Financial Markets and Economy
World stocks seen as most overvalued in 17 years: BAML survey (Reuters)
World stocks are their most expensive in 17 years, but bond yields will need to be much higher than they are currently to trigger an equity bear market, a monthly fund manager survey showed on Tuesday.
Stocks Tumble As Banks, Industrials Take Broad Losses (Associated Press)
U.S. stocks are on track for their biggest loss this year as banks tumble and industrial companies such as transportation stocks take large losses. Small-company stocks are falling more than the rest of the market.
Investor Bullishness May Have Already Peaked, Leaving Stock Rally In Doubt (The Wall Street Journal)
The presidential election in November sent U.S. investors into a bullish frenzy, but signs are mounting that the optimism has peaked. Some widely watched measures of investor sentiment and positioning have been flattening out or retreating recently, suggesting that the stock market euphoria that accompanied President Donald Trump’s victory is wearing off.
If you’re comfortable with your investments, you might be in trouble (Market Watch)
The asset-class quilt is my favorite performance chart because it illustrates how difficult it is to predict annual winners and losers.
The German bank that loaned $300 million to Trump played a prominent role in a money-laundering scandal run by Russian criminals (The Guardian)
The German bank that loaned $300m (£260m) to Donald Trump played a prominent role in a money laundering scandal run by Russian criminals with ties to the Kremlin, the Guardian can reveal.
What Do Banks Know That Mom and Pop Don't? (Bloomberg)
Consumers are comfortable. Confidence among chief executives is high. Unemployment rates are down, and pay is ticking up. As a result of the new optimism, investors are plowing into stocks and riskier corporate debt.
Hot U.S. real estate a potential red flag: Fed's Rosengren (Reuters)
The run-up in U.S. real estate prices could potentially amplify any future economic downturn, a Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday, urging regulators globally to consider tools beyond interest rates that could help cool the sector.
China's Bankers Are More Confident in Economy, PBOC Survey Shows (Bloomberg)
China’s bankers and corporate leaders are more confident in the economy than any time since 2014, a central bank survey shows.
Retailers Stare Into the Darkness, But It Keeps Getting Darker (Bloomberg)
Researchers from Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the retail sector Tuesday, saying the outlook’s become bleaker than they’d thought it would in large part because of what’s been happening in Washington.
Oil prices hit three-month low on expanding U.S. inventories (Reuters)
Oil prices slipped to three-month lows on Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude inventories rising faster than expected, piling pressure on OPEC to extend output cuts beyond June.
Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness (in America) (Bloomberg)
Chances are, if you live in the U.S., you feel worse today than you did 10 years ago. Don’t worry, it’s not you. This is a national problem: America’s rank on the happiness scale is falling.
Mester favors steps this year to reduce Fed's balance sheet (Reuters)
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said on Tuesday that if the economic data holds up she supports the U.S. central bank taking steps that would begin to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
China Sees a Manufacturing Future—in America (The Wall Street Journal)
Glen Lin is struggling to keep his shoe company competitive on the world’s factory floor in southern China. Wages are shooting up 15% each year. Taxes are high. Shipping is exorbitant, and slow.
US Gulf Coast HSFO reaches multiple fresh lows on tepid demand (S&P Global Platts)
The US Gulf Coast fuel oil market on Tuesday saw its outright price and discount to the front-month hit lows on evaporating demand.
Legal Cannabis Could Go Up In Smoke, Leaving Investments In Jeopardy (Money Badger)
If you told someone ten years ago that recreational cannabis would be legal in several American states, they’d think you were smoking something. (Cannabis, probably).
Why Brazil's Tainted-Meat Probe Worries the World: QuickTake Q&A (Bloomberg)
Though Brazil has generated more than its share of scandal and corruption allegations recently, a new probe into sales of tainted meat there has sent shock waves far and wide.
Dear America: Better Read the Fine Print on Your Credit Card Statement (Of Two Minds)
You know those disclosures on your credit card statements? That it will take 27 years to pay off your balance if you only make the minimum payment each month, and so on?
Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It? (Harvard Business Review)
We know innovation drives corporate growth. As Strategy& reported in its 2015 survey of 1,757 executives, “innovation today is a key driver of organic growth for all companies — regardless of sector or geography.”
Most Americans favor stricter environmental laws and regulations (Pew Research Center)
More Americans say environmental regulations are “worth the cost” than say such regulations come at too steep a price, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. These views come amid speculation about what President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees may mean for future regulatory policy.
PBOC Injects Hundreds Of Billions Into Chinese Banks After Sudden Defaults In Interbank Payments (Zero Hedge)
As is customary virtually every time the Chinese central bank commences some form of tightening, overnight the PBOC injected "hundreds of billions of yuan into the financial system after some smaller lenders failed to repay borrowings in the interbank market", according to people familiar with the matter.
Companies
Nike CEO Says U.S. Retail Is ‘Not in a Steady State’ (Fortune)
Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said the U.S. retail landscape is "not in a steady state" as consumers spend more online and make fewer visits to brick-and-mortar stores.
FedEx Earnings: A Disappointing Quarter, but Are Better Times Ahead? (Fool.com)
Back in December, package-delivery giant FedEx (NYSE: FDX) reported a rare earnings miss Opens a New Window. for the second quarter of its 2017 fiscal year. On Tuesday afternoon, the company reported an even bigger earnings miss for the third quarter.
As boycott expands, Google pledges to keep offensive content away from ads (USA Today)
In a bid to end a boycott of Google and YouTube by major advertisers in the U.K., Google says it will pull online ads from controversial content, give brands more control over where their ads appear and will deploy more people to enforce its ad policies.
Here's how Tesla tripled its earnings in China (OilPrice.com)
Earlier this month, Tesla Inc reported that its revenues in China topped $1 billion in 2016, more than triple the revenues it generated there in 2015. The Chinese market was only second to the U.S. in terms of revenue generation for Tesla last year.
Walmart Won’t Stay on Top If Its Strategy Is “Copy Amazon” (Harvard Business Review)
Walmart’s recent change to free two-day shipping for online orders, no membership required, is the latest in a series of moves the company has made to fight Amazon and grow its e-commerce business.
Technology
Apple Faces Tough Competition in China's $5.5 Trillion Mobile Payments Market (Bloomberg)
Dong Ximiao was buying a meal at KFC in Hangzhou on a recent Sunday and pulled out his phone to pay, like everyone does in China, when the cashier asked: “Alipay or WeChat Pay?”
Reality Gets Too Virtual at SXSW (Mauldin Economics)
Virtual reality was everywhere at last week’s South by Southwest Conference in Austin, TX. I tried several different VR systems, and they rarely resembled “reality.” Most put you inside a cartoon-like game world. Fun, but not The Matrix.
China outpaces India in internet access, smartphone ownership (Pew Research Center)
India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, have long had a competitive relationship and have emerged as major economic powers.
Politics
White House Issues Gag Order To Officials On Budget Details (Associated Press)
The White House is instructing Cabinet heads and agency officials not to elaborate on President Donald Trump's proposed budget cuts beyond what was in a relatively brief submission, a move Democrats decried as a gag order.
Trump's Claim Of Fleeing Doctors Rings False (Associated Press)
Making the case for a Republican repeal and replacement of his predecessor's health care law, President Donald Trump reached for a dire-sounding argument that's unsupported by the data.
Bill Gates takes his campaign against “America First” directly to Donald Trump today (Vox)
Two American billionaires with extremely divergent worldviews are engaging in a quiet war of rhetoric about global health and development.
One is Bill Gates; the other is Donald Trump.
'This tweet didn't age well': Kellyanne Conway mocked for message about FBI probes as Trump inquiry confirmed (The Telegraph)
Kellyanne Conway has faced ridicule on social media for a tweet she posted five months ago that poked fun at Hillary Clinton's email saga.
A President’s Credibility (The Wall Street Journal)
If President Trump announces that North Korea launched a missile that landed within 100 miles of Hawaii, would most Americans believe him? Would the rest of the world? We’re not sure, which speaks to the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to his Presidency with his seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods.
Choice of I.M.F. Critic Highlights Trump’s Reversal of Global Policy (Bloomberg)
Consumers are comfortable. Confidence among chief executives is high. Unemployment rates are down, and pay is ticking up. As a result of the new optimism, investors are plowing into stocks and riskier corporate debt.
Trump’s Budget Would Kill the Beloved Volunteer Program AmeriCorps (Money)
In the 23 years of AmeriCorps' history, more than one million people have served in its ranks full-time. They've taught children how to read, helped urban high schools improve graduation rates, developed programs to prevent opioid abuse, and mobilized relief efforts after national disasters, among other projects.
Fewer Americans Would Be Insured With G.O.P. Plan Than With Simple Repeal (Upshot)
The Congressional Budget Office recently said that around 24 million fewer Americans would have health insurance in 2026 under the Republican repeal plan than if the current law stayed in place.
Russia Investigation Overshadows Pres. Trump’s Ambitious Agenda (NBC News)
Pres. Trump’s efforts to secure his first major legislative win have remained out of the main spotlight amid ongoing issues related to the Trump campaign’s actions during the 2016 election.
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee opens his testimony with a massive falsehood (Think Progress)
Judges, if you believe Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, are politically interchangeable parts. “There’s no such thing as a Republican judge or a Democratic judge,” Gorsuch said very early in the second day of his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Ivanka Trump is getting an unpaid White House job, will “voluntarily comply” with ethics laws (Salon)
President Donald Trump, who has already appointed senior advisers as “commissars” to make sure his cabinet officers are sufficiently loyal to him, will now have his daughter Ivanka Trump as his “eyes and ears” in the White House. What he won’t do, however, is pay her as an official member of the White House staff — meaning she will not be legally required to abide by ethical rules.
Powerful Russian Partner Boasts Of Ongoing Access To Trump Family (Forbes)
“I have nothing to do with Russia,” Donald Trump bellowed to thousands of frenzied supporters at a Tampa, Florida rally last October. The truth, it seems, is a bit more complicated.
The 10 biggest statements from Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s Senate hearing (Alternet)
The confirmation hearing of Judge Neil Gorsuch began on Monday. After Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., explained she was disappointed that President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, was denied a hearing, she went on to say that the panel would determine if Gorsuch was in fact a “reasonable mainstream conservative,” despite the circumstances under which he received his nomination.
Smiling Paul Ryan touts bill to waste millions on drug testing unemployed Americans (Think Progress)
Last year, President Obama’s Department of Labor issued a regulation restricting the number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries that would be subject to drug testing.
Florida GOP official calls for state attorney to be ‘hung from a tree’ for not seeking death penalty (Raw Story)
A Republican Florida county court official was placed on administrative leave Monday after making death threats against a state attorney who said she would not seek the death penalty in any murder case, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Watch Al Franken’s shut down Gorsuch’s cruel decision in the ‘Frozen Trucker’ case (Think Progress)
Senator Al Franken (D-MN), as he said himself during Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, used to have “a career in identifying absurdity” as a humorist and one of SNL’s original writers.
Support for 2010 health care law reaches new high (Pew Research Center)
Currently, 54% approve of the health care law passed seven years ago by Barack Obama and Congress, while 43% disapprove, according to a national Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 7-12 among 1,503 adults.
Life on the Home Planet
8 Parcel Bombs Are Found in Greece (NY Times)
Greek counterterrorism officers have uncovered eight parcel bombs resembling those sent last week to the German finance minister in Berlin and to the Paris offices of the International Monetary Fund, a police official said on Tuesday.
Jesus's tomb unveiled after $4m restoration (The Guardian)
The restored tomb in which Jesus’s body is believed to have been interred after his crucifixion will be officially unveiled at a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday.
Trump won’t allow you to use iPads or laptops on certain airlines. Here’s why. (The Washington Post)
From Tuesday on, passengers traveling to the U.S. from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries will not be allowed to have iPads, laptops or any communications device larger than a smartphone in the cabin of the plane.
5 Reasons Why You’re Living in the Strangest Time in Human History (SHTF Plan)
The world is changing faster than ever before, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t being acclimated to it. It’s truly a testament to the ability of humans to adapt to just about any circumstance. We have more food, wealth, and life-saving technologies than anyone in our history.
