Financial Markets and Economy
Featured: Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War (The New Yorker)
On April 12, 1982, Yuri Andropov, the chairman of the K.G.B., ordered foreign-intelligence operatives to carry out “active measures”—aktivniye meropriyatiya—against the reëlection campaign of President Ronald Reagan. Unlike classic espionage, which involves the collection of foreign secrets, active measures aim at influencing events—at undermining a rival power with forgeries, front groups, and countless other techniques honed during the Cold War. The Soviet leadership considered Reagan an implacable militarist. According to extensive notes made by Vasili Mitrokhin, a high-ranking K.G.B. officer and archivist who later defected to Great Britain, Soviet intelligence tried to infiltrate the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, popularize the slogan “Reagan Means War!,” and discredit the President as a corrupt servant of the military-industrial complex. The effort had no evident effect. Reagan won forty-nine of fifty states.
Greece's economy performed even worse than expected at the end of 2016 (Business Insider)
Greece's economy performed much worse than forecast in the final quarter of 2016, according to the latest data from the country's statistical service Elstat.
Chinese Property Investors Could Exit U.S. as Asia Beckons (Bloomberg)
Chinese real-estate investors are losing interest in the U.S. as their concern over yuan depreciation eases and questions swirl around President Donald Trump's stance on protectionism.
One Chart Showing What Goldman Expects Trump to Accomplish This Year (Bloomberg)
Expectations that President Donald Trump will push through an investor-friendly fiscal stimulus package have helped boost equity markets to multiyear highs. Even a congressional address by the president that was light on details last week couldn't prevent the Dow Jones Industrial Average sailing past 21,000.
European investors have not been so confident since just before the financial crisis (Business Insider)
European investors are more confident in the state of the continent's economy than at any time in the last 10 years, according to the survey from behavioral finance experts Sentix.
Disturbing New Facts About American Capitalism (The Wall Street Journal)
“Let your winners run” is one of the oldest adages in investing. One of the newest ideas is that the winners may be running away with everything.
Everything the Market Thinks About Inflation Might Be Wrong (The Wall Street Journal)
No number is more important for investors right now than inflation. The belief that it will continue to rise underpins the recent rally in financial stocks and the slump in government bonds. It is key to commodities, currencies and more.
Three Ways to Value Gold. Three Conclusions. (The Wall Street Journal)
Where is the price of gold headed? Well, consider this: One closely followed statistical model concludes that bullion is 46% overvalued, while another says that gold is 35% undervalued.
As Macau Casino Revenue Soars, Some Analysts Take A Reality Check (Forbes)
Boosted by the Chinese New Year holiday period and reported strong VIP demand, Macau revenue in February at 22 billion Macau patacas (US$2.75 billion), up 17.8% from a year ago and well ahead of consensus estimates of high single digit growth.
Four reasons to choose 'easy' over 'hard' in your investing strategy (The Globe And Mail)
Over the years, my mentors have all told me the same thing. As they get older (and better), they’ve come to appreciate the importance of keeping it simple. Do the easy stuff and leave the hard stuff to someone else.
A decade of deflation could be over. What it means for central banks (World Economic Forum)
Until the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, deflation had all but disappeared as a concern for policymakers and investors in the advanced economies, apart from Japan, which has been subject to persistent downward pressure on prices for nearly a generation. And now deflationary fears are on the wane again.
25 Dividend Stocks You Can Buy and Hold Forever (Kiplinger.com)
Finding a company with a long track record of consistent dividend payments is only part of the winning formula for investing in dividend stocks. Dividend growth matters, too. Rising dividends not only make a stock more attractive to new income investors, but steady dividend hikes also reward existing investors with increasingly higher yields on shares purchased at lower prices in the past.
Rpt: Trump Uncertainty Slowing U.S. Travel Bookings (Reuters)
Demand for travel to the United States over the coming months has flattened out following a positive start to the year, with uncertainty over a possible new travel order likely deterring visitors, travel analysis company ForwardKeys said on Monday.
China’s Billionaire Lawmakers Keep Getting Richer and Richer (Fortune)
The fortunes of the richest 100 members of China's parliament and its advisory body – all dollar billionaires – grew about 64% in the four years since Xi Jinping rose to power, according to data from an organization tracking wealth in China.
The Market Climbs Higher, But Look At These 2 Charts And It's Ruh-Roh Time (Tematica Research, Seeking Alpha)
As the stock market continued to get further and further out over its ski tips last week, as investors we have a split mind on the current state of things. On the one hand, we're certainly enjoying the higher stock prices.
Why bitcoin is more expensive than gold (Vice Money)
The surging price for bitcoin, the most widely recognized cryptocurrency, overtook the price of gold this week in a changing of the guard among assets that serve as an alternative to traditional cash.
Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect (DW Made For Minds)
Iranian politicians like to refer to their country as an "island of stability" in the Middle East. But the country has severe environmental problems, and nobody feels responsible – with wide-reaching consequences.
The Second Dumbest Kind Of Money Is Pouring Into Stocks – 'With A Vengeance' (John Rubino, Dollar Collapse)
One of the traditional signs of market tops is individual investors finally succumbing to the lure of apparently easy money and pouring their savings into the stock market.
This Is Worse Than Before The Last 3 Crashes (Wolf Richter, Seeking Alpha)
How long can this surge in stocks go on? That's what everyone wants to know. Projections range from "forever" – these projections have become increasingly common – to "it's already finished." That's a fairly wide range.
Faster wage growth would lift odds of Fed hike (USA Today)
The jobs report is always the economic highlight of the month, but next Friday’s release for February is more significant than usual, with its potential to cement, or possibly derail, a Federal Reserve rate hike in mid-March.
Silver Once Again Gets Tossed in the Meat Grinder, Billions of Dollars Wiped Out (Zero Hedge)
What caused it and why did it happen? Many are waking up today scratching their heads and asking themselves these very same questions, as they look at their portfolios and see that their silver holdings have taken a huge hit.
Why Central Banks Were Forced To Rig The Gold Market (SRSrocco Report)
According to newly uncovered information in the gold market, it provides additional evidence of why the Fed, Central Banks and the IMF were forced to RIG the gold market. Not only was the dropping of the Gold-Dollar peg going to release a great deal of pressure on the manipulated gold price, but forecasts of a massive increase in gold demand was going to totally overwhelm supply.
Companies
Why Deutsche Bank Is Sliding After Its Massive Equity Offering: Wall Street Analysts Chime In (Zero Hedge)
Despite its widely telegraphed $8.5 billion public offering with another $2 billion expected to be raised from asset sales, Germany's biggest lender is down sharply this morning as much as 6.9% (currently 6.1% lower) as Wall Street analysts dig through the details of the bank's latest massive restructuring, which as reported yesterday seeks to undo many of the changes implemented by CEO John Cryan over the past two years (and which will lead to an 80% reduction in the bank's 2016 bonus pool).
Alphabet lawsuit against Uber cements end of uneasy marriage (Reuters)
When Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] was raising venture capital in 2013, it was one of the hottest deals around – and no one was more eager to write a check than Bill Maris and David Krane of Google's venture capital arm.
IBM thinks it’s ready to turn quantum computing into an actual business (Quartz)
Today, IBM announced that it is forming “IBM Q,” a new division around its quantum computing research. IBM has been working on quantum computing nearly as long as it’s been an area of study, but the new business unit is a bold indication that it believes its research could be commercialized in the near future.
Gilead Executive Says Pharmacy Benefit Managers Keep Prices High (Bloomberg)
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s hepatitis C cure set off a firestorm of criticism over high drug prices in 2014 that hasn’t let up since. Now an executive says the company can’t cut the product’s price because middlemen who manage drug benefits would refuse to cover it.
Procter & Gamble: A Canary in the Coal Mine? (Barron's)
Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) have been outperforming the S&P 500 so far this year. But are signs of weakness starting to emerge?
Technology
Here’s how Snap’s big trading debut compares to other tech IPOs (Business Insider)
Snap made its long-awaited public trading debut on Thursday, and, for a company that isn’t sure when it’ll be profitable, didn’t flop at all. The Snapchat maker saw its shares jump from an IPO price of $17 to more than $24 by the end of the day, a 44% leap that made the it more valuable than the likes of Target, Kellogg, and CBS. It continued to rally on Friday.
YouTubeTV Aims For Cord Cutters But Faces Stiff Competition (Forbes)
Google's YouTube announced on Tuesday that it will launch a new live Internet television service called YouTube TV. YouTube TV will cost $35 per month and feature a lineup of 44 channels.
Vegas-To-Palmdale Rail To Attract 3 Million Riders (Associated Press)
The company planning to build a high-speed train system linking Las Vegas and Southern California says the rail would attract 11 million round-trip riders by full buildout in 2035.
10 things in tech you need to know today (Business Insider)
1. A prosecutor accused Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee of conspiring to hide millions of dollars in bribes made to South Korea's impeached president. Lee denies any wrongdoing.
Apple may switch to OLED with a big 5.8-inch screen on iPhone 8 – but it’ll cost a lot (The Next Web)
It seems Apple might finally be making the switch to OLED panels with the upcoming iPhone 8. Japanese outlet Nikkei Asian Review reports that – in addition to two LCD-equipped variants – the Cupertino behemoth will also put out a premium iPhone model with a large OLED screen.
An MIT professor explains why we are still a long ways off from solving one of the biggest problems with self-driving cars (Business Insider)
The Trolley problem goes like this: a runaway trolley is barreling toward five people on a track who cannot move. But you have the option to pull a lever and send it to a side track where you see one person standing. What would you do?
Rock Jaw Scores Again With Resonate In-Ear Monitors (Forbes)
Headphones fit over your head and earphones plug in your ears. It’s simple, isn’t it? Well, maybe not. Now we have a third category: In-Ear Monitors or IEMs.
Politics
Trump expected to sign new travel ban order (Associated Press)
A revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries and halting the nation's refugee program is set to go to President Donald Trump soon.
Ally of New Jersey Governor Christie avoids jail for airline scheme (Reuters)
A former New Jersey attorney general and confidant of Governor Chris Christie avoided prison on Monday for pressuring United Airlines into operating a flight to an airport near his vacation home, a case that grew out of the Bridgegate investigation.
FBI asked Justice Department to refute Trump's wiretapping claim (CNN)
The FBI asked the Justice Department on Saturday to refute President Donald Trump's assertion that President Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump's phones last year, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
Ten arrested after pro-Trump rally turns violent in California (The Telegraph)
Ten people have been arrested after supporters of President Donald Trump and a group of counter-protesters clashed when a rally in Berkeley, California, turned violent and left seven people injured.
U.S. allies shaken by Donald Trump’s wiretap tweets about Obama (The Globe And Mail)
Just when U.S. allies around the world from Canada to Europe to Asia were starting to be reassured about Donald Trump’s approach to the world, there’s a whole new gust of chaos coming from Washington.
The Trump Trade Threat Could Unite the Rest of the World, EU Official Says (Bloomberg)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance may propel Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American economic powers into market-opening alliances with the European Union, a top EU official said.
CNN/ORC poll: Most back special prosecutor for Russia investigation (CNN)
About two-thirds of Americans say a special prosecutor should investigate contacts between Russians and Trump campaign associates, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, and 55% say they are at least somewhat concerned by reports that some connected to the Trump campaign had contact with suspected Russian operatives.
Facing big political hurdles, House Republicans ready an ambitious legislative push to repeal Obamacare (Los Angeles Times)
House Republicans, despite stiff political headwinds, are readying an ambitious push this week to begin moving legislation to replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, a crucial test of their ability to fulfill one of their party’s main campaign promises.
Echoes of Watergate resurface as Trump-Russia links probed (BBC News)
The row over the US attorney general's denial that he met a Russian official when he had in fact done so is leading to comparisons with the most notorious political scandal in US history – Watergate.
Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More (NY Times)
Giants in telecommunications, like Verizon and AT&T, will not have to take “reasonable measures” to ensure that their customers’ Social Security numbers, web browsing history and other personal information are not stolen or accidentally released.
A New York Times op-ed published on Friday painted a stark picture of President Donald Trump's fledgling administration.
Trump to Undo Vehicle Rules That Curb Global Warming (NY Times)
The Trump administration is expected to begin rolling back stringent federal regulations on vehicle pollution that contributes to global warming, according to people familiar with the matter, essentially marking a U-turn to efforts to force the American auto industry to produce more electric cars.
Rubio: White House ‘Will Have to Answer’ to Trump’s Wiretapping Accusations (NBC News)
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio flew down to Florida with President Donald Trump one day before the president sent a series of tweets claiming — without evidence — that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower prior to the election.
AP Fact Check: Trump Takes Credit Where It's Not Deserved (Associated Press)
The start of a new administration is never a clean slate, even when parties flip. Day One is just another day for military operations, a budget that is still in place from the old crowd and a vast array of economic, social and law enforcement initiatives left over from the last president.
Texas 'wrongful birth' bill would allow doctors to lie, critics say (CNN)
The Texas Senate may soon decide on a bill that prevents parents from suing their doctor if their baby is born with a disability — a move abortion-rights supporters say will result in doctors lying to patients about the health of fetuses.
A Conspiracy Theory’s Journey From Talk Radio to Trump’s Twitter (NY Times)
It began at 6 p.m. Thursday as a conspiratorial rant on conservative talk radio: President Barack Obama had used the “instrumentalities of the federal government” to wiretap the Republican seeking to succeed him. This “is the big scandal,” Mark Levin, the host, told his listeners.
Health and Biotech
Race Tightens for Next Wave of Cancer Drugs (The Wall Street Journal)
In the race to develop the next wave of drugs that use the immune system to fight cancer, scientists scurry up and down escalators in an old department store here.
Life on the Home Planet
North Korea tests four more missiles — and China’s patience (The Washington Post)
Pyongyang can’t stop shooting (a) missiles into the sea and (b) itself in the foot.
At 7:36 a.m. Monday, local time, North Korea launched four missiles that flew about 600 miles over land before splashing into the Sea of Japan.
Fearing U.S. Withdrawal, Europe Considers Its Own Nuclear Deterrent (NY Times)
An idea, once unthinkable, is gaining attention in European policy circles: a European Union nuclear weapons program.
Muslim students tried to meet with a lawmaker. They were first asked: ‘Do you beat your wife?’ (The Washington Post)
Three Muslim students who tried to visit an Oklahoma lawmaker Thursday at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City were surprised when they were instead handed a questionnaire at his office. They would have to fill out the survey first, an office assistant told them, before they could make an appointment to see state Rep. John Bennett.
UK flights cancelled as French air traffic controllers strike (The Guardian)
EasyJet, Ryanair and British Airways have cancelled flights on Monday as French air traffic controllers (ATCs) start a five-day strike.
Flights to and from the UK are among more than 1,000 likely to be scrapped this week.
American cocaine use is way up. Colombia’s coca boom might be why. (The Washington Post)
While much of the recent attention on drug abuse in the United States has focused on the heroin and opioid epidemic, cocaine has also been making a comeback. It appears to be a case of supply driving demand.
What the numbers say about refugees (Nature)
Growing concerns over an ‘invasion’ of refugees and migrants helped to elect Donald Trump and sway Brexit voters. Yet the data suggest that the situation is very different from how it is often portrayed.
Hawaii Had More Snow This Week Than Denver Or Chicago Has Had All Year (The Huffington Post)
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning in Hawaii this week. While that may sound peculiar, it’s not all that extraordinary. It snows nearly every year on the Big Island’s tallest mountains, where the warning was issued.
