Financial Markets and Economy
Oil prices dip, trading light after a three-week rally (Reuters)
Crude oil prices slipped 1 per cent on Monday in subdued trading after a long Easter holiday weekend, on news of rising U.S. shale production and profit-taking following three straight weeks of gains.
One Wall Street strategist just made a big call that should have everyone worried (Business Insider)
Scott Minerd, Guggenheim Partners' global chief investment officer and head of Guggenheim Investments, the asset management arm of Guggenheim, just made a big call on the 10-year yield.
Insurers Scramble to Price Plans on Health Exchanges as Policy Seesaws (The Wall Street Journal)
With deadlines looming to file plans for next year’s Affordable Care Act marketplaces, health insurers are struggling to respond to mixed signals from the Trump administration, delaying key business decisions and scouring Twitter for hints from Washington about the law’s future.
The Social Security Trust Fund should be allowed to invest in equities (Market Watch)
In a recent Wall Street Journal column, I debated with Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute the merits of investing a portion of the Social Security trust fund in equities. I, of course, think I won that debate.
Global Financial-Market Stress Jumps to This Year's High (Bloomberg)
Rising geopolitical concerns are pushing a gauge of anxiety for global asset classes to this year’s high. Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Financial Stress Index climbed to 0.24 last week, meeting the peak reached in February and rebounding from a low at the end of March.
This Is a Dangerous Time to Own Emerging Markets (The Wall Street Journal)
A crack is forming in an emerging-market revival that channeled almost $60 billion into assets of developing economies during the first months of 2017.
Undaunted by oil bust, financiers pour billions into U.S. shale (Reuters)
Investors who took a hit last year when dozens of U.S. shale producers filed for bankruptcy are already making big new bets on the industry's resurgence.
Bullish Oil Bets Gain on Signs OPEC Cuts to Outdo U.S. Boom (Bloomberg)
OPEC is finally making some headway in its race against the tide of surging U.S. supplies, and speculators are giving the group greater credence.
Neiman Marcus Finds Even Wealthy Shoppers Want Better Deals (The Wall Street Journal)
Lysa Heslov used to be a loyal Neiman Marcus shopper. Now, she buys most of her clothes, shoes and handbags at websites that carry the same designer brands, often at cheaper prices.
Americans are taking out the largest mortgages on record (Market Watch)
On Wednesday, a fresh piece of data confirmed that trend. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly purchase loan data showed that the average size of a home loan was the largest in the history of its survey, which goes back to 1990.
A $161 Billion Manager Says the Japanese Stock Gloom Is Overdone (Bloomberg)
Japanese stocks have been battered so badly that they’re too cheap to ignore, says the $161 billion investor Pictet Asset Management Ltd., after the Topix index tumbled to its fifth straight weekly loss.
SEC Targets Illicit Options Trades Made Ahead of Telecom Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
If you’re trading on inside information, maybe be a bit more discreet? The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced a court order to freeze assets in brokerage accounts that made suspicious, windfall-reaping options trades ahead of an acquisition announced last week.
Around 8% of The Money Supply Exists In Cash, The Rest is Just Faith-based Currency (News BTC)
Most consumers have stopped thinking about money in its physical form some time ago. While we still use bills and coins, digital payments have become the new trend. It is not surprising to learn 8% of the entire money supply exists in physical form, whereas the rest is electronic.
How the Six-Hour Workday Actually Saves Money (Bloomberg)
In February, after almost two years worth of six-hour workdays, nurses at the Svartedalens elderly care facility in Gothenburg, Sweden went back to eight hour shifts—despite recently published research showing the benefits of the shortened workdays.
Down-on-Its-Luck Caesars Pays Online Chief Garber $210 Million (Bloomberg)
Mitch Garber watched his father go broke and had some of his school costs paid with donations from strangers. In the past year, he’s scored one of the largest cash payouts to an executive of a publicly traded U.S. company — $210 million — thanks to a simple formula: put a little money at risk and look for smart partners.
The business wrap: World Bank forecasts 7.2% growth rate for India, and six other top stories (Scroll.in)
India’s economy will grow by 7.2% in 2017-2018, predicts World Bank: The agency expects the ‘fiscal, inflation and external conditions’ in the country to remain stable and a gradual GDP growth rise to 7.7% in 2019-2020.
The 3 Stages of a Country Embracing Renewable Energy (Harvard Business Review)
The world is undergoing a transformation in how it gets its power. In Germany, we have a word for it: Energiewende. It means energy turning point.
Companies
Qatar Airways CEO: Laptop ban doesn't make flying safer (CNN)
In a move that caught the aviation industry by surprise, President Trump's administration last month banned passengers from carrying anything larger than a smartphone on some flights to the U.S., citing security concerns.
Walmart Cuts HQ Staff, Fights Amazon With New Discounts (Forbes)
2017 has been a wake-up call for Walmart. After laying off approximately 1,000 associates at the end of the 2015 fiscal year, the company has now made another round of cuts, about 300 associates, in the home office.
Netflix is rallying ahead of earnings (NFLX) (Business Insider)
Netflix is up about 2.2% at $146 a share on Monday as it prepares to release its first quarter results after the closing bell.
Wall Street estimates earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $2.64, estimates provided by Reuters show.
Behind United Airlines’ Fateful Decision to Call Police (The Wall Street Journal)
The recipe for the disastrous decision by United Airlines’ employees to call for police to remove a passenger from a fully booked flight was years in the making.
BJ’s Wholesale Club up for sale and Amazon may be interested (New York Post)
BJ’s Wholesale Club is putting itself up for sale, and Amazon has expressed modest internal interest in the chain, sources tell The Post.
Inventory soars as GM builds cache before retooling (Automotive News)
The industry started the month with 4,191,700 light vehicles on hand, the highest unit count for April 1 since 2004 and 348,200 higher than a year earlier.
Technology
Will Blockchain Technology be the Ultimate Disruptor? Harvard Says Yes! (Inc.)
Until recently, we've relied on trusted intermediaries to send information over the internet. In 2008, a pioneering payment method and cryptocurrency entered the market–bitcoin.
Politics
Trump: Obama's foreign policy a 'total failure' (Politico)
As tensions between the United States and North Korea continue to escalate, President Donald Trump on Monday again criticized the previous administration, tweeting that President Barack Obama’s foreign policy was a “total failure.”
Trump’s Renewed Focus on Health Bill Vexes GOP Tax Overhaul Strategy (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump’s revived enthusiasm for tackling health-care legislation before tax policy has highlighted the complicated interplay between Republicans’ health-care overhaul and their planned tax bill.
France's Macron denies suggestions of impropriety (Reuters)
French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he did not have offshore accounts or a hidden inheritance, less than a week from the first round of voting in an election marked by allegations of impropriety.
FBI documents detail how the Russians try to recruit spies (CNN)
It is a scene ripped from Hollywood spy thrillers: Russian agents living and working among everyday, American citizens as cover for their true mission of stealing state secrets.
Merkel Calls on Erdogan to Open Talks in ‘Deeply Split’ Turkey (Bloomberg)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Turkish leaders should open talks with opponents and the European Union after a narrow referendum victory while the French government urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to use the result to bring back capital punishment.
Donald Trump Rejects Protests Seeking Release of His Tax Returns (The Wall Street Journal)
Giving no ground, President Donald Trump dismissed protests calling for him to disclose his tax returns as the work of political opponents unhappy about his election victory.
Wall Street banker Cohn moving Trump toward moderate policies (Reuters)
In a White House marked by infighting, top economic aide Gary Cohn, a Democrat and former Goldman Sachs banker, is muscling aside some of President Donald Trump's hard-right advisers to push more moderate, business-friendly economic policies.
Observers Question Turkish Referendum Result as U.S. Sends Mixed Signals (The Wall Street Journal)
International observers said a closely contested vote on Turkey’s presidential powers contravened Turkish law by changing rules on ballot-counting at the last minute, one of several alleged voting irregularities prompting domestic challenges and foreign criticism.
Turkey Rules Out Early Elections as Narrow Win Draws EU Concerns (Bloomberg)
Turkey won’t call early elections to speed up the transfer of power to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the nation’s deputy prime minister said after a narrow referendum that drew criticism from the European Union.
If Trump Fired Bannon, Would He Seek Revenge? (Politico)
When Steve Bannon vacated a home in Florida in 2015, his landlord complained that an entire Jacuzzi had apparently been coated in acid. After conservative media star Dana Loesch left Bannon’s employ at Breitbart News in 2012, she filed a suit against the website, alleging a plot to “sabotage” her career.
Trump Is a Global ‘Instability Factor,’ Fillon's Top Aide Says (Bloomberg)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictability and his positions on North Korea and Russia could bring global instability, said Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former French prime minister and a top aide to presidential candidate Francois Fillon.
Life on the Home Planet
As sea levels rise, where will all the people go? (Popular Science)
Shishmaref, Alaska. Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana. The Outer Banks, North Carolina. These are the locales often trotted out to represent the vast swathes of the United States teetering towards inhabitability due to rising sea level caused by climate change.
‘Fate of the Furious’ Leaves Box-Office Competitors in the Dust (Bloomberg)
“The Fate of the Furious” easily outsped the competition in its box-office debut, becoming the biggest global movie opening of all time after setting a weekend record in China for a new film even as its North American revenue missed estimates.
To catch a spy: Beijing offers $70,000 reward — and a cartoon video to help in the hunt (The Washington Post)
The Beijing government announced Monday that it is offering cash rewards of up to half a million yuan (more than $72,000) for anyone who helps expose a spy, state media reported.
California’s wet year eases drought but many still lack water (New Scientist)
Just a week after Governor Jerry Brown declared the end of the California drought emergency, the northern half of the state logged its wettest year into the record books. But that doesn’t mean California’s water problems are over.
