Financial Markets and Economy
Good Stocks Gone Bad: Investors Bail on Strong Fundamentals (The Wall Street Journal)
It’s been a bad year for good companies. Shares of companies that rake in cash and use it efficiently lagged behind stocks with shakier financials in 2016 by the widest margin in more than seven years, according to an analysis by ’s HOLT division, which keeps track of fundamental data for global stocks.
Trump and Trade: Extreme Tactics in Search of a Point (NY Times)
John Mearsheimer, a noted political scientist at the University of Chicago, has long believed that China’s rise will not be peaceful. Tensions with the United States will simmer as the Asian giant expands its influence.
Talking the dollar down, or is it up? (The Economist)
If there was a consensus view at the start of the year, it was that the dollar would rise. Fund managers surveyed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch were overweight the currency (even though they worried that it was a crowded trade).
More Volatility Ahead for Biotechnology Sector (The Wall Street Journal)
After underperforming the S&P 500 over the past six months, the biotechnology sector is poised for more volatility ahead. The group drew plenty of attention on the campaign trail as both and Democratic candidate criticized the high prices for drugs.
Despite All The Hand-Wringing, Retail Real Estate Investment Poised To Accelerate In 2017 (Forbes)
There’s been quite a bit of consternation lately on the future of retail and as a result, retail real estate. As I noted earlier this month, pruning stores are part of the retail lifecycle this time of year and we generally don’t see the underlying fundamentals for the real estate side adversely affected too drastically.
US Homeownership Rate Rises To 63.7% In Q4 '16 (Back To Where We Started Under Clinton) (Confounded Interest)
According to the US Census Bureau, the US homeownership rate rose for the second consecutive quarter to 63.7% in Q4 2017. The US is finally back to where “the great leap forward” in homeownership rates began in 1995 under President Bill Clinton. Call it “a bridge too far” in terms of sustainable homeownership.
The Ryan-Brady Cash Flow Tax: Disguised Protection, Exaggerated Revenue, and Increased Inequality (Peterson Institute for Internattional Economics)
The proposal by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady to replace the corporate profits tax with a 20 percent tax on cash flow with no deductibility for imports but complete deduction of exports is misguided for several reasons.
On the White House website, the Trump administration announced a new goal of adding 25 million new jobs over the next ten years, an extraordinarily audacious, or simply innumerate, target.
The History Of Money (In One Simple Infographic) (Zero Hedge)
Today’s infographic from Mint.com highlights the history of money, including the many monetary experiments that have taken place since ancient times.
Stagflation Shock: ISM Shows Input Costs Soaring At Fastest Since 2011 (Zero Hedge)
Input cost inflation is soaring at its highest since September 2014 according to Markit's US Manufacturing PMI survey (which surged in January to 55.0 – slightly less than the 55.1 prelim print – the highest since March 2015). New orders accelerated but employment slipped and despite the surge in costs, factory gate charges increased only modestly.
Companies
IBM Gives Watson a New Challenge: Your Tax Return (NY Times)
In its first steps toward commercialization, IBM’s Watson took on grand, science-laden challenges like helping doctors diagnose cancer. But that is changing as IBM strives to build its artificial intelligence technology into a multibillion-dollar business.
Apple has $246 BILLION in cash, nearly all overseas (CNN)
The maker of iEverything had $246.1 billion in cash and investments on its balance sheet as of the end of its most recent quarter, up nearly $10 billion from the end of September.
Here's the collateral damage from the collapse of one of the largest shipping companies in the world (Wolf Street)
When Hanjin Shipping Co. declared bankruptcy on August 31, 2016, the world’s seventh largest container carrier, and the largest ever to go bankrupt, threw the shipping industry into chaos.
Technology
Facebook loses $500 million Oculus lawsuit (CNN)
The lawsuit, filed months after Facebook (FB, Tech30) acquired Oculus in 2014, claimed Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and CTO John Carmack stole proprietary information and used it to make Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset partially responsible for launching the concept into the mainstream.
It’s official: Facebook wants to be your next TV (Recode)
Facebook has long wanted to compete with TV for ad dollars — it boasted TV-sized audiences and liked to talk about people using Facebook alongside their favorite show or the big game.
Apple reportedly designing its own chip for Mac laptops (CNet)
Apple is reportedly designing a chip for Mac laptops that could boost battery life while also helping it achieve more independence from Intel chips, which are currently the brains of devices.
Computer Lets Fully Paralyzed Patients Speak for First Time (The Daily Beast)
Imagine what it would be like to be fully conscious and aware of your surroundings, but trapped inside a paralyzed body, not only unable to move, but unable to communicate in any way, for the rest of your life.
6 Must-See Quotes From Intuitive Surgical's Management (Fool.com)
Robotic surgery pioneer Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) reported earnings last week, and — as is typically the case with earnings reports — all eyes were on revenue, profit, and whether or not the company beat analysts' estimates.
Apple Inc.'s iPhone 7 Plus Is a Smash Hit (Fool.com)
The first quarter of an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) fiscal year is usually the company's peak quarter, as it follows the launch of Apple's latest flagship iPhone device. The iPhone generates the bulk of the company's revenue, and so the quarter in which Apple sees the most iPhone shipments is the quarter in which it sees its greatest revenue.
Will Microsoft's $1 Billion Cybersecurity Play Hurt Smaller Players? (Fool.com)
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently announced thatit will invest over $1 billion per year on cybersecurity research and development. That amount, which is equivalent to roughly 8% of its R&D spend over the past 12 months, doesn't include any acquisitions that Microsoft might make.
Leaked video shows new ‘nightmare-inducing’ wheeled robot from Boston Dynamics (The Verge)
Boston Dynamics is best known for its bipedal and quadrupedal robots, but it turns out the company has also been experimenting with some radical new tech: the wheel.
This monster wind turbine just set a new record for energy output (Science Alert)
A new offshore wind turbine has produced more energy over a 24-hour period than any other commercially available turbine, generating close to almost 216,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in a single day.
Hackers steal 2.5 million PlayStation and Xbox players' details in major breach (The Telegraph)
PlayStation and Xbox gamers are at risk of having had their private information stolen following a data breach involving 2.5 million accounts.
Politics
House axes 2 Obama-era rules meant to root out corruption and limit pollution (Reuters)
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday killed two Obama-era rules, one intended to root out corruption in the extraction sector and one aimed at reducing stream pollution.
Betsy DeVos’ confirmation is at risk after two GOP senators plan to vote down the nominee (Salon)
Two Republican senators have announced their opposition to Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said on Wednesday that they intend to vote against DeVos, meaning there is a likely 50-50 tie in support of her confirmation.
Neil Gorsuch, the Nominee for a Stolen Seat (NY Times)
It’s been almost a year since Senate Republicans took an empty Supreme Court seat hostage, discarding a constitutional duty that both parties have honored throughout American history and hobbling an entire branch of government for partisan gain.
Two G.O.P. Senators to Oppose DeVos as Education Secretary, Imperiling Her Confirmation (NY Times)
Two Republican senators on Wednesday said they would vote against Ms. DeVos, the nominee to head the Education Department, raising the real prospect that Ms. DeVos could fail to garner the votes necessary to be confirmed.
A Concerned Citizen’s Plea to America’s Business Leaders (NY Times)
I am writing you today because it will soon become clear that you’re going to need to do a job that you’ve never thought of doing before: saving the country from a leader with a truly distorted view of how the world works and the role America should play in it.
Jared Kushner is reportedly 'furious' that he can't rein in Trump (Yahoo)
Throughout Donald Trump's presidential campaign, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was something of a man behind the curtain. After Trump won, Kushner and Ivanka Trump picked up from New York to move to Washington, D.C., where Kushner assumed a role as senior adviser.
Fox News deletes false Québec shooting tweet after Canadian PM's office steps in (The Guardian)
The office of the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has forced Fox News to apologise and retract a “false and misleading” tweet that inaccurately described the suspect in the Québec City mosque shooting as a man of Moroccan origin.
Can Jared And Ivanka Outrun Donald Trump's Scandals? (Vanity Fair Hive)
On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump descended upon the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes flanked by the expressionless duo of Vice President Mike Pence and recently sworn-in Secretary of Defense General James “Mad Dog” Mattis.
Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: if we survive, he’ll have accidentally proven America’s greatness (Vox)
We’re less than two weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, and comedian Jon Stewart is already exhausted.
Earth Day picked as date for science march on Washington (CNN)
Just like protesters who have taken to the streets and airports — for the Women's March and against the travel ban — scientists are planning their own march.
Health and Biotech
Clinic claims it has used stem cells to treat Down's syndrome (New Scientist)
A clinic claims it has used stem cells to treat Down’s syndrome in up to 14 people. “As far as we know, it’s the first time that stem cells have been used to treat Down’s syndrome,” says Jyoti Titus, manager at Nutech Mediworld clinic in New Delhi, India.
Life on the Home Planet
Pittsburgh Issues Boil Order for Water Affecting 100,000 People (The Wall Street Journal)
Roughly 100,000 people in Pittsburgh were unable to drink their tap water Wednesday without boiling it first because of concerns the city’s water authority failed to adequately disinfect part of its system.
Refugees are already vigorously vetted. I know because I vetted them. (The Washington Post)
I conducted one of my last interviews as an immigration officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Istanbul with Mahmoud and his 8-year-old son from Aleppo, Syria. His son had lost his legs in the explosion that killed Mahmoud’s wife, sister and other children.
Water spotted in the atmosphere of nearby hot Jupiter exoplanet (New Scientist)
A FARAWAY world is steaming. Astronomers have found water vapour in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called 51 Pegasi b — and achieved the feat using a brand new technique.
