Financial Markets and Economy
If you're looking to invest in real estate, look no further than Nashville.
The city is likely to be the hottest housing market in 2017, according Zillow, a real estate website, which offered its predictions for the 10 hottest housing markets of the year.
Dubai Stocks Lead Middle East Gains as Traders Seek Dividends (Bloomberg)
Dubai stocks gained the most in the Gulf, led by Emaar Properties PJSC, as investors hunt for dividends ahead of earnings season. Insurers in the emirate rose on merger speculation.
Trump could be looking at the job market all wrong (Business Insider)
President Barack Obama is handing off to President-elect Donald Trump after an impressive labor-market recovery.
December 2016 marked the 75th straight month of job creation in the US. There has never been a streak this long in the 78 years the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported employment figures.
U.K. Shoppers Brace for New Brexit Test as Inflation Picks Up (Bloomberg)
British consumers, who helped the economy emerge largely unscathed from the Brexit vote, now face their next big health check.
Britain now gets more electricity from wind than coal (Business Insider)
For the first time ever the UK produced more electrical energy from wind turbines than coal power stations in 2016.
Coal generated 9.2% of electricity in 2016 compared to 22.6% in 2015. Meanwhile, wind generated 11.5% of electricity in 2016.
Europe’s Bank Stress-Test Star Is Focus of Buyback Speculation (Bloomberg)
After topping the European Banking Authority’s resilience score (DNB’s capital reserves were hardly affected in the stress tests’ “adverse” scenario), the Oslo-based lender is now attracting investor interest as analysts predict shareholder rewards ahead.
Europe’s Bank Stress-Test Star Is Focus of Buyback Speculation (Bloomberg)
Norway’s biggest bank, DNB ASA, has more capital than it needs and will probably start using the excess funds to buy back its own shares.
DEUTSCHE BANK: Investors have given up on department stores (Business Insider)
Count this as another bad sign for brick and mortar stores.
In a note to clients January 6, a group of Deutsche Bank analysts led by Paul Trussell wrote that investors view the entire department store sector as "unownable" due to the weakness among leading retailers.
Obama's Final Jobs Report: Still Worst Wage Recovery From A Recession Since 1965 (Confounded Insterest)
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 156,000 in December, with an increase in health care and social assistance. Job growth totaled 2.2 million in 2016, less than the increase of 2.7 million in 2015.
Technology
Google’s AlphaGo AI Runs the Table on Asia’s Go Champs (Fortune)
In a series of unofficial online games, an updated version of Google’s AlphaGo artificial intelligence has compiled a 60-0 record against some of the game’s premier players. Among the defeated, according to the Wall Street Journal, were China’s Ke Jie, reigning world Go champion.
Lenovo And Kopin Are Working Together To Accelerate The AR Headset Market (Digital Trends)
Could 2017 be the year of augmented reality? A new partnership between Lenovo and Kopin just may make it so. Earlier this week, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) and Kopin Corporation announced the formation of a new joint venture titled Lenovo New Vision.
5 of the coolest health-tech products we saw at CES 2017 (Mashable Asia)
From a brand new take on the electric breast pump to a discreet way to check sobriety during a night on the town, trust us, there's a lot of neat stuff on the horizon.
Nokia brand launches its first Android smartphone (Engadget)
The first Nokia Android smartphone from the brand's new owner has finally arrived, but it comes with bad news for folks who want to try it out: It will only be available in China.
Our gadgets are getting mouthy (CNet)
In a corner of LG's sprawling, dripping-with-technology booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center sat a circular table populated by a group of small, futuristic snowmen.
Audi And Mercedes-Benz Cars Will Soon Learn How To Drive Themselves By Watching You (Jalopnik)
In partnering with technology company Nvidia—the company that taught a car how to drive from scratch—Mercedes-Benz announced at the Consumer Electronics Show on Friday that artificial intelligence will be the future of its vehicles.
Politics
Trump Plans to Meet U.K.’s Prime Minister May, Reaffirming Ties (Bloomberg)
President-elect Donald Trump says he will meet with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in spring as the British leader tries to ease a frosty start to their relationship and expand trade with the U.S. after her country withdraws from the European Union.
Merkel’s Gaffe-Prone Ally in Brussels Faces Parliament Hot Seat (Bloomberg)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s appointee to the European Commission, Guenther Oettinger, is known to have teflon qualities. He may be about to prove it.
Speaker Paul Ryan, After Passing Regulatory Rollback, Parties With Lobbyists at Fundraiser (The Intercept)
Just hours after passing the very first bill of the new Congress on Wednesday — one designed to roll back a range of environmental and consumer regulations — House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., celebrated with a corporate lobbying firm at a fundraiser for his campaign committee.
Waking From A Coma To Trump (The Huffington Post)
Two days before the November elections, Elizabeth Moreno was driving to the Democratic Party headquarters in Manassas to pick up a list of addresses. She was planning to spend another day of canvassing to get out the vote for her candidate Hillary Clinton.
New Chair Of Senate Indian Affairs Committee Wanted DAPL Protests Shut Down (The Huffington Post)
The new chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a man who has placed himself squarely in opposition to the Native American-led movement to fight the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
Trump’s Cabinet picks undergo grueling prep for hearings (Politico)
Seated beneath bright lights that mimic the conditions of a camera-packed hearing room, President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are being put through hours-long mock confirmation hearings this weekend to prepare for the Senate grillings that may decide their fates.
Donald Trump's Pick For Spy Chief Took Hard Line On Snowden, Guantanamo, And Torture (The Intercept)
Colleagues of former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., describe the septuagenarian as competent and congenial — the “Mister Rogers” of Republicans, as Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said — but his positions on issues including NSA surveillance, Edward Snowden, torture, and Guantanamo Bay are bound to spark arguments with civil libertarians as Congress debates his nomination today by President-elect Donald Trump to succeed James Clapper as director of national intelligence.
Trump opposition sets up blue-state headquarters (Politico)
With the national Democratic Party in disarray, the outline of the Donald Trump resistance is taking shape far from Capitol Hill, with New York and California emerging as the East and West Coast headquarters of opposition to the incoming administration.
Life on the Home Planet
Choked By Smog, Beijing Creates New Environmental Police (Associated Press)
Officials in Beijing are creating a new environmental police squad in the latest effort to fight China's persistent problems with heavy smog.
Bird flu found in North Yorkshire backyard (The Guardian)
Bird flu has been found in a small flock in a backyard in North Yorkshire, the UK’s chief veterinary officer said, warning that people who kept chickens and ducks in their gardens needed to be vigilant.
'It wasn't random': The FBI is offering $20,000 for information on the shooting of a US consular official in Mexico (Business Insider)
A US consular official was shot while driving out of a parking garage in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Friday a little after 6 p.m. local time.
Snowstorm Hits Traffic in Istanbul; Straits Closed, Flights Canceled (Fortune)
A snowstorm forced the closure of Turkey's key shipping straits and sweeping flight cancellations on Saturday, while hazardous roads left many drivers stranded overnight in Istanbul, a city of 15 million people.
Researchers have known for a while that a star called Gliese 710 is headed straight for our solar system, but they've now worked out precisely when it should arrive.
Shocking moment Mexican truck rams into large group of police officers (The Telegraph)
Members of the public protest gas prices in Mexico, one going as far as to ram a large group of police officers with a yellow truck.
At least seven police officers were injured in the incident.
