Financial Markets and Economy
Chance for Smart U.S. Debt Funding Is Slipping Away (Bloomberg)
Yesterday’s decision by the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point — likely the first of three this year — served as a reminder that when it comes to financing America’s long-term debt, the U.S. is doing it all wrong. Even worse, the time to correct these errors is slowly slipping away.
Goldman Unveils Junk Bond ETF Just as High-Yield Exodus Deepens (Bloomberg)
The New York-based finance firm is planning an ETF that will invest in high-yield corporate debt, according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
US oil rig count rises for 9th straight week (Business Insider)
The US oil-rig count rose this week by 14 to a total of 631, oilfield-services giant Baker Hughes said.
The gas-rig count rose by six to 157. One miscellaneous rig was brought online, and so the total rig count rose by 21 to 789.
With Weaker Fuel Economy Standards, Everyone Loses, Including U.S. Automakers (Forbes)
On Wednesday in Detroit, beneath a vast American flag, President Trump answered 17 automakers’ call to reopen the Mid-Term Review of the 2022-25 “CAFE” automotive efficiency standards.
The Magic Behind Glencore’s Recovery: Mastering the Zinc Market (The Wall Street Journal)
No one in the world mines more zinc than Glencore PLC. No one in the world trades more of this essential metal for making steel. And no one has gotten richer, taking mines out of production and withholding refined zinc from the market to drive prices higher.
Protesters Plan April 15 March to Pressure Trump on Tax Returns (NBC News)
President Donald Trump has said no one cares about his tax returns, but tens of thousands of people want to prove him wrong next month with massive protests in Washington, D.C. and around the country that organizers hope will be the biggest anti-Trump demonstrations since January's Women's March.
The glamour of dividend stocks has lessened, says RBC Capital, as the premium investors earn from them over the benchmark Treasury rate has narrowed.
Homebuyers Face Bidding Wars on Scarcer-Than-Ever U.S. Listings (Bloomberg)
The winning bidder of a Grand Rapids, Michigan, house has been offered almost $20,000 to hand his purchase contract to another buyer. An agent in Nashville, Tennessee, got a property for his client by cold-calling local homeowners. Near Columbus, Ohio, it took a teacher five tries to secure a deal.
Trump Promised Job Creation — but His Budget Axes Many Job Creation Programs (NBC News)
Donald Trump ran for president on a platform of creating good jobs for American workers, but his inaugural budget would siphon resources away from many of the people and programs that do just that.
Fed's Kashkari wants plan on balance sheet before any more rate hikes (Reuters)
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari, the lone dissenter against the U.S. central bank's decision this week to raise interest rates, said on Friday the U.S. economy is still falling short on employment and inflation.
How to Make Electricity in a Disused Coal Mine (Bloomberg)
A coal-mine that powered German industry for almost half a century will get a new lease on life when it’s turned into a giant battery that stores excess solar and wind energy.
Chinese Private Investment Growth Decelerates Sharply in 2016 (PIIE)
Recently released official 2016 data from China place private investment growth at 3.2 percent compared to 18.7 percent for state investment growth.
How to Become an International Gold Smuggler (Bloomberg)
As the minutes ticked by on the afternoon of April 28, 2015, Harold Vilches watched stoically while customs officers at Santiago’s international airport scrutinized his carry-on.
When Money Is “Free,” Discipline Evaporates; When Discipline Evaporates, Decisions Are Disastrous (Max Keiser)
Whatever is free is squandered. When water is free, it’s freely wasted. When electricity is free, there’s no motivation to use it wisely.
Another Week Of Huge Outflows From Active Managers, Huger Inflows To ETFs (Zero Hedge)
The highly compensated world of active fund managers continued to disintegrate before their eyes in the last week, when according to EPFR data even as overall cash continued to flood into equities for a total of $14.5 billion, the 11th consecutive week of inflows, this was entirely due to allocations to ETFs, which saw $19.7 billion in inflows, the highest weekly amount YTD, offset by $5.1 billion in outflows from actively managed funds.
Another "Recession Dead Ahead" Indicator Just Hit (Zero Hedge)
During the FOMC press conference this week, Janet Yellen was pushed by Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays to explain why she hiked rates amid what was evidently not a surging economy.
Bitcoin Tumbles Below Gold As China Tightens Regulations (Zero Hedge)
Having rebounded rapidly from the ETF-decision disappointment, Bitcoin suffered another major setback overnight as Chinese regulators are circulating new guidelines that, if enacted, would require exchanges to verify the identity of clients and adhere to banking regulations.
Companies
Customers take shine to Tiffany's cheaper, fashion jewelry (Reuters)
Tiffany & Co's (TIF.N) higher-than-expected quarterly results suggested that the luxury retailer's push in to higher-margin fashion jewelry and affordable products was helping it win back customers.
JPM Quant Frets Stock Complacency Too High After Dutch Vote (Bloomberg)
Complacency among equity investors is rising after Dutch voters inflicted a blow to political populism and JPMorgan Chase & Co. says it’s a good time to hedge against a slide in stocks.
U.S. says Walt Disney subsidiaries to pay $3.8 million in back wages (Reuters)
The wages will be paid to 16,339 employees at the two units — Disney Vacation Club Management Corp and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc — after U.S. officials found violations regarding minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping, the department said.
Technology
Niles is a Slack bot that learns your team’s questions and answers them so you don’t have to (Tech Crunch)
Most chat bots are dumb. No one wants to message a soulless stack of if-then statements just to order a pizza when a half-decent app or website interface can do the same job in half the time.
Driverless flying taxi service set to launch in Dubai (CNN)
Dubai has announced yet another pioneering initiative, but this time it's not the world's first rotating skyscraper or 3D printed office. It's a fleet of flying taxis.
Politics
Tillerson leaves South Korea event early due to “fatigue,” but U.S. media isn’t there to report (Salon)
South Korean media reported on Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson skipped out on gathering with his Korean counterparts due to “fatigue.”
Trump and Merkel to Meet, Attempt to Put Differences Aside (NBC News)
It's no secret that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump have a tense history. The two leaders have clashed publicly — with Trump harshly criticizing Merkel's handling of the Syrian refugee crisis — and they have divergent views on the roles their nations should play on the world stage.
Trump visa changes keep Canadian nurses from Detroit hospitals (USA Today)
A federal judge in Hawaii halted President Trump's travel ban targeting six majority-Muslim countries. A previous version of this video omitted Yemen as one of the countries affected by the executive order.
Paul Ryan says he fantasized about cutting health care for the poor at his college keggers (Think Progress)
Oh, college! It’s a time when young adults discover their professional interests, when they live alone for the first time, when many people come into their sexuality, and when youth get to explore other adult pleasures.
Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying (NY Times)
The White House tried to soothe an angry Britain after suggesting that President Barack Obama used London’s spy agency to conduct secret surveillance on President Trump while he was a candidate last year.
Donald Trump, N.C.A.A. Basketball, St. Patrick’s Day: Your Friday Briefing (NY Times)
Good morning.Here’s what you need to know:
President Trump’s budget proposal on Thursday was billed as a tough-minded and necessary corrective to the growth of the government.
British Spy Service Says Claim That It Wiretapped President Trump Is 'Utterly Ridiculous' (TIME)
President Donald Trump's boldest effort at political misdirection is threatening to become a foreign policy mishap.
Struggling to justify Trump's charge that he was wiretapped by his predecessor, the White House repeated Thursday allegations that a British spy service wiretapped the President at the orders of former President Barack Obama.
House OKs Bill Making It Tougher To Keep 'Mentally Incompetent' Vets From Buying Guns (NPR)
The House has approved legislation that would make it harder to keep veterans who are "mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent" or prone to blackouts from buying guns. Critics of the bill say it could raise the suicide rate among veterans — a rate that has risen in the past decade.
Trump, Merkel News Conference (Bloomberg)
With U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel embodying competing notions of both policy and personality, today will be a chance to see how the leaders of two of the world's most influential economies plan to work together.
Public Broadcasters Fear ‘Collapse’ if U.S. Drops Support (NY Times)
Public radio and television broadcasters are girding for battle after the Trump administration proposed a drastic cutback that they have long dreaded: the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
White House forgets to read the article, shares parody lampooning its cruel budget (Think Progress)
This week, the White House began sending out an official email newsletter, “Your 1600 Daily,” to promote video clips of the president, pertinent news articles or endorsements, and other items of note happening that day.
Trump to nominate Kellyanne Conway's husband to lead the Justice Department's civil division (Reuters)
President Donald Trump is expected to nominate New York lawyer George T. Conway III to lead the U.S. Justice Department's civil division, a source briefed on the matter said on Friday.
Trump’s budget vision would transform America into war-obsessed, survival-of-the-fittest dystopia (Alternet)
Imagine what it would be like to wake up in Donald Trump’s America, if the federal budget proposed Thursday by his White House were fully enacted.
Trump hires major coal lobbyist to be deputy administrator at EPA (Salon)
President Donald Trump may have promised to ban lobbyists from his administration, but that isn’t stopping him from hiring a coal lobbyist as the new deputy administrator to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Trump doesn’t shake hands with Merkel during photo op (New York Post)
President Trump did not extend his hand to shake German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s in a Friday Oval Office photo op, a courtesy he usually extends to foreign leaders visiting the white House.
Health and Biotech
20% cut to NIH budget would leave Americans more vulnerable to cancer and other diseases, experts warn (Los Angeles Times)
A future in which cancers are cured, heart disease prevented and devastating brain disorders reversed may just have gotten a bit more distant, leaders of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations said Thursday.
Life on the Home Planet
Syria Fires Missiles At Israeli Jets After Airstrikes (Associated Press)
Syria fired missiles at Israeli warplanes on a mission to destroy a weapons convoy destined for the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah prompting it to deploy its missile defense system, Israeli officials said Friday, in a rare military exchange between the two hostile neighbors.
Our Brains Love New Stuff, and It’s Killing the Planet (Harvard Business Review)
Your brain contains almost 100 billion neurons, each of which, on average, is connected to about 10,000 other neurons. The 1.5 kg marvel we inherited from our ancestors has unparalleled computational power and analytic skills.
Nigeria’s Water Bill Could Criminalize Drinking Water For Millions (The Huffington Post)
t’s a bitter irony not lost on its residents: Lagos, Nigeria, is surrounded by an abundance of water, but millions of inhabitants in Africa’s most populous city can’t drink it.
Where Has All the Water Gone? (Project Syndicate)
We live on a parched planet. Farmers till arid pastureland, and policymakers fret over empty reservoirs, dry rivers, and thirsty cities. And that only scratches the surface – literally – of the world’s water problem.
