Financial Markets and Economy
Pound Gets No Help From Resilient U.K. Data as Politics Rules (Bloomberg)
Pound investors are increasingly ignoring signs of strength in the U.K. economy as political risk surrounding the nation’s exit from the European Union dominates the currency’s outlook.
Fed-Watcher's Guide to Decoding Friday's Jobs Report (Bloomberg)
America will learn how many jobs the economy added in December on Friday morning, rounding out our picture of U.S. labor-market progress in 2016.
Asian Stocks Pare Weekly Gain as Toyota Drags on Trump Threat (Bloomberg)
Asian equities pared gains for the week as a drop in Japanese shares outweighed advances in the broader region before key U.S. jobs data.
10 things you need to know in markets today (Business Insider)
Every single sector of the British economy is now doing better than expected and has defied the forecasts of economists in December, according to the latest services PMI data from IHS Markit on Thursday.
German Manufacturing Orders Weaken After Investment-Driven Surge (Bloomberg)
German factory orders fell in November, partially offsetting an investment-driven surge the previous month.
World’s Worst Commodity Radioactive for Investor Portfolios (Bloomberg)
Prices tumbled 41 percent last year, touching a 12-year low below $18 a pound in November, according to Ux Consulting Co., which compiles market data. The slump was the seventh in nine years.
Trader Who Bet on Gradual Yuan Decline Now Sees Steeper Drop (Bloomberg)
Last year, Benjamin Fuchs’s $2 billion hedge fund prospered by betting against a sudden yuan devaluation. Now, he says forces are lining up that are increasing the odds of steep declines.
Aussies Go Back to Future as Iron-Coal Drives Trade Surplus (Bloomberg)
Australia recorded its first trade surplus in almost three years as Chinese demand stoked prices for its two biggest exports, iron ore and coal.
Yuan Pares Record Rally as Goldman Says Now’s the Time to Sell (Bloomberg)
The offshore yuan pared its record weekly rally as China’s central bank raised its fixing less than projected and some analysts reiterated their bearish views on the currency.
Dollar fights back after worst selloff in 6 months (Market Watch)
The dollar clawed back some of its recent losses on Friday, rising against other major currencies ahead of the closely watched U.S. jobs report.
This week’s Mutual Funds and ETF stories (Market Watch)
The new year offers chances to take chances. With stocks and other investments, though, it’s best not to leave too much to chance.
Here's A List Of The Most Crowded Trades On Wall Street (Zero Hedge)
Each quarter Credit Suisse's U.S. Equity Strategy team, led by Lori Calvasina, takes a deep dive into the stock level holdings of long-only, actively managed small, SMID, mid & large cap funds to see which stocks officially qualify as the most crowded trades on wall street.
The 'January effect' for stock markets is fading: Goldman (Reuters)
U.S. and UK equity indexes holding near record highs, a brighter earnings outlook and rising forecasts for economic growth have all spurred talk of the "January effect," or the notion that the first month of the year is always bullish for stocks.
Where Trump Sees Economic ‘Disaster,’ Experts See Something More Complex (NY Times)
President-elect Donald J. Trump has called the American economy a “disaster.” But in Sioux Falls, S.D., Scott Lawrence, a local businessman and Trump voter, has a different take.
Cheating Death Can Cost $200,000 as Cancer Tops Pharma Sales (Bloomberg)
Years before becoming a top cancer specialist, Eric Winer used to save money on his own medical care by talking U.S. pharmacists into giving him expired treatments for free.
Companies
Gap Stock Jumps 10% On Surprisingly Good December Results (Fortune)
The retailer's shares rose 10% on Thursday in after-hours trading after it reported companywide comparable sales rose 4% in December, a strong finish to a very competitive holiday season.
Toshiba to meet banks Tuesday, loan waiver expected: sources (Reuters)
Toshiba Corp plans to meet with creditor banks on Tuesday to explain how it is addressing a massive charge that the Japanese company says it must take on its U.S. nuclear business, three bankers briefed on the meeting said.
Technology
T-Mobile will 'kill' taxes, fees on your phone bill (CNet)
As part of its Un-carrier Next press conference at CES, the nation's third-largest carrier said on Thursday that it would simplify the pricing of its T-Mobile One plan. The $70 plan for an individual, for instance, will cost exactly $70 after taxes and fees.
Apple CEO Tim Cook accused of being 'disrespectful' to Ireland for not attending tax committee (Business Insider)
Apple CEO Tim Cook has declined an invitation to attend a tax committee in Ireland looking into the company's affairs — a decision that has seen him branded as "disrespectful to the Irish people."
Nissan will use artificial intelligence tech from NASA to drive cars (Business Insider)
On Thursday, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn confirmed that a new generation Leaf electric car is in the works along with several key developments in autonomous driving technology.
Auto Makers Showcase Cars Equipped With Virtual Assistants (The Wall Street Journal)
Some Ford cars will be able to work with an Amazon Alexa app to aid in navigation or to add to shopping list while driving.
First there was connecting the car to the smartphone. Now auto makers are rushing to make the car talk back.
The skirmish between Uber and California regulators ended with Uber loading up its self-driving cars on the back of its self-driving truck and driving them to Arizona after its car registrations were revoked.
Who needs a six-inch touchscreen Windows desktop? (Engadget)
Dutch startup Ockel believes that what the world needs right now is a six-inch, Windows 10 desktop PC that's also kind of a tablet. Ish. The nonfunctioning prototype was on show at CES, with final models expected to reach Indiegogo backers in May.
All NYC subway stations will have cell service by January 9th (Engadget)
When officials recently vowed that all New York City underground subway stations would have cellular coverage sometime in early 2017, they weren't joking. Governor Cuomo has revealed that all active stations will have service from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon on January 9th.
Cloud security startup Bitglass raises $45 million to help companies protect their data (Venture Beat)
Bitglass, a cloud security startup that helps protect corporate data, has raised $45 million in a Series C round from new investor Future Fund, with participation from existing investors NEA, Norwest, and Singtel Innov8, among others.
Politics
Donald Trump Orders Barack Obama Ambassadors To Quit By Inauguration (Newsweek)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has issued a blanket mandate requiring politically appointed ambassadors installed by President Barack Obama to leave their posts by Inauguration Day, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand said Friday.
Theresa May sent her two most senior aides on a mission to build bridges with US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration after a difficult start, according to a Bloomberg report.
GOP Has Trump's Back As He Questions US Intelligence (Associated Press)
A few years ago President Barack Obama came under conservative fire for choosing, at times, to read his daily intelligence briefings, rather than receive them in-person. Republican Rep. Paul Ryan was among those piling on.
Trump questions leaking of intelligence briefing details: 'Politics!' (Politico)
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday questioned the motives behind an NBC News report confirming details of the intelligence briefing given to President Barack Obama on Russian cyberattacks.
Trump restores power of Israeli ambassador (Politico)
In November 2014, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, was a featured guest at a dinner for graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton school of business. The other honoree that night: Donald J. Trump.
Is the US really ready to end its drug war? (The Huffington Post)
In recent years an international movement to reform global narcotics policies has been growing, with activists and presidents alike declaring that the United States’ “war on drugs” has failed.
Health and Biotech
New Alzheimer’s Treatments Offer Hope Despite Recent Drug Failures (Scientific American)
The last six months have witnessed the failure of two drugs in late-stage clinical trials for which the research community had high hopes. In truth, these new reports should not have come as too much of a surprise.
Life on the Home Planet
Mysterious Radio Signal Bursts Tracked To Dwarf Galaxy (The Huffington Post)
Thrilled scientists have finally traced the deep space source of mysterious bursts of powerful radio signals to an intriguing dwarf galaxy more than 3 billion light-years from Earth.
Scientists might be seriously underestimating the risk of a major freeze in Europe (Business Insider)
It's headed toward the Arctic. There, frigid winds will scrape heat and liquid from its surface and it will sink, colder, saltier, and denser to the ocean bottom — and begin a slow journey back toward the lower latitudes, sliding under more warm water headed north.
Frosty the Snowman Just Became a Major Health Hazard in China (TIME)
China’s children are having it tough this winter, and it’s not just the freezing temperatures. Their still developing lungs are subjected to some of the worst air pollution on the planet, much of it caused by the nation’s power stations burning more coal to heat hundreds of millions of homes in the chilly weather.
The Canadian who spent C$1.5m to rescue more than 200 Syrian refugees (The Guardian)
On a recent snowy Saturday, Jim Estill went knocking on his neighbours’ doors, offering to shovel snow from walkways and driveways for cash.
Snow storm takes aim at U.S. South, Southeast (Reuters)
A winter storm packing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain is on track for the U.S. South and Southeast where roads may become impassable and power outages are possible starting on Friday and into the weekend, forecasters said.
Malaysia says search for missing MH370 to end in two weeks (Reuters)
Malaysia said on Friday the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will end in two weeks after the search is completed of a 120,000 square kilometer (9,650 sq mile) area where experts thought it went down.
