Financial Markets and Economy
How the Currency Market Learned to Get Over Its 'Yuan' Big Fear (Bloomberg)
In the meantime, however, a combination of factors has sharply reversed the trends that gave rise to concerns about the currency pair last year.
Why Bond Bears Are Poised to Come Out of Hibernation…Again (Bloomberg)
Besieged Treasury bears may finally be set for a winning streak in the world’s largest bond market. Strategists are citing an under-pricing of inflation in the U.S. economy, waning foreign demand and a bid by the Federal Reserve to tighten its monetary stance at a faster pace than markets anticipate.
Lending for Commercial Property Falls as Investors Pull Back (The Wall Street Journal)
Commercial real-estate lending by banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions is declining as sales activity slows and regulators voice concern about the sector.
Yuan firms as dollar retreats; Macquarie forecasts no depreciation this year (Reuters)
China's yuan firmed against the greenback on Tuesday, as the central bank set a stronger midpoint following an overnight retreat in the dollar index.
Sorry America, Your Taxes Aren’t High (Bloomberg)
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development analyzed how 35 countries tax wage-earners, making it possible to compare tax burdens across the world’s biggest economies.
Grains piled on runways, parking lots, fields amid global glut (Reuters)
CHICAGO Iowa farmer Karl Fox is drowning in corn.
Reluctant to sell his harvest at today's rock-bottom prices, he has stuffed storage bins at his property full and left more corn piled on the ground, covered with a tarp.
Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's largest hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates, says investors shouldn't expect another crisis like that in 2008 – but that there is still going to be "a gradual noose tightening."
Investors Dump French Assets as Presidential Race Opens Up (The Wall Street Journal)
Investors sold French assets Tuesday, a further sign of jitters ahead of the first round of voting in the country’s hotly contested presidential elections April 23.
U.K. Grocers Secretly Squeeze Customers as Brexit Bites (Bloomberg)
U.K. grocers are finding creative ways of passing on Brexit-induced cost increases to consumers. If you’re shopping for candles or light bulbs, buyer beware.
Exclusive: North Korean ships head home after China orders coal returned (Reuters)
A fleet of North Korean cargo ships is heading home to the port of Nampo, the majority of it fully laden, after China ordered its trading companies to return coal from the isolated country, shipping data shows.
Chinese cities restrict home sales by buyers to fight speculation (Reuters)
At least twelve major Chinese cities are requiring newly bought homes to be held for at least two to three years before they can be sold, the first time ever that cities in the country are taking such measures and suggesting intensified government efforts to cool the red-hot property market.
Secret Recordings Play Role in SEC Probe of Insurer AmTrust (The Wall Street Journal)
The auditor at BDO USA LLP casually wandered around the accounting firm’s New York offices, striking up conversations with colleagues about BDO’s audit of the large insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc.
$1 Billion In Marijuana Taxes Is Addictive To State Governors (Forbes)
States are addicted to cannabis tax revenues. According to a new report from New Frontier Data, states with legalized marijuana are on track to generate approximately $655 million in state taxes on retail sales in 2017.
Pipeline Built to Survive Extremes Can’t Bear Slow Oil Flow (Bloomberg)
Here at the top of the world, January brought a glimpse of the anxious future facing Alaska’s once-mighty oil pipeline.
Bespoke’s Q1 Interactive Earnings Season Calendar — 4/11/17 (Bespoke)
It’s difficult enough to stay on top of the earnings release dates for stocks in your portfolios, but figuring out what to do with a stock both before and right after it reports earnings is a whole different story. If you’re looking for top-level earnings season analysis, Bespoke’s paid research product is the place to get it.
Companies
Toshiba warns it may not survive amid massive Westinghouse losses (Euro News)
Toshiba – one of the best known names in electronics – is in crisis, saying its very survival is in doubt.
The Japanese conglomerate’s latest results reveal much bigger than previously estimated losses for the nine months through to the end of last year.
Cisco's Board Has Some Explaining To Do (Forbes)
Cisco’s executive chairman, John Chambers, warned three years ago that the shift to cloud computing was throwing the future of the IT industry into a massive shakeup.
Amazon is taking over Seattle — and residents are calling it 'Amageddon' (Business Insider)
Amazon has played a major role in the story of Seattle's development since it moved its corporate offices to the South Lake Union neighborhood in 2010.
Here's why GM could a better bet than Tesla (The Motley Fool)
Shares of electric-car pioneer Tesla have rocketed higher by 65% since the beginning of December, after two and a half years of up-and-down performance.
United Airlines faces mounting pressure over hospitalized passenger (Reuters)
United Airlines and its chief executive faced mounting pressure on Tuesday from a worldwide backlash over its treatment of a passenger who was dragged from his seat on a plane on Sunday to make room for four employees on the overbooked flight.
Toshiba Warns Westinghouse Nuclear Losses Jeopardize Its Future (Bloomberg)
The troubles at Japan’s Toshiba Corp. grew deeper as the 142-year-old conglomerate warned it may not be able to continue as a going concern because of losses from its Westinghouse Electric nuclear business. Shares fell as much as 3.6 percent in Tokyo.
Qualcomm hits back at Apple's lawsuit, accuses iPhone maker of false statements (Reuters)
Qualcomm Inc hit back at Apple Inc's charges that were made in a U.S. lawsuit in January, saying the iPhone maker breached agreements with the firm and encouraged regulatory attacks on its business in various jurisdictions around the world by making false statements.
Toshiba files results unapproved by auditor; warns of 'going concern' risk (Reuters)
Toshiba Corp (6502.T) filed twice-delayed business results on Tuesday without an endorsement from its auditor and warned its very survival was in doubt, deepening a prolonged crisis at the Japanese conglomerate.
Technology
Apple has 80 engineers working on a tiny chip that could increase battery life on iPhones (Business Insider)
Apple is working on an in-house chip dedicated to power management, the latest sign that it wants to develop more core technologies, instead of buying or licensing them from other technology companies.
Google’s Dueling Neural Networks Spar to Get Smarter, No Humans Required (Wired)
When Ian Goodfellow explains the research he’s doing at Google Brain, the central artificial intelligence lab at the internet’s most powerful company, he points to this aphorism from the iconic physicist, Caltech professor, and best-selling author.
UNDERCOVER IN AN IPHONE FACTORY: What it's really like to work in a Chinese mega-factory, according to a student who spent 6 weeks there (Business Insider)
Imagine going to work at 7:30 every night and spending the next 12 hours, including meals and breaks, inside a factory where your only job is to insert a single screw into the back of a smartphone, repeating the task over and over and over again.
Famous poker-playing AI takes down scientists and engineers (Engadget)
Libratus, the poker-playing AI that crushed four world-class pros in January, has put another group of human players to shame. This time, the upgraded variant of the AI known as "Lengpudashi" or "cold poker master" took on World Series veteran Alan Du and a team of engineers, computer scientists and investors.
The surprising rise of China as IP powerhouse (Tech Crunch)
The contrast could not be more stark: Xi Jinping, the first president of China to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, leading the largest Chinese contingent ever and pledging enduring support for free trade and open markets, versus newly inaugurated President Donald Trump promising to “make America First” and threatening renewed trade barriers, especially with China, and dumping the TPP.
Banks scramble to fix old systems as IT 'cowboys' ride into sunset (Reuters)
Bill Hinshaw is not a typical 75-year-old. He divides his time between his family – he has 32 grandchildren and great-grandchildren – and helping U.S. companies avert crippling computer meltdowns.
Politics
Trump overstates job creation numbers under his administration (Politico)
President Donald Trump claimed credit Tuesday for the creation of more than 600,000 jobs since he entered office, a figure tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — off his administration’s true job creation totals.
A Special Election In Kansas Could Signal 'Big League' Problems For GOP, Trump (NPR)
A special election in Kansas on Tuesday has Republicans sounding worried about an enthusiasm gap in the Trump era. Trump himself was apparently worried enough that he cut a robo call for Republican state party Treasurer Ron Estes.
Donald Trump: Liar in Chief (Rolling Stone)
"What should a United States senator, or any citizen, do if the president is a liar?" Sen. Bernie Sanders mused in March. The media, elected officials, even Trump's spokespeople have all struggled to reckon with a chronically dissembling commander in chief.
Spicer apologizes for claiming Hitler didn't use chemical weapons (Politico)
White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday apologized for claiming that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons, seemingly minimizing the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Trump Says "Pleasant Surprises" On NAFTA Talks (Associated Press)
President Donald Trump promised "pleasant surprises" from planned renegotiations of the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump spoke at a White House meeting Tuesday with business leaders who are part of his strategic and policy forum.
U.S. judge finds Texas voter ID law was intended to discriminate (Reuters)
A Texas law that requires voters to show identification before casting ballots was enacted with the intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, a U.S. federal judge ruled on Monday.
Tillerson Says Russia Should Give Up ‘Unreliable Partner’ Assad (Bloomberg)
Russia must abandon its support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime if it wants an “important role” in discussions about Syria’s future, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, setting up a clash with Russian leaders just before he meets them in Moscow.
White House accuses Russia of Syria chemical attack 'cover up' (Reuters)
President Donald Trump's administration accused Russia on Tuesday of trying to shield Syria's government from blame for a deadly gas attack, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson brought a Western message to Moscow condemning its support for President Bashar al-Assad.
Special Ed School Vouchers May Come With Hidden Costs (NY Times)
Vouchers for special needs students have been endorsed by the Trump administration, and they are often heavily promoted by state education departments and by private schools, which rely on them for tuition dollars.
Life on the Home Planet
Scientists just uncovered some troubling news about Greenland’s most enormous glacier (The Washington Post)
The largest glacier in Greenland is even more vulnerable to sustained ice losses than previously thought, scientists have reported.
Scientists Think Earth Is Spewing Up the Deepest Traces of Life Ever Found (Science Alert)
Scientists may have discovered evidence of the deepest microbial life ever found on the planet, detecting the presence of organic matter in rock fragments spewed up by mud volcanoes near the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench.
Japan's population to shrink by a third by 2065 (The Telegraph)
Japan’s population is expected to shrink by nearly a third within 50 years, according to new figures highlighting the nation’s demographic crisis.
