Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Stocks Drop as Slumping Oil Prices Weigh on Energy Shares (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks fell in tandem with world equity markets Monday as nine of 11 industry groups in the S&P 500 Index declined, coming off a mixed week that ended with the best day for financial stocks since November.
U.S. Oil and Gas Prices May Tumble On Trump's ‘Energy Revolution’ (Bloomberg)
President Trump’s vow to “unleash an energy revolution” by reversing regulations may send oil and natural gas prices tumbling in 2018, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Treasuries Rise Following European Debt on French Election Risk (Bloomberg)
Treasuries gained, pushing 10-year yields to the lowest in about two weeks, amid widening euro-zone sovereign spreads and declines for European stocks driven by rising French election risk.
Still, the defensive tone of Monday morning's European Parliament testimony by the currency's chief steward, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, speaks to the currency union's especially troubled youth.
Consumer Stocks Stop Reflating as Streak of Down Days Hits Seven (Bloomberg)
Even as U.S. economic indicators beat forecasts at the highest rate in 29 months, consumer discretionary stocks in the S&P 500 Index are failing to provide follow-through, falling Monday for a seventh consecutive day.
The incomes of the top 20% have risen way more than those of the bottom 20% since 1980 (Business Insider)
A note from Morgan Stanley's Global Co-Head of Economics and Chief Asia Economist Chetan Ahya included a chart showing how real mean household incomes in the US changed between 1980 and 2015 for each income quintile. While incomes for the top 20% grew by about 60% over that time, the mean income for the bottom 20% has grown only around 10%.
These are the charts to watch for a stock market dip in February (Market Watch)
Market sentiment is at a nearly three-year high, the economy is chugging along and earnings are bouncing back. So what could go wrong? Apparently, quite a bit.
ECB president to Trump: 'We are not currency manipulators' (CNN)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has struck back at the Trump administration, forcefully rejecting accusations that Germany is manipulating the euro and warning that banking regulations must not be rolled back.
Dollar Pares Gain as Japanese Yen Surges to High Since November (Bloomberg)
The Japanese yen rose versus all of its G-10 peers, driving dollar-yen to its lowest level since Nov. 29 as traders unwound stale yen short positions across several currency pairs, notably against the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar.
It’s tough to be a bear in the stock market these days (Market Watch)
While so many were so bearish throughout 2016, many were caught on the wrong side of the stock market in one of the largest rallies we have seen in years.
U.S. East Coast Has a Growing Appetite for Foreign Oil (Bloomberg)
U.S. East Coast refineries, which have thrived for a few years on a boom of production from the Bakken shale play in North Dakota and eastern Montana, are increasingly looking abroad to supply their needs.
World’s Best-Yielding Stock Market Is Set to Get Even Better (Bloomberg)
Dividend yield for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index, already a world-beater last year, is projected to widen in 2017 as company profits increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Why low-income borrowers should avoid for-profit colleges (Market Watch)
Student loans are meant to be an engine for economic mobility, providing students who can’t afford a college education the opportunity to get one. But new data suggest student debt can actually exacerbate inequality if a borrower chooses the wrong school.
Investors on Hunt for Takeover Candidates in Singapore (Bloomberg)
With more than half of Singapore equities trading below their net worth, some investors are chasing profits by buying shares in companies that may be bought out or delisted by controlling shareholders or takeover firms.
Travel Industry on Edge as U.S. Visa Policy Upends Flight Plans (Benchmark, Bloomberg)
When the U.S. government advises its citizens from traveling abroad, it often has a chilling effect on that country’s tourism industry. Now America may be entering a freeze of its own, as the fallout from its new visa and immigration policy has globetrotters anxious about traveling to and from the U.S.
Indian Billionaire Senses U.S. Bonanza From Trump’s Tax Agenda (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Aloke Lohia sees the possibility of a major boost for his petrochemical company Indorama Ventures Pcl, courtesy of President Donald Trump’s tax agenda.
How To Get Back A Lost $10B: One Bank's Tale In Europe's Biggest Alleged Fraud (Forbes)
Few people have much time for banks right now but spare a thought for BTA Bank of Kazakhstan. Like many other banks it has lost billions of dollars over the last decade.
How To Solve America's Retirement Savings Crisis (Forbes)
It might seem weird, but a serious worry I carry around for my five young-adult children – on top of concerns about their health and happiness – is whether they’ll ever be able to afford to retire.
Companies
Toyota Industries buys warehousing, robotics firm Bastian Solutions (The Wall Street Journal)
Toyota Industries Corp. is acquiring Bastian Solutions LLC, an Indianapolis-based warehouse automation and robotics developer, as the Japanese manufacturer looks to enter the U.S. logistics market.
HPE’s Whitman Gets $35.6 Million for 2016 After Company Split (Bloomberg)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman got $35.6 million in compensation for fiscal 2016 after leading efforts to pare down her company amid growing competition from cloud-based service providers.
Perry Capital’s Westhus Begins Plans for Distressed Fund (Bloomberg)
Todd Westhus, one of the top money managers at Perry Capital, is in the preliminary stages of starting his own hedge fund, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Tiffany Faces Identity Crisis That Lady Gaga Alone Won’t Fix (Bloomberg)
Tiffany & Co. tried to put a new face forward last weekend when the 179-year-old jeweler aired a Super Bowl ad featuring Lady Gaga. But the challenges ahead — including weak sales, aging customers and its search for a new leader — are overshadowing the makeover.
Technology
Uber is just one company interested in 'flying cars' — here are 5 others (Business Insider)
Uber made a huge hire to advance its flying-car plans.
Mark Moore has left his position as an advanced aircraft engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center to join Uber's flying-car project, dubbed Uber Elevate, Bloomberg first reported Monday.
Apple beat Samsung in smartphone shipments for the first time in 5 years (Business Insider)
Apple reclaimed the top spot of the smartphone market last quarter for the first time since 2011, in large part due to the release of new iPhones and Samsung's exploding Galaxy Note 7s.
Google may lean on a partner to sell Android apps in China (Engadget)
Google's presence in China is limited, to put it mildly, but it might have found a way to get its foot in the door. The Information sources claim that Chinese internet veteran NetEase is talking to Google about launching the Play Store in China.
Bringing bots to life with AI (Venture Beat)
Any video gamer knows how boring NPCs (non-playable characters) in digital worlds are. Their behavior is simple and predictable and their words entirely scripted by a staff of writers. This makes them uninteresting opponents and unsatisfying companions.
Portal in Microsoft's HoloLens looks like the best demo ever (CNet)
Microsoft's HoloLens headset isn't a toy. There's no release date for a consumer version, and the current oh-so-limited-but-awesome development kit costs US $3,000 a pop.
Turn Down For What! This Innovative Music App Could Actually Improve Your Hearing (Digital Trends)
Here in 2017, there’s no shortage of music apps available for your smartphone. From exclusive tracks to sound quality to better compensation for artists, you’d be forgiven for asking what a new one could possibly add to the mix.
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MIT is developing the super battery of your dreams (Mashable Asia)
The lithium-ion battery in your phone might look like a solid chunk of energy-producing plastic at first glance, but if you were to bust it open and take a closer look, you'd see there's also some liquid inside. That's because most lithium-ion batteries are composed of multiple parts: two solid electrodes, separated by a polymer membrane infused with a liquid or gel electrolyte.
Politics
Donald Trump Is Not Welcome To Address Parliament, U.K. Speaker Declares (The Huffington Post)
A top-ranking British lawmaker vowed on Monday to block President Donald Trump from speaking before the U.K. Parliament in the historic Westminster Hall, citing that body’s opposition to racism and sexism and its support for equality and an independent judiciary.
California is not 'out of control,' leaders tell Trump (Reuters)
California leaders pushed back on Monday against President Donald Trump's claim that the state is "out of control," pointing to its balanced budget and high jobs numbers in the latest dustup between the populist Republican and the progressive state.
Retired general says Trump's defense of Putin is 'the most anti-American statement ever made' by a president (Business Insider)
Retired US Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey slammed President Donald Trump's defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, calling it "the most anti-American statement ever made by the president of the United States."
Anti Trump Protests Complicate Start Of His Presidency (Associated Press)
Scrappy as ever, Donald Trump on Monday dismissed polls showing low approval ratings as "fake news." But whatever his opinion, active opposition to his go-it-alone presidency appears to be widening.
Corporate America tackles Trump (Politico)
Technology giants like Google and Facebook are leading the movement. But more traditional American brands like Budweiser, Coca-Cola and 84 Lumber used the Super Bowl, watched by more than 100 million people, to brand themselves in sharp contrast to Trump’s nationalist agenda on immigration and trade.
Democrats aren't worried about a GOP congressman's bill to abolish the EPA (Business Insider)
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a bill Friday (H.R.861) to abolish the EPA, but Democratic congressional staff told Business Insider that they don't expect the bill to go anywhere.
Senate In Round-The-Clock Session To Confirm Trumpo Cabinet (Associated Press)
Democrats announced plans Monday to hold the Senate floor around the clock to protest Republicans' push to confirm President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks.
The Latest: Democrat Backs Agriculture Secretary Nominee (Associated Press)
President Donald Trump's nominee for agriculture secretary, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, has already won the support of one farm-state Democrat.
North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said Monday she'll support Perdue's nomination.
Life on the Home Planet
Rare Snow Shuts Seattle Area Schools, Cuts Power for 100,000 (Associated Press)
A snowstorm that blanketed Seattle and western Washington state into Monday morning prompted widespread school closures, flight cancellations and power outages for more than 100,000 electrical utility customers, officials said.
Switching from smoking to vaping does reduce your carcinogens (New Scientist)
Are electronic cigarettes really any safer than smoking? A study that looked at the amount of cancer-causing chemicals in smoker’s bodies suggests yes.
Scientists have figured out how our brains sharpen our memories while we sleep (Science Alert)
We all know that if we want what we've studied during the day to stick, it's best to get a good night's sleep. And while scientists have long understood that our memories rely on connections being built between neurons in our brains, it's not been clear how sleep actually helps to consolidate that information.
In Japan’s Countryside, Villages Fight to Keep Tradition Alive (Bloomberg)
Traditions die hard in the small mountain town of Kanegasaki, whose history includes a series of battles nearly 1,000 years ago that drove an ancestor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave the area for southern Japan.
Iraqi forces wage psychological war with jihadist corpses (Reuters)
The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. Suicide bombers' belts beside the fighters can still explode, killing anyone nearby.
