Financial Markets and Economy
Fed may raise interest rates ‘fairly soon’ thanks to economy’s continued growth (The Washington Post)
The Federal Reserve said the economy’s continued growth might persuade it to raise its benchmark interest rate “fairly soon,” according to minutes from its policy meeting released Wednesday, even as it acknowledged that the ambitious policies proposed by the Trump administration could have unforeseen effects on the U.S. economy.
The Dow Is More than 2000 Points Above Its 200-Day Moving Average (The Wall Street Journal)
Chartwatchers take note: The Dow Jones Industrial Average just did something it’s never done before. The blue-chip index that holds names like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and closed more than 2000 points above its 200-day moving average for the first time in its 120-year plus history, according to WSJ Market Data Group.
Copper Prices Zigzagged Wildly When Almost No One Was Trading (Bloomberg)
When copper went haywire late Monday evening in London, all but a few die-hard traders in China were asleep. The European workday was ending and Americans had a public holiday.
Investors may be banking too much on Trump lifting earnings (Market Watch)
The U.S. stock market has been in rally mode since President Donald Trump’s election victory, with the gains largely coming on the back of two ideas: that the new administration’s policies on taxes and regulation will accelerate economic growth, and that that will lead to improved corporate profits.
Oil rises 1 percent as OPEC sees higher compliance with cuts (Reuters)
Oil prices ended about 1 percent higher after touching three-week highs on Tuesday on OPEC's optimism for greater compliance with its deal with other producers including Russia to curb output in an effort to clear a glut that has weighed on the market.
Chinese Banks' Off-Book Wealth Products Exceed $3.8 Trillion (Bloomberg)
Chinese banks had more than 26 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion) of wealth-management products held off their balance sheets at the end of December, a 30 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the central bank.
China adjusts yuan midpoint mechanism – sources (Reuters)
China tweaked its formula for setting daily reference midpoints for its yuan currency on Monday, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what was seen as authorities' latest move to help curb speculation in the currency.
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.
ECB Scouts for Forward Guidance Pitfalls on Road to Stimulus End (Bloomberg)
European Central Bank officials are beginning to wonder how they’re going to tell the world when the end of the stimulus era is in sight.
PBOC to Cut Reserve Requirement for Qualifying Banks (Caixin)
China’s central bank will ease capital requirements for qualifying financial institutions in an effort to direct more credit to rural and small businesses, according to a People’s Bank of China (PBOC) document dated Feb. 16.
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.
China Relaxes Curbs on Stock-Index Futures Trading (Caixin)
China relaxed rules on transaction size and trading costs for stock-index futures in a move to revive the market after harsh restrictions brought trading almost to a halt after the 2015 market meltdown.
Yield curve proves hard to steer for nervous BOJ (Nikkei Asian Review)
The Bank of Japan is straining to bend an unruly yield curve to its policy goal, sowing doubts among bond market participants that could make for more trouble ahead.
South Korea’s Impossible Bargain: China Trade or U.S. Protection (The Wall Street Jorunal)
It is no small irony that U.S.-China rivalry at the outset of the Trump era is playing out on—of all places—a golf course hidden in pine-covered mountains around here.
Saudi Arabia Favors New York for Aramco IPO (The Wall Street Journal)
Saudi Arabia is leaning toward listing its giant, state-run oil company in New York, London or Toronto and has soured on the prospect of floating shares of the firm on an Asian stock exchange, people familiar with the matter said.
Trump’s Travel Ban Won’t Hit the U.S. Economy, at Least This Year (Bloomberg)
The U.S. economy should be able to weather President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban, economists say, though any broadening of immigration and visa restrictions could hurt the labor force and productivity.
Stock Indexes Climb to Records (The Wall Street Jorunal)
A broad rally in U.S. stocks lifted major indexes to fresh records again.
Industry: Philadelphia Soda Tax Killing Sales, Layoffs Loom (Associated Press)
Some Philadelphia supermarkets and beverage distributors say they're gearing up for layoffs because the city's new tax on soft drinks has cut beverage sales by 30 percent to 50 percent — worse than the city predicted.
Marijuana Industry Projected To Create More Jobs Than Manufacturing By 2020 (Forbes)
A new report from New Frontier data projects that by 2020, the legal cannabis market will create more than a quarter of a million jobs. This is more than the expected jobs from manufacturing, utilities or even government jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Next Financial Crisis Might Be in Your Driveway (Bloomberg)
Lured by low interest rates, low gas prices, and a crop of seductive vehicles that are faster, smarter, and more efficient than ever before, American drivers are increasingly riding in style. Don’t be fooled by the curb appeal, though—those swanky machines are heavily leveraged.
Soda Sales Fall Further in Mexico’s Second Year of Taxing Them (The Upshot)
The finding represents the best evidence to date of how sizable taxes on sugary drinks, increasingly favored by large American cities, may influence consumer behavior.
UBS Calls It: "The Global Credit Impulse Suddenly Collapsed To Negative" (Zero Hedge)
One month ago, a skeptical Deutsche Bank warned that just as global macro surprises and economic momentum had hit 6 year highs, the bullish story was set to rollover from its current elevated levels.
Companies
Victoria’s Secret Sales Are Down 20% and L Brands’ Stock Is Plummeting (Fortune)
The brand's comparable sales are likely to fall about 20% this month, the company said on Wednesday, igniting fear among investors that the brand's turnaround attempt is unraveling.
HSBC Plunges After Missing Profit Estimates on Revenue Drop (Bloomberg)
HSBC Holdings Plc dropped the most in 18 months in London trading after reporting fourth-quarter profit that missed estimates on a surprise drop in revenue, which it warned could fall again this year.
Kraft-Unilever Deal Is Off, but Warren Buffett’s Anomalies Live On (The Wall Street Journal)
The story of Kraft Heinz Co.’s takeover bid for Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant Unilever is short, having lasted from Friday only to Sunday. But behind it lies a tale of market anomalies that have lasted decades, helped make Warren Buffett’s fortune and may—perhaps—have ended in a mini-bubble last year.
Companies with long-term view do prevail: James Saft (Reuters)
In a world in which most investment managers are paid to be short- or medium-term in their thinking, companies taking the long view prove the best bet.
Burger King and Tim Hortons owner nears deal to buy Popeyes – sources (Reuters)
Restaurant Brands International Inc, owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast-food chains, is nearing a deal to acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Samsung Heir, Seeking to Modernize Opaque Culture, Instead Faces Scandal (The Wall Street Journal)
When Lee Jae-yong took Samsung Group’s reins from his ailing father in 2014, the Harvard-educated heir moved to reshape the conglomerate along Silicon Valley lines, promising an era of transparency and accountability in an institution known for its opaque corporate culture—in a country whose modern history has seen a succession of business and political leaders engulfed in corruption scandals.
Where Apple Ranks In Warren Buffett's Portfolio (Forbes)
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway substantially increased its holdings of Apple stock in the December quarter. While Berkshire’s purchase of Apple shares were probably done by Todd Combs and/or Ted Weschler, two of Buffett’s portfolio managers, it is a further commitment to technology stocks that Buffett had previously sworn off.
The 10 US Companies With the Best Reputations – and the 10 Worst (The Fiscal Times)
The online retail giant is offering an $8.62 discount on purchases of $50 or more to commemorate the 86.27 score it received in the annual Harris Poll survey on corporate reputation. The score is not only the best among 100 top companies, it is also the highest score the survey has ever recorded.
Fitbit bought Pebble for much less than originally reported (The Verge)
Fitbit paid $23 million for smartwatch maker Pebble, according to Fitbit’s fourth quarter earnings report, released earlier today. This buyout price is less than what was reported earlier, with some publications having reported that Fitbit paid somewhere between $34 and $40 million for the smartwatch startup.
Technology
Sony's 'world's fastest' SD card writes data at 299 MB/s (Engadget)
Sony's upcoming SF-G series of SD cards will be available this spring, the company announced today. When that time comes, Sony said they "will be the world's fastest SD cards." Boasting a maximum write speed of 299 MB/s, that claim is right on point.
This incredible device makes the veins underneath your skin glow (Business Insider)
Sometimes getting a needle prick at the doctor's may feel like Russian roulette. Luckily, for those of us who are scared of needles, you can now breathe a little more easily.
Politics
The Trump Rally Is Starting to Look Like a Trump Bubble (Fortune)
On Wall Street, markets broke records Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite all finishing at new highs. Meanwhile, in firehouses and school cafeterias across the country, Congressional Republicans, back home for their first recess since President Trump’s inauguration, came face to face with voters angry about the new governing agenda.
Conservative Pundit Sebastian Gorka Brings ‘Global Jihadist Movement’ Theory Into White House (The Wall Street Journal)
In the days before President Donald Trump signed the Jan. 27 executive order blocking immigrants and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries, only a small circle of advisers reviewed the document.
Despite Policy Differences, Jim Mattis Has Trump’s Trust (The Wall Street Journal)
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to be at odds with President Donald Trump on Russia and other key issues, setting up potential discord but also helping to nudge the White House toward more conventional policy stances.
The Myth of the U.S. Immigration Crisis (Bloomberg)
With the rise of Donald Trump, anti-immigrant sentiment has reached levels not seen in decades in the U.S. Anger against illegal immigration and fear of refugees, previously confined to the fringes of the Republican base, are now at the center of public dialogue.
France's Le Pen cancels meet with Lebanon grand mufti over headscarf (Reuters)
French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting on Tuesday with Lebanon's grand mufti, its top cleric for Sunni Muslims, after refusing to wear a headscarf for the encounter.
This billionaire’s letter eviscerates the Trump agenda (Fusion)
You probably have better things to do than read annual letters from large charitable foundations. But I’d urge you to read this one, from Bill and Melinda Gates, because it’s one of the best pieces of writing about philanthropy that I’ve come across in years.
Assault Weapons Not Protected by Second Amendment, Federal Appeals Court Rules (Associated Press)
Maryland's ban on 45 kinds of assault weapons and its 10-round limit on gun magazines were upheld Tuesday by a federal appeals court in a decision that met with a strongly worded dissent.
Life on the Home Planet
Thrilling discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby star (The Guardian)
A huddle of seven worlds, all close in size to Earth, and perhaps warm enough for water and the life it can sustain, has been spotted around a small, faint star in the constellation of Aquarius.
China opposes U.S. naval patrols in South China Sea (Reuters)
China said on Tuesday it opposed action by other countries under the pretext of freedom of navigation that undermined its sovereignty, after a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group began patrols in the contested South China Sea.
