Financial Markets and Economy
There's a new front in the brutal battle among America's stock exchanges (Business Insider)
There's a new front in the brutal battle among America's stock exchanges.
Bats, which is America's second-largest stock market and is now a part of Chicago Board Options Exchange, is proposing an alternative to the closing auction at the end of the trading day.
Dollar Gains as Traders Seek Equilibrium Levels, Fresh Drivers (Bloomberg)
The dollar gained versus all of its G-10 peers as Treasury yields rose, with markets seeking fresh drivers and equilibrium levels after a strong U.S. employment report on Friday and as French election risk evaporated.
Why stocks aren't going anywhere lately (CNN)
In the past week, the Federal Reserve expressed confidence in America's economy, the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 10-year low, and the presidential election in France showed that the tide of anti-European Union populism may be ebbing.
China Stock Shakeout Creates Most Divided Market in 15 Years (Bloomberg)
As Beijing intensifies a campaign to clean up markets and reduce leverage, state-owned enterprises that dominate old growth industries, such as banks and commodity producers, have been among the worst hit, while new-economy shares remain in favor among overseas investors.
Gundlach makes bearish call on stock market as S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records (Market Watch)
Prominent investor Jeff Gundlach offered a bearish call on U.S. stocks on Monday at the closely followed Sohn Investment Conference in New York.
Want more portfolio diversification? Try different weights, not different assets (Market Watch)
Every investor knows that a diversified portfolio is key to managing risk and increasing the odds of holding a winning investment, but beyond spreading their money across different asset types, experts say that increasing diversity within asset classes — or even individual indexes — can mean the difference between lackluster and gangbuster returns.
Carney and the Bank of England Ready to Play It Safe (Bloomberg)
Even the usually outspoken Governor Mark Carney has kept stumm. In comments so far this year, he’s broken with previous form and mostly stuck to the Monetary Policy Committee’s central view.
Asia stocks, dollar subdued as market seeks next catalyst, oil rises (Reuters)
Asian stock markets were mixed on Tuesday following a flat close on Wall Street, as investors searched for the next catalyst following France's presidential election, while oil inched higher on expectations OPEC supply cuts will be extended.
Here's what David Einhorn just presented at one of the biggest hedge fund conferences of the year (Business Insider)
David Einhorn presented his short thesis for Core Labs at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City on Monday, arguing that Wall Street has been getting the story wrong on the company since 2008.
Insider-Trading Suit Complicates Ackman-Valeant Breakup (Bloomberg)
When Bill Ackman unceremoniously dumped his Valeant stock in March, it looked like he was done with the formerly high-flying drugmaker.
VIX Closes at Lowest Since 1993 as Trance Deepens in Market (Bloomberg)
For anyone nourished on volatility, the famine in global markets is worsening.
With the French election ending in a victory for Emmanuel Macron, one more thing said to threaten global stability has made a quiet exit.
The tablet market just keeps on falling (Business Insider)
According to the latest preliminary figures from research firm IDC, the global tablet market shipped 36.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a decline of 8.5% year-over-year.
Social Security Not Keeping up With Seniors' Rising Costs (FoxBusiness)
For the fifth year in a row, the 60 million people who depend on Social Security have had to settle for historically low increases. For the average recipient the adjustment adds up to a monthly increase of less than $4 a month.
How to Trade the Move in Coffee (JO, SBUX) (Investopedia)
Falling commodity prices over the past several weeks has many active traders scouring the market for the next big opportunity. Coffee is one commodity to watch since it has recently bounced toward key levels of resistance and now looks poised for a further move lower.
Connecticut Feels Effect Of Drop In Super-Rich Tax Payments (Associated Press)
Connecticut's coffers are feeling the pinch of the state's super-rich no longer paying what they used to in personal income taxes.
Frexit Fears Dissolve With Macron Win, So Why Are French Stocks Down? (Barron's)
The 39-year-old former investment banker and centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron prevailed in the French presidential election against Marine Le Pen. Markets should be breathing easy with fears of European Union dissolution now put to rest, yet the iShares MSCI France Index (EWQ) has fallen more than 2% in pre-market trading Monday.
Should We Reconsider Valuation Metrics? (Henri Blomster, Seeking Alpha)
As time goes by and technology advances, companies start to operate in new ways. Unfortunately, this change in how companies operate is not always reflected in the way evaluation metrics are used in investment research.
Companies
One analyst thinks Apple is going to be worth $1 trillion (Business Insider)
Apple remains "among the most underappreciated stocks in the world," Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White wrote in a note distributed to clients on Monday.
3 Critical Growth Factors That Were Likely Missed By Almost Every Apple Investor Last Week (Forbes)
Last week, Apple reported numbers that were mostly well received by investors and the sell-side both. Shares of Apple, which were pricing in a $4 and change per share move going into the earnings event, barely moved the next day, but still closed last week at close to all-time highs.
Transocean: Doom And Gloom (Brandon Dempster, Seeking Alpha)
Transocean (NYSE:RIG) has suffered heavy losses this week with crude oil futures plummeting and a lot weighing on investors' minds. American crude production has been increasing well past investors' expectations, rig counts are up, compliance on the OPEC cut has dipped, more supply is expected from the middle east, and to top it all off, we aren't see meaningful reductions in inventories.
Snap’s first earnings this week will give a heat check on the new ad ecosystem (Tech Crunch)
When Snap went public earlier this year, it revealed a break-neck level of growth in its nascent advertising business — and a dramatic burn rate along with it. But while it’ll be important for Snap to continue growing that business and get its costs in check, it’ll be nearly as important to convince Madison Ave.
Pandora Steps Up Hunt for Buyer, Gets $150 Million From KKR (Bloomberg)
Pandora Media Inc., struggling with widening losses and a tepid outlook for its online music business, is shaking up its board and stepping up efforts to find a possible buyer.
Fosun Targets Bringing 10 Times More Chinese Tourists to Greece (Bloomberg)
Fosun International Ltd., the Chinese conglomerate that’s part of a venture to transform the former Athens airport site into one of the biggest real-estate projects in Europe, is now turning its attention to Greek tourism.
Technology
Comcast and Verizon’s Sneaky Push to Kill Net Neutrality Is Just Embarrassing (Gizmodo)
A week after FCC Chair Ajit Pai outlined his plan to kill net neutrality, the internet providers who support his proposal are spinning the effort harder than a 20-something at SoulCycle.
Intel chip vulnerability lets hackers easily hijack fleets of PCs (ZDnet)
A vulnerability in Intel chips that went undiscovered for almost a decade allows hackers to remotely gain full control over affected Windows PCs without needing a password.
Inside Baidu's Billion Dollar Push To Become An AI Global Leader (Forbes)
To Chinese search engine operator Baidu, the future is set in stone. The company, dubbed the Google of China, has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence, betting that smart machines will disrupt industry after industry.
Musk talks Model 3 preparation and gives Model Y hints in financial call (Ars Technica)
Tesla posted record revenues of $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2017, thanks to record auto deliveries. But the company ultimately lost $330 million in the quarter.
Make No Mistake, T-Mobile Is Winning the Wireless War (Fool.com)
T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) continued posting amazing numbers in an industry where everyone else is feeling its pressure. Freed from AT&T's (NYSE: T) or Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) high dividend payouts and legacy status, the "Un-carrier," led by iconoclast CEO John Legere, is, and I quote, "kicking a–."
Crowdfunding project of the week: Jelly is a tiny phone running Android Nougat (Android Authority)
Sunday is crowdfunding day here at Android Authority. This is where we feature some of the hottest gadgets coming from websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Today we have a nice little phone to show off, so let’s jump right in.
Self-repairing roads could also charge your electric car (Engadget)
Potholes are bad enough for the jarring rides, car damage and safety hazards they create, but it's also problematic to fix them. You're looking at lane and road closures that can last for days, assuming the city can even spare the resources.
Politics
'A danger to this republic': Sen. Al Franken asks why the Trump administration took so long to fire Michael Flynn (Business Insider)
Democratic Sen. Al Franken asked former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday why the Trump administration waited nearly three weeks to fire former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after Yates had warned the White House's top lawyers that Flynn could be susceptible to blackmail by the Russians.
E.P.A. Dismisses Members of Major Scientific Review Board (NY Times)
The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.
White House health care victory short-lived as Russia probe looms (Politico)
After the White House's biggest legislative victory yet with the House’s narrow passage Thursday of the American Health Care Act, momentum will slow as the Senate settles in to rework the bill — potentially from scratch.
Sally Yates Warned That Mike Flynn Misled Officials About Contact With Russian Envoy (The Wall Street Journal)
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates told Congress on Monday she had warned a top White House official that then-national security adviser Mike Flynn had misled the vice president and others about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat, and that it had put him at risk of blackmail.
Trump trolls the media after former Obama administration officials testify on Russia investigation (Business Insider)
Testimony from former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed many publicly known aspects of Flynn's short tenure in the Trump administration and the Russia investigation broadly, but did not reveal classified information or elements that are still under investigation.
Senate confirms Heather Wilson as Trump's Air Force secretary (Reuters)
The U.S. Senate easily confirmed Heather Wilson, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives, on Monday to be President Donald Trump's secretary of the Air Force.
Life on the Home Planet
As Philippines joins China to fight illegal gambling, more scrutiny of casinos likely (Reuters)
China and the Philippines have joined forces to tackle illegal gambling, part of Beijing's broader campaign to curb illicit capital outflows and a pledge by Manila to weed out unscrupulous operators from the country's booming gaming industry.
Study Finds Link Between Brain Damage and Religious Fundamentalism (Big Think)
Scientists found that damage in a certain part of the brain is linked to an increase in religious fundamentalism. In particular, lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex reduced cognitive flexibility – the ability to challenge our beliefs based on new evidence.
The CDC Just Mapped Which States Have The Highest Rates of Cancer in The US (Business Insider)
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, accounting for one in four deaths in Americans, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Police slowly reopen Paris train station after security alert (Reuters)
Police gradually began reopening Paris' Gare du Nord train station early on Tuesday morning after earlier evacuating the platforms and cordoning off the area because of a security alert, local police authorities said.
