Financial Markets and Economy
U.K. Retail Sales Rebound in February Amid Gloomy Quarter (Bloomberg)
U.K. retail sales rose more strongly than expected in February but the outlook for the British consumer remains weak.
European Stocks Hold Steady as Gain by Miners Offsets Food, Tech (Bloomberg)
European stocks were little changed, with advances in mining companies countering declines in food and beverage producers.
Next Shares Rise as Retailer Holds Forecasts Amid Tough Market (Bloomberg)
Next Plc held its profit forecast and said it can mitigate a tough U.K. clothing market by improving ranges and switching suppliers, reassuring investors worried about the retailer’s price pressures and product challenges.
Here is what you need to know.
The House is set to vote on Trumpcare. President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders are making a last-minute push to secure the votes needed to move the GOP's bid to overhaul the US healthcare system onto the Senate; 218 votes will be needed for the bill pass.
Pound Climbs to One-Month High as U.K. Retail Sales Rebound (Bloomberg)
Sterling gained versus all of its 16 major peers, while government bonds fell as sales rose 1.4 percent after sliding a revised 0.5 percent in January, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for an increase of 0.4 percent.
Bonds in India Rally Third Day as Foreign Banks Boost Purchases (Bloomberg)
Indian sovereign bonds climbed for a third day as foreign funds boosted holdings amid expectations of more economic reforms after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party won elections in a key state.
UK retail sales had a huge month in February, confounding the forecasts of economists who had predicted stuttering growth in the month, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
The pound took off after retail sales beat expectations (Business Insider UK)
The pound has jumped on Thursday morning after the UK's latest retail sales data beat expectations by a significant margin.
European stocks hover at week lows as investors eye U.S. health care vote (Market Watch)
European stocks fought for direction on Thursday, with investors cautious of making any big moves amid growing concerns the new U.S. administration will struggle to push through promised pro-business reforms.
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Why the big fall in oil isn’t over yet (The Globe And Mail)
Want to interact with other informed Canadians and Globe journalists? Join our exclusive Globe and Mail subscribers Facebook group. An oil price driven by speculation may be headed a lot lower.
Wall Street stocks lined up for cautious moves ahead of Yellen speech, health-care vote (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures traded in tight ranges on Thursday, as investors kept their eye on a speeches from Federal Reserve members including Chairwoman Janet Yellen, as well as an important vote on a health-care bill.
Japan Feb exports jump, surplus with U.S. raises fears of trade tensions (Investing.com)
Japan's exports grew the most in more than two years in February, rebounding from a Lunar New Year slowdown in January, as a widening trade surplus with the United States potentially raises tensions in the face of rising U.S. protectionism.
Muni Massacre – Puerto Rico Bonds Plunge Near Record Lows (Zero Hedge)
The last 5 days have seen the biggest crash in Puerto Rico muni bonds since June 2015 when the Governor declared debts "unpayable." As Bloomberg notes, investor speculation about the scale of the losses Puerto Rico will foist on bondholders caused the price of the island’s most active bond to continue to slide in the heaviest trading in nearly four months.
Companies
17,000 AT&T workers go on strike (CNN)
The strike began amid ongoing negotiations between AT&T and landline workers in California and Nevada who are represented by the Communications Workers of America union.
Sears and Kmart might not have enough money to stock their shelves (USA Today)
Sears, an iconic department store chain whose name is as steeped in Americana as apple pie and Levi's jeans warned that it might be going the way of the blue light special, uncertain that it can survive more than another year in the midst of the upheaval that has disrupted the retail industry.
Judge orders Exxon to hand over documents related to climate change (CNN)
A judge said on Wednesday that Exxon Mobil must turn over documents to a New York prosecutor probing whether the company lied to the public and investors about the threat of climate change.
As Sales Disappoint, Nike Tells Investors to Think Long-Term (FootWear News)
Following the release of its third-quarter earnings results Tuesday — which showed sluggish overall sales growth for the firm and negative futures orders — Nike’s management said it will ramp up its efforts in digital and innovation to power through consumer shifts.
Technology
Wells Fargo introduces cardless ATMs across U.S. in digital push (Reuters)
Starting on Monday, Wells Fargo & Co depositors can withdraw money using a smartphone at any branded ATM, the latest sign of U.S. lenders moving away from traditional brick-and-mortar banking.
Apple acquires powerful iOS automation app Workflow, makes it available for free (9To5Mac)
Apple today acquired popular iOS tool Workflow, which allows users to combine the functionalities of various apps together to automate normally complex processes. According to TechCrunch, Apple finalized the deal today but financial details are not yet available.
A startup selling 'bloody' plant-based burgers has a new factory that can make 4 million burgers a month (Business Insider)
Impossible Foods, a tech company on a mission to reinvent our definition of meat, is launching its first large-scale production facility to help bring its plant-based "bloody" burgers to the masses.
Augmented reality will become a $50 billion business in 5 years, analysts say (Business Insider)
Plenty in tech are convinced augmented reality is What Comes Next after smartphones. We know Microsoft and Magic Leap are working on headsets that transplant computer images into the real world, and it’s strongly suspected that other giants like Facebook and Apple are doing something similar.
At Facial Recognition Databases Hearing, Congress Attacks FBI (NBC News)
Democrats and Republicans alike hammered the FBI on Wednesday for its use of facial recognition software to identify potential suspects, saying the technology fosters racial bias, leads to arrests of innocent people and trashes Americans' privacy.
At-Home Male Fertility Test App Takes Sperm Selfies (New Scientist)
A debate has raged for decades over whether male fertility is declining, according to some analyses of studies from recent decades. It’s an alarming possibility, and likely one reason at-home semen analysis is a growing field of research and product development.
Drivemode raises $6.5M from Panasonic and others for smartphone car tech (Tech Crunch)
If you’re an Android device owner and also a driver, you may already be familiar with Drivemode: It’s one of the most popular apps for use in cars on Google Play, with over one million app downloads and active users spread across 180 countries.
Politics
Koch Network Spending Millions To Stop GOP HEalth Care Bill (Associated Press)
The conservative Koch network is promising to spend millions of dollars to defeat the health care overhaul backed by President Donald Trump and top House Republicans.
Britons are denouncing Donald Trump Jr.’s attack on London’s mayor (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump Jr. took a break on Wednesday from defending his father's agenda on Twitter to weigh in on the attack outside the British Parliament that left four people dead, including a police officer and the alleged assailant.
As Russia inquiry heats up, Spicer says Trump’s campaign chair had ‘very limited role’ in campaign (Think Progress)
On Monday morning, FBI Director James Comey made it official?—?the Trump campaign’s ties with Russian officials are under investigation.
John McCain Says Congress Isn't Credible Enough to Handle the Russia Investigation (TIME)
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) says that the investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election needs to be handled by a special committee because Congress no longer has the "credibility to handle this alone."
Will Trump be impeached – or is it just a liberal fantasy? (The Guardian)
On 21 July 2007, George W Bush underwent surgery to have five polyps removed after what was described as a routine colonoscopy. The date may have been lost to history, but for the rare invocation at the time of a constitutional amendment laying out how the transfer of power to the vice-president works in cases of presidential disability.
Trump's ex aide Paul Manafort 'hid' $750,000 payment (BBC News)
Further allegations have been made in Ukraine about secret funds said to have been paid to Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Tillerson plan to skip NATO, visit Russia puts allies on edge (CNN)
The State Department scrambled Tuesday to suggest new dates for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers after his plan to skip the annual gathering — but travel to Russia — came to light.
Pence: We're 'very confident we will have the votes' on health care (Politico)
Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday morning that the administration is “very confident” Republicans will have the votes to pass their health care bill through the House on Thursday.
WSJ editorial: Most Americans may conclude Trump 'fake president' (CNN)
President Donald Trump's repeated lack of "respect for the truth" puts him in jeopardy of being viewed as "a fake President," The Wall Street Journal editorial board says.
President Trump Thinks America Doesn't Know Abraham Lincoln Was a Republican (TIME)
President Trump believes that most Americans don't know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
"Great president. Most people don't even know he was a Republican," Trump said while addressing attendees at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner. "Does anyone know? Lot of people don't know that."
What Trump Got Right About the UN (Bloomberg)
“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!” Donald Trump proclaimed over Twitter as 2016 came to a close.
Senate Votes To Block Another Obama-Era Rule (Associated Press)
The Republican-led Senate voted Wednesday to block an Obama-era rule that critics said would have led to more citations for workplace safety record-keeping violations.
Life on the Home Planet
Driving to the South Pole Is Coolest Road Trip You've Never Heard Of (Bloomberg)
Come November, you can make it happen on a roughly two-week-long road trip across Antarctica with the Explorations Company.
Police raid 6 addresses and arrest 8 people in connection to the London attack (Business Insider UK)
Armed police raided six addresses, including a home in Birmingham, England, early on Thursday morning, in connection to the terror attack that resulted in the deaths of four people, including a police officer, and at least 40 were injured, on Wednesday afternoon.
Less-Educated Middle-Age US Whites Dying Younger Than Others (Associated Press)
Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, released a statement saying that there will be a candlelit vigil in Trafalgar Square from 6 p.m. GMT on Thursday to pledge "solidarity with the victims" of the attack in Westminster, London on Wednesday.
