News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

This Is How Much Americans Pay for Sugar Protectionism: Chart (Bloomberg)

With talk of border tariffs, it’s worth considering who ends up paying for protectionism. The U.S. sugar industry enjoys quotas limiting imports from countries including Mexico.

A multitude of wage and labor violations alleged at restaurants linked to Trump’s labor pick (Salon)

President Donald Trump’s choice for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, has elicited peals of outrage from Democrats, labor unions and rights groups since his nomination was announced on Dec. 8.

Treasury Yields Edge Higher for Second Week as Traders Eye Trump (Bloomberg)

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield is up about 2 basis points this week to 2.49 percent as of 4 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. It reached 2.55 percent Thursday, the highest since December.

Trump’s Trade-Policy Wild Card Puts U.S. Growth Momentum at Risk (Bloomberg)

The U.S. economy entered 2017 with a solid head of steam, driven by consumer spending and a pickup in business investment. President Donald Trump’s stoking of trade tensions puts that momentum at risk.

Traders Confounded by 180% Surge in Brazil’s Homebuilders (Bloomberg)

The breathtaking surge in Brazil’s troubled homebuilders has traders scratching their heads.

Oil Shipments Show That OPEC Is Sticking to Its Cuts (Bloomberg)

Oil supplies from OPEC are plunging this month as the group implements production cuts aimed at erasing a global surplus, according to tanker-tracker Petro-Logistics SA.

Modern Delusions, Part 1: Japan Thinks It Can Balance Its Budget (DollarCollapse.com)

A recurring problem for most developed-world governments is explaining why last year’s plan didn’t work while convincing voters that this year’s new and improved plan will do the trick.

Wow 20,000? (BPS and Pieces)

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“the Dow”) closed above 20,000 for the first time in history.

Financial forecasts and our limited cognitive resources (Abnormal Returns)

Investors, like today’s citizenry, are constantly beset by all manner of information, whether it be data, anecdotes or forecasts, all of which compete for our limited cognitive resources.

2016 GDP Slowest Growth In 5 Years: Many Troubling Items; Three Hikes Really? (MishTalk)

The BEA Advance GDP Report shows real GDP rose 1.9% in the fourth quarter, 1.6% for all of 2016.

US Q4 GDP Sags To 1.9% As Wage Disparty Worsens (Great Job Federal Government And Fed!!) (Confounded Interest)

In the final quarter of the Obama Reign of (Economic) Error, the US economy slowed to under 2% (at 1.9% QoQ). GDP YoY is also 1.9%.

Companies

U.S. supermarket shares dip after Trump threatens Mexico trade (Reuters)

Shares of U.S. supermarket operators fell on Friday as President Donald Trump kept up his criticism of Mexico, which is a major supplier of produce and other foods for U.S. consumers.

Uber Part Deux (Value Walk)

I just can’t get over this quote from Morgan Stanley’s pitch of Uber shares to their clients when addressing the lack of financial info from Uber (There’s a 290 page prospectus of just verbiages and no financial data):“the development of insights and big ideas is valuable to the investment process, whereas obsession over incremental ‘information’ flow is not.” Nice quote right.

Airbnb Turns Its First Profit (Value Walk)

Airbnb recorded quite the achievement late last year: reaching profitability, according to Bloomberg. The $30 billion room-booking giant reportedly turned its first profit in the second half of 2016 and expects to continue that profitability into 2017, before interest, taxes and amortization.

Technology

Apple: You share iCloud data, and we'll make iPhones smarter (CNet)

Apple long has argued in favor of customer privacy, but the company wants to do more with your personal data so services like Siri voice recognition can get smarter.

Starbucks' mobile orders are too popular for their own good (Mashable Asia)

Lines at the coffee chain are out of control because of pile-ups of mobile orders that cause delays for IRL customers. Starbucks admitted the flaw in a conference call sharing its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday.

Google Home's killer feature reminds you where you left your keys (CNet)

Naturally, you only ever misplace the most important things in your life — and usually when you need them the most.

Uber was the most-expensed service, with 6% of all business receipts in 2016 (Venture Beat)

Uber continues to be the transportation service of choice for business travelers, making up 52 percent of all expenses in Q4, according to a study by Certify.

Analysts predict drop in average iPhone selling price, growth in services to make up the difference (9To5Mac)

Ahead of Apple’s financial earnings call covering the holiday quarter, analysts are speculating that the average selling price for iPhones has declined.

Flexible LCD phone displays are coming soon to end your cracked screen woes (TNW)

We’ve been hearing about smartphones getting flexible displays for a long time now. Last year, we heard that Samsung had a program called Project Valley to create a phone with a foldable screen; LG showed off a rollable 18-inch display and Xiaomi reportedly came up with a bendy concept screen too.

Panasonic puts its robots to hard labor at Japanese airport (CNet)

The company's HOSPI robot is undergoing trials at Narita Airport in Chiba, Japan, where it's collecting used plates from restaurants and food courts in addition to serving drinks and providing directional information to customers.

Audeze Isine 20 Review (The Verge)

It’s not often that you see a new pair of headphones that upsets the basic taxonomy of personal audio gear, but Audeze’s new iSine series is precisely that.

Your Phone Can Now Instantly Translate Japanese Text (Travel + Leisure)

Learning a new language is hard. And if there's a new alphabet involved—like there is with Japanese for English-speaking travelers—it's even harder.

There’s Something Very Weird Happening Inside Russia’s Cybersecurity World (BuzzFeed News)

The arrest of several of Russia’s top cybersecurity figures has led to speculation that there’s a shake-up inside the country’s national security service related to hacks surrounding the US election.

Overwatch now has more than 25 million registered players (The Verge)

Overwatch, Blizzard’s fastest-growing gaming property, has just notched another milestone: 25 million registered players. The company’s official Overwatch Twitter account made the announcement earlier this afternoon.

Got a spare $15 million? Why not buy your very own D-Wave quantum computer (Wired)

D-Wave has signed up the first customer for its high-end quantum computer after the technology went on general sale.

Politics

Contrary to Trump’s Claims, Immigrants Are Less Likely to Commit Crimes (NY Times)

A central point of an executive order President Trump signed on Wednesday — and a mainstay of his campaign speeches — is the view that undocumented immigrants pose a threat to public safety.

Trump’s “Curveball” moment: His “voter fraud” investigation is apparently based on one unsubstantiated tweet (Salon)

Bad things happen when presidents come to rely on bad information. George W. Bush and his administration were very much invested in the notion that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and to help build that case they relied on intelligence from an Iraqi defector code-named “Curveball.”

Trump’s initial approval ratings are setting new, unhappy records (The Washington Post)

It admittedly seems odd to ask Americans to evaluate the performance of a new president a few days after he took office. It’s like getting a performance review on your first week at a new job: Sure, you can do it, but it’s probably not going to really lay good groundwork for what to expect.

Most Americans want government to keep funding Planned Parenthood, Obamacare: poll (Salon)

President Donald Trump is working hard with Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare — but a new poll strongly suggests the American people don’t want these things to happen.

These mind-bending graphics show the complexity of Donald Trump's business ties (Business Insider)

President Donald Trump spent decades in the business world before launching his political career. His vast business empire and the conflicts of interest it could pose were scrutinized throughout his administration's transition and into the first week of his presidency.

Will Jeff Sessions start a war on pot smokers? (Alternet)

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions will, barring divine intervention, soon become the next attorney general of the United States, the highest law enforcement office in the land. It’s not a happy prospect for Cannabis Nation, and the video below encapsulates why.

Donald Trump is the sole reliable source of truth, says chair of House Science Committee (Vox)

It is early days in the Trump administration. (I know it doesn’t feel like it. Check your calendar.) But there have already been disturbing signs of how the administration intends to treat science and government scientists.

Life on the Home Planet

That luxury vacation of your dreams will cost more than you think (Travel + Leisure)

Everyone who loves to travel has their own list of can’t-miss, once-in-a-lifetime trips.

Whether they’re bucket-list worthy destinations like the whitewashed homes of Santorini over the turquoise Aegean or do-before-you-die expeditions like summiting Mount Everest, they are extraordinary experiences that promise to change your life.

This Ethiopian sulphur spring is one of the hottest and most inhospitable places on Earth (Business Insider)