Bloomberg)
The attack against U.S. democracy began in the summer of 2015 with a simple trick: Hackers working for Russia’s civilian intelligence service sent e-mails with hidden malware to more than 1,000 people working for the American government and political groups.
Russia expert: New US sanctions 'clearly meant to throw a wrench into' Trump's dealings with Moscow (Business Insider)
New US sanctions on Russia could complicate the Trump administration's relations with the Kremlin, as the president-elect seeks to warm relations while other US officials insist on harsh punishments for election meddling.
The ruble is shaking off Obama's sanctions against the Russian government (Business Insider)
The Russian ruble is seeing little response to President Barack Obama issuing new sanctions against Russia for its alleged role in election hacking.
House GOP Response To Gun Sit-In Is ‘Putin-Like,’ Democrat Says (The Huffington Post)
WASHINGTON – Newly proposed rule changes by Republicans to fine lawmakers for future breaches of decorum on the chamber floor sound an awful lot like something Russian President Vladimir Putin would do, according to one House Democrat.
Obama's Russia sanctions put Hill Republicans in a box (Politico)
President Barack Obama’s eleventh-hour Russia sanctions present a big test for congressional Republicans, who are torn between decades-old GOP principles and their new standard-bearer's unorthodox embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Life on the Home Planet
Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake Hits Region in Eastern Indonesia (Associated Press)
The earthquake hit about 6:30 a.m. in the Sumbawa region, the agency said. The epicenter was about 33 kilometers south of the village of Tolotangga, which is 1,350 kilometers east of the nation's capital, Jakarta.
Scientists can now measure gravity more accurately than ever before (Science Alert)
A new way of measuring gravity is giving scientists more precision than ever before, and could help answer some of the fundamental questions of physics at the same time.
Accepting the Reality of Climate Change is Good for Business (Scientific American)
Yes, climate change is an existential threat—one that keeps me up at night. But talking of fire and brimstone only inflames those who either (rightly) feel helpless in the face of this reality or those who have a vested interest in big oil or coal.
Police took down a Sydney crime syndicate and made 'the largest cocaine seizure in Australian … history' (Business Insider)
Australian police dismantled a major cocaine smuggling ring after a two-and-a-half-year multi-agency operation undertaken with Tahiti, Australian authorities announced on Thursday.
Possible civilian casualties in Mosul air strike: Pentagon (Reuters)
An air strike by the U.S.-led coalition near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul hit a van in a hospital compound parking lot and could have killed civilians, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
