Financial Markets and Economy
Oil's Big American Glut Is Resting Elsewhere (Bloomberg)
Excess crude oil inventories in the U.S. are finally and clearly in retreat as OPEC's output agreement nears the end of its fourth month. But those oil bulls looking for higher prices shouldn't get too excited just yet — the surplus may just be moving elsewhere.
Big short position on biofuels generated profit for Icahn's refiner (Reuters)
Carl Icahn's big bet on falling prices for biofuels credits generated a rare profit in that area last quarter for the billionaire investor's refining company CVR Energy (CVI.N), according to public filings.
Bond Traders' Inflation Bets Have New Life, Just in Time for Fed (Bloomberg)
Bond traders demonstrated this week that for all the doubts about the Trump trade, wagers on quicker inflation still have life.
One of the biggest pillars of the stock bull market is crumbling (Business Insider)
Since the start of the eight-year bull market, one of the most reliable drivers of stock returns has been the willingness of companies to repurchase their own shares.
Trump may raise the gas tax to help fix America's crumbling roads (Business Insider)
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would consider increasing the federal gasoline tax as long as the proceeds go to improvements for US highways, Bloomberg News reported.
Trump says he's thinking about breaking up the big banks (Business Insider)
President Donald Trump said Monday he was contemplating breaking up the big Wall Street banks.
"I'm looking into that right now," he told Bloomberg about bringing back the "old system" that separated consumer lending and investment banking.
Byron Wien explains simply why America's wealth inequality is getting worse (Business Insider)
It's no secret that the US has an inequality problem.
But it is worth considering what may be the factors exacerbating the disparity.
Puerto Rico Bondholders Reject Island's Restructuring Offer (Bloomberg)
Puerto Rico bondholders rejected Governor Ricardo Rossello’s debt-restructuring proposal days before a May 1 deadline to craft a deal or face a potential wave of creditor lawsuits.
With Visas Tight, US Resorts Struggle To Find Seasonal Help (Associated Press)
Innkeepers, restaurateurs and landscapers around the U.S. say they are struggling to find seasonal help and turning down business in some cases because the government tightened up on visas for temporary foreign workers.
How two cutting edge U.S. nuclear projects bankrupted Westinghouse (Reuters)
In 2012, construction of a Georgia nuclear power plant stalled for eight months as engineers waited for the right signatures and paperwork needed to ship a section of the plant from a factory hundreds of miles away.
Wall Street Wellness Programs Are Being Used to Drive Sales (Bloomberg)
When Lance Hulack calls his first client on Monday morning, they spend 15 minutes talking about their fitness trackers. “I’ll say, ‘Hey, I saw you crushed it on Saturday! 25k steps,’” Hulack, the director of corporate sales at ING Group, says.
Buffett's $86 Billion Cash Pile Has Some Dreaming of a Huge Deal (Bloomberg)
Warren Buffett’s career is filled with splashy takeovers that cost billions — as in $10 billion or $20 billion or $30 billion.
Hackers Ran Through Holes in Swift’s Network (The Wall Street Journal)
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication has James Bond-level security at the facilities it uses to move millions of bank-payment orders around the world every day.
The reality of the US economic slowdown is starting to set in (Tematica Research)
Last week was a busy one for investors, as we faced a plethora of earnings, economic data and the latest happenings in Washington that arguably brought some uncertainty back into the stock market.
Crude weaker in Asia after Caixin PMI, U.S. industry invetories eyed (Investing.com)
Crude prices held weaker on Tuesday as a survey on manufacturing in China came in weaker than expected and investors looked ahead to U.S. inventories on crude and refined products to set the tone.
Gold up in Asia on risk, copper down sharply after China PMIs (Investing,com)
Gold gained on heighted risk connected to the Korean peninsula, while copper fell on disappointing figures on manufacturing from China.
More Billionaires Are Buying Cryptocurrencies (Investopedia)
“It is the best investment of my life” said billionaire Mike Novogratz at an April 19 Harvard Business School Club of NY event, where he announced that he holds ten percent of his net worth in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? and Ethereum.
Supreme Court says cities can sue big banks over housing bubble damages (The Washington Post)
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal anti-discrimination law allows cities to sue a bank over lending practices they allege led to urban blight but said they face a high standard in proving those practices directly harmed the local governments.
Oil Tumbles Under Weight of Growing U.S. Output (Dow Jones Newswires)
Crude futures eased Monday, knocked by concerns whether ongoing production cuts by producers in the Middle East and Russia was enough to offset the increasing U.S. oil being pumped into the still oversupplied market.
Yield Curve Steepens after Mnuchin’s Ultra-Long Bond Talk (Barron's)
The yield on the 10-year note was 2.32% at 3 p.m. ET, according to Tradeweb. That's up 3 basis points from Friday's close. The 30-year bond climbed above 3% for the first time in three weeks. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was down $1 to $121.11.
Companies
Saudis take 100% control of America's largest oil refinery (CNN)
Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's state-owned oil behemoth, took 100% control of the sprawling Port Arthur refinery in Texas on Monday, completing a deal that was first announced last year.
Here's How McDonald's Plans to Fix Its Food (The Motley Fool)
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) has struggled as consumers, especially those in the United States, have decided that the second half of the phrase "fast food" matters as much as the first.
Apple Earnings Preview: iPhone 8 Rumors Help Stock Soar As Demand Is Weak Ahead Of 10th Anniversary (The Motley Fool)
Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are on fire. The world's most valuable consumer tech company's stock hit a new all-time high on Monday. Momentum is clearly in its corner. Apple stock has soared 53% over the past year, trading 24% higher so far in 2017.
UPS Tries a New Twist on Surge Pricing (The Wall Street Journal)
United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest delivery company, is pushing back against major retailers who order up capacity for vast numbers of packages during the holidays but don’t meet their forecasts.
Twitter Teams Up With Bloomberg for Streaming News (The Wall Street Journal)
The social-media company is joining forces with the global financial news outlet to create a service that will stream news produced solely for Twitter 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Technology
Google Maps, Amazon ditched Apple Watch — and no one noticed (CNet)
Some big-name apps appear to have dumped their Apple Watch apps. That includes Amazon, eBay, Google Maps and Target, as first spotted by Apple Insider.
U.S. Tech's Giant Money Machine Is on Full Display This Week (Bloomberg)
Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. posted results last week that extended their dominance of how we shop and search online. Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. will in the coming days add evidence that tech behemoths command an ever widening share of consumer time and spending.
Politics
Why Congress’s Bipartisan Budget Deal Should Make Trump Worried (NY Times)
By cutting a bipartisan spending compromise among themselves, Republicans and Democrats in Congress not only prevented the White House from delivering on President Trump’s priorities in his very first budget, they also drafted a handy blueprint for circumventing the Trump administration in the future.
US State Department issues travel alert for Europe (CNN)
The US State Department has issued a travel alert for its citizens going to Europe, citing the continued threat of terror attacks.
GOP on verge of losing health care vote (CNN)
The White House and congressional Republicans are in serious danger of not having enough votes to pass their health care bill.
Will Trump ‘Do a Big Number’ on the Big Banks? (NY Times)
President Trump, for the first time as resident of the White House, said aloud that he was considering breaking up the nation’s biggest banks. Of course, he had said it on the campaign trail, but this seemed different.
Jean-Claude Juncker calls Theresa May 'deluded' after disastrous Brexit talks (The Telegraph)
Theresa May has dismissed reports of a fractious Downing Street meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker in Downing Street as "Brussels gossip" after claims of a bitter fall out.
Trump Pushing for Vote on Health Bill, but Stumbling Blocks Remain (The Wall Street Journal)
Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal late Sunday to fund the government until October, while Republicans scrambled to pull off an even more significant legislative achievement that has eluded them this year: an overhaul of the health-care system.
Trump Says He’ll Sign Congress Spending Deal That Jettisons His Goals (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump said he’ll sign a bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill that largely tracks Democratic priorities and rejects most of his wish list, including funds for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump Leaves Open Possibility of Military Action Against North Korea (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump left open the possibility of military action against North Korea, adding that he wouldn’t be happy if Pyongyang conducts another missile test.
How Does Trump’s Tax Plan Help the Middle Class? ‘Honestly, We Don’t Know’ (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump’s economic advisers pitched his new tax plan as a cut for the middle class and not the wealthy, but the opposite may be true.
French voters skeptical Macron, Le Pen have answers on key issues (Reuters)
A week before the decisive second round in France's presidential election, many voters are skeptical that either of the two candidates can solve chronic unemployment or tackle security concerns, a poll published on Sunday found.
May Day rallies across the US are targeting Trump's immigration policy (Reuters)
Labor unions and immigrant advocacy groups will lead May Day rallies in cities across the United States on Monday, with organizers expecting larger-than-usual turnouts to protest the immigration policies of President Donald Trump.
Life on the Home Planet
Seattle Police Arrest 5 In May Day Rally (Associated Press)
Seattle police say five people were arrested in May Day protests downtown.
Seattle police tweeted Monday night that those arrested ranged in age from 19 to 51. A 26-year-old man was arrested after reportedly throwing a rock as a group of Trump supporters met up with other protesters in Westlake Park.
Take a look at the failed Fyre Festival's promotional pitch to investors (Business Insider)
Fyre Festival's leaked advertising pitch reveals a lot about what the festival runners had planned.
The leaked document, first reported by Vanity Fair, lists "Fyre Starters" as the event's main form of advertising, with slides dedicated to 400 social media personalities — including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Hailey Baldwin — who would be paid to drum up sales by posting about the event.
How much does science knowledge influence people’s views on climate change and energy issues? (Pew Research Center)
Many in the scientific community believe that if the American public were more informed about the science behind climate change and energy issues, people would hold views that aligned more closely with those of scientific experts.
Shootout leaves eight dead near Mexico's Los Cabos tourist hub (The Telegraph)
A shootout near the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos early on Monday between suspected gang members and navy forces has left eight dead, including one soldier.
'Oldest human' dies in Indonesia aged 146 (The Guardian)
According to his papers, Indonesian national Sodimedjo, also known as Mbah Ghoto (Grandpa Ghoto), was born in December 1870. He would have been 43 at the start of the first world war and turned 70 during the second world war.
Hamas softens stance on Israel, drops Muslim Brotherhood link (Reuters)
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday dropped its longstanding call for Israel's destruction, but said it still rejected the country's right to exist and backs "armed struggle" against it.
U.S.-backed militias oust Islamic State from Syria's Tabqa old city (Reuters)
U.S.-backed militias said on Monday they had pushed Islamic State fighters out of the old quarters of Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria's largest dam, hemming the militants into the remaining modern district along the shore.
At least 27 hurt in turbulence on Aeroflot Moscow-Bangkok flight (Reuters)
At least 27 people were injured on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok on Monday when their Boeing 777 hit an air pocket, the Russian embassy in Thailand said in a statement.
