Financial Markets and Economy
S&P 500 ekes out gain while banks drag on Dow (Bloomberg)
The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Wednesday as investors digested mixed earnings reports, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped as bank stocks weighed.
Big Investors Cut Back on Commercial Property as Bull Market Loses Steam (The Wall Street Journal)
Some prominent real-estate investors are reducing their holdings and getting more selective about new deals, in a sign that the eight-year bull market for U.S. commercial property is coming to a close.
U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Utility-Stock Rally Offsets Banks (Bloomberg)
U.S stocks were little changed after paring earlier losses, as investors continued to study company earnings for clues on the health of corporate America and as energy companies staged a rebound.
Stocks once again saw a relatively quiet day.
All three indices finished little changed, but the Dow slipped into the red.
Workers Set to Strike at World’s Largest Copper Mine (The Wall Street Journal)
Workers at the world’s largest copper-mining operation are expected to strike on Thursday, driving up copper prices on fears of a shortage of the metal and expectations it could trigger stoppages at other mines.
Russia Shows Why China Should Just Stop Burning Up Its Reserves (Bloomberg)
China has wiped out about a quarter of the world’s heftiest foreign-currency stockpile over the past 18 months in its quest to keep the yuan stable. According to Commerzbank AG, such intervention is futile.
After working for Boston-based State Street Associates as a senior managing director and head of the portfolio-management group, the Canadian native moved to the West Coast to join PIMCO as an executive vice president.
Companies Plow Ahead With Moves to Mexico, Despite Trump’s Pressure (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump boosted the hopes of employees at Rexnord Corp.’s factory here in December when he castigated the company for “viciously firing” workers and planning to move their jobs to Mexico.
Supply Is the Technical Factor Behind Global Rally in Markets (Bloomberg)
Rising political risks. A fading era of central-bank stimulus. The potential end of a multi-decade bull run in U.S. government debt.
Here are the stocks investors on hot trading app Robinhood love the most (Business Insider)
When Stanford grads Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt set out to launch their trading app Robinhood, they were aiming to provide a platform that was more accessible for beginner investors than traditional brokerage firms.
China Central Bank Said to Call Bitcoin Exchanges for Talks (Bloomberg)
China’s central bank is holding a closed-door meeting with several domestic bitcoin exchanges on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said, heightening concerns that regulators will tighten their oversight of trading in digital currencies.
Japanese Shares Fall After Yen, Treasuries Advance: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)
Political uncertainty continues to infect markets, with gains in Treasuries and the yen underpinning declines in Japanese shares. The New Zealand dollar fell after the central bank held interest rates at a record low.
Treasuries Rise as Fiscal Stimulus, Inflation Expectations Ease (Bloomberg)
Treasuries gained for a fourth day as fading odds of near-term fiscal stimulus extended a rally that began in Europe after strong demand at government bond sales, prompting traders to cover short positions ahead of the Treasury’s 10-year note auction.
Inflows, Inflation and IMF: Egypt’s Economic Overhaul in Charts (Bloomberg)
Egypt is overhauling an economy that was starved of investment and hard currency during years of upheaval following the Arab Spring. It has floated the pound, raised interest rates and cut subsidies, securing a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan in November.
China Has Got the Yuan in a Sweet Spot (Bloomberg)
The nation’s authorities have let the currency rise enough against the U.S. dollar to put a spanner in President Donald Trump’s assertion that China deliberately undervalues its exchange rate.
Companies
Trump Assails Nordstrom for ‘Unfairly’ Dropping His Daughter Ivanka’s Line (NY Times)
President Trump lashed out on Wednesday at the Nordstrom department store chain for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s clothing and accessories line, once again raising ethical questions about the relationship between his presidency and his family’s sprawling business interests.
Melania Trump Sues Mail Online for $150 Million (Bloomberg)
First Lady Melania Trump is suing a British newspaper, saying a defamatory article it later retracted deprived her of the chance to launch a lucrative brand of clothing, shoes, jewelry and perfume.
Is Sears toast? Retailer's stock hits all-time low (CNN)
This is how bad things are at Sears. Shares of the once proud retailer plunged nearly 15% on Tuesday and hit their lowest level ever since its merger with Kmart back in 2005.
Anthem’s $48 billion purchase of Cigna blocked by judge (The Wall Street Journal)
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked health insurer Anthem Inc. ANTM, +0.01% from acquiring rival Cigna Corp. CI, -0.04%, the second court ruling in recent weeks to deal a decisive rebuke to efforts to reshape the industry through megamergers.
Technology
Concerns Loom Over a Data-Sharing Pact to Protect Privacy of Europeans (The Wall Street Journal)
The ability of companies to transfer everything from payroll files to social media posts to the U.S. from Europe could be in jeopardy, tech executives and European officials worry, should the Trump administration consider removing existing privacy protections for Europeans.
Uber teams up with Zipcar to lure more drivers (The Wall Street Journal)
In Uber’s deal with Zipcar, a unit of Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR, -0.81%, drivers in Boston can rent vehicles for $12 an hour, on top of a $7 monthly rental fee, roughly in line with what Zipcar offers cars for in the city.
New app helps people track internet censorship (CNN)
The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), which monitors networks for censorship and surveillance, is launching Ooniprobe, a mobile app to test network connectivity and let you know when a website is censored in your area.
Apple has a firm grip on wireless headphones in the US (Business Insider)
It took five months, but Apple is finally ready to ship the last of its new batch of wireless headphones. The company on Tuesday announced that BeatsX, the neckband-style earphones from its Beats subsidiary, will go on sale and join the fully wireless AirPods, over-ear Solo 3 Wireless, and exercise-focused Powerbeats3 Wireless by the end of the week.
After several months of delays, an overhaul of its original vision, and some wrangling of hardware partners, Google's new smartwatch software, Android Wear 2.0, launches this week.
The future of tech is already here — and nobody cares (Business Insider)
Something funny is happening in the world of cutting-edge tech.
On Wednesday, Best Buy announced that it would be closing 200 out of its 500 in-store demo locations for the Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, apparently because of low interest.
Flipboard streamlines your feed with 'Smart Magazines' (Engadget)
The latest update from news aggregation service Flipboard aims to further unify and organize users' online feeds by introducing "Smart Magazines." The new feature creates topic-specific publications that readers can customize by selecting their favorite websites and social feeds.
Politics
Who are the three judges who will decide on Donald Trump's travel ban? (The Telegraph)
Donald Trump's travel ban now hangs in the balance, with three San Francisco-based judges weighing up whether the ban should be reinstated, or kept on hold.
Trump on Immigration Power: I Can Do Whatever I Want (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump defended his power to put limits on who can enter the U.S., saying it shouldn’t be challenged in the courts even as a three-judge panel weighs whether to reinstate restrictions on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations.
Trump’s Plan to Tap Offshore Profit for Infrastructure Gains an Ally (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump’s plan to use corporate profits returned from overseas to help finance nationwide improvements to roads, bridges, airports and other public works picked up an important supporter in the U.S. House: Representative Bill Shuster.
Erdogan, Trump agree joint action against Islamic State in Syria: Turkish sources (Reuters)
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in an overnight phone call on joint action against Islamic State in the Syrian towns of Raqqa and al-Bab, both held by the militants, Turkish presidency sources said on Wednesday.
Trump questions lawmakers' efforts to curb asset seizures by police (Reuters)
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was "no reason" to curb law enforcement agencies that seize cash, vehicles and other assets of people suspected of crimes, a practice that some lawmakers and activists have criticized for denying legal rights.
China says United States should 'brush up on' South China Sea history (Reuters)
The United States needs to brush up on its history about the South China Sea, as World War Two-related agreements mandated that all Chinese territories taken by Japan had to be returned to China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Australia.
Russia opposition leader Navalny says Kremlin sabotaging his presidential bid (Reuters)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny accused the Kremlin of trying to block him from running in next year's presidential election after a court on Wednesday found him guilty of embezzlement.
Health and Biotech
Women with a thicker brain cortex are more likely to have autism (New Scientist)
The cerebral cortex is the wrinkled outer layer of the brain that is responsible for many of our most human traits, including thought, language and consciousness. This layer is typically thicker in men than in women, and its structure has been linked to differences in personality.
Antibiotics might kill gut bacteria that protect newborn lungs (New Scientist)
Exposure to antibiotics in the womb could permanently weaken the immune system and make lung disease more likely, research in mice suggests.
Life on the Home Planet
Greek Firefighters Take to Streets Over Hiring Conditions (Associated Press)
Hundreds of firefighters in uniform took to the streets of Athens Wednesday, saying roughly one third of their jobs are at risk due to hiring restrictions placed on the public sector by Greece's international bailout conditions.
12 things every driver needs to know before driving in the snow (Business Insider)
Winter has been milder than normal in many parts of the US, but that doesn't mean snowstorm won't happen. In fact, some severe winter weather is bearing down on the East Coast and could dump half a foot or more of snow before it's done this week.
Rare mid-weight black hole found at heart of bright star cluster (New Scientist)
We’ve caught another glimpse of a shy cosmic monster. Middle-weight black holes are elusive, but our best evidence of one so far comes from inside one of the Milky Way’s brightest star clusters – and its existence suggests similar objects may have seeded the supermassive black holes occupying the centres of giant galaxies.
