Financial Markets and Economy
Producers Set to Extend Cuts as Rally Stalls: OPEC Reality Check (Bloomberg)
Reeling from the worst oil-market rout in a generation, producers controlling about 60 percent of the world’s supply came together last year determined to put an end to the global glut.
OPEC's Worst Cheater Will Get Harder to Ignore as Curbs Falter (Bloomberg)
OPEC’s second biggest producer is also its biggest cheater.
And if past is prologue, that lengthens the odds the group will be able to squeeze too many more price gains out of its output cuts.
Euro Rebounds to Six-Month High on Merkel While Dollar Steadies (Bloomberg)
The euro climbed to a six-month high, rebounding from an early decline, after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the common currency was “too weak.” The dollar stabilized in a narrow range following the biggest weekly slump since July.
Commodity Traders Have a Really Big Problem (Bloomberg)
For commodity traders operating in the Information Age, just good old trading doesn’t cut it anymore.
Unlike the stock market in which transactions are typically based on information that’s public, firms that buy and sell raw materials thrived for decades in an opaque world where their metier relied on knowledge privy only to a few.
Credit Cards Give Investors Jitters, But Bankers Sleep Just Fine (Bloomberg)
For John McDonald, the math on credit cards is pretty simple.
“Generally, if the consumer has income, they pay their debts,” McDonald, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in a note to clients last week. “Consumer credit losses are driven predominantly by unemployment.”
Here’s Why the Fed Will Stay Central to Markets (The Wall Street Journal)
Federal Reserve officials grappling with the legacy of expansive stimulus would find it difficult to return to the central bank’s precrisis role on the sidelines of financial markets, analysts and central-bank watchers say.
Preakness is Latest Victory for Hedge Fund Billionaire Seth Klarman (The Wall Street Journal)
On Saturday, a horse named Cloud Computing and co-owned by billionaire hedge-fund manager Seth Klarman scored a surprising victory in the 142nd Preakness Stakes.
America’s Cities Are Running Out of Room (Bloomberg)
A shortage of homes for sale has bedeviled U.S. house hunters in recent years, so why don’t builders build more? One problem is that they’re running out of lots to build on—at least in the places that people want to live.
The Quants Run Wall Street Now (The Wall Street Journal)
Alexey Poyarkov, a former gold-medal winner of the International Mathematical Olympiad for high-school students, spent most of his early career honing algorithms at technology companies such as Microsoft Corp., where he helped make the Bing search engine smarter at ferreting out pornography.
Why Millennials Are (Partly) to Blame for the Housing Shortage (The Wall Street Journal)
The rush of young people to U.S. cities over the past few years is partly to blame for America’s worsening housing shortage.
Ghost of the 1997 Crisis Stalks Hong Kong's Economy (Bloomberg)
In 1997, the Asian financial crisis touched off a six-year property bust in Hong Kong that shaved more than two-thirds off prices and saddled the city with a stagnant economy and deflation.
European stocks edge higher as U.S. political commotion subsides (Market Watch)
European stocks logged modest gains Monday, aided in part by a merger deal in the chemicals industry.
Relative calm on the U.S. political front helped as well, after troubles there last week weighed on regional benchmarks.
Why the stock market will be fine if Trump’s tax cuts don’t happen — in one chart (Market Watch)
The S&P 500 and Dow industrials have lost ground for two straight weeks, with analysts tying the retreat to doubts about whether President Donald Trump’s business-friendly policies will become reality.
U.S. stocks set for tepid advance, as investors watch for the next catalyst (Market Watch)
U.S. stocks climbed Monday, as the market’s recent upward bias appeared to return after increased volatility last week, although more pronounced gains from near-record levels may be hard to achieve amid continued political uncertainty.
Euro climbs to 6-month high after Merkel says ECB made it ‘too weak’ (Market Watch)
The euro rose against the dollar Monday on the back of comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who blamed the European Central Bank policies for making the single currency “too weak.”
Companies
Ford to fire CEO Fields as challenges mount: sources (Reuters)
Ford Motor Co. is set to replace Chief Executive Mark Fields with James Hackett, the head of its mobility arm, company sources said, responding to growing investor unease over the U.S. carmaker's stock performance and prospects.
Solar Company Sunrun Was Manipulating Sales Data, Say Former Managers (The Wall Street Journal)
Former managers at one of the largest U.S. solar-energy companies say they manipulated a key sales metric around the time of the company’s August 2015 initial public offering.
GE Said to Face Probe for Misleading EU Over $1.7 Billion Deal (Bloomberg)
General Electric Co. is the latest U.S. company to be investigated by European Union for possibly turning in misleading information during a merger review, according to two people familiar with the GE case.
Technology
Exclusive: Hackers hit Russian bank customers, planned international cyber raids (Reuters)
Russian cyber criminals used malware planted on Android mobile devices to steal from domestic bank customers and were planning to target European lenders before their arrest, investigators and sources with knowledge of the case told Reuters.
Move Over Tesla, Europe's Building Its Own Battery Gigafactories (Bloomberg)
Battery-making gigafactories are about to arrive in Europe, challenging a lead Tesla Inc. is building at a plant in Nevada and opening the way for a quicker shift toward green power for both cars and utilities.
Bothering The Bots: Funny Questions And Commands To Pose To Google Assistant (Digital Trends)
At I/O 2017, Google announced that Google Assistant would be coming to the App Store, further escalating the digital assistant battle with Apple in a play for world domination.
3 types of artificial intelligence, but only 2 are valid (Venture Beat)
For all of the visions of robots taking over the world, stealing jobs, and outpacing humans in every facet of existence, we haven’t seen many cases of AI drastically changing industries, or even our day-to-day lives, just yet.
These Enormous Wind Turbines Generate Enough Electricity To Power A House For A Day With One Spin (Digital Trends)
New turbines off the coast of Liverpool are seriously putting the “power” in wind power. Now that Danish company Dong Energy has put the finishing touches on 32 turbines in Liverpool Bay, the biggest and most powerful wind turbines in the world have started spinning, generating more and more clean energy.
Samsung Galaxy S8: News And Rumors (Digital Trends)
Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone range has traditionally included a rough, tough version known as the “Active,” and if rumors are accurate, the Galaxy S8 model lineup will be no different.
U.S. dominates world’s VR market as Chinese consumers yawn (Venture Beat)
The virtual reality industry, such as it is, continues to have a hard time selling itself to much of the world.
According to a new report from Canalys, U.S. consumers accounted for 40 percent of the global VR market in the first quarter of 2017. Japan moved up to the number two spot with 14 percent.
Amazon's checkout-less Go stores could be coming to the UK (Engadget)
Amazon's checkout-free grocery stores could be coming to the UK and Europe, if its recent intellectual property filings are anything to go by. Bloomberg reports that the retailer has successfully registered trademarks for slogans "No Lines. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)" and "No Queue.
Politics
Trump Arrives in Israel, May Show His Cards on the Peace Process (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump landed in Israel on a groundbreaking direct flight Monday from Saudi Arabia, with Israelis and Palestinians eagerly waiting to see how the U.S. president could breathe life into a moribund peace process.
Paul Manafort’s Lucrative Ukraine Years Are Central to the Russia Probe (Bloomberg)
It was March 2013, and the former U.S. congressman had traveled to Ukraine to persuade President Viktor Yanukovych, an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to free Yanukovych’s arch rival from prison.
Taxes, Budget Are Focus for Trump Despite Probes (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump is thousands of miles away, but his policy agenda faces tests back home this week as he looks to shift the focus from Russia investigations to his plans for boosting American military power and revamping the tax code.
UK PM May climbs down on 'dementia tax' plans after poll lead halves (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Theresa May made a public climbdown on Monday over plans to force elderly people to pay more for their social care, after her governing Conservative Party's opinion poll lead halved in the run-up to a national election.
EU Finalizes Brexit Position as U.K. Threatens to Quit Talks (Bloomberg)
European Union ministers finalized their Brexit negotiating position a day after the U.K. threatened to quit talks on its departure unless the bloc drops its demands for a divorce payment as high as 100 billion euros ($112 billion).
Trump to Propose Deep Cuts to Anti-Poverty Programs and Medicaid (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump plans to propose $1.7 trillion in cuts to a category of spending that includes major social and entitlement programs for lower-income Americans, as part of an effort to balance the budget within a decade.
U.S. Supreme Court leaves key campaign finance restriction in place (Reuters)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a Republican challenge to a federal campaign finance restriction that prevents political parties from raising unlimited amounts of cash to spend on supporting candidates.
Michael Flynn To Plead The Fifth And Refuse To Cooperate With Senate Russia Probe (The Huffington Post)
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will not be cooperating with a Senate intelligence committee investigation, according to the Associated Press. He intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Monday to avoid turning over documents lawmakers have subpoenaed related to his interactions with Russian officials.
The case for impeaching Trump — and fast (Vox)
Impeachment of an American president is a weighty measure that’s only been used a handful of times in our history. And on two of those occasions, the judgment of history has come down against the impeachers.
Flynn to decline U.S. Senate subpoena in Russia probe: media (Reuters)
Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn will decline to comply with a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, according to media reports on Monday.
Health and Biotech
A Vital Drug Runs Low, Though Its Base Ingredient Is in Many Kitchens (NY Times)
Hospitals around the country are scrambling to stockpile vials of a critical drug — even postponing operations or putting off chemotherapy treatments — because the country’s only two suppliers have run out.
The medicine? Sodium bicarbonate solution. Yes, baking soda.
Life on the Home Planet
Exclusive: Venezuela holds 5,000 Russian surface-to-air MANPADS missiles (Reuters)
Venezuela possesses 5,000 Russian-made MANPADS surface-to-air weapons, according to a military document reviewed by Reuters, the largest known stockpile in Latin America and a source of concern for U.S. officials amid the country's mounting turmoil.
Scientists Have Identified 40 New Genes Linked to Intelligence (Science Alert)
Scientists have discovered 40 new genes that appear to be linked to intelligence, and the find could help neurologists understand how the human brain develops key functions associated with thinking.
Feeding a Hot, Hungry Planet (Scientific American)
We need to move beyond thinking about the environment—our land, water and air—only as a source of inputs for the food system. Instead we need to recognize that global environmental changes can diminish yields, reduce the amount of food we produce, and affect how nutritious it is and where we produce it.
Bomb Injures Dozens at Bangkok Army Hospital on Coup Anniversary (Bloomberg)
A bomb blast at a Bangkok army hospital injured at least two dozen people on the third anniversary of a military coup, police said.
It’s unclear who was behind the explosion at the Phramongkutklao army hospital, and what type of device was detonated, Deputy Police Chief Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul told reporters. There were no reports of fatalities.
