News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

The Bond Market Is Calling Yellen’s March Rate Hike Bluff (Bloomberg)

For weeks now, everyone from Janet Yellen to Fed newcomer Patrick Harker has been trying to jawbone investors into believing an interest-rate increase in March is on the table. That the meeting is “live.”

Global Markets Cautious Ahead Of Trump Speech (Associated Press)

World stock markets were subdued Monday as investors looked ahead to U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to Congress this week for details of promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

These Are All the Ways a Saudi Aramco IPO Could Impact Markets (Bloomberg)

The exact dollar value of Saudi Aramco may be up for debate, but the listing of the world’s biggest company will be priceless for the kingdom’s markets.

Man Who Moved Oil With His Words Won't Talk About It Anymore (Bloomberg)

For more than two decades, the oil market hung to Ali al-Naimi’s every word — whether he was taking a characteristic stroll at dawn on Vienna’s Ringstrasse, hurrying through a hotel lobby after a conference, or dodging throngs of reporters at an OPEC meeting.

The Consumer Confidence Gap Between Democrats and Republicans Has Never Been Wider (Fortune)

When it comes to confidence in the U.S. economy, the partisan divide is the widest ever on record. Democrats are expecting an outright recession, whereas Republicans are expecting the exact opposite–and getting ready to let the boom times roll.

Fed Turns to Job Hoppers as 1950s Inflation Guide Shows Its Age (Bloomberg)

The Auburn University alumnus changed jobs twice in the past two years and nabbed raises of 10 percent and 8 percent as a result. “Switching positions internally or externally is definitely the fastest way to a larger salary,” according to Heintz, who is 28.

Saudis Kick Off $50 Billion Renewable Energy Plan to Cut Oil Use (Bloomberg)

Saudi Arabia is kicking off its $50 billion renewable-energy push as the world’s top crude exporter turns to solar and wind power to temper domestic oil use in meeting growing energy demand.

G7 Plus India And Afghanistan: Lead Economic Sanctions Against Pakistan (Forbes)

Yesterday the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), led by the G7 countries, put Pakistan on a three-month warning regarding terrorist financing. If Pakistan fails to comply with necessary actions against terrorism, it could become a virtual no-go zone for international banking.

China's High Rollers Are Back at Macau's Gaming Tables (Bloomberg)

Chinese high rollers are pulling Macau out of its doldrums, helping reverse the gambling Mecca’s two-year slump with cash created by soaring real-estate values and busy factory floors.

A Harsh Reality Is Hitting the Housing Market (The Wall Street Journal)

A rise in Treasury yields since the presidential election has prompted a pickup in mortgage rates. That has reverberated across a number of housing measures, including mortgage applications and home-builder sentiment.

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.

Warren Buffett Is One Stock Picker Who Believes He Can Still Beat the Market (The Wall Street Journal)

Warren Buffett was dismissive of professional money managers in his widely read letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders. But the billionaire reasserted his belief in his own ability to pick winners and losers.

$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore 'Scares the Hell Out of Everybody' (Bloomberg)

The landscaped lawns and flowering shrubs of Country Garden Holdings Co.’s huge property showroom in southern Malaysia end abruptly at a small wire fence. Beyond, a desert of dirt stretches into the distance, filled with cranes and piling towers that the Chinese developer is using to build a $100 billion city in the sea.

The Unpopular Tax That Almost No One Pays (Forbes)

Since the 1970s, Republicans have successfully turned the United States into an antitax country. Voters and the public are wary of any new levy, largely believe that any tax cut is by definition good, and don't trust the government to wisely spend what taxes it does collect.

Wind Energy Will See More Tech Breakthroughs, Falling Costs, Experts Predict (Forbes)

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted the largest-ever survey of experts on energy last year, asking them to predict whether wind energy would continue to get cheaper toward 2030 and beyond.

Free Financial Websites Every Day Trader Should Know (The Balance)

Looking for day trading resources to help you out with your day trading? These four sites deliver some great tools for analyzing trades, finding trades and tracking your trades.

Wall Street sees Trump rally coming to an end (The Hill)

Wall Street analysts are pumping the brakes on the Trump stock market rally.

Experts are adjusting their expectations of how long it will take for President Trump to follow through on campaign promises to unlock domestic investment and cut back on regulatory red tape.

Those Systems That Aren't Busy Being Born Are Busy Dying (Of Two Minds)

One way to understand the rising sense of disintegration and discord around the globe is to realize that those systems that aren't busy being born are busy dying–and virtually none of our primary systems are busy being born.

Charts Of The Week: 10 Reasons To Be Cautious In This Market (Real Investment Advice)

Just recently, David Rosenberg in a recent research note, laid out 10-reasons to be cautious in the market. I thought it would be useful to look at each of these in a visual form to get a better idea of what he is addressing.

"There Must Not Be A Bail In": Germany Vows "No Debt Relief For Greece" (Zero Hedge)

The standoff over the Greek debt crisis was nowhere closer to an amicable resolution on Sunday, when Germany's deputy finance minister Jens Spahn said in an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that Greece must not be granted a "bail in" that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, reiterating the German government's opposition to debt relief for Athens, and confirming that when it comes to Europe's recently adopted "bail-in" protocols, they "work" in theory, but certainly not in practice (see the latest taxpayer funded bailout of Monte Paschi for another recent example).

Companies

Bitcoin hits record high above $1,200 on talk of ETF approval (Reuters)

Digital currency bitcoin jumped to a record high above $1,200 on Friday, as investors speculated the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be issued in the United States is set to receive regulatory approval.

Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle (Reuters)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is running a new price-comparison test in at least 1,200 U.S. stores and squeezing packaged goods suppliers in a bid to close a pricing gap with German-based discount grocery chain Aldi ALDIEI.UL and other U.S. rivals like Kroger Co (KR.N), according to four sources familiar with the moves.

Technology

AT&T is making its unlimited plan way more competitive (The Verge)

AT&T is rolling out a new unlimited plan this week that addresses some of its competitive deficiencies against Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. A few weeks ago, AT&T joined the unlimited data party with a plan that, to be honest, wasn’t very good. It didn’t include any sort of tethering option and additional lines were pretty pricey.

How Ford will create a new generation of driverless cars (The Telegraph)

In four years Ford will be mass producing cars without a steering wheel, accelerator pedal or brake pedal.

The company believes that the future of the market lies in producing vehicles where a driver is not even required.

GOLDMAN SACKED: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Wall Street (Newsweek)

For the past year, we as a society have been worried sick about artificial intelligence eating the jobs of 3 million truck drivers. Turns out that a more imminently endangered species are the Wall Street traders and hedge fund managers who can afford to buy Lamborghinis and hire Elton John to play their Hamptons house parties.

Samsung’s Oscars ads are basically a promise that its phones won't explode anymore (The Verge)

Samsung aired three new commercials during the Academy Awards tonight, continuing the company’s recent trend of using Oscars airtime to try and sell phones. But this year’s ads also served as a not-so-subtle promise that the Galaxy Note 7’s exploding battery last year was just a fluke.

The real reason why everyone thinks millennials are the worst (Slate)

I know, I know. Millennials have been written to death. But I’m going to make like the millennial I am and say it’s my duty, as the voice of my generation (a voice of a generation?), to proclaim: You don’t hate millennials; you hate the 21st century.

Politics

Calls for Trump to be replaced by Alec Baldwin after boycotting White House press dinner (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will not attend the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, a high-profile event that draws celebrities, politicians and journalists.

Trump budget plan boosts Pentagon, trims State Department, EPA (Reuters)

The White House will send federal departments a budget proposal on Monday containing the defense spending increase President Donald Trump promised, financed partly by cuts to the U.S. State Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other non-defense programs, two officials familiar with the proposal said.

In First Month, Views of Trump Are Already Strongly Felt, Deeply Polarized (Pew Research Center)

Less than a month after Donald Trump took office, the public’s initial impressions of the new president are strongly felt, deeply polarized and far more negative than positive.

Santa Cruz Police Accuse Homeland Security Of Lying To Cover Up Immigrant Sweep (The Huffington Post)

Law enforcement officials in California have accused federal agents of using a gang investigation as a cover for detaining undocumented immigrants.

Private Prisons: Here’s Why Sessions’ Memo Matters (NBC News)

The Justice Department's plan to phase out its use of private prisons — the result of declining inmate populations and concerns about safety and security — ended this week without ever really taking effect.

Trump Embraces ‘Enemy of the People,’ a Phrase With a Fraught History (NY Times)

The phrase was too toxic even for Nikita Khrushchev, a war-hardened veteran communist not known for squeamishness. As leader of the Soviet Union, he demanded an end to the use of the term “enemy of the people” because “it eliminated the possibility of any kind of ideological fight.”

Buoyed By Anti-Trump Activism, Democrat Wins Delaware Special Election (The Huffington Post)

It’s been a chant that has animated marches and protests around the country since the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated president, but it’s been more aspirational than descriptive.

Trump To Sign New Travel Order On Wednesday (Associated Press)

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a new refugee and immigration executive order on Wednesday, one day after addressing lawmakers at a joint session of Congress.

A Billion Identities at Risk as India Goes Cashless (Bloomberg)

Shivam Shankar Singh woke last month to an e-mail from an Indian government department. It had a name, address, mobile phone number and bank account with a code for money transfers and investments made in a dairy farm. None of the details were his.

Avoiding questions about Trump’s mental health is a betrayal of public trust (Columbia Journalism Review)

Just about every week, the media invites a psychiatrist or psychologist to admonish other psychiatrists or psychologists for calling Donald Trump mentally ill.

Buffett and Gates: America Is Already Great, Thanks to Immigrants (The Atlantic)

Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, and Warren Buffett, the third richest, are—not entirely coincidentally—two of the most unremittingly optimistic men on the planet.

Go To Jail. Die From Drug Withdrawal. Welcome To The Criminal Justice System (Mother Jones)

When Tyler Tabor was booked in a jail outside Denver on a spring afternoon in 2015, he told a screening nurse that he was a daily heroin user and had a prescription for Xanax.

Cracks Show in GOP Opposition to a Trump-Russia Prob (The Wall Street Journal)

A call by a leading Republican lawmaker for a special counsel to investigate possible Russian interference in 2016 elections highlights the growing pressure facing lawmakers on the issue as they return this week from a recess.

Life on the Home Planet

Politics and an Upset Finish in the Oscars Broadcast (NY Times)

Once again, at the Academy Awards, a long night produced a shocking upset and unforgettable television. After “La La Land” was announced as the winner of the long-expected best picture award and its team was in the middle of acceptance speeches, a commotion broke out onstage.

The New Science Of Team Chemistry (Harvard Business Review)

Organizations aren’t getting the performance they need from their teams. That’s the message we hear from many of our clients, who wrestle with complex challenges ranging from strategic planning to change management. But often, the fault doesn’t lie with the team members, our research suggests.

NASA Just Discovered Seven New Exoplanets… So What? (Forbes)

On Wednesday, the scientists at NASA kind of freaked out. They announced the discovery of some seemingly Earth-like planets outside of our solar system, a group of rocky globes they're calling 'TRAPPIST-1.'

Millions without drinking water as rainstorms batter central Chile (DW Made For Minds)

Landslides around the Chilean capital of Santiago have contaminated a major river and cut off the drinking water supply to around 4 million people. Officials have said that at least three people have died in the floods.

Prison Phone Calls: Trump May Cut The Lifeline (Capital Flows)

The cost of a phone call today is no more of a thought than the air we breathe. The cost of a phone call from prison, however, can take your breath away.