Financial Markets and Economy
S&P 500 Is Already Trading at Wall Street's Year-end Forecast (Bloomberg)
The market bellwether has already reached the average year-end target of Wall Street analysts with a 5.5 percent gain since December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
French Economy Grows Fastest Since 2011 as Services Strengthen (Bloomberg)
A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 56.2 from 54.1 in January, IHS Markit said on Tuesday. That’s the eighth consecutive reading above the 50 mark that divides expansion from contraction and above an economist estimate for 53.8.
Fed's Williams Says Historically Low Interest Rates Will Persist (Bloomberg)
Historically low interest rates are here to stay, making it much harder for central banks in wealthy countries to prevent and limit recessions in the future, according San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams.
Why Does Economic Growth Keep Slowing Down? (Federal Reserve Bank Of St. Louis)
The U.S. economy expanded by 1.6 percent in 2016, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP). Real GDP has averaged 2.1 percent growth per year since the end of the last recession, which is significantly smaller than the average over the postwar period (about 3 percent per year).
German Yields Set to Resume Drop, Technical Indicators Suggest (Bloomberg)
Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond yield, which moved higher on Tuesday, may drop to levels seen at the beginning of this year because of weakening momentum indicators, technical studies suggest.
Goldman Sachs Warns U.S. Stocks Are Now Reaching Peak Optimism (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the surge in confidence following Donald Trump’s November victory is reaching an inflection point. Investors counting on tax cuts and an economic boom to fuel a surge in corporate profits are getting ahead of themselves, according to the bank.
Britain is sliding towards Scoxit (The Economist)
Little more than half a year after the vote to leave the European Union, there is talk of another referendum in Britain. This time the people who could be offered the chance to “take back control” are the Scots.
States Push to Raise Gasoline Taxes (The Wall Street Journal)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is putting his fellow Republican lawmakers to the test, with a plan to raise the state’s gas taxes for the first time in nearly three decades.
Bitcoin Soars Above $1100, Near Record Highs As Chinese Bypass Crackdown (Zero Hedge)
Despite concerted efforts by authorities to crackdown on capital outflows – specifically through virtual currencies – prices for Bitcoin are soaring as the Chinese find way around regulatory controls. Bitcoin just topped $1100 – near record highs – as Chinese traders shift their action off regulated-exchanges to local peer-to-peer marketplaces.
S&P 500 Sector Weightings (Bespoke)
Below is a look at current S&P 500 sector weightings using GICS standards. As shown, Technology’s weighting now stands at 21.53%, making it the biggest sector by a wide margin.
The economic suffering of the Greek people is horrendous and it has to stop – interview on TRT World (The Market Monetarist)
Yesterday I was interviewed for TRT World about the Greek economy and possible Grexit. Have a look here.
Hedge Fund Liquidity Plunges To "Danger Zone" For US Stocks (Zero Hedge)
Simply put, the massively overcrowded hedge fund herding into US equities has created a crisis situation. With liquidity levels at record lows, the market will be unable to smoothly absorb any concerted selling pressure from large money managers.
Companies
Goldman Sachs, one of the lead banks on Snap's initial public offering, estimates that revenues for the social-media company could hit nearly $2 billion in 2018. That's nearly five times last year's sales.
Advertising Boycott of Breitbart News Appears to Be Growing (Fortune)
Conservative news website Breitbart News has gotten a lot of attention since Donald Trump was elected, in part because former Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon is now a senior strategist advising the president.
Breitbart Editor Calls Milo Yiannopoulos Comments ‘Indefensible’ As His Future With The Site Remains In Doubt (The Huffington Post)
On Tuesday afternoon, Milo Yiannopoulos announced his resignation from his post as senior editor of Breitbart News.
Technology
37% of Norway’s new cars are electric. They expect it to be 100% in just 8 years. (Think Progress)
Norway understands the future of ground transport is electric and has been pushing EVs harder than almost any other country in the world with incentives such as an exemption from the 25 percent VAT tax for new cars.
Mind-reading typing tool for paralysed people is fastest yet (New Scientist)
Two have motor neurone disease, also known as ALS – a degenerative disorder that destroys neurons associated with movement – while the other has a spinal cord injury. All three have weakness or paralysis in all of their limbs.
MIT researchers built an energy-sipping power converter (Engadget)
Researchers from MIT's Microsystems Technologies Laboratories have built a new power supply system designed specifically for powering electronic sensors, wireless radios and other small devices that will eventually connect the Internet of Things.
New iPhone 8 Camera Leak Gives Apple The Edge (Forbes)
According to Kuo, via 9to5Mac, Apple will incorporate a 3D sensing front-facing camera in the next iPhone. This would require the addition of an IR module and an improved front-facing camera.
The Age of the Giant Battery Is Almost Upon Us (Bloomberg)
The idea that giant batteries may someday revolutionize electrical grids has long enthralled clean-power advocates and environmentalists. Now it’s attracting bankers with the money to make it happen.
Politics
Sweden’s official tweeter is devoting his time to fact-checking President Trump (Salon)
In 2011 Curators of Sweden — a project administered by the Nordic country’s cultural institutions — had an idea. Each week a different Twitter user would take over the country’s Twitter handle, @sweden, to showcase to the world the country through a variety of perspectives — as portrayed by Swedes of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Clashes in Stockholm Suburb Draw Attention to Trump’s Remarks (NY Times)
Residents in a northwestern suburb predominantly inhabited by immigrants have clashed with police officers, two days after President Trump unleashed a vague but pointed critique of Sweden’s migration policies.
New California bill would accelerate the transition to 100 percent renewable electricity (Think Progress)
California has already emerged as a climate leader in the age of President Trump, but that isn’t stopping state leaders from looking for ways to push its clean energy agenda even further.
Putin's Image Rises in US, Mostly Among Republicans (Gallup)
Americans see Russian President Vladimir Putin in a better light than two years ago. Twenty-two percent now say they have a favorable opinion of Putin, up from 13% in 2015 and the highest percentage with a favorable view of the Russian leader since 2003.
Iran Supreme Leader calls for Palestinian intifada to remove the 'cancerous tumor' of Israel (Reuters)
Iran’s Supreme Leader called on Palestinians on Tuesday to pursue an uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a "cancerous tumor" that should be confronted until Palestinians were completely liberated.
Life on the Home Planet
How the World Has Changed From 1917 to 2017 (Singularity Hub)
For perspective, this year at Abundance 360, I gave a few fun examples of what the world looked like in 1917.
There's a Difference: Fake News and Junk News (OfTwoMinds)
The mainstream media continues peddling its "fake news" narrative like a desperate pusher whose junkies are dying from his toxic dope.
Malcolm Gladwell rips into Stanford University's request for donations: 'You might as well send your check to the Sultan of Brunei' (Business Insider)
Malcolm Gladwell is taking aim at Stanford University's request for charitable donations.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, he lambasted the elite school, linking to a request from Stanford for gifts to help support student financial aid.
Texas hunters who blamed immigrants actually shot each other, cops say (Think Progress)
When police first found a hunting guide and his client bleeding from gunshot wounds on a south Texas ranch in early January, everyone on the scene had their stories straight.
Take a look inside the 11 best yachts showcased at Miami's premier yacht show (Business Insider)
One of Miami's biggest yacht shows ended on Monday.
Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds (The New Yorker)
In 1975, researchers at Stanford invited a group of undergraduates to take part in a study about suicide. They were presented with pairs of suicide notes. In each pair, one note had been composed by a random individual, the other by a person who had subsequently taken his own life.
Bird flu strain hitting China may be getting more infectious (New Scientist)
Another bird flu is on the rampage in China. Already this winter there have been 424 cases in humans, more than a third of all those identified since the virus emerged in 2013. And it is spreading. This week it was announced that it seems poised to acquire mutations that could make it a much worse problem.
