Financial Markets and Economy
This is the one thing veterans want you to know about Memorial Day (Business Insider)
Do not thank me for my service because today is not about me at all.
That's what a number of fellow military veterans said, when I asked what they wanted people to know about Memorial Day.
"It's not about us," said Staff Sgt. Jay Arnold, a soldier with the Illinois Army National Guard. "It's about those who went before us."
European Stocks Steady; Italian Banks Fall After Renzi Comments (Bloomberg)
European stocks were steady while shares in Italy’s banks dropped along with the country’s bonds after comments from former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sparked concerns that an early election is possible.
Hong Kong Throngs of Thousands Defy Bid to Cool Home Market (Bloomberg)
Snaking queues of thousands of prospective apartment buyers in Hong Kong signaled authorities have made no progress in cooling a red-hot property market, where prices are at records.
China's Xi says need to move to greener economic growth: state media (Reuters)
China needs to shift away from over-reliance on heavy industries, large-scale and careless expansion, and the depletion of the country's natural resources, President Xi Jinping said on Saturday, according to state media.
Dubai Stocks Trading at the Cheapest This Year Amid Oil Woes (Bloomberg)
Dubai stocks are trading at the cheapest level since November as the one-year forward price-to-earnings ratio for its main stock gauge falls near nine times.
Iron ore has lost 40% in 3 months and is now back below $60 a tonne (Business Insider Australia)
Iron ore spot markets were hammered yet again on Friday, falling heavily ahead of a long weekend in China.
Draghi Says Eurozone Still Needs Substantial ECB Stimulus (The Wall Street Journal)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned Monday that it is too early to start winding down the bank’s large monetary stimulus, striking a cautious note in his last public comments before the ECB’s June policy meeting.
Japan's demographic time bomb is a bad omen for the US (Business Insider)
Over the last five years, Japan's economy has contracted by more than two trillion dollars in GDPand 1 million people in lost population.
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.
Does the Stock Market Have a Case of Bad Breadth? (Financial Sense)
Breadth is one of the most powerful tools available to investors and can be used to measure the health of any stock market or economy. Simply put, it is a measure of the level of participation of stocks in a bull market or, in terms of an economy, the number of regions or states participating in an economic expansion.
Just eight months of industrial space left in London as online retail demand soars (The Telegraph)
Demand from online retailers for warehouses around London is now so strong that the capital has just eight months’ worth of space remaining.
MARK YUSKO: 'The US is going to have a crash and it will be massive' (Mauldin Economics)
“I’m telling you right now, the US is going to have a crash and it will be massive,” asserted Mark Yusko at Mauldin Economics’ Strategic Investment Conference.
This website displays the ever-fluctuating value of Bitcoin in real-time (TNW)
The value of Bitcoin has been soaring uncontrollably over the last few months, especially during last week. But given the notorious volatility of cryptocurrencies, this glorious run might be close to an end any moment now – and this handy tool lets you spot this in real-time.
Takeaways from the G7 summit (Investing.com)
"Just left the #G7Summit. Had great meetings on everything, especially on trade where we push for the removal of all trade-distorting practices….to foster a truly level playing field," President Trump tweeted over the weekend.
Patience In Investing (Value Walk)
“It is possible to make money— and a great deal of money—in the stock market. But it can’t be done overnight or by haphazard buying and selling. The big profits go to the intelligent, careful and patientinvestor, not to the reckless and overeager speculator” J Paul Getty.
US Prosecutors Turn Up Heat On Complex Financial Fraud (Value Walk)
Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, regulators had a hands-off policy when monitoring the lightly regulated, often illiquid securitized debt market due to its participants being considered “sophisticated.”
In Japan, single mothers struggle with poverty and a ‘culture of shame’ (The Washington Post)
The country suffered a “lost decade,” and then another one, after its bubble burst some 25 years ago. To this day, despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to reinvigorate it, Japan’s economy remains in the doldrums.
$100 Carbon Tax 2030 Could Save Climate, Say Economists (Associated Press)
Economists say countries should ramp up the price of carbon emissions to as much as $100 per metric ton by 2030 to stop catastrophic global warming.
Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Hits $4.3 Bln, Nears Stock Exchange Volume (The Coin Telegraph)
On May 25, the cryptocurrency trading volume hit $4.3 bln. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and NEM drove the cryptocurrency trading volume to new all-time highs.
They Are Killing Small Business: The Number Of Self-Employed Americans Is Lower Than It Was In 1990 (The Economic Collapse)
After eight long, bitter years under Obama, will things go better for entrepreneurs and small businesses now that Donald Trump is in the White House? Once upon a time, America was the best place in the world for those that wanted to work for themselves.
After 47 Years, Stephen Lewis Calls It Quits In A Scathing Critique Of Modern Markets (Zero Hedge)
For decades, portfolio managers around the WORLD would receive the periodic "Economics & Policy" newsletter, full of original insights on everything from the markets, to the economy, to geopolitics, as penned by Stephen Lewis, chief economist at ADM (if best known for his tenure at Monument Securities which was eventually absorbed by ADM).
Fed Fail? Traders Cut Rate-Hike Bets By The Most In History Last Week (Zero Hedge)
The last two weeks have seen speculators cover over $710 billion worth of Fed rate-hike bets – the biggest move in Eurodollar futures history as Trump concerns and Fed Minutes reignite lost faith in the ebullient future that sparked the creation of a record $3 trillion bet that The Fed will be right this time.
State lawmakers want the public to pay to prop up coal (Think Progress)
As coal-fired power plants continue to shutter across the country, politicians at the local and federal level are trying increasingly desperate measures to keep the once-dominant fuel afloat.
Watch Live: Draghi Speaks At Euro Parliament, Makes Case For More Easing (Zero Hedge)
In today's only major risk event, at 3pm CET (9am ET) Mario Draghi will hold his quarterly hearing before the European Parliament, and his final scheduled appearance before next week’s monetary-policy decision, in which the ECB president will be pressed about his plans for stimulus withdrawal.
Markets Wrap: Stocks Flat In Quiet Session With US, UK And China Closed For Holiday (Zero Hedge)
U.S. markets are closed for the Memorial Day holiday, and with UK and Chinese markets also closed for various holidays, it has been a quiet start to the week, with S&P futures essentially unchanged, trading at 2,415, up 0.06%, a new all time high.
Companies
Walmart's online sales are exploding (Business Insider)
Wal-Mart saw its online sales growth fall into single digits last year before it decided to actually do something about it. When Wal-Mart reported just 7% growth in e-commerce sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the backlash may have been the impetus it needed to start making major e-commerce acquisitions like Jet.com.
Tanger Factory Outlets: Bargain Of The Year (Forbes)
Sir John Templeton famously said, that “to buy when others are despondently selling and sell when others are greedily buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest ultimate rewards.”
7 Things You Didn't Know About Gilead Sciences, Inc. (The Motley Fool)
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) is known for several things. It's a leader in developing HIV drugs such as Truvada and Genvoya. The company's drugs Sovaldi, Harvoni, and Epclusa have changed the landscape in treatment of hepatitis C. Gilead is now one of the biggest biotechs in the world.
Baristas say that Starbucks is ignoring a huge problem that is impacting sales (Business Insider)
Starbucks baristas say that a recent initiative to improve customer service proves how out-of-touch the company's executives are with what's really going on in stores.
British Airways could face £100m compensation bill over IT meltdown (The Guardian)
British Airways could face a bill of at least £100m in compensation, additional customer care and lost business resulting from an IT meltdown that affected more than 1,000 flights over the weekend.
BA says it won’t pay for tickets on other airlines after shutdown (Independent)
British Airways has infuriated some passengers caught up in the weekend’s disruption by refusing to pay for tickets booked on other airlines.
Technology
Toyota Backs Radical Flying Car Project That Will Light Tokyo's Olympic Flame In 2020 (Forbes)
Japan’s auto companies have ambitious goals for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Industry heavyweights like Toyota and Nissan are planning autonomous vehicles to ferry athletes between the Olympic village and various sporting venues around Tokyo Bay. And Toyota is working on a new retro-styled London cab-inspired taxi slated for launch in 2020.
Woz: Tesla, not Apple, will have the next tech moonshot (Cnet)
When it comes to the next great tech breakthroughs, Steve Wozniak isn't betting on the company he founded.
Instead, he believes Tesla is at the forefront of anticipating the world to come.
Watch Samsung's 9.1-inch OLED display stretch without breaking (The Verge)
An image of Samsung's new stretchable prototype display was everywhere last week. Now we've got split-screen video of the 9.1-inch OLED in action. Unlike the flexible OLED that embraces the Galaxy S8 chassis, Samsung says that its stretchable display has the elasticity to bend in two directions, with up to 12mm of travel before returning to its original shape like a rubber ballon.
Tesla Autopilot Review: Bikers will die (Medium)
My colleague and I got to take a TESLA Autopilot test drive on highways, curvy California roads, and by the ocean. In case you don’t live in Palo Alto (where the Whole Foods parking lot is full of these things)… the TESLA Autopilot feature is basically a button to turn the car into autonomous driving mode.
Is China Outsmarting America in A.I.? (NY Times)
Sören Schwertfeger finished his postdoctorate research on autonomous robots in Germany, and seemed set to go to Europe or the United States, where artificial intelligence was pioneered and established.
Politics
Trump attacks 'fake news' following Kushner reports (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the news media and dismissed leaks from the White House as "fake news" on Sunday, following reports his son-in-law tried to set up a secret channel of communications with Moscow before Trump took office.
‘Out Of Step’ Trump Takes Golf Cart While Rest Of G-7 Leaders Walk (The Huffington Post)
Whether because he was exhausted or trying to underscore the distance between himself and other world leaders, President Donald Trump chose to use his favorite vehicle — a golf cart — rather than walk with the rest of the G7 leaders in Taormina, Sicily, on the final day of his international tour.
Kushner’s Relationship With Trump Tested as Russia Accusations Swirl (NY Times)
The most successful deal of Jared Kushner’s short and consequential career in real estate and politics involves one highly leveraged acquisition: a pair of adjoining offices a few penny-loafer paces from his father-in-law’s desk in the White House.
Macron: Awkward Trump handshake a 'moment of truth' (BBC News)
The awkward encounter saw each grip the other's hand so firmly that their knuckles turned white .
Mr Macron told French media he had wanted to "show he would not make small concessions, not even symbolic ones, but also not overdo things".
A Constitutional Puzzle: Can the President Be Indicted? (NY Times)
The Constitution does not answer every question. It includes detailed instructions, for instance, about how Congress may remove a president who has committed serious offenses. But it does not say whether the president may be criminally prosecuted in the meantime.
Are You Ready for Another Government Shutdown? (Oppenheimer Funds)
Judging by how well the 2013 government shutdown polled (81% of Americans were against it), you’re probably not. In fact, a recent Politico/Morning Consult poll shows that 65% of American voters oppose a shutdown.
Mueller’s appointment complicates Congress’ Russia investigations (Politico)
Robert Mueller's appointment as a special counsel has quickly complicated Congress' investigations into Russia’s election meddling. And the former FBI director has done nothing so far to provide clarity.
Paul Ryan snubbed by New Jersey school children – then ridiculed on Instagram (The Telegraph)
As a member of the Republican Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan is more than accustomed to dealing with the ire of rival politicians.
Defense Chief James Mattis Says the U.S. Is Now Using 'Annihilation Tactics' Against ISIS (TIME)
Defense Secretary James Mattis said Sunday that U.S. forces have entered a new, more aggressive phase in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), which he termed “annihilation tactics.”
Iran's Supreme Leader calls the Saudi leaders 'idiots' (DW Made For Minds)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Saudi Arabia's rulers they face "certain downfall" for their close ties with the US. Iran's pragmatic president instead called for more cooperation to tackle the region's issues.
Supreme Court's next step on gerrymandering could be its biggest yet (CNN)
During a lull between elections, the Supreme Court is taking on a hot-button political issue that could change the way legislative lines are drawn across the country.
Trump calls for the opposite of Trumpcare (Think Progress)
Donald Trump, in one of his first Tweets after a trip abroad that left at least one major foreign leader questioning if the United States is still a reliable ally, announced what appears to be a reversal of his White House’s stance on health care.
Dear President Trump: America’s most egregious “federal land grab” was in 1891, under Benjamin HarrisonWhen President Donald Trump recently described the creation of 40 national monuments over the last 20 years as a “massive federal land grab,” it was another example of the hyperbole typical of his administration. Many analysts noted the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, who signed the 1906 Antiquities Act and then spent two years bypassing Congress to create the first 18 national monuments.
Donald Trump’s Ramadan statement is filled with references to terrorism (Salon)
The White House just released a statement commemorating Ramadan that — instead of simply expressing solidarity with Muslims during their holiday — couldn’t stop itself from referencing terrorism.
Schemes to topple the president quickly would hurt the country (The Economist)
America has elected a man of frightening impatience as president. That is no reason for Donald Trump’s opponents to copy him. Four months into the Trump presidency his sternest critics seem ready to tear the country apart, just to see him gone.
Macron Hosts Putin as Merkel Insists Europe Must Assert Itself (Bloomberg)
French President Emmanuel Macron will give Russia’s Vladimir Putin a tour of the royal palace at Versailles near Paris on Monday, following up his debut at the Group of Seven meeting last week.
Following Trump’s trip, Merkel says Europe can’t rely on ‘others.’ She means the U.S. (The Washington Post)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday declared a new chapter in U.S.-European relations after contentious meetings with President Trump last week, saying that Europe “really must take our fate into our own hands.”
Minnesota Republican dodges question about tax havens by invoking Jesus (Think Progress)
Pressed about her lack of support for an amendment that would close loopholes for offshore tax havens, a Minnesota Republican dodged the question in favor of talking about her religious beliefs.
After Trump’s disastrous vacation, Angela Merkel warns: The world has no leader (Salon)
We wake up today to a fundamentally different world than the one in which we woke up yesterday. The nation our allies looked to as the guarantor of global security will now be led by a pathologically dishonest, unqualified, inexperienced, temperamental, ignorant flimflam man.
Here are 5 reasons anonymous White House officials say they can’t stand Jared Kushner (Raw Story)
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, is now a key figure in the FBI’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election — and now a slew of White House officials have rushed to the New York Times to anonymously trash him.
Trump Lashes Out at Media After Ducking Press Questions on Trip (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump lashed out at the “fake news” media in a series of Twitter messages on Sunday after wrapping up his first foreign trip as president — a nine-day excursion from Saudi Arabia to Sicily — without once holding a news conference.
Few Americans support cuts to most government programs, including Medicaid (Pew Research Center)
President Donald Trump’s first budget request to Congress would make deep cuts to government programs, including Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income adults and children. Recent polls have found little public support for cuts to Medicaid, but that may not be a surprise: Americans tend not to favor budget cuts when asked about specific areas being affected.
What if we’re all complicit in Trump’s monstrous presidency? (Alternet)
The constitutional crisis that’s upon us began not with the derangement of Donald Trump, but with the derangement of America’s political and civic culture that made him so plausible to so many in the first place. Getting rid of Trump is imperative and urgent. But doing so won’t prove this is no longer the country that elected him.
Life on the Home Planet
Simple Road Improvements Could Reduce More Than 415,000 Deaths & Serious Injuries, New Report Shows (Forbes)
The country’s deteriorating roadways – and how to improve them — are the subject of a new report that found that infrastructure investments have the potential to save 63,700 lives and prevent 353,560 serious injuries over a 20-year period if repairs and maintenance were to become a priority.
When "Simple" Math Is Wrong (Fool.com)
Our salesperson was offering a value proposition she thought was unbeatable: If we paid $100,000 for this timeshare, we'd save roughly $150,000 (she was rounding) in lodging costs over the next 20 years.
Box Office: 'Alien: Covenant' Suffers Brutal 71% Drop As 'Guardians 2' Tops 'Guardians' (Forbes)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now the biggest comic book superhero movie ever sans Iron Man, Batman and Spider-Man. The Disney sci-fi sequel earned another $19.9 million (-41%) over ths Fri-Sun weekend for a likely $28.5m Fri-Mon holiday haul and a new $337m domestic cume by tomorrow.
How to improve the health of the ocean (The Economist)
Earth is poorly named. The ocean covers almost three-quarters of the planet. It is divided into five basins: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic and the Southern oceans.
