Financial Markets and Economy
Minimum-Wage Increases May Deliver the Best Wage Growth In Eight Years (The Wall Street Journal)
A wave of minimum-wage increases to start the year could mean Friday’s jobs will show hourly earnings growth reached a new postrecession peak in January.
Gasoline Tankers Dodge New York Again as Region’s Glut Returns (Bloomberg)
America’s East Coast gasoline glut is back and it’s so big that tankers bound for New York are being forced to detour mid-ocean toward other destinations.
Deutsche Bank’s Worst Trading Quarter in Years Fuels Concern (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer John Cryan, who has settled regulatory probes, bolstered controls and cut billions of dollars of unwanted assets since taking charge, has another problem: making money.
Britain is home to 80% of Europe's high-earning bankers (Business Insider)
Over 80% of the EU's "high-earning" financiers are based in the UK, according to new figures released byregulator the European Banking Authority (EBA).
Experts Say Trumpflation May Be An Even a Bigger Risk Than Investors Think (Reuters)
The uncertain pace of inflation in the world's leading economies is causing concern in the fixed-income market, where some specialists feel investors are not properly positioned against the risk posed by rising prices.
Euro Trading Calm Belies Risk of Lehman-Like Volatility Spikes (Bloomberg)
Even as the average daily trading range for the euro-dollar pair shrank last year to 91 pips, the second-smallest since the global financial crisis, violent eruptions of volatility capable of wiping out days of gains have become more frequent.
FTSE 100 moves higher as bank shares rise on Dodd-Frank hopes (Market Watch)
U.K. stocks logged modest gains Friday, but was set for a weekly loss even as bank shares rose on reports President Donald Trump plans to dismantle some U.S. regulations on the sector.
The Fed Gets Economics Wrong (Forbes)
Economics (in general) is populated at its core by a lot of bad ideas. And these bad ideas have come to be accepted as the correct interpretation of how the economy functions and thus have become the basis for economic policy.
Dollar holds steady, yen volatile as investors watch BOJ (Market Watch)
The yen remained volatile against its rivals in Asian trade on Friday, coinciding with gyrations in Japanese government bond yields amid speculation about the Bank of Japan’s accommodative policy steps.
Oil up on hopes over production cuts, but investors wary over U.S. politics (Market Watch)
Crude futures clawed back some gains Friday on hopes the continuing output cuts by major producers is chipping away at global oversupply.
Vancouver Home Sales Plunge 40%, Extending String of Declines (Bloomberg)
This time last year, Vancouver was one of world’s hottest housing markets as buyers turned up throughout the winter for bidding wars and sales reached an all-time high.
Several Big Hedge Funds Have Written Letters Warning Their Clients About Donald Trump (Money)
Business leaders initially hailed Donald Trump's election as a victory for looser financial regulations and lower taxes that would improve investment opportunities.
The S&P 500 Futures: Negative Price Action Continues (MrTopStep.com)
Yesterday’s price action in the S&P 500 futures looked to follow through bullish early on. The ESH17 opened the regular session at 2281.75, up 6.75 handles, and then rallied above Sunday nights globex open in the first 10 minutes of the session.
Republicans Reverse Rule to Protect Streams From Coal Mining (NY Times)
Republicans on Thursday took one of their first steps to officially dismantle Obama-era environmental regulations by easing restrictions on coal mining, bolstering an industry that President Trump has made a symbol of America’s neglected heartland.
Japanese Bond Yields Surge, Yen Spikes As Kuroda Disappoints Market: "The Market Will Test The BOJ" (Zero Hedge)
One week ago, yields on the Japanese 10Y JGB tumbled when the BOJ relented, and succumbed to market demands to expand its debt monetization, when it increased the size of its daily bond purchase operation, or POMO in NY Fed parlance, in the 5-10 year zone from JPY410BN to JPY450BN, which sent yields tumbling as market participants assumed the BOJ would chase every uptick in yields with progressively greater bond purchases.
Bullish Sentiment Nears 3-Year Highs (Zero Hedge)
Record short VIX futures, near-record long stock futures, record short bonds, and President Trump saying "don't worry about" – 'what could possibly go wrong' seems to be the mantra for stock market investors with Investors' Intelligence bulls at their highest in almost 3 years (and bears at their lowest in almost 2 years).
Companies
Over 200,000 people deleted Uber after the company operated its service at JFK airport during the Trump strike (Business Insider)
More than 200,000 people deleted their Uber accounts after a weekend of outrage aimed at the ride-hailing company, according to The New York Times.
Trump Might Nudge Sneaker Jobs Home, but Mainly for Robots (Bloomberg)
Sneaker makers, led by Nike, were among the most vocal supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. They had good reason to be: Companies including Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour could have saved $450 million from tariff reductions in just the first year of the deal, forecast the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America.
Technology
Is Snap the Next Facebook or the Next Twitter? (Fortune)
Snap Inc. filed a public paperwork on Thursday afternoon for what has become one of the most hotly anticipated initial public offerings since Facebook's IPO in 2012.
Google blurs the line between websites and Android apps (Engadget)
With its latest Chrome Beta release, Google has given app-like websites called "Progressive Web Apps" a higher status on Android. If you launch a site like Flipkart Lite in the latest Android Chrome beta, you'll now get the option "add to home screen," where it'll appear like any other app on your home screen and app drawer.
Tap payment sunglasses set to make your summer smarter (CNet)
Sunglasses and contactless payments: They go together like music festivals and contactless payments. At least, that's the idea behind the WaveShades, a new contactless payment system built into sunglasses and born from a partnership between Australian startup Inamo, sunglasses-maker Local Suppy and Visa.
GoPro is planning to release a Hero 6 camera in 2017 (Engadget)
If you've been following GoPro for the last few months through its Hero 5 production issues and Karma drone recall (now back on shelves), you're probably not surprised by a disappointing earnings report showing a net loss of $116 million.
Politics
Trump Vows to ‘Destroy’ Law Banning Political Endorsements by Churches (NY Times)
President Trump vowed on Thursday to overturn a law restricting political speech by tax-exempt churches, a potentially huge victory for the religious right and a gesture to evangelicals, a voting bloc he attracted to his campaign by promising to free up their pulpits.
For Europe, There’s a New Threat in Town: The U.S. (NY Times)
The European Union is accustomed to crises. But it is probably safe to say that none of the 28 leaders who are gathering in Malta on Friday expected the crisis that has overtaken the agenda: the United States of America.
U.S. defense chief, in Japan, reaffirms commitment to treaty (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary reaffirmed America's commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan on Friday during a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
Australian leader faces long-term risk after 'Donald Thump' call on refugees (Reuters)
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull might receive a short-term boost after his infamous phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump but is likely to be the long-term political loser, analysts and rights advocates said on Friday.
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One hashtag is uniting Americans in the fight against Trump (Mashable Asia)
Among the millions of vibrant, emotional images of protest packing our timelines since Donald Trump's inauguration, one simple six-letter word has stood out: Resist.
Trump: I won't be as 'kind' to Iran as Obama (Politico)
President Donald Trump continued his combativeness towards Iran, tweeting early Friday morning that the country is “playing with fire.”
Senate sends SEC disclosure rule to the dust bin (Politico)
The Senate Friday gave its thumbs up to a resolution to nullify a SEC rule requiring oil, gas and mining companies to reveal their payments to foreign governments.
Health and Biotech
Patients treated by foreign-educated doctors are less likely to die, study finds (STAT)
Elderly hospitalized patients treated by doctors who graduated from non-US medical schools are slightly less likely to die within 30 days than those treated by graduates of US medical schools, according to a study published Thursday.
New HIV infections in gay men have dropped by a third in England (New Scientist)
New HIV infections in gay men have fallen by nearly a third since 2015 across England, New Scientist can reveal. And it may be down to people buying medicines online, against mainstream medical advice.
Drug stops nasty chemotherapy side effects in mice with cancer (New Scientist)
Pain, nausea and utter exhaustion are just a few of the horrendous side effects most people experience when undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer.
Life on the Home Planet
Sleep Shrinks the Brain—and That's a Good Thing (Scientific American)
Ah, to sleep, perchance … to shrink your neural connections? That's the conclusion of new research that examined subtle changes in the brain during sleep.
US: Israeli settlements no impediment to peace but may not be helpful (The Guardian)
The Trump administration has broken with longstanding US policy by saying Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory are not “an impediment to peace” but cautioned that a further expansion “may not be helpful” to ending the conflict.
Somalia famine fears prompt UN call for 'immediate and massive' reaction (The Guardian)
Somalia is facing a “very real risk” of famine, with more than 6 million people, half its population, facing acute food insecurity in the country, three UN agencies have warned.
