Financial Markets and Economy
Stock Bubbles, Bond Busts Make Credit Suisse’s Ambush List (Bloomberg)
An equity bubble in Japan, Treasury yields at 4 percent and Marine Le Pen in the Elysee Palace all feature in Credit Suisse Group AG’s annual roundup of shocks that could surprise markets in the year ahead.
Any country leaving euro zone must settle bill first: ECB's Draghi (Reuters)
Any country leaving the euro zone would need to settle its claims or debts with the bloc's payments system before severing ties, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said.
Investors Need to Look Well Beyond the Inauguration (Bloomberg)
Investors always try to predict what’s going to happen in the short-term — and that's probably all the more the case with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the U.S. just a day away. Intelligent investors, however, understand that the long-term is the only time horizon that matters.
Britain's biggest fund manager: 'How we lost £717m in the year markets went up 22pc' (The Telegraph)
Despite a hugely complicated strategy, Standard Life Investment’s Global Absolute Return Strategies, better known as Gars, is Britain’s biggest investment fund.
CASHIN: The stock market may be about to enter 'weeks, or even months of struggling' (Business Insider)
The stock market has had a rip-roaring start to 2017, but that may be about to come to an end.
Riding the so-called Trump trade to new all-time highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is just barely short of the 20,000 milestone.
Davos 2017: Trump will fall out with the Federal Reserve, says BlackRock chief executive (International Business Times)
The ongoing US dollar strength could cause frictions between incumbent US President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve, Larry Fink, the chief executive of investment giant BlackRock, said on Friday (20 January).
Student Loan Collector Navient Sued for Overcharging Borrowers (NBC News)
Navient, the nation's largest student loan servicer — and formerly part of Sallie Mae — was just hit with a federal lawsuit that alleges the company deceived borrowers to the tune of $4 billion.
China's Growth In 2016 Slumps As Trump Trade Struggle Looms (Associated Press)
China's economic growth sank to a three-decade low in 2016 as its struggling exporters brace for a possible trade battle with President-elect Donald Trump.
What investors need to know for the week ahead (The Globe And Mail)
A daily rundown of the economic reports and corporate earnings that will be grabbing the market's attention in the week ahead.
The Brilliant Blunders and Investments that Made Warren Buffet a Billionaire (Quora)
One of the smartest maneuvers I’ve seen in business comes in the form of two somewhat simultaneous decisions made by Warren Buffett.
Last year, the markets were distinguished by a lack of persistence. In many respects, investor behavior in the second half of the year was the mirror image of the first six months.
Uranium stocks are booming, thanks to Trump (CNN)
Uranium stocks are, uhhh, going nuclear lately thanks to hopes that Donald Trump and his administration will be more willing to invest in nuclear power.
US Financial Markets – Alarm Bells are Ringing (Acting Man)
When discussing the outlook for so-called “risk assets”, i.e., mainly stocks and corporate bonds (particularly low-grade bonds) and their counterparts on the “safe haven” end of the spectrum (such as gold and government bonds with strong ratings), one has to consider different time frames and the indicators applicable to these time frames. Since Donald Trump’s election victory, there have been sizable moves in stocks, gold and treasury bonds, as the election result has strongly boosted certain market expectations.
Chinese Province Admits It Fabricated Economic Data For Three Years (Zero Hedge)
While it will hardly come as a surprise to China watchers who have for years mocked China's cooked "data", overnight the state-run People's Daily reported that the severely impacted by the commodity crunch of the past 2 years rust-belt province of Liaoning fabricated fiscal numbers from 2011 to 2014, raising fresh doubts about the accuracy of China’s economic data just two days ahead of the release of China's GDP report.
Technology
Tesla's Fatal Crash Can't Be Blamed On Software Errors (Popular Science)
“The Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) or Autopilot systems may not function as designed, increasing the risk of a crash.” It’s a simple sentence, delivered with the calm finality of bureaucratic certainty.
Uber Picks Up Another Key Google Employee As It's New VP Of Engineering (Digital Trends)
Apple is to Tesla what Google is to Uber — at least when it comes to employee migration. On Friday, Amit Singhal became the latest bright mind to bid adieu to Google and bonjour to black cars. Previously, the engineer played an integral role in developing Google’s ranking algorithm.
New York Is Tacklling Literal Garbage Fires With Giant Vacuums (Popular Science)
The city is currently testing two portable vacuum prototypes to help suck up 80,000 pounds of trash left in subway stations and on the tracks everyday. The trash causes delays, lowers air quality in the stations, and nourishes vermin.
Massachusetts lawmakers want to tax self-driving cars by the mile (RoadShow)
Right now, Massachusetts lacks any sort of statewide autonomous-vehicle legislation. That could change with a newly introduced bill, although it might be a bit heavy-handed.
China says its world-first 'exascale' supercomputer is almost complete (Science Alert)
If you’ve never heard of an exascale computer before – known unofficially as a super-supercomputer – don’t worry, it doesn’t even exist yet.
Robot Crop Pickers Limit Loss of Farm Workers to Trump Wall (Bloomberg)
Robotic devices like lettuce thinners and grape-leaf pullers have replaced so many human hands on U.S. farms in recent years that many jobs now held by illegal workers may not exist by the time Donald Trump builds his promised wall.
As AI advances, 4 potential risks emerge (Venture Beat)
magine a marketing executive, late at night, flipping through a slide deck from a company that promises to use artificial intelligence to automate many of her lead generation and lead scoring processes, optimize her advertising spend, and increase her marketing spend ROI by fifty percent. What could go wrong, she wonders?
How artificial intelligence can be corrupted to repress free speech (Engadget)
The internet was supposed to become an overwhelming democratizing force against illiberal administrations. It didn't. It was supposed to open repressed citizens eyes, expose them to new democratic ideals and help them rise up against their authoritarian governments in declaring their basic human rights.
Politics
The 1st Trump White House Petition is in: Release tax returns (CNN)
The first petition on the White House's page for citizens to petition has its first entry mere hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in. And it's a request for him "immediately" release his full tax returns.
Trump's Stealth Health Plan Could Be 'Medicare For All' (Forbes)
Donald Trump may have a stealth health plan that would be a surprise to millions: It's called "Medicare for All. (MFA)"
He's not uttered these words and his party hasn't either — and isn't likely to champion. The GOP has long sought the destruction of the Affordable Care Act and privatization of Medicare and Social Security.
Trump Reverses Obama's Mortgage Fee Cuts on First Day (Bloomberg)
Soon after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, his administration undid one of Barack Obama’s last-minute economic-policy actions: a mortgage-fee cut under a government program that’s popular with first-time home buyers and low-income borrowers.
NATO: We ward off 500 cyberattacks each month (CNN)
NATO warded off 500 cyberattacks each month in 2016, according to statistics compiled by the military alliance.
"Our systems register over 500 million suspicious cyber events each day," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu told CNN Thursday.
Trump trade strategy starts with quitting Asia pact: White House (Reuters)
The new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump said on Friday its trade strategy to protect American jobs would start with withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.
Rich Americans are really optimistic about president Trump (Quartz)
Donald Trump promised to be a president for “the forgotten man and the forgotten woman,” but those really looking forward to him taking office are America’s wealthiest.
Trump's new website has 2,200 words on his agenda. Obama started with 25,000. (Vox)
Donald Trump campaigned for president with a handful of big, simple ideas, including building a wall, renegotiating trade deals, and strengthening the military. His new White House website reflects that same sparse, policy-light philosophy.
HUD suspends FHA mortgage insurance rate cut an hour after Trump takes office (Los Angeles Times)
An hour after Donald Trump assumed the presidency Friday, his administration indefinitely suspended a pending rate cut for mortgage insurance required for FHA-backed mortgages, which are popular with first-time home buyers and those with poor credit.
Health and Biotech
One-third of adults diagnosed with asthma don't actually have it, study finds (Science Alert)
Millions who've experienced asthma symptoms in the past carry around inhalers in case breathing problems arise, but a new study shows that a lot of them might not actually need to.
Life on the Home Planet
Why time seems to fly – or trickle – by (The Conversation)
No one is born with an innate understanding of time, and babies must learn to synchronize and coordinate their behavior with the rest of the world.
Four children and woman rescued, two days after Italy avalanche (Reuters)
Four children and a woman were saved on Friday from the wreckage of a mountain hotel in central Italy that was flattened by an avalanche, surviving almost two days in sub-zero temperatures in the buried ruins of the luxury spa.
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One of the largest icebergs ever seen is even closer to breaking off Antarctica (Mashable Asia)
Researchers who closely monitor the crack cutting across this particular Antarctic ice shelf reported on Thursday that it continued to make rapid progress, expanding another six miles in just the past two weeks.
