Financial Markets and Economy
Oil Steadies Below $49 as U.S. Drilling Threatens Longer Glut (Bloomberg)
Oil steadied below $49 a barrel as U.S. drillers continued to boost activity, countering OPEC’s efforts to drain a global glut.
Investors Ready for Week of Events That Could Rattle Markets (The Wall Street Journal)
The powerful surge in global stocks and commodities in 2017 faces another hurdle this week as a quick succession of potentially market-moving events challenges investors to place their bets on the next direction for leading asset classes.
What the SEC Bitcoin ETF Decision Means for the Future of Cryptocurrency (Fortune)
It was a show of bullishness to rival last week's run-up in Snap stock: The Bitcoin price suddenly jumped more than $100 on Friday morning, trading above $1300 per unit for the first time.
Oil touches three-month lows, as U.S. supply swells (Reuters)
Oil hovered around three-month lows on Monday, as rising U.S. inventories and drilling activity offset optimism over OPEC's efforts to restrict crude output.
Investors Ready for Week of Events That Could Rattle Markets (The Wall Street Journal)
The powerful surge in global stocks and commodities in 2017 faces another hurdle this week as a quick succession of potentially market-moving events challenges investors to place their bets on the next direction for leading asset classes.
Oil Steadies Below $49 as U.S. Drilling Threatens Longer Glut (Bloomberg)
Oil steadied below $49 a barrel as U.S. drillers continued to boost activity, countering OPEC’s efforts to drain a global glut.
Dollar steadies after three-day fall (Reuters)
Buying from the start of European trade on Monday halted three days of losses for the dollar, the impact of higher U.S. market interest rates turning it positive on the day against both the euro and a basket of currencies.
Your Pension Check May Soon Be Coming From an Insurance Company (The Wall Street Journal)
Millions of retirees are expecting to get a company pension check for the rest of their lives. Increasingly, the name on it is likely to be an insurance company.
ECB’s Smets Says Bank Hasn’t Taken First Step Toward Removing Stimulus (The Wall Street Journal)
Contrary to bullish market reaction, the European Central Bank didn’t signal a coming change to its policy mix Thursday, because officials concluded that the outlook for inflation hadn’t improved much since December, the governor of Belgium’s central bank said in an interview.
At the Fed, spring comes early with return to new 'normal' (Reuters)
U.S. household wealth has hit record levels. U.S. stock prices recently hit all-time highs. Inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve's 2.0 percent goal, and the world economy including the once-sick eurozone has skirted the risk of a deep new downturn.
Credit Reports to Exclude Certain Negative Information, Boosting FICO Scores (The Wall Street Journal)
Many tax liens and civil judgments soon will be taken off people’s credit reports, the latest move to omit negative information from the powerful financial scorecards.
Market Drift Suggests Some Investors May Be Trading on U.K. Economic Data Ahead of Release (The Wall Street Journal)
U.K. government-bond futures often move sharply in the 24 hours before sensitive economic reports are released, an analysis of trading data shows, a phenomenon that suggests some investors may be trading with knowledge of official statistics before they are made public.
This ‘Big-Hearted Banker’ Emerged From the Collapse a Billionaire (Bloomberg)
As the 2008 financial crisis raged, one Miami banker briefly shot to fame, not infamy, by selling his company and showering $60 million on people below him, including the clerks and tellers.
What to Expect in U.K. Markets When May Pulls Brexit Trigger (Bloomberg)
The trigger of Article 50 is the event traders have been waiting for since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. Yet as Prime Minister Theresa May approaches her end-March deadline for launching Brexit, there is no consensus on what it means for markets.
Pound Shows Resilience in Face of Second Scottish Referendum (Bloomberg)
The pound stayed higher as Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon signaled the start of the legal process of preparing for a second independence referendum, with the currency demonstrating a resilience to political risk that has largely eluded it since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union.
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day (Bloomberg)
It's a huge week for central banks, European politics are heating up, and oil's slide continues. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.
Vice Index: Retail Spending Pace Is Beginning To Peak (Financial Sense)
The nominal spending level continues to expand (more people are entering the workforce and wages are growing). But it’s growing at a slower pace. This month will see a favorable year-over-year (yr/yr) growth rate but that’s because last year was so low. Going forward the pace is set to slow.
Hedges Are "Pricing A World Almost Free Of Risk" Says BofA: Here's How To Trade It (Zero Hedge)
Over the weekend, Bank of America's volatility experts Jason Galazidis and his team, pointed out that while US equity vol remains at historic low levels, it is not just equities where market participants are remarkably complacent, and write that both US credit & Chinese equity hedges "are pricing a world almost free of risk."
Companies
Yahoo Outlines Leadership Plan Following Verizon Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
Yahoo Inc. outlined its leadership for the business that will remain after its core web assets are sold to Verizon Communications Inc., placing board director Thomas McInerney at the helm of Yahoo’s rich stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan.
HSBC Shares Gain After Bank Names AIA’s Tucker as Chairman (Bloomberg)
HSBC Holdings Plc named insurance executive Mark Tucker to succeed Douglas Flint as chairman, enlisting an outsider to oversee Europe’s biggest bank as it overhauls management.
Valeant Receives Lender Consent For Refinancing And Amendment Of Credit Agreement (Valeant)
The Credit Agreement Amendment is subject to certain customary conditions precedent, and is expected to become effective concurrently with the funding of the new Term B loans on or about March 21, 2017.
Technology
Intel in $15 Billion Deal for Self-Driving Tech Firm Mobileye (The Wall Street Journal)
Silicon Valley is deepening its bet that cars will increasingly morph into computers on wheels.
Intel Corp. on Monday said it struck a deal to buy Mobileye NV for about $15.3 billion, the latest investment by a technology company in the future of self-driving cars.
Austin’s Uber Replacements Flunked An Important Test During SXSW (Buzzfeed News)
Austin’s homegrown ride-hailing services, which sprang up after Uber and Lyft left the city in protest of a local rule, had hoped to ace the task of shuttling the global tech and media elite around the SXSW Conference and Festivals here this weekend.
China may roll back electric car quotas as industry pushes back (Reuters)
China is considering easing proposed quotas aimed at producing more electric vehicles, as Beijing gets pushback from the automotive industry over the scale and pace of the plans.
Most videos shared on Snapchat or Instagram are simple: selfies, streaks, or your surroundings.
But increasingly, publications, brands, and people with large followings are creating a new kind of clip, with text overlays, slick production, and links to outside content — like what you can find in Snapchat Discover.
Artist runs an electronic sound exhibit using his own blood (Engadget)
Russian artist Vtol is no stranger to making sounds with unusual technology, but one of his latest projects might top them all. He recently created Until I Die, an electronic sound installation powered by himself — namely, his blood.
Scientists make stretchy electronics using a soup ingredient (Engadget)
For smart clothing or skin-worn devices to improve, first we need electronics that won't snap like a twig when you move. Using a soup thickener, of all things, scientists from Stanford's Bao Lab created a flexible electrode with "uncompromised electrical performance and high stretchability," said lab director Zhenan Bao.
Politics
White House explains controversial, rule-bending attempt by Trump to call rock star prosecutor days before he fired him (Business Insider)
President Donald Trump reached out to former US Attorney Preet Bharara one day before Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked for Bharara's resignation, along with 45 other US attorneys who had been appointed by President Barack Obama.
GOP healthcare bill hangs in the balance (The Hill)
House Republicans are taking fire from all sides as they seek to push through their plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
Preet Bharara’s Probes Likely to Continue After His Exit (The Wall Street Journal)
The sudden departure of the top U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan raises uncertainty about the federal government’s approach to trying financial crimes and global terrorism cases, even as it isn’t likely to change the course of several high-profile investigations.
The Trump slump? Tourists say they're scared to visit the United States (Los Angeles)
During spring break, Canadian families used to pile the kids into a tour bus and head to New York to see the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center and other attractions.
GOP Health Plan Would Hit Rural Areas Hard (The Wall Street Journal)
The House Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act could hit many rural areas particularly hard, according to a new analysis, sharply increasing the cost for some residents buying their own insurance.
‘America First,’ from Ukraine to Africa: How Trump threatens democracy worldwide (The Globe And Mail)
Under Donald Trump, the U.S. is slashing foreign aid and shifting its priorities to security above all else. Mark MacKinnon and Geoffrey York explore how that could be good for autocrats and bad for human rights in two conflict-ridden regions.
McCain To Trump: Provide Wiretap Evidence Or Retract Claim (Associated Press)
The House intelligence committee is asking the Trump administration for evidence that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped during the campaign as its namesake has charged, a request reinforced Sunday by an influential Republican senator who says the president must either come up with the evidence or retract his claim.
Trump’s Trade ‘Hammer’ Aims to Pound China, Mexico and the WTO (Bloomberg)
The trade talks on steel imports were dragging on, and Robert Lighthizer didn’t care for the Japanese offer. So he folded it into a paper airplane and launched it across his desk at Japan’s lead negotiator.
Dutch Election Upended as Turkey Dispute Seen Aiding Wilders (Bloomberg)
The Dutch election was upended by a diplomatic standoff with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a spiral of increasingly hostile rhetoric threatened to overshadow the final stretch of campaigning and influence voting.
Immigration hardliner seeks to lead Finland's anti-EU party (Reuters)
Jussi Halla-aho, a member of the European Parliament and an anti-immigration hardliner, confirmed on Monday he would run for the leadership of the Finns party, setting up a contest that could bring down Finland's coalition government.
Republican Dismiss upcoming Budget Analysis Of Health Plan (Associated Press)
Republicans on Sunday dismissed an upcoming Congressional Budget Office analysis widely expected to conclude that more Americans will be uninsured under a proposal to dismantle Barack Obama's health law, despite President Donald Trump's promise of universal coverage.
Donald Trump Slashes Unemployment by 88% in six weeks! (The Reformed Broker)
On Friday, we were told by the BLS that, during Trump’s first full month as President this February, the unemployment rate fell to 4.7%.
Elizabeth Warren has some strong words for Donald Trump over Preet Bharara's firing (Policy.Mic)
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is widely speculated to be positioning herself for a 2020 presidential bid, tore into President Donald Trump on Twitter for his decision to abruptly terminate Preet Bharara, the famed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Here's the Surprising (and Growing) List of Groups Opposed to the Obamacare Replacement Bill (The Motley Fool)
It's been four months since Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States, but it took until this past week to get a Republican replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, introduced into Congress.
Health and Biotech
Here's how long various drugs stay in your body (Business Insider)
Long after the initial effects of a drug wear off, its byproducts can linger in our blood, urine, and hair. And contrary to what many advertised drug tests might promise, not all substances leave a chemical signature in the body for the same amount of time.
Life on the Home Planet
US man sets Florida store on fire to keep 'Arabs out' (Aljazeera)
A man in the US state of Florida faces a first-degree arson charge after attempting to set a convenience store ablaze because he thought it was owned by Muslims.
This Is What Happens To Women’s Rights When The Far Right Takes Over (BuzzFeed News)
It was the first Monday in October, which is to say that it was gray, and gross. So they brought umbrellas.
Not just in Warsaw. In Katowice, Lodz, Gdansk, and Krakow, and tiny villages between. So many thousands of umbrellas, so many very angry women.
'American Guns' reality star convicted of selling firearms illegally, evading taxes (FoxNews)
The star of the reality TV show “American Guns” faces up to 15 years in prison after his conviction last week on firearms and tax evasion charges.
Russia, Turkey, Iran to press ahead with Syria talks: Kazakhstan (Reuters)
Russia, Turkey and Iran are pressing ahead with a fresh round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Monday, despite a request from Syrian rebels to delay the meeting.
Exclusive: Japan plans to send largest warship to South China Sea, sources say (Reuters)
Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two.
