Financial Markets and Economy
Dow Jones barely notches sixth straight record high close (Reuters)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average scored its sixth straight record high on Thursday, but just barely, while the S&P 500 edged lower due to declining energy stocks.
One of Government’s Largest Landlords, Vornado, Pays Millions Each Year to Trump Company (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump’s company receives tens of millions of dollars a year from Vornado Realty Trust, which relies on the federal government for a significant portion of its revenue and is vying for new work from Mr. Trump’s administration.
Trump Hates Trade Deficits, But Which Ones Really Matter? (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump is fixated on deficits as measures of how the U.S. gets the short end of the stick in trade deals. He’s had Mexico in his Twitter crosshairs for selling $63 billion more in goods to the U.S. than it buys, blaming “one-sided” Nafta for a “massive” imbalance—one he's promised to fix by renogotiating the terms of the agreement.
The pound has dived below $1.24 after retail sales disappointed (Business Insider)
The pound is sliding on Friday, passing below the 1.24 mark against the dollar for the first time in several weeks after a troublingly poor set of retail sales figures.
Here's the most important exported good from every state (Business Insider)
International trade is an important part of the US economy, and that is also true for the economies of the 50 states and DC that together make up that national economy.
10 things you need to know in markets today (Business Insider)
Good morning! Here's what you need to know in markets on Friday.
Samsung boss Lee Jae-Yong has been arrested over corruption claims. The vice-chairman and notional head of the world’s biggest smartphone maker is facing bribery, corruption and embezzlement charges over payments Samsung made to a close friend of South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached over the scandal.
UK retail sales had a horrible month in January as post-Brexit inflation starts to bite (Business Insider)
UK retail sales had another horrible month in January, dropping by 0.3%, according to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
European stocks slip, trimming their gain for the week (Market Watch)
European stocks dropped Friday, trimming their weekly advance, as Dutch storage company Royal Vopak NV helped lead the way lower.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.29% fell 0.5% to 368.20.
Here’s the case for Dow 30,000 in Trump's first term (Market Watch)
The fundamental case for Dow 30,000 during Donald Trump's first term has strengthened as earnings season winds down.
Trump Tax Cuts Could Boost Profit $12 Billion at Big U.S. Banks (Bloomberg)
The six largest U.S. banks could see annual profit jump by an average of 14 percent if President Donald Trump delivers on his promise to cut corporate taxes.
Divergent policy outlooks keep Germany-U.S. bond yield gap near one-month high (Reuters)
The spread between U.S. and German benchmark government bond yields were close to one-month highs on Thursday as the central banks of the two regions diverge on policy and political risks in Europe keep a lid on yields.
Frenzied Betting, Sleeping Market: Something Must Give in Oil (Bloomberg)
As hedge funds and money managers place record trades on a rally in oil, the price itself has fallen asleep. Logic dictates that something should give. Here are five charts examining the unprecedented speculative build-up and what the market’s next turn might be.
Greece will run out of money in July and its creditors can't agree on what to do (Business Insider)
Eurozone countries look set to miss a self-imposed deadline next Monday to agree on aid measures for Greece, which risks running out of money in July.
Behind the Fortress Deal: A Japanese Billionaire’s Huge Ambitions (The Wall Street Journal)
Late last year, Fortress Investment Group co-Chairman Peter Briger talked to an old friend about a deal for his firm.
On the line was Rajeev Misra, who left Fortress in 2014 for a senior post at SoftBank Group, the Japanese telecommunications company.
The Most-Hated Bear in Solar Isn’t Backing Down (Bloomberg)
When Elon Musk’s SolarCity hosted stock analysts about a year ago to gush about its prospects in the solar industry, Gordon Johnson was nowhere to be found.
Could index investing become too risky? (Market Watch)
Seth Klarman is one of the few hedge fund managers praised by Warren Buffett. His Boston-based Baupost Group is famously tight-lipped and extraordinarily successful, currently managing around $30 billion.
Dow’s record run set to stumble with traders in holiday mood (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower start for Wall Street, on the heels of a session that halted a broad-based rally for equities and amid expectations volumes will thin out ahead of a long holiday weekend.
Companies
Nestlé Drops Targets as Consumer Giants Struggle (The Wall Street Journal)
Nestlé SA has thrown out a long-running sales-growth target—at least for the next three years—as the world’s largest packaged-food company and its rivals struggle with ultralow inflation and fast-changing consumer tastes.
Samsung arrest; Trump visits Boeing; Investors pause (CNN)
Lee Jae-yong has been under investigation as part of the huge political corruption scandal that has rocked the country.
Technology
Toyota, GM and Lyft want nationwide rules for self-driving cars (Engadget)
Automakers Toyota and GM and ride-sharing firm Lyft called on the US government to create US-wide standards to ease the testing and adoption of autonomous cars.
Google's 'really blue' Pixel and Pixel XL come to the UK (Engadget)
When Google announced the Pixel and Pixel XL, it showed off three colors: silver, black and "really blue." Only two of those made it to the UK, however, with the third and whackiest option remaining a US exclusive.
Google built an AI that will play piano duets with you (Business Insider)
Google is trying to create artificial intelligence (AI) capable of making art — and it has now taught it to play piano.
A new experiment from the Californian technology giant lets you play musical duets with a piano-playing AI.
Politicians should not attempt to regulate the kinds of artificial intelligence (AI) that are portrayed in Hollywood movies like "Ex Machina," according to the head of a technology-focused department at the European Commission.
How Samsung dominates South Korea's economy (CNN)
Samsung is known around the world for its smartphones. But in its home market of South Korea, the huge company is a whole lot more than just a tech brand.
Scientists are building an army of tiny cancer-fighting robots (Engadget)
Scientists have worked for years to incorporate robotics into delicate medical procedures. They've given us tiny devices that can inject drugs into a person's eye or bend to operate on hard-to-reach areas.
VR headset attachment promises to manage stress and sleep (Engadget)
Some VR experiences could be relaxing on their own, but there's a VR accessory that was designed to make sure you get some well-deserved R&R. That accessory, which attaches to a VR headset's strap, is called Kortex created by medical device maker Fisher Wallace.
Politics
Immigrants across the U.S. skip work, school in anti-Trump protest (Reuters)
Businesses shut their doors, students skipped class and thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the United States on Thursday to protest President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
French Election Puts Possibility of ‘Frexit’ on the Agenda (The Wall Street Journal)
What’s striking about the French presidential election is the extent to which the two front-runners share a basic analysis of the choice facing the country.
Trump's F-35 Calls Came With a Surprise: Rival CEO Was Listening (Bloomberg)
Days before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump made two surprise calls to the Air Force general managing the Pentagon’s largest weapons program, the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 jet.
U.S. lawmakers push for answers on Trump team's Russia ties (Reuters)
A crisis over the relationship between President Donald Trump's aides and Russia deepened on Wednesday as a growing number of Trump's fellow Republicans demanded expanded congressional inquiries into the matter.
This Time It's Different, Prime Minister Says as Iceland Booms (Bloomberg)
Iceland may be booming again, but there are still nearly $2 billion worth of offshore krona assets threatening to lay to waste more than seven years of painstaking clean up work, its new prime minister said.
Russia, Iran Need Each Other, Despite Disagreements (The Wall Street Journal)
Iran and Russia aren’t often on the same page in the Middle East. But if President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to drive a wedge between the two, there is precious little incentive it can offer Moscow to abandon its crucial partner.
Malaysia Nabs Third Suspect in Murder of Kim's Half Brother (Bloomberg)
Malaysian police detained a third suspect in the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Trudeau Says EU Must Spread Benefits or Risk Trade's Decline (Bloomberg)
The trade pact between Canada and the European Union approved this week could be one of last multilateral trade deals unless policy makers share the benefits more widely, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told European lawmakers.
French Prosecutors Continue François Fillon Probe (The Wall Street Journal)
Presidential candidate François Fillon’s attempt to stop a criminal investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds suffered a setback Thursday after prosecutors said an initial police report does not justify dropping the case.
Health and Biotech
Two new drug therapies might cure every form of tuberculosis (New Scientist)
Tuberculosis, the world’s leading infectious killer, may have finally met its match. Two new drug therapies may be able to cure all forms of tuberculosis – even the ones most difficult to treat.
Key Alzheimer’s drug shows ‘virtually no chance of working’ (New Scientist)
Another one bites the dust. Pharmaceutical giant Merck has halted a trial of a promising Alzheimer’s drug, verubecestat, after it was determined that there was virtually no chance of it working.
Vitamin D supplements may prevent millions of winter infections (New Scientist)
If everyone took vitamin D supplements, more than 3 million fewer people in the UK would have respiratory infections like colds or flu every year. That’s according to a new analysis of data from nearly 11,000 people.
Life on the Home Planet
Oxygen Levels in the Ocean Are Dropping, and It's All Because of Us (Science Alert)
The level of oxygen in our oceans has dropped over the past half-century, and human activity such as burning fossil fuels and dumping fertilisers in the sea is to blame, according to a new study.
Oklahoma Just Hit Temperatures of 100 Fahrenheit in the Depths of Winter (Science Alert)
The Northern Hemisphere is in the depths of winter at the moment, with February usually the coldest month for the United States.
A Massive 'Blob' of Abnormal Conditions in the Pacific Has Increased Ozone Levels (Science Alert)
A vast patch of abnormally warm water in the Pacific Ocean – nicknamed the blob – resulted in increased levels of ozone above the Western US, researchers have found.
Hard to detect, China bird flu virus may be more widespread (Reuters)
Bird flu infection rates on Chinese poultry farms may be far higher than previously thought, because the strain of the deadly virus that has killed more than 100 people this winter is hard to detect in chickens and geese, animal health experts say.
After drug war contracting boom, Mexican prisons stand idle (Reuters)
Despite a price tag of more than 2 billion pesos ($98 million), the Papantla prison built for about 2,000 men in the eastern state of Veracruz does not have a single inmate, and only a handful of staff look after the site.
