Financial Markets and Economy
Nikkei Tumbles to 4-Month Low After Fed Minutes (Reuters)
Japan's Nikkei share average tumbled to a four-month closing low on Thursday after signs the U.S. Federal Reserve may start cutting its king-sized balance sheet earlier than expected spooked the market.
Premarket: Fed and Trump signals give stocks double trouble (Reuters)
Stocks slipped and bonds rose on Thursday, with risk appetite soured by signs the Federal Reserve might start paring asset holdings later this year just as the chance of early U.S. fiscal stimulus seems to be evaporating.
Euro Erases Draghi-Fueled Drop as Cross-Price Action Supports (Bloomberg)
The euro steadied after dropping to the lowest since mid-March following dovish remarks from Mario Draghi and option hedging before the French elections that weighed on the currency.
Two Former Barclays Employees Acquitted in Libor Retrial (The Wall Street Journal)
Two former Barclays PLC employees have been acquitted of conspiracy to defraud in relation to the manipulation of Libor interest rates after a retrial in London.
European Stocks Advance as Energy Rally Outweighs Fed Concern (Bloomberg)
European stocks rose as a rally in oil companies offset concern over minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting that showed policy makers may shrink the U.S. central bank’s balance sheet this year.
Japanese Billionaire Masayoshi Son, Larry Ellison, Apple, Saudi Arabia All Bet On Vision Fund (Forbes)
Dealmaker Masayoshi Son likes to think and act big. Witness his December 2016 meeting with then president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower. SoftBank CEO Son promised Trump that he would lead $50 billion of investment into U.S. companies and create 50,000 jobs in the process.
Two of Wall Street's Biggest Names Are Sounding the Alarm on the U.S. Economy (Bloomberg)
Two of Wall Street’s most influential CEOs — Larry Fink and Jamie Dimon — are raising warning flags over the nation’s economy.
Why Americans Are More Likely to Work for a Large Employer, in 20 Charts (The Wall Street Journal)
Americans, in a generational reversal, are now more likely to work for a large employer than a small one, a shift that’s rippling through the economy.
Sensex edges lower; RBI keeps repo rate unchanged (Reuters)
Indian shares ended marginally lower on Thursday, paring early losses after the central bank kept its repo rate unchanged as it continues to guard against any potential flare-up in inflation and on an uncertain global economic environment.
Yale's Roach Says China Is Not Manipulating Currency (Bloomberg)
In today's "Single Best Chart," Bloomberg's Tom Keene displays the performance of the trade-weighted renminbi going back to 1994.
Right Now Is the Time to Buy Your Dream Car (Bloomberg)
As spring spreads across the Northern Hemisphere, an intoxicating scent is thickening on the outskirts of American cities. It’s that new-car smell.
New York City has a number of ambitious development and infrastructure projects underway.
Manhattan's most recent transportation upgrade came in the form of the glistening, $4.5 billion Second Avenue subway line, which opened on January 1.
Europe Eliminated the Fossil Fuel Equivalent of Italy With Renewable Energy (GreenTechMedia)
The Europeans were the first to embrace comprehensive targets for renewables and carbon mitigation. Although the strategies of individual member countries have been heavily scrutinized (Germany) and widely criticized (Spain), the EU's early embrace of a low-carbon strategy was influential in bringing other big emitters like America, China and India to the table for a global climate deal in 2015.
Janet Yellen To Hold Previously Unannounced Speech On Monday, Take Twitter Questions (Zero Hedge)
On Monday, April 10, Janet Yellen will hold a previously unannounced speech at the Gerald Ford School Of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, the school announced on its website this morning. The speech is expected to last from 4pm until 5:15pm, and will be free and open to the public.
An Emini Bull Trap Back inside our Fibonacci Grid April 6 (Afraid To Trade)
In reaction to yesterday’s Fed Minutes report, sellers collapsed the market back inside our larger Fibonacci Grid.
What Happens When The Fed Warns The Market Is Overvalued (Zero Hedge)
While investors hang on every dovish word bluffed from a venerable Fed speaker's mouth, the cognitive dissonance when something negative is uttered is stunning. Since Greenspan's "irrational exuberance" moment, asset-gatherers and commission-takers have advised ignoring Fedspeak on stocks… historically, that was a mistake for investors.
50% Of Americans Live Payday-To-Payday; 33% Can't Write A $500 Emergency Check (Zero Hedge)
It's been more than seven years since the 'great recession' officially ended, but while Fed policies have successfully generated massive asset bubbles which have accrued solely to the benefit of America's wealthiest, the majority of American families remain as vulnerable to financial disaster as they were during the height of the crisis.
Companies
Kraft's Failed Bid Jolts Unilever Chief Into Protective Revamp (Bloomberg)
Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman is channeling an aborted takeover coup by Kraft Heinz Co. into some shock therapy of his own.
Japanese retailer Seven & i to buy Sunoco assets for $3.3 billion (Reuters)
Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co said on Thursday it would buy most of Sunoco LP's convenience store and gasoline retail businesses for about $3.3 billion.
Mercedes Enjoys Best Month Ever For Car Sales (Associated Press)
German carmaker Daimler AG says it had the best sales month ever for its Mercedes-Benz luxury brand in March.
Stuttgart-based Daimler said in a statement Thursday that Mercedes-Benz sold 228,296 vehicles globally in March, an increase of 15 percent.
Pearson share slide drags down FTSE 100 (BBC News)
The company, which reported the biggest annual loss in its history earlier this year, was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100 after going ex-dividend.
Overall, the benchmark index was down 25 points or 0.34% at 7,306.98.
Technology
Tesla plans to launch its first mass-market car, the Model 3, by the end of 2017. But Tesla also has another important vehicle in the works.
Amazon’s Robot War Is Spreading (Bloomberg)
It was Amazon that drove America’s warehouse operators into the robot business.
Apple Report Reveals 'New iPhone' Price Cuts (Forbes)
or months now the leaks have all been in alignment: the radically redesigned iPhone 8 (I predict simply ‘iPhone’), will be very expensive. In fact a price tag starting at over $1,000 is the common consensus.
E-sports coaching app gets $6 million, because that’s the world we live in now (Tech Crunch)
Dojo Madness, a Berlin-based startup that sells analytics and coaching tools to casual and professional online gamers, has raised $6 million in a new round of financing.
7 companies working to make 'flying cars' a reality (Business Insider)
The vehicles these companies are working on aren't the same from flying cars from "Back to the Future." Rather, they are pursuing electric, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for shorter urban commutes.
A New Battery Could Be As Revolutionary As Fracking, Recent EIA Chief Says (Forbes)
In Chicago last week, the former director of the Energy Information Administration reminisced about a glorious day, not long ago, when Democrats and Republicans got along—even when the topic was energy.
Politics
Centrist Emmanuel Macron's lead in France's presidential election has narrowed though he is still on course to win, two polls casting light on voter intentions following a televised debate between candidates showed.
Senate Prepares for a Showdown Over Neil Gorsuch (Erica Werner, AP)
A Senate showdown is at hand over President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, and it could change the Senate and the court for years to come.
Xi-Trump Meeting, Jobs, Data Accuracy: Eye on Chinese Media (Bloomberg)
The face-to-face meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida will clear up many uncertainties about the two countries’ relations, Yang Yi, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, wrote in an opinion article in the China Daily.
Border wall with Mexico won’t be built ‘from sea to shining sea,’ DHS secretary says (The Washington Post)
One of President Trump’s central campaign promises was to build a “big, beautiful, powerful wall” along the border with Mexico to keep out undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers.
Trump meets Xi: What's at stake (CNN)
President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping meet for the first time Thursday and will seek to forge a connection and to stabilize the world's most important diplomatic relationship, despite a gulf between them in experience, temperament and global outlook.
Trump’s Tax Overhaul Keeps Congress Waiting as Questions Pile Up (Bloomberg)
Eight weeks ago President Donald Trump said he would be releasing a “phenomenal” tax plan within two or three weeks. But there’s no sign of a plan yet, and mixed signals from the White House are imperiling Republican promises of speedy action.
Forget the Gorsuch nuclear option: Republicans want to change how all judges are confirmed from now onNow that the Senate Republicans are preparing to turn the nuclear option from theoretical possibility to political fact, another major rules change may be under way — one that would also help Republicans push through appointees made by President Donald Trump.
RIP U.S. Senate, 1789-2017 (Politico)
This is the week when we will discover if Washington really is as broken and hopeless as President Donald Trump and his supporters long have claimed it is. Looks like the answer is yes.
Senate Republicans Force Historic Rule Change to Advance Gorsuch (Bloomberg)
Senate Republicans ignited the "nuclear option" to allow confirmation of President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee and bar Democrats from blocking future picks, a dramatic rule change that could deepen partisan divisions and put more ideologically extreme justices on the court.
More Bad Polls For Trump After Failed Health Reform Effort (Forbes)
In fewer than three months in the White House, Donald Trump has cast a shadow of uncertainty on the practice of medicine and pushed the public toward his predecessor's goals to expand health coverage, according to new polls out this week.
How EU Holds Whip Hand Over U.K. as Brexit Trade Tensions Mount (Bloomberg)
In Strasbourg, France, the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Wednesday rebuffed Prime Minister Theresa May’s demand for a quick start to talks aimed at delivering a “bold and ambitious” free-trade agreement.
Argentina Is Waging a Two-Front Economic Battle, Macri Says (Bloomberg)
Argentine President Mauricio Macri says his government has no ‘Plan B’ for the economy and is confident he can slow inflation and stimulate growth at the same time ahead of mid-term elections in October.
National embarrassment: A majority of Americans don’t like having Donald Trump as president, and his wall isn’t helping himA majority of voters in the U.S. are embarrassed to have Donald Trump as their president, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday. Fifty-two percent of the voters polled said they were embarrassed that Trump is leading the nation, while only 27 percent stated they were proud.
Samantha Bee: Ivanka Trump is not “your secret progressive buddy” (Salon)
Ivanka Trump’s new role in the White House as the assistant to the president has some liberals hoping that she can provide a moderating presence for her father. They say she will be the president’s “eyes and ears” on Pennsylvania Avenue, but Samantha Bee does not necessarily think that will be a good thing.
To Defend Bannon, Breitbart Has Opened Fire On The President's Son-In-Law (Media Matters)
Breitbart.com, the pro-Trump propaganda outlet previously run by White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, is now being deployed against President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top White House staffer Jared Kushner as part of an internal power struggle.
Life on the Home Planet
NASA will destroy a $3.26 billion Saturn probe this summer to protect an alien water world (Business Insider)
For nearly three decades, researchers have worked to design, build, launch, and operate an unprecedented mission to explore Saturn.
U.S. loses ground as tourist destination, new report says (USA Today)
The United States dropped two slots in international rankings of desirable tourist destinations – even before President Trump’s travel policies provoked industry concerns about billions in lost revenue, according to a report released Thursday.
The Changing Global Religious Landscape (Pew Research Center)
More babies were born to Christian mothers than to members of any other religion in recent years, reflecting Christianity’s continued status as the world’s largest religious group.
Christians remain world’s largest religious group, but they are declining in Europe (Pew Research Center)
Christians remained the largest religious group in the world in 2015, making up nearly a third (31%) of Earth’s 7.3 billion people, according to a new Pew Research Center demographic analysis.
All the evidence Bill Cosby doesn’t want a jury to see (Think Progress)
In two months, the criminal trial of Bill Cosby will begin. He stands accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Though about 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, Constand’s is the only criminal case against him. If he is convicted, Csoby faces up to 10 years in prison.
Syria Official Insists Chemical Attack Wasn’t Carried Out by Government (NY Times)
Syria’s foreign minister challenged again on Thursday accounts by witnesses, world leaders and experts that his government carried out a chemical attack that killed scores of people in the country’s north this week.
