Financial Markets and Economy
No Laughing Matter for Kuroda With BOJ Near 40% of Bond Market (Bloomberg)
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda once chuckled that the Bank of Japan had only gobbled up half as much in government bonds as the Bank of England once did. It soon won’t be a laughing matter.
Here’s Why the Swedish Central Bank Is Done With Adding Stimulus (Bloomberg)
That’s the message from all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of this week’s policy meeting by the Swedish central bank. Looking beyond the Wednesday announcement, most analysts say the Riksbank’s next move will be to raise rates from their record low of minus 0.5 percent and continue to phase out its bond-buying program.
A Top Bond Strategist Looks at Stocks and Recoils (Bloomberg)
I am solely a U.S. interest rate strategist, so it is with no shortage of anxiety that I dare delve into the equity market, which hit new highs again today. I’m typically bullish on bonds and bearish on stocks, so what follows panders to a career bias.
A veteran of the New York Mercantile Exchange is sounding the alarm on oil (Wolf Street)
Being long oil is a very “crowded trade,” but who’s on the other side of that trade, and what do they know that speculators don’t?
“Crowded trade” is an infamous phenomenon. It’s when traders are all betting on the same direction of a trade.
The Hidden Side to the Reflation Trade Is China's Surging Prices (Bloomberg)
Forget about Donald Trump. The global reflation trade may have another driver that proves to be more durable: China’s rebounding factory prices.
European Stocks Decline From One-Year High Amid Global Pullback (Bloomberg)
European stocks declined, heading for their first drop in six sessions, as a broad selloff began after shares had reached their highest level since 2015 on Monday.
Analyst warns investors to prepare for disappointment over Trump's "phenomenal tax plan" (Crain's New York Business)
A warning to investors sending stocks to record highs: President Donald Trump’s “phenomenal tax plan” probably won’t be so great.
US judge denies tribes' request to halt Dakota Access oil pipeline construction (S&P Global Platts)
A US district judge Monday denied an emergency request by two North Dakota tribes to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline as crews rush to finish the last section of the 470,000 b/d Bakken crude outlet.
Chinese Inflation Follows Germany – Explodes To 2011 Highs (Zero Hedge)
In an ominous sign of the need for more tightening, Chinese inflation (CPI and PPI) ripped higher in January.
Both Consumer and Producer prices rose more than expected but it was the 6.9% spike in PPI that is most troublesome – fastest rate of price expansion since August 2011.
/about/GettyImages-543348832-589e190a3df78c4758e4aa8d.jpg)
How Buying Fear and Selling Greed Could Make You a Smarter Investor (The Balance)
For many investors, these six words are not only profound, but also describe a very simple and effective approach that could make you money:
"Buy the fear, sell the greed."
Trader Warns "US Markets Are Playing Global Pied Piper" (Zero Hedge)
Markets have started this week feeling much relieved, notes Bloomberg's Richard Breslow, as the understandable fears that U.S.-Asia strategy might continue their lurch toward direct economic confrontation were given a respite.
Trump To Unveil "Passive-Aggressive" Currency War With China (Zero Hedge)
While one of Trump's most sincere desires, both during his campaign, and ideologically from his life prior to politics, has been to publicly declare China a currency manipulator – something he promised he would do on day one of his administration – and crack down on the "undervalued" Yuan (even though over the past 18 months, China has been scrambling to prevent further devaluation of the Yuan in light of over $1 trillion in capital outflows in recent years), lately Trump appears to have gotten second thoughts, and after backing off on his intent to negotiate the "One China" policy, now Trump is looking for a way out of engaging China directly in currency war.
Technology
Why Intel Corporation Is So Excited About Virtual Reality (Fool.com)
One of the most talked-about areas in technology today is virtual reality. Many of the key hardware and software industry players seem to take every chance to talk about the opportunities that virtual reality will open to their businesses, and microprocessor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is no exception.
Daimler to focus Smart brand on electric cars in U.S., Canada (Reuters)
Daimler (DAIGn.DE) will stop selling combustion engine Smart cars in the United States and Canada and focus the brand on electric vehicles in the two markets, the company said late on Monday.
Harvard has created a 'liquid' battery that could last for more than a decade (Wired)
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from phones to electricity grids but their lifespan is incredibly short, plus they're difficult to recycle. Now, researchers at Harvard University have found a solution, literally.
Politics
Flynn resigns as national security adviser (Politico)
Michael Flynn resigned as President Donald Trump's national security adviser Monday night, amid a growing scandal over his contacts with Russian officials.
John Oliver connects the dots to find “pathological liar” Donald Trump’s news sources (Salon)
Approaching the one-month anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration, “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver acutely summarized where the republic is at on Sunday, declaring, “We have a president capable of standing in the rain and saying it was a sunny day.”
From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open (NY Times)
President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a remarkable public display of presidential activity that is almost always conducted in highly secure settings.
Head of one of the most powerful congressional committees says he won't seek Trump's tax returns (Washington Examiner)
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said he will not call on the Treasury secretary to compel President Trump to release his tax returns, nor will he take any other action to force the issue.
How Condé Nast Learned to Love Tangling With Trump (Bloomberg)
In the melee of coverage before and after the election, no glossy magazine publisher has been more publicly invested in swinging hard against Donald Trump than Condé Nast. And it’s not just within the usual highbrow political pages of the New Yorker.
The ‘Caddyshack’ President (NY Times)
“Now you’ve got some pretty good pictures — the prime minister of Japan, and the president.”
That’s President Trump, crashing a wedding party at his Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday night, immediately after holding a news conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to address North Korea’s firing of a missile, which flew 310 miles before dropping into the Sea of Japan.
Trump ally defended claims of massive voter fraud on CNN. It did not go well. (Think Progress)
During his rounds on the Sunday morning political shows, White House Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller defended President Trump’s latest claims of massive voter fraud in New Hampshire.
Health and Biotech
Gilead and 'Good News' Make A Rare, Joint Appearance at HIV Conference (The Street)
There is good news from Gilead Sciences (GILD) — finally.
Bictegravir, the company's next-generation integrase inhibitor, suppressed the HIV virus in newly diagnosed patients better than dolutegravir, a similar, rival drug from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), according to results from a mid-stage clinical trial announced Monday night.
Life on the Home Planet
The 30 Cheapest Places To Travel In 2017 (Forbes)
Time to start packing your bags: 2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for budget travel. The dollar is enjoying historic highs — meaning your money goes much further in many destinations around the globe — and according to an American Express Global Business Travel report, airfares are expected to fall in 2017.
Subway’s Slide in Performance Leaves Straphangers Fuming (NY Times)
After a long period of improvement, the system’s reliability has dropped significantly, with delays more than doubling over the last five years, according to a review of data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Animated map shows the most and least educated US states (Business Insider)
WalletHub compared all 50 states across 11 total metrics grouped by category. The states were graded on a weighted 100-point scale, with 100 being the highest possible points.
