Financial Markets and Economy
Stocks slide as the US drops the 'mother of all bombs' on Afghanistan (Business Insider)
Stocks lost some ground on Thursday after news that the US bombed an ISIS target in Afghanistan.
The so-called Mother of All Bombs that was used is the largest non-nuclear bomb in America's inventory.
Wall Street analysts might as well 'pick a number on the roulette wheel' for their year-end stock targets (Business Insider)
Towards the end of every year, most major Wall Street firms send their clients big outlook notes that include their forecasts of where the S&P 500 would end the following year. These usually range from ultra-bullish calls to the boring consensus views and the occasional bearish price target.
A $2.7 trillion money manager is preaching sustainable investing to its 7,000 financial advisors (Business Insider)
One of the largest financial firms in the world is positioning itself to be the greenest bank on Wall Street.
UBS, which manages over 2.7 trillion Swiss francs ($2.7 trillion) has made sustainability the cornerstone of its business. As such, the bank has taken a number of steps to be the go-to firm for sustainable and impact investment offerings.
1,500 economists to Trump: Immigrants are good for the U.S. economy (CNN)
In a letter to President Trump and top Congressional leaders Wednesday, nearly 1,500 economists extolled the economic benefits immigrants bring to the U.S. and urged Congress to "modernize" the country's immigration system.
You can take the biggest step toward building wealth in 10 minutes at your computer (Business Insider)
Believe it or not, getting rich takes more patience than effort.
According to bestselling author David Bach, who is releasing an updated version of his hit book "The Automatic Millionaire" this December, the "most important" first step to take in building wealth is also the easiest: Automate your finances.
Is Trump's Tax-Cut Tactic Based on an Error? (Bloomberg)
Undeterred by his last failure, President Donald Trump is pressing again to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. One big reason is that he believes getting rid of Obamacare would make it easier to finance the big tax cuts he's promised.
Why GDP is so difficult to measure (The Economist)
Measuring output is the best way we have of taking the temperature of an economy. But the industry standard, gross domestic product (GDP) has a host of weaknesses.
7 ways to tell if you’re reading fake investing news (Market Watch)
After all, we can malign high-priced active managers who underperform the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.68% until the cows come home. And we can worry over whether Republicans will gut regulations meant to protect small-time investors.
Buyout Firms Are Magically — and Legally — Pumping Up Returns (Bloomberg)
Much like a raft of baseball sluggers in recent decades, buyout shops have seized on a performance enhancer that artificially jacks up results, according to many industry executives.
Teachers Cash In, Big Time, By Putting Lessons up For Sale (Associated Press)
Miss Kindergarten is in the million-dollar club. So are Lovin Lit, the Moffatt Girls and about a dozen other teacher-entrepreneurs who are spinning reading, math, science and social studies into gold by selling their lesson plans online to fellow teachers around the world.
Asian Refiners Diversify Crude Oil Supplies To Reduce Impact Of Opec-Related Output Cuts (S&P Global Platts)
Since the start of 2017, Asian refineries have been looking at a wider range of crudes to run as they seek to diversify their supplies and reduce the impact of OPEC related production cuts.
Human touch is still the key to innovative real estate industry (Salon)
We often hear fearful predictions that technology is replacing humans in the workforce, but Eddie Shapiro doesn’t agree. The CEO of real estate platform Nest Seekers says that while technological advances have their advantages, at the end of the day, what humans really want is other humans to help with major life decisions — like deciding on a new home.
OPEC’s Misleading Narrative About World Oil Supply (Belfer Center)
At a time when energy market headlines focus mainly on OPEC cuts, observers may be forgiven for concluding that a supply crunch and higher prices are imminent. On the contrary, there is still too much oil in global markets.
An Emini Rounded Reversal Back to our Fibonacci Target April 13 (Afraid To Trade)
Taking the form of a Rounded Arc, price broke beneath our short-term Fibonacci Support level and is collapsing toward our lower target.
Searching for New Ideas in the Curious Things Your Customers Do (Harvard Business Review)
Twenty five years ago Steve Hughes, now the CEO of Sunrise Strategic Partners, was walking through an orange juice plant when he had an epiphany that turned into a $500 million business.
OIl: Solid increase for Oil Rig Count (Calculated Risk)
The US horizontal oil rig count is now within three weeks of the entire number necessary to cover the US contribution to incremental global oil supply.
Bespoke’s Sector Snapshot — 4/13/17 (Bespoke)
Below is one of the many charts included in this week’s Sector Snapshot, which highlights our trading range screen for the S&P 500 and ten sectors.
Is It Other Than Madness? (Alhambra Investment Partners)
As earnings season begins for Q1 2017 reports, there isn’t much change in analysts’ estimates for S&P 500 companies for that quarter. The latest figures from S&P shows expected earnings (as reported) of $26.70 in Q1, as compared to $26.87 two weeks ago.
Institutional Clients Continue To Miss Entire Market Rally (Value Walk)
Private clients were the only group buying ETFs last week. Notably, investors flocked to fixed income ETFs while hedge funds and institutional clients sold the exchange traded instruments.
Most people have wonderful intentions to improve their finances, but they don’t take the necessary steps to actually make it happen.
BofA Finds Surging Consumer Confidence Does Not Result In Higher Spending (Zero Hedge)
While markets are closed tomorrow for Good Friday, the Census Bureau will release both CPI and Retail Sales data at their regularly scheduled times. And since it will be impossible to trade these numbers as they are released, here is a courtesy advance look from Bank of America which as usual has released its internal debt and credit card data in advance of the government report.
Companies
Elon Musk tells unhappy Tesla investors: 'Buy Ford' (The Telegraph)
Elon Musk has got into a Twitter row with a group of powerful investors after they urged the billionaire Tesla boss to strengthen the electric car company’s board.
This chart explains why Tesla's stock price is entering insane territory (Business Insider)
After briefly seeing its market cap rise above General Motors, Tesla has watched its stock decline slightly this week. But with a total value of $48 billion, versus $51 billion for GM, Tesla is still considered by Wall Street the number two US automaker — Ford is at $44 billion.
UPS, FedEx Could Be Hit Hard By Wal-Mart's Click-and-collect Discount Plan, Analyst Says (Market Watch Pulse)
United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. could be facing significant risk to their business after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would offer discounts to some online orders if customers choose in-store pickup rather than home delivery.
'My Airbnb flat was turned into a pop-up brothel' (BBC News)
Police have warned owners of short-term holiday lets that their properties are increasingly being used for prostitution. Colin (not his real name) contacted the BBC when he discovered the flat he rents out on Airbnb had been turned into a pop-up brothel.
Wells Fargo Says Scandal Costs Will Be Higher Than Projected (Bloomberg)
Wells Fargo & Co.’s costs tied to a fake-account scandal are mounting faster than the bank expected as the company incurs expenses for consultants and lawyers.
How Cisco Systems, Inc. Makes Most of Its Money (The Motley Fool)
Networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) is a survivor of the dot-com bubble. Its market capitalization peaked at around $550 billion in 2000, only to tumble and never again come close to approaching that level.
Bespoke’s “Death By Amazon” Index Makes 4-Year Low (Bespoke)
Bespoke created its “Death By Amazon” index back in 2014 as a way to track the retail companies most affected by the rise of Amazon.
Technology
Elon Musk just announced when Tesla will unveil the final design of the Model 3 (Business Insider)
Tesla will unveil the production version of the Model 3 in July, CEO Elon Musk said via Twitter on Thursday.
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Instagram is absolutely crushing Snapchat and there's no end in sight (Mashable)
In case the Facebook-owned company hadn't already made it abundantly clear that burying Snapchat under an endlessly growing pile of lookalike products was its top priority, Instagram has some fresh salt to rub into Snap's wounds: Instagram Stories now has 200 million daily active users — more than Snapchat's total daily active user base.
Elon Musk Says Tesla is About to Overhaul Transportation with an Electric Semi-Trailer (Inc.)
How big is this one going to be?
I'm guessing it will weigh 32,000 pounds, haul enough cargo to build part of a house, and glide silently down the road. The only sound you'll hear is the horn blasting.
Facebook can’t escape mounting evidence that it’s making people miserable (Quartz)
Social media has irrevocably changed the nature of friendship, in that we now split our time between virtual relationships and real ones. Now a big new study adds to the growing body of research on the fallout of our socializing online: The more we use Facebook, the less happy we feel.
Online Upstarts Seek to Disrupt Used-Car Buying (NY Times)
Emily Hurwitz, an advertising supervisor who lives in San Francisco, doesn’t like buying cars from traditional dealerships. In fact, she recently bought a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan through Shift, a start-up that arranges online sales of used cars.
How Electric Vehicle Charging Will Impact Power Systems (Bloomberg)
Electric vehicles are an agent of change for vehicle owners, power generators, and the power system. When and how will this change take place? Bloomberg New Energy Finance explores different scenarios.
How Machine Learning Is Changing The World: Artificial Intelligence In Finance Predicts Stocks And Bonds (International Businesss Times)
Much of the current machine learning revolution originated around applications like computer vision that have nothing to do with finance. It's an interesting question, the extent to which the latest artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques can crossover into finance.
How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare (TNW)
There’s currently a shortage of over seven million physicians, nurses and other health workers worldwide, and the gap is widening. Doctors are stretched thin — especially in underserved areas — to respond to the growing needs of the population.
How Hackers Hijacked a Bank’s Entire Online Operation (Wired)
The traditional model of hacking a bank isn’t so different from the old-fashioned method of robbing one. Thieves get in, get the goods, and get out.
Apple Says Three More Suppliers to Use Solely Renewable Power (Bloomberg)
Another three Apple Inc. suppliers committed to using solely renewable energy to manufacture components for the iPhone maker.
Smartphones Have an Unexpected New Rival (Bloomberg)
Last week, an Indian government official announced that iPhones will start rolling off an assembly line in Bangalore by the end of April, targeted at local customers.
Politics
Trump Signs Law Taking Aim at Planned Parenthood Funding (NY Times)
President Trump signed legislation on Thursday aimed at cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other groups that perform abortions, a move cheered by conservatives who have clamored to impose curbs on reproductive rights.
Prediction prof: Trump will be impeached (Politico)
The professor who took hell for predicting President Donald Trump has a much longer case for predicting President Mike Pence — and it’s all in his new book, out next week.
Trudeau Unveils Bill Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in Canada (NY Times)
Fulfilling a campaign pledge, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Canada.
Assad Says Videos of Dead Children in Syria Chemical Attack Were Faked (NY Times)
Syria’s president intensified on Thursday a propaganda counterattack against Western accusations that he had ordered a lethal chemical weapons bombing last week on civilians, asserting that videos of victims, including dead and convulsing children, had been faked.
Say What? Wyoming Considering a Bill to Penalize Utilities That Use Solar Power (The Motley Fool)
It might seem like a state that has wide open plains and a population density even lower than Montana or North Dakota would be a perfect (and profitable) place to build large renewable-energy farms. And in Wyoming, that could be the case — if politics wasn't about to get in the way.
Trump’s drug czar is a friend to Big Pharma, enemy to pot advocates (Think Progress)
President Donald Trump will soon nominate Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), reversing an earlier proposal to eliminate the agency entirely.
‘Don’t you look away from me!’: How a Russian diplomat’s tirade broke U.N. tradition (The Washington Post)
It's no secret that the norms of diplomacy have been in flux recently. Trolling is in. The Russian Embassy in London appears to be gaining an edge in sardonic tweets directed at the West (although the other side has shot off a few zingers of its own, as well).
Macron' Singular Life Could Help Make Him France's President (Associated Press)
From his teenage romance with a teacher to his recent ambition to become president, Emmanuel Macron often is described as unconventional and tenacious — traits that could make him France's next leader in an election marked by anti-establishment frustration.
The unforgivable mistake Sean Spicer makes every day (The Washington Post)
I’m not talking about the White House press secretary’s claim Tuesday that Adolf Hitler didn’t use poison gas, at least not against his “own people,” even if the Nazis did send Jews to “Holocaust centers.” He has apologized profusely for that.
Erdogan Aide Floats Do-Over Vote If Referendum Is Defeated (Bloomberg)
If Turks vote against granting broader powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s referendum, another plebiscite may be held, his chief adviser said.
British spy agencies knew about Trump-Russia connections back in 2015 (Salon)
While the British intelligence agency GCHQ never wiretapped Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign — despite what press secretary Sean Spicer claimed last month — it appears that British intelligence had known for a while that members of Trump’s campaign team were interacting with Russian intelligence operatives.
Trump sparks “first protest in space”: Space network’s screw-you message flies 90,000 feet high (Salon)
Donald Trump has sparked countless protests in record time across the country, the world and space. Yes, you read that correctly. A small space network launched what it’s calling the “first protest in space” against President Trump on Wednesday.
Trump threatens cutting off payments for low-income people to get health care (Think Progress)
President Donald Trump is still considering whether to continue payments for cost-sharing subsidies that help low-income people get health care, he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s base turns on him (Pollitico)
As Trump struggles to keep his campaign promises and flirts with political moderation, his most steadfast supporters — from veteran advisers to anti-immigration activists to the volunteers who dropped their jobs to help elect him — are increasingly dismayed by the direction of his presidency.
Paid CNN pundit calls Trump ‘the Martin Luther King of health care’ (Think Progress)
It’s been more than a year since then-candidate Donald Trump personally recommended that CNN hire Jeffrey Lord as a pundit who would defend him.
The Case for Kleptocracy (The Intelligencer)
There was a time in the very recent past, when the idea of a billionaire president running the White House like it was the D.C. branch of his family business — leveraging his office to increase the profit margins of his hotels and resorts, giving his daughter and son-in-law veto power over vast swathes of executive policy, and subordinating his campaign promises to the best interests of his brand — would have sounded like the plot of a gratingly bleak and unsubtle satire of the post-Citizens United era.
Americans Name Dissatisfaction With Government as Top Problem (Gallup)
More than one in five U.S. adults cite dissatisfaction with the government and political leadership as the most important problem in the country. This is by far the problem U.S. adults most frequently mention, followed by healthcare, immigration and the economy.
Health and Biotech
You've probably never heard of Insys Therapeutics. You've also probably never heard of its only drug, Subsys, a spray version of the powerful opiate fentanyl.
More U.S. Hospitals Pushing Patients to Pay Before Care (Reuters)
The 25-bed rural hospital in the southwest corner of the state implemented the protocol because of mounting unpaid bills from insured patients, a group that had previously not raised red flags.
Life on the Home Planet
'Misdirected' Airstrike By U.S.-Led Coalition Kills 18 Allied Fighters In Syria (NPR The Two Way)
An airstrike that was meant to target ISIS in Syria instead killed 18 Syrian Democratic Forces personnel because it was "misdirected," U.S. Central Command said Thursday.
NASA finds evidence of life-supporting conditions on Saturn’s moon Enceladus (Tech Crunch)
NASA held a press conference on Thursday to reveal some exciting new discoveries about ocean worlds within our solar system: It has found evidence that suggest a type of chemical energy that can support life exists on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 62 confirmed moons.
Humankind: The Post-Truth Species (Bloomberg)
We are told repeatedly these days that we are living in a new and frightening era of “Post-Truth.” So when, exactly, was the halcyon age of truth? In the 1980s? The 1930s? The 18th century?
'Beauty And The Beast' Passes $1 Billion As Disney And Universal Rule The Box Office (Forbes)
Yup, it's official. Disney made it official two hours ago but I wanted to wait until we had actual numbers. Beauty and the Beast earned another $2.4 million in North America and $6.8m overseas yesterday.
