Financial Markets and Economy
Oil prices rebound after big draw in U.S. crude inventories (Reuters)
Oil prices rebounded from early losses on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a larger-than-expected falloff in crude inventories, which encouraged buying after prices slid for several days on worries that a global crude glut was persisting despite cuts in output by producing countries.
Lucky, Good or Tipped Off? The Curious Case of Government Data and the Pound (The Wall Street Journal)
Some investors could be trading with knowledge of U.K. official statistics before they are published, according to a comparison of currency trading data for the Swedish krona and British pound.
America’s $1.2 Billion Mexico Milk Trade Is Now at Risk (Bloomberg)
With a tweet on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump told Wisconsin dairy farmers—and the world—that America “will not stand for” the Canadian policies he says are hurting U.S. exports.
Wall Street pares gains after tax reform plan unveiled (Reuters)
U.S. stocks pared gains in midday trading on Wednesday after the Trump administration outlined its tax reform plan.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed slashing the U.S. tax rate on corporate and pass-through business profits to 15 percent from 35 percent or more.
America’s Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Replaced by Robots (Bloomberg)
The rich-poor gap — the difference in annual income between households in the top 20 percent and those in the bottom 20 percent — ballooned by $29,200 to $189,600 between 2010 and 2015, based on Bloomberg calculations using U.S. Census Bureau data.
Here Are the Markets Moving on Reports That Trump Will Drop Nafta (Bloomberg)
Mexico’s peso, the Canadian dollar and shares of companies that rely on cross-border trade plunged on speculation the Trump administration was close to scrapping Nafta.
China's biggest property markets still hot, prices may rebound if curbs lifted: People's Daily (Reuters)
Home prices in China's biggest cities would likely rebound if government curbs are relaxed, a senior official from the country's top economic planner was quoted as saying, suggesting authorities are in no mood to lift restrictions any time soon.
Europe’s Car Makers See Light at the End of the Tunnel (The Wall Street Journal)
The European car industry received a confidence boost Wednesday as the Continent’s manufacturers continued to post a raft of positive first-quarter results, raising expectations that the region will soon join the U.S. in returning to its precrisis record for new vehicle sales.
Investors Are Dumping This Emerging Market Bond ETF After Trump Levies Tariffs (Bloomberg)
Investors took a shining to emerging-market assets in the first quarter of the year, but here’s one sign they might be losing their luster: The iShares Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF suffered $82.6 million in outflows on Tuesday, its second-most on record.
When the results come in, US economic growth and earnings are on pace to show very different grades.
Gross domestic product is forecast to grow by 1%, according to Bloomberg's estimate for the advance reading expected Friday.
Oil Tankers Threaten Endangered Orcas, Two Tribes Say in Lawsuit (Bloomberg)
Already-endangered killer whales in the waters west of Seattle face heightened risk from an increased traffic of tankers that will carry oil from Kinder Morgan Inc.’s $5.4 billion Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, two Native American organizations claim in a federal lawsuit.
Why Emerging Markets Have Become an Unlikely Haven From Global Risk (Bloomberg)
If the U.S. Treasury market’s 2013 Taper Tantrum revealed the fragility of emerging markets, political turmoil this year is highlighting their resilience.
U.S. agriculture exports could lose big if Nafta gets dumped (Market Watch)
Among other threats targeting Mexico during his election campaign, President Donald Trump harshly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement, a 23-year-old tripartite deal that removed tariffs and significantly increased commerce between Canada, the United States and Mexico.
U.S. Steel Plunges by Record Amount After ‘Abysmal’ Earnings (Bloomberg)
U.S. Steel Corp. plummeted after the nation’s second-biggest producer said it’s speeding up plant upgrades to resolve shortcomings that choked earnings even as prices of the metal surged.
French Bond Investors Skeptical Election Risk Is Over: Chart (Bloomberg)
Bond investors are far from convinced that the risks surrounding the French election are over despite the broader market exuberance following the outcome of the first round.
Stock traders don't seem to care about Trump's tax plan (Business Insider)
President Donald Trump's long-awaited tax plan came and went with a whimper, at least judging by the stock market's reaction.
A 50-company basket of highly taxed companies maintained by Goldman Sachs pared gains following the announcement, now up 0.4% for the day.
Companies
Express Scripts Faces a Future Without Its Biggest Customer (The Wall Street Journal)
Express Scripts Holding Co., the largest administrator of prescription-drug benefits in the U.S., is facing an identity crisis as it grapples with replacing $17.1 billion in annual revenue following the loss of its biggest customer, health-insurer Anthem Inc.
South Korea court says Uber violated transport law, latest setback for U.S. firm (Reuters)
A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled that the ride-hailing group Uber Technologies Inc illegally used private vehicles for commercial purposes, in the latest legal setback for the U.S. firm in Asia's fourth biggest economy.
Real Matters Said to Seek C$1.1 Billion Valuation in IPO (Bloomberg)
Real Matters Inc., a real estate data firm, plans to price shares at C$12 to C$13 apiece in its initial public offering in early May, seeking a valuation of as much as C$1.1 billion ($810 million), according to people familiar with the matter.
Disney's ESPN Said to Cut 100 Jobs This Week Amid TV Woes (Bloomberg)
Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN network will cut about 100 staffers this week, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the leader in sports TV copes with rising programming costs and an eroding subscriber base.
Frito-Lay's Growth Sputters in Troubling Sign for PepsiCo (Bloomberg)
The company’s Frito-Lay division — long seen as a growth engine for a company dealing with a soft-drink slump — saw volume drop last quarter in North America.
Technology
Tesla Restores Auto-Brakes Amid Consumer Reports Downgrade (Bloomberg)
Tesla Inc. is deploying automatic braking to its recently built electric vehicles, though not in time to spare the Model X and Model S from ratings cuts by Consumer Reports magazine.
What you need to know about the privacy of the new smart camera Amazon wants you to put in your bedroom (Business Insider)
Amazon's newest version of its Echo smart home device boasts a built-in video camera that can capture your outfits and provide fashion recommendations.
That's a big step towards a lifestyle of the future.
Neuroscientists Can Now Read Your Dreams With a Simple Brain Scan (Singularity Hub)
Like islands jutting out of a smooth ocean surface, dreams puncture our sleep with disjointed episodes of consciousness. How states of awareness emerge from a sleeping brain has long baffled scientists and philosophers alike.
Computer-Generated 'Brain Age' Estimates How Much Time You've Got Left (Digital Trends)
While it’s easy to count our number of birthdays to figure out how long we’ve each been on the planet, researchers at Imperial College London have another age-related metric they think is even more important: A person’s “brain age.”
UberEats food deliveries come to Edinburgh (Engadget)
After launching in London last summer, Uber's food delivery service UberEats has expanded to Manchester, Birmingham, and recently, it added the useful option of scheduling post-pub burger drop-offs ahead of time.
'White Collar' crime tracker mocks police profiling bias (Engadget)
As Police forces edge ever closer to realizing the plot of Minority Report, a new art-slash-research project aims to point out inequality in our society.
Politics
U.S. Congress may seek one-week funding extension to avert shutdown (Reuters)
The U.S. Congress inched toward a deal to fund the government through September but was preparing to possibly extend a midnight Friday deadline in order to wrap up negotiations and avoid an imminent government shutdown.
Budget Director, After Health-Law Missteps, Preps for Spending Battle (The Wall Street Journal)
When health-care reform collapsed in Congress last month, President Donald Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, says he felt he deserved much of the blame.
California attorney general: Trump administration 'in denial' about its executive powers (Business Insider)
California's top prosecutor had some terse words for the Trump administration hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration's attempt to financially penalize so-called sanctuary cities.
EU Ankara negotiator calls for suspension of Turkey accession talks (Reuters)
The European Union should formally suspend Turkey's long-stalled talks on membership if it adopts constitutional changes backed at a referendum last week, a leading member of the EU parliament responsible for dealings with Ankara said on Wednesday.
Trump’s 15% Corporate Tax Plan May Just Be His Opening Gambit (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump’s call to slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent — a number that many economists say would boost the deficit so much that the cut would be short-lived — may be less about policy and more about deal-making.
White House Intervened to Toughen Letter on Iran Nuclear Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump told aides to toughen a State Department letter last week that declared Iran in compliance with a landmark nuclear deal, senior U.S. officials involved in a policy review said.
FCC Chief to Roil the Capital With Net Neutrality Rollback (Bloomberg)
When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted two years ago to impose net neutrality regulations over internet service providers, Ajit Pai was in the Republican minority and issued a 67-page dissent.
Is Justin Trudeau the Anti-Trump? (Bloomberg)
John Micklethwait: On April 18, Donald Trump went to Wisconsin and promised he would protect the dairy farmers against unfair trade. And he cited Canada in particular. And he also said for good measure, “We’re going to get rid of Nafta once and for all.”
Trump Changes Tactics on Tax After Health-Care Repeal Failure (Bloomberg)
The White House is changing its tactics for dealing with Congress when it comes to overhauling the tax code after the failed attempt to repeal Obamacare.
China seeks to cement globalization credentials at Silk Road summit (Reuters)
China says its Silk Road initiative is helping create "a new era of globalization" open to all, according to a draft communique for a summit next month on the project, as Beijing burnishes its free trade credentials amid protectionist forces elsewhere.
DEM Senator Accuses EPA Chief Of Violating Ethics Law (Associated Press)
A Senate Democrat says the head of the Environmental Protection Agency is breaking the law by agreeing to headline a state GOP fundraiser.
Live: U.S. Politics (Reuters)
Live U.S. political coverage of President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office.
Hungarian opposition struggles to build on anti-Orban sentiment (Reuters)
Anti-government protesters have filled Budapest's streets in recent weeks, but divisions within the opposition and weak support outside the capital mean they are unlikely to herald a serious threat to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year's election.
Senators Introduce Bill To Help Prevent Another United Flight Fiasco (The Huffington Post)
A pair of Democratic lawmakers are introducing legislation that aims to prevent incidents like the one that occurred in Chicago, where a passenger was violently removed from a United Airlines flight after he refused to give up his seat for an airline employee.
Life on the Home Planet
French intelligence says Assad forces carried out sarin attack (Reuters)
French intelligence has concluded that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on April 4 in northern Syria and that Assad or members of his inner circle ordered the strike, a declassified report showed.
Climate Evangelists Are Taking Over Your Local Weather Forecast (Bloomberg)
Amber Sullins gets a minute or two to tell up to two million people about some extremely complicated science, using the tools of her trade: a pleasant voice, a green screen, and small icons denoting sun, clouds, rain, and wind.
Syrian refugees must buy travel papers – from Assad (Reuters)
When Mohamed al-Khalaf escaped from Syria and won asylum in Luxembourg last year, his wife and children stayed behind in Raqqa, the hub of Islamic State's so-called Caliphate. Khalaf applied for his family to join him, exercising a right to family life under European law.
Turkey says detains 1,000 "secret imams" in police purge (Reuters)
Turkish authorities arrested more than 1,000 people on Wednesday they said had secretly infiltrated police forces across the country on behalf of a U.S.-based cleric blamed by the government for a failed coup attempt last July.
