Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. stocks scale new peaks on retailer results; oil falls (Reuters)
Two top U.S. equity indexes scaled record peaks on Thursday after strong earnings reports from retailers, outpacing European shares which were little changed, while oil prices plunged after top crude producers extended output cuts for a shorter period than expected.
Hedge Funds Squeezed by World's Highest Rents Are Moving Out (Bloomberg)
Benjamin Fuchs raised eyebrows five years ago when he opened his hedge fund next to a place selling live chickens in Hong Kong’s hustling, bustling Tin Hau neighborhood.
China's Downgrade Could Lead to a Mountain of Debt (Bloomberg)
The downgrade of China’s debt by Moody’s Investors Service may push Chinese companies to borrow even more money from domestic banks as overseas debt becomes more expensive, increasing risks for the nation’s finance industry.
OPEC, non-OPEC extend oil output cut by nine months to fight glut (Reuters)
OPEC and non-members led by Russia decided on Thursday to extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 as they battle a global glut of crude after seeing prices halve and revenues drop sharply in the past three years.
China Hitches Yuan to the Dollar, Buying Rare Calm (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s central bank is effectively anchoring the yuan to the dollar, a policy twist that has helped stabilize the currency in a year of political transition and market jitters about China’s economic management.
Data Mining to Find Tax Cheaters (Bloomberg)
Driven by fear of prison and scandal, tens of thousands of Americans who hid money offshore have taken an amnesty deal offered by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since 2009.
Investors are pouring billions into the hottest part of the stock market (Business Insider)
No area of the stock market has been hotter than tech since the election, and it seems investors still haven't gotten their fill.
They poured $1.8 billion into the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the sector on Tuesday, the biggest single-day inflow since September 2010.
Bitcoin blew past its record and soared to $2,800 in just a few hours — and now it's plunging (Business Insider)
The bitcoin rally looks like it's finally running out of steam.
The cryptocurrency blew past $2,500 and nearly touched $2,800 for the first time on Thursday, before giving all the gains back.
British pound hit by election jitters and weak growth (CNN)
The British pound took a drubbing on Friday after an opinion poll showed that Prime Minister Theresa May's lead has narrowed sharply ahead of a crucial general election.
The pound drops towards $1.28 as the Tories' poll lead continues to shrink (Business Insider)
The pound is nearly 1% lower on Friday after a poll showed the Conservative Party's lead in the general election narrowing substantially.
Still sluggish: US only grew 1.2% to start 2017 (CNN)
The US economy only grew 1.2% at an annual pace during the first three months of the year, according to a new estimate by the Commerce Department.
European stocks struggle as oil, auto shares pull back (Market Watch)
European stocks were in the red Friday, putting the regional benchmark on track for a weekly decline, with oil and gas shares pulled lower on disappointment stemming from OPEC’s agreement to extend production cuts.
GDP beats on stronger business and consumer spending (Business Insider)
The US economy grew by 1.2% in the first quarter, better than initially reported, according to the Commerce Department's second estimate of GDP.
Economy wasn’t as bad as it looked in first quarter, GDP shows (Market Watch)
Turns out the U.S. economy wasn’t totally asleep in the first three months of 2017: the government raised the growth rate to 1.2% from its original 0.7% reading.
Consumer sentiment edges up in May as Americans remain politically polarized (Market Watch)
Consumer sentiment ticked up fractionally in May as Americans grew more optimistic about economic growth — but more pessimistic about current conditions.
Companies
Disney says it wasn't hacked after all (Business Insider)
Disney was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons this month, with reports circulating that the American media firm had fallen victim to a hack.
New Ford CEO relies on veterans to reboot profits (Reuters)
Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Thursday reshuffled senior management and brought back a former executive from Uber Technologies Inc, signaling its new chief executive officer will rely on tested company veterans to turn Ford around rather than outside talent.
Lack of new launches leaves Ford playing catchup with GM (Reuters)
ames Hackett spent the last year plotting Ford Motor Co's long-term self-driving car strategy. In his first week as chief executive, he has more immediate concerns: stopping a skid in North American sales and fending off a market share grab by resurgent archrival General Motors Co.
Talent Battle: Hedge Funds vs. Silicon Valley (The Wall Street Journal)
The battle for quantitative talent has turned some of the richest money managers into underdogs. Why? Because they are up against the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. for hiring the world’s top minds.
Best Buy unexpectedly beats on sales; shares at record peak (Reuters)
Best Buy Co Inc reported an unexpected rise in first-quarter comparable sales and the No. 1 U.S. electronics retailer said it planned to save $600 million in costs by the end of fiscal 2021, sending shares to an all-time high on Thursday.
Sears surges as cost cuts, asset sale help post profit (Reuters)
Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) reported its first quarterly profit in nearly two years, as the retailer slashed costs by nearly a third and benefited from the sale of its Craftsman brand, sending its shares surging as much as 32.5 percent.
Wells Fargo Found Liable In Abusive Tax Shelter Scheme (Forbes)
After its fake account scandal, the hits keep coming for Wells Fargo. Now, Wells Fargo has been found liable in federal court for a 20% IRS negligence penalty in connection with an abusive tax shelter.
Technology
Virtual Reality Isn’t a Hit at Home, So Imax Tries Arcades (Bloomberg)
When Nic Wehmeyer, an associate creative director from Brooklyn, visited Los Angeles recently, he was determined to check out the future of entertainment.
Sony Ditches Affordable Flagship Phone For High-End And Midrange Alternatives (Digital Trends)
Sony’s Xperia X and Xperia X compact Premium may have turned heads when they were announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last year, but that hype never translated to sales.
The iPhone 8 is rumored to embrace another brand new display detail (Mashable Asia)
We've heard a ton about the switch to an OLED screen for the upcoming iPhone 8; it's the most prevalent rumor in the whole bunch, with some extra legs due to a reported partnership with Samsung to supply the displays.
Oculus Rift officially supports the HTC Vive’s best feature (Engadget)
The Oculus Rift has technically supported room-scale VR since the system's Touch motion controllers first went on sale last December. But purchasing an additional sensor didn't guarantee foolproof 3D tracking for greater immersion right off the bat.
AI Is Coming For DSLRS With A Gadget That Creates A Smarter Auto Mode (Digital Trends)
Artificial intelligence is improving the quality of smartphone shots, and those same features could soon be coming to DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. Arsenal is am AI-enhanced camera accessory that’s both a highly advanced auto mode as well as a tool to simplify advanced techniques like focus stacking and HDR.
Politics
Gingrich: Abolish ‘totally destructive’ CBO (The Hill)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) called for an end to both the Congressional Budget Office and the White House daily press briefing in an interview on Fox Business Thursday.
Jared Kushner is becoming a focus in the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation (Business Insider)
The FBI says it is taking a closer look at Jared Kushner in its investigation of alleged ties between President Donald Trump's associates and Russian officials during the 2016 election.
The GOP healthcare plan is an absurd distraction (Yahoo Finance)
Try to think of the last time Congress did something the American public generally opposes, such as raising taxes on the middle class or cutting back government services. It’s an awfully short list, if you can come up with anything at all.
Sanders, Mulvaney clash heatedly over Trump budget (The Hill)
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney clashed Thursday over President Trump’s budget proposal, interrupting each other and raising their voices in a Senate Budget Committee hearing.
Beyond the CBO score: How Trump Budget and the AHCA are dismantling America’s safety net (The Conversation)
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on May 24 released its long-awaited analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by the House of Representatives three weeks ago.
Senate Intel heads get broad subpoena power in Russia probe (The Hill)
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee now have broad authority to issue subpoenas in the Russia investigation without a full committee vote, Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said Thursday.
Trump’s Budget Is Designed to Impress, Not to Pass (Bloomberg)
The most common reaction to the austere budget released by the Trump administration on May 23 is that it can’t possibly get past Congress. President Donald Trump himself may be fine with that.
Republican wins Montana special election despite assault charge (Reuters)
Republican Greg Gianforte defeated a political novice to win Montana's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, barely 24 hours after he was charged with assaulting a reporter who asked him about the Republican healthcare bill.
Trump Omission in NATO Comments Rankles European Allies (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump on Thursday issued tough new spending demands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization while withholding public support for a core tenet of the security alliance that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.
Quick Take: Beijing Moves to Ease Jitters Over Converted Commercial Housing (Caixin)
The Beijing city government said on Tuesday it would allow some existing commercial housing projects to be resold, in an apparent bid to reassure the market after it was rattled by a ban on turning commercial buildings into residences.
Pope 'terrific', Saudi 'spectacular': Trump waxes lyrical on foreign tour (Reuters)
Donald Trump thinks Pope Francis is "terrific" and found his "spectacular" royal welcome in Saudi Arabia "beyond anything anyone's ever seen".
Trump Turns His Back on International Tourists (Bloomberg)
If a U.S. president’s annual budget is a statement of priorities, a world traveler contemplating a trip to America might consider going somewhere else.
GOP health care bill: Premiums may decline, but many will pay more for care (CNN)
House Republicans boast that their health care bill would reduce average premiums, but that's because the insurance policies will generally cover less.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson 'regrets' Manchester bombing leaks (Business Insider)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he "regrets" the series of leaks about the Manchester bombing in US media.
Speaking at a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Tillerson said: "We take full responsibility for that [the leaks] and we obviously regret that that happened," according to Reuters.
Trump Likely to Maintain Obama’s Sanctions Against Russia (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump is leaning toward maintaining sanctions against Russia that were adopted by the Obama administration in response to Moscow’s alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election, a senior administration official said Thursday.
GOP Focus On Lowering Health Premiums May Undermine Benefits (Associated Press)
Republicans trying to dismantle former President Barack Obama's health care law have run into the same problem that bedeviled him: Quality health insurance doesn't come cheap, especially if it protects people in poor health, older adults not yet eligible for Medicare, and the poor.
Life on the Home Planet
Father and Brother of Manchester Bomber Arrested in Libya (Bloomberg)
The father and a brother of suspected Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have been detained by security personnel in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, according to witnesses and officials.
U.S. warship drill meant to defy China's claim over artificial island: officials (Reuters)
A U.S. warship carried out a "maneuvering drill" when it sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, to show Beijing it was not entitled to a territorial sea around it, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Change and Culture Collide in America’s Prison Capital (The Wall Street Journal)
Louisiana is on the verge of a wide-ranging criminal justice overhaul aimed at curbing the highest incarceration rate in America.
Iran says it has built third underground ballistic missile factory (Reuters)
Iran has built a third underground ballistic missile production factory and will keep developing its missile program, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard as saying.
Indonesian police launch raid as Jakarta attacks linked to Islamic State (Reuters)
Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit raided the home of a suspected suicide bomber on Thursday as authorities linked attacks that killed three police officers at a Jakarta bus station a day earlier to the Islamic State militant group.
Manila deploys commandoes, helicopters to retake city from Islamists (Reuters)
The Philippines mobilized attack helicopters and special forces to drive Islamic State-linked rebels out of a besieged southern city on Thursday, with six soldiers killed in street combat amid heavy resistance.
