Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Stocks Climb With Banks as Real Estate, Energy Shares Drop (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks advanced as quarterly earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. sent their stocks higher and offset losses in energy and real-estate companies.
Europe’s Biggest Fund Manager Says U.S. Stock Bulls Got It Wrong (Bloomberg)
Amundi SA, Europe’s largest money manager, says investors who have driven U.S. stock markets to record highs in expectation of fiscal stimulus from the Trump administration may be in for a surprise.
5 Ominous Signs for the Securities Industry (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump’s election win created a sunny day in the financial industry. The promise of deregulation has sent financial stocks up about 10 percent — almost double the gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index — and related exchange-traded funds have attracted more than $11 billion in new money.
Oil rig count falls for the first time in nearly 3 months (Business Insider)
The US oil rig count fell this week for the first time in 11 weeks, according to Baker Hughes.
Emerging-Market Stocks Little Changed as Mexico's Peso Rallies (Bloomberg)
Emerging-market stocks and currencies were little changed after U.S. economic data bolstered the case for higher interest rates that could dim investors’ appetite for riskier assets. Mexico’s peso and Turkey’s lira rose.
One Chart That Explains Why Traders Are Shorting Retail Stocks Like Crazy (Bloomberg)
December's U.S. retail sales figures have reinforced that the secular shift from in-store to online spending shows no signs of slowing down. Department stores now account for just 2.67 percent of all retail sales, compared to 10.44 percent for non-store retailers.
What you need to know on Wall Street right now (Business Insider)
Wall Street banks kicked off fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, and the tone was pretty optimistic.
Two of the largest banks in the US, JPMorgan and Bank of America, beat analyst expectations, and JPMorgan beat on revenue expectations as well. Wells Fargo meanwhile missed on earnings in its first full quarter since its accounts scandal.
5 Uranium Statistics That Will Blow You Away (Fool.com)
Investors are right to be mindful of uranium's image problems. But the negatives surrounding uranium and nuclear power can offer up long-term buying opportunities, too.
The Top Sectors For U.S. Investment Dollars Over The Last 20 Years [Infographic] (Forbes)
Despite funding falling 26 percent to $4.6 billion in the last quarter of 2016, the Internet remains the dominant sector for investment in the United States. Notable deals for Internet companies in Q4 2016 included OpenDoor Labs ($210m), Buzzfeed ($200m) and Stripe ($150m), according to a report from CB Insights and PwC. All of that success is nothing new.
Cracks in U.S. Mortgage Demand Grow as Banks Signal Fed’s Impact (Bloomberg)
Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, said Friday that its pipeline of applications for home loans dropped 40 percent to $30 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, compared with three months earlier.
Retail Sales Figures Bear Out America's Storefront-to-Online Shift (Benchmark, Bloomberg)
Holiday sales at Macy's Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., and J.C. Penney Co. were anemic and U.S. government data just confirmed it. The nation's traditional department stores are steadily losing ground to their online rivals — a shift in the retail landscape that shows both the change in Americans' shopping patterns and where the job growth is taking place.
Stock market’s most unloved shares send worrying signal (Market Watch)
If you’re the pessimistic type looking for an excuse to sell stocks, it may be lurking in short interest numbers, according to Bespoke Investing Group.
Bank stocks have a good shot at beating the broader market in 2017 (Market Watch)
U.S. bank and financial stocks, which had been in a funk since interest rates fell close to zero, have a good shot at beating the broader equity market in 2017. So the questions for investors are: "Which banks should I buy?" "Which banks that have already soared should I buy?" and "How should I diversify?"
Dow 20k Disappoints For Fourth Straight Week As Banks Pump'n'Dump (Zero Hedge)
Stocks were desperately pushed higher into the close today to ensure the S&P closed green on the week.. but failed.
The US Economy: Back On Track? (Sinclaire & Co., Zero Hedge)
The weekly rail traffic report published by the Association of American Railroads (“AAR”) provides a great snapshot of US economic activity almost in real (weekly) time.
Companies
TAKATA, 3 Ex-Workers Charged With Concealing Faulty Air Bags (Associated Press)
Takata Corp. and three former employees were charged by federal prosecutors with concealing deadly defects in automotive air bag inflators. The inflators are linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide, 11 in the U.S.
Wal-Mart Shuffles Executive Ranks, Blending Web and Store Duties (The Wall Street Journal)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shuffling its leadership ranks five months after buying Jet.com Inc., giving several top executives responsibility for both online and in-store operations.
Macy’s Lays Off Chief Growth Officer (The Wall Street Journal)
Macy’s Inc., a company in search of growth, is losing its chief growth officer.
Peter Sachse, who has held the post for about a year, will be out of a job as of Jan. 30, according to a securities filing Friday. His termination is part of broader layoffs announced by the retailer last week that will eliminate 10,000 positions.
Disney CEO’s Pay Falls But $60 Million 2018 Bonus in Reach (Bloomberg)
Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger received $43.9 million in compensation in fiscal 2016, a 2.3 percent decline from the prior year. He’s in line to receive a $60 million bonus in fiscal 2018 if the company hits a certain target.
Domino’s is rewarding customers with stock, but experts say it may not boost loyalty (Market Watch)
Domino’s Pizza Inc. has 25 new shareholders as of Friday, the winners of a rewards program that is giving out 10 shares as a perk for being a good customer.
Technology
Lyft might be eyeing a global market to take on Uber (Business Insider)
Lyft may be preparing to take its ride-hailing service global, its first expansion beyond its US home turf and an important step in its competition with Uber, according to a new report from CNBC.
Tesla reveals what it will charge for a charge (CNN Money)
It will soon cost some Tesla owners $15 to charge up for a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and $120 to go from L.A. to New York. The company has revealed the new pricing structure for its network of rapid charging stations around the world.
Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is stepping down (Engadget)
Michael Lynton is moving on from Sony, to focus on being the chairman of Snap, Inc., the parent company of Snapchat. Lynton has been at the top of Sony Pictures for 13 years, a span which included the massive 2014 hacking incident that saw unreleased films, emails and other studio information released on the internet.
Bots are not killing apps — bad apps are killing apps (Venture Beat)
According to bot evangelists, today’s apps are going to be replaced by bots, so why bother with fanciness? Goodbye, delicious Uber UI animations. So long, stickers and filters on Snapchat. Farewell, swiping on Tinder.
The inventor of Android is working on a new startup that makes high-end hardware (Business Insider)
Andy Rubin, the man who created the Android operating system, is planning his next big thing with a new startup called Essential, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In a ‘man vs. machine’ poker contest, the machine is winning (Venture Beat)
A very interesting contest is taking place at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, where four of the world’s best poker players are playing against a machine. And as of now anyway, the machine is winning.
Politics
House Republican Summons Ethics Chief Over Triump Criticism (Associated Press)
House Republicans have shown no inclination to challenge President-elect Donald Trump on ethics matters. Instead, they are going after the federal ethics official who questioned Trump's potential conflicts of interest.
US intel sources warn Israel against sharing secrets with Trump administration (Ynetnews.com)
Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration as the next president of the United States is causing Israeli intelligence officials to lose sleep as well. Discussions held in closed forums recently raised fears of a leakage of Israeli intelligence top-classified information, clandestine modus oprandi and sources, which have been exposed to the American intelligence community over the past 15 years, to Russia – and from there to Iran.
TSA chief not staying on for Trump's administration (Politico)
TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger will not be sticking around during President-elect Donald Trump's administration; he plans to depart on inauguration day, POLITICO has learned.
The Russia Story Reaches a Crisis Point (Rolling Stone)
Three days into the "Russian dossier" scandal, which history will remember by a far more colorful name, we still have no clue what we're dealing with. We're either learning the outlines of the most extraordinary compromise to date of an incoming American president by a foreign power, or we're watching an unparalleled libel and media overreach.
The Obamas Are Ready To Get Out Of The White House Bubble (The Huffington Post)
In an excerpt from an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” released Friday, Obama said his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha, have grown tired of life inside the White House bubble.
Trump Inauguration Security on Alert for Lone-Wolf Terrorism (Bloomberg)
U.S. law enforcement is focusing on the potential for “lone-wolf” terrorist attacks during the presidential inauguration and associated events, including the possibility assailants may try to use vehicles to plow into crowds, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said.
The top commander of the DC National Guard is being removed on inauguration day (Business Insider)
The commander of the District of Columbia National Guard is going to be out of a job just as President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office.
Senate intelligence panel to probe Russia hacking (Reuters)
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said the panel will investigate allegations Russia used cyber attacks to influence the U.S. presidential election, including any links between Russia and the political campaigns.
Health and Biotech
Prion-Like Protein Spotted in Bacteria for the First Time (Scientific American)
A section of a protein in Clostridium botulinum, the microbe that causes botulism, can behave like a prion when it is inserted into yeast and Escherichia coli bacteria, researchers report in the 13 January issue of Science1.
A Nevada woman died from a bug that resisted 26 antibiotics — here's why it's so hard to develop new ones (Business Insider)
A woman in Nevada died in September from an infection that resisted every kind of antibiotic we have in the US that could have cured it.
Life on the Home Planet
Watch a US-led coalition airstrike destroy an ISIS weapons factory near the group's Iraqi stronghold (Business Insider)
The new year has seen Iraqi government forces make new progress in their fight against ISIS, gaining territory on the eastern side of Mosul, the northern Iraqi city that is the terrorist group's last stronghold in the country.
A new study just blew a hole in one of the strongest arguments against global warming (Business Insider)
The oceans are warming up faster than we thought. While this is bad news for the planet, it's good news for climate change scientists who have — for the last two decades — puzzled over warming trends in ocean surface temperatures for nearly 20 years.
One dead as ice storm targets central United States (Reuters)
A winter storm bringing icy rain to the Great Plains and Midwest claimed the life of a Missouri woman on Friday, prompted the delay of an NFL football game and threatened power outages and treacherous conditions throughout the weekend.
You Can Live a Block From Both the Obamas and the Trumps for $5.75 Million (Bloomberg)
A lovely 1930s home in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, a leafy suburb about 10 minutes north of the Capitol building, boasts four fireplaces, a formal dining room, a tiger maple-paneled library, and possible views into Ivanka Trump’s soon-to-be backyard. Six Kalorama Circle “sits on the highest point” in the neighborhood, said Michael Rankin, the broker representing the property.