Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Stocks Rise With Dollar as Commodities Climb: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rose to records as commodities from copper to crude surged and retailer results topped estimates. The dollar resumed its advance amid fresh signs global growth has started to accelerate.
Dollar rises after Fed comments; euro weakens (Market Watch)
The dollar gained against its rival currencies Tuesday, as comments from a Federal Reserve official drove up U.S. Treasury yields in Asia, along with demand for the U.S. currency.
Oil prices rise as investors increase their bullish bets (Market Watch)
Crude futures moved higher Tuesday as investors held onto their bullish positions, betting on the supply to tighten as major oil producers cut their output.
The Donald Trump Stock Rally: Who’s Winning and Losing (Fortune)
The companies that President Trump tweets about get the attention (hello, Nordstrom), but those aren’t the ones whose stocks have been affected most by the White House agenda.
China stocks rise as investors see a bull market on the horizon (Market Watch)
Asian stocks ended mostly higher Tuesday, with Japanese equities rising as the yen pulled back against the U.S. dollar while banking stocks bolstered gains in Chinese trade.
Euro-Area Economic Recovery Broadens as France Outpaces Germany (Bloomberg)
A gauge for economic activity rose to the highest level in almost six years in February, following previous signals that the region’s frail recovery is finally taking shape. National gauges showed France outpacing Germany for the first time since 2012 — a development that could signal growth in the 19-nation region is becoming more broad-based.
Records for U.S. stocks hang in the balance ahead of Wal-Mart results, PMI data (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher start for Wall Street on Tuesday, poised for another shot at record territory that may hinge on the outcome of manufacturing and service surveys due later.
6 charts that show how the 'gig economy' has changed Britain – and why it's not a good thing (Business Insider)
Tax incentives such as low rates of corporation tax have fuelled a UK boom in self-employment, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation.
And the trend could leave the Treasury £6 billion out of pocket if it continues.
You Can Bet On Whether the SEC Approves the First Bitcoin ETF (Bloomberg)
Speculators can bet on whether the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust (COIN), developed by the venture capitalist twins who were involved in a long-running legal battle over the ownership of Facebook, will be approved as the first exchange-traded fund to track a digital currency by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
EUROZONE PMI BEATS: 'We are running out of superlatives to describe the German economy' (Business Insider)
The eurozone economy continued to grow quickly in February,according to the latest flash PMI estimates from IHS Markit, released on Tuesday.
The European Union wants Britain to continue paying into projects and plans up to 2023, according to the Telegraph.
Bumper tax receipts swell public finances in January (The Guardian)
A boost in self-assessment tax receipts and a bumper flow of capital gains tax to the exchequer has sent the government’s borrowing bill to its lowest January level in 17 years.
Investors Bet on Israeli Tech Stock Windfall Under Trump (Reuters)
Investors are betting heavily that Israeli defense and cyber-security firms will reap a windfall from President Donald Trump's big U.S. spending plans, although likely benefits for the wider economy remain like the man himself, hard to predict.
The One Thing Sales Organizations Should Do To Increase Revenue In 2017 (Forbes)
If you believe the research, only 55% of salespeople make quota. That means 45% of sales people don't make their quota, and the reason is we're flying blind.
Oops! The economy is like a self-driving car (Our Finite World)
Back in 1776, Adam Smith talked about the “invisible hand” of the economy. Investopedia explains how the invisible hand works as, “In a free market economy, self-interested individuals operate through a system of mutual interdependence to promote the general benefit of society at large.”
US Futures, European Stocks Rise Despite HSBC Plunge; Dollar, Oil Jump (Zero Hedge)
European stocks rose again with S&P futures higher, while Asian stocks were mixed. The dollar rose jumped on hawkish comments by Philly Fed's Harker, oil rose following optimistic OPEC comments, while gold dropped.
Companies
HSBC hit by loss of more than $4 billion (CNN)
HSBC (HSBC) on Tuesday reported a net loss of $4.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2016. The biggest single hit to its battered bottom line came from a $2.4 billion writedown of the value of its private banking business in Europe.
Wal-Mart, Spending to Fend off Amazon, Posts Earnings Decline as Revenue Grows (The Wall Street Journal)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s profit fell 18% in the fourth quarter as it continues to boost spending to thwart competition from online retailers like Amazon, as revenue was boosted by e-commerce sales.
Toshiba’s Huge Nuclear Writedown Isn’t Its Only Problem (Reuters)
Japan's Toshiba, scrambling to fill the balance sheet hole left by a $6.3 billion hit to its nuclear operations, is also on the hook to pay billions of dollars for a U.S. natural gas contract.
Toys “R” Us Cuts Over 10% of Corporate Staff (Fortune)
Toys “R” Us has laid off between 10% and 15% of its corporate staff.
The company has struggled to adapt to the growth of online shopping, the Wall Street Journal reports. Around 250 jobs were cut.
Technology
Samsung's reputation has crashed after its Note 7 exploding phone fiasco (Business Insider)
Samsung's reputation has taken a battering over the last year.
Its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was a disaster of unprecedented proportions — the premium device wouldn't stop exploding, forcing Samsung to issue a global recall that cost it $5 billion (£4 billion) in losses and lost sales.
Intel Fighting to Keep Up With Qualcomm in Mobile Chip Race (Fortune)
Intel took the wraps off some of its latest products for smartphones and other parts of the mobile infrastructure, as the company tries to keep up its challenge to dominant mobile chip maker Qualcomm.
Artificial synapse could be key to brain-like computing (Engadget)
If you're going to craft brain-like computers, it stands to reason that you'd want to replicate brain-like behavior right down to the smallest elements, doesn't it? Sure enough, researchers have managed just that.
Robot companion’s can-do attitude rubs off on children (New Scientist)
Artificial intelligence has a new job: setting a good example for your kids. It seems that children’s behaviour can be influenced by the personality of a robot companion – playing with an enthusiastic or attentive robot, for instance, made them engage more and work harder.
Politics
Protesters Ready for Trump’s First Visit to New York as President (NY Times)
Brad Lander, a New York City councilman, shouted into the crowd at a community organizing meeting in Brooklyn, where 1,000 people squeezed into a synagogue on a recent weeknight to strategize against President Trump.
Trump picks Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to be national security adviser (Politico)
President Donald Trump named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on Monday as his national security adviser, calling the Army strategist “a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience.”
Meet President Trump’s New National Security Adviser (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday named Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser, choosing a military officer known for speaking his mind and challenging his superiors.
Two Elections In Stoke And Copeland Expose Britain's Post-Brexit Political Chaos (Newsweek)
In Stoke, a small city in the middle of England peppered with the red brick skeletons of its days as a pottery industry powerhouse, the candidates for a February 23 by-election are bickering at increasingly shrill volumes in a battle for headlines.
Hillary Clinton Calls On Donald Trump To Condemn Anti-Semitism (The Huffington Post)
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday joined the growing calls for President Donald Trump to condemn a spate of anti-Semitic hate crimes in recent weeks.
Here’s One Reason Why Trump’s Legislative Agenda Is Flailing (The Huffington Post)
President Donald Trump and his aides keep insisting that his presidency has already yielded progress on a historic scale. “I don’t think there’s ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what we’ve done,” Trump said at a press conference last week.
Extinguishing Donald Trump’s Swedish Immigration ‘Fire’ (The Huffington Post)
As a former intelligence officer, I am a major advocate of the maxim, “facts matter.” As such, I often find myself cringing when listening to President Trump wax philosophically – and creatively – on any number of issues.
Life on the Home Planet
US-led coalition forces have supported Iraqi troops since the campaign against ISIS in Mosul began in mid-October, and that backing as continued in the weeks since the eastern side of the city was retaken in late January.
As Obesity Rises, Remote Pacific Islands Plan to Abandon Junk Food (NY Times)
Cookies and sugary drinks served at government meetings are about to go away. So are imported noodles and canned fish served in tourist bungalows.
Taking their place? Local coconuts, lobsters and lime juice.
We're One Step Closer to Pulling Nuclear Fuel Straight Out of the Ocean (Science Alert)
Pulling uranium out of seawater could be a cost-effective way to source nuclear fuel, scientists have found, and the technique could pave the way for coastal countries to switch to nuclear power.
Mexican kidnappers pile misery on to Central Americans fleeing violence (The Guardian)
Marco Martínez had just stepped off the bus with five other Honduran migrants when four police cars sped into the terminal in downtown Cárdenas. They ran, but were quickly captured.
Suicide bombers in Pakistan kill five in attack on court (Reuters)
Suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing five people and wounding 20, police officials said, the latest incident in a new surge of Islamist violence.
