Financial Markets and Economy
ECB to discuss closing door to extra stimulus next week – sources (Reuters)
European Central Bank policymakers are set to take a more benign view of the economy when they meet on June 8 and will even discuss dropping some of their pledges to ramp up stimulus if needed, four sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
Singapore Wage-Growth at Lowest Since 2009 Global Crisis: Chart (Bloomberg)
Wages in Singapore grew last year at the slowest pace since the 2009 global financial crisis, reflecting a weak labor market and sliding profits in the city state.
Japan's Budget Furniture King Discounted His Way to a Fortune (Bloomberg)
Embarrassed by the recall of thousands of kitchenware pots after they appeared to leak lead when heated, Japan’s discount-furniture king, Akio Nitori, took an unusual step. He hired a team of auto industry engineers to revamp his quality assurance and testing division.
U.S. companies no longer know rules of game under Trump, Hasbro director says (Reuters)
Confusion surrounding the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration means U.S. companies no longer know the rules of the game, a board member and former CEO of toymaker Hasbro (HAS.O) told an international conference on Monday.
China Factory Gauge Holds Up as Global Economic Outlook Improves (Bloomberg)
Manufacturing purchasing managers index remained at 51.2 for a second straight month in May, compared with a median estimate of 51 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
STOCKS DO NOTHING: Here's what you need to know (Business Insider)
Trump tweets at Germany. "We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military," the US president tweeted. "Very bad for U.S. This will change." Trump has repeatedly criticized trade deficits and members of NATO for not hitting the agreed-upon threshold of 2% of gross-domestic-product spending toward defense.
A Wall Street bank just issued the most dire prediction yet about US shopping malls (Business Insider)
About a quarter of US malls will likely close within the next five years, according to a new prediction from Credit Suisse.
In a research note published Tuesday, the bank estimated that between 20% and 25% of the nation's 1,100 shopping malls — or roughly 220 to 275 shopping centers — will shut down by 2022.
Wall Street slips as energy, financials lose ground (Reuters)
U.S. stocks inched lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 retreating slightly from a record, as weakness in the energy and financial sectors outweighed gains in technology shares.
Investors are risking more than ever for the least amount of potential return (The Felder Report)
‘What is the opposite of a “margin of safety”?’ This is a question I’ve been considering because it seems that’s exactly what investors have settled for in passively buying equities today. But first we should probably define “margin of safety” before we can begin to understand its opposite.
US home prices rising 2 times faster than wages (Associated Press)
U.S. home prices climbed in March at the strongest rate in nearly three year as a dwindling supply of houses for sale is causing prices to significantly outpace income growth.
How To Get The Price Of Oil Back Up To $100 (The Motley Fool)
In this Industry Focus: Energy segment, Motley Fool analysts Sean O'Reilly and Taylor Muckerman talk about three factors that might possibly cause the price of oil to recover that much — wars and rumors of wars, hugely increased demand as emerging markets take off, and natural disasters.
European shares fall for fourth day, banks under pressure (Reuters)
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) was down 0.2 percent by 0855 GMT following three straight days of losses. Euro zone blue chips (STOXX50E) declined 0.5 percent, while Britain's FTSE (FTSE) dropped 0.4 percent as it reopened following a long weekend.
This Is What Will Happen To All The Empty Stores You're Seeing (Forbes)
Depending on who you ask, estimates of the number of retail stores that will close in 2017 range from 7,000 to 10,000. Given the retail climate, the number of new store openings is likely to be much lower. If you walk in almost any shopping area now, you see vacancies.
Some Surprising Data On 50% of S&P 500 Returns, Composition etc. (Value Walk)
We would have our own private helicopters taking us all over the island for seven days. There was horseback riding, dune buggies, even racing Ferarri and Lamborghini supercars across a frozen lake.
The End is Everything (Of Dollars And Data)
I have previously written about how luck can influence your investment results, and this post will continue that discussion, but with some additional complexity. Not only does luck matter, but, in particular, your returns right before and in the first years of your retirement will have a disproportionate impact on your investment success.
Where Markets Fail: Markets Are Not Systemic (Enterprising Investor)
Markets are usually not systemic. Instead, from the bird’s-eye perspective of “Capitalism,” many businesses are “opportunities” in the same way that it feels good to hit yourself in the head with a hammer: It’s much better once you stop.
How Many Will Stay the Course During the Next Bear Market? (A Wealth Of Common Sense)
Markets always seem easy when looking through the rearview mirror because knowing what already happened makes us all feel that everything in the past was blatantly obvious. It makes us feel that we would perfectly navigate those markets if only we had the chance to invest in the same scenario again.
Statistics Provide Rather Bloodless Answers and Losers Average Losers (Howard Lindzon)
I like to keep track of awesome stock market quotes and truisms about the stock market. I created a #markettruths hashtag on Stocktwits if you want to check in once in a while.
"This Market Is Crazy": Hedge Fund Returns Hundreds Of Millions To Clients Citing Imminent "Calamity" (Zero Hedge)
While hardly a novel claim – in the past many have warned that Australia's housing and stock market are massive asset bubbles (which local banks were have been forced to deny as their fates are closely intertwined with asset prices even as the RBA is increasingly worried) – so far few if any have gone the distance of putting their money where their mouth was.
Companies
Costco Exceeds Expectations In Sales and Earnings — Will Open 15 Units In France (Forbes)
Good news abound at Costco! Net sales increased 7.9% in the quarter rising to $28.2 billion from $26.2 billion. Comparable store sales rose 5% for the total company, 6% in the U.S., 2% in Canada and 2% in other international units.
TiVo Gets Favorable Patent Ruling, Stock Price Up (Media Post)
Shares of TiVo stock soared in early Tuesday morning trading due to a favorable patent decision. A final ruling is expected September 26.
The entertainment technology/TV research company saw its stock jump nearly 8% higher to $17.70.
Nissans Crowding Rental-Car Lots Carry Risk as U.S. Sales Slow (Bloomberg)
When his car needed weeks of transmission work and his dealer was out of loaners, Myles Arnett was sent to a nearby Hertz rental-car lot. He had his pick of Nissan Altima and Sentra sedans to choose from — and little else.
Analysts see more gains as Amazon shares break $1,000 (Reuters)
Amazon.com on Tuesday became the second of the current S&P 500 components to hit the $1,000 price mark, beating Google parent Alphabet to the punch and underscoring a massive rally in large-cap technology-related stocks.
Amazon is refunding up to $70M in-app purchases made by kids (CNN)
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that refunds are now available for parents whose children made in-app purchases, like buying upgrades in mobile games purchased through Amazon's app store, without their knowledge.
Technology
Nvidia channels Star Trek, shows off Project Holodeck VR (Cnet)
Star Trek fans, rejoice. Soon you could be spending your time inside your very own holodeck — as an animated torso.
Taking a brief step away from GPU spec talk, Nvidia on Tuesday showed off a live demo of its new Project Holodeck VR tech at Computex in Taiwan, Taipei.
It Could Be 10 Times Cheaper To Take Electric Robo-Taxis Than To Own A Car By 2030 (Fast Company)
Ask a typical industry analyst how long it might take Americans to take most trips in electric cars, and they might say the middle of the century–or later. The Energy Information Administration predicts that only about 3% of miles traveled in the U.S. in 2050 will happen in electric cars. But a new report suggests that it could happen in a little more than a decade.
This is how a self-driving car ‘sees’ the road (Tech Crunch)
Ever wonder what an autonomous vehicle ‘sees’ via its sensors, on-board computing and sensor fusion system? This video from Civil Maps, the high-definition maps technology company backed by Ford, reveals some of what’s going on when it comes to combining detailed 3D maps with sensor data culled from LiDAR, optical cameras, radar and other on-board vehicle hardware used to take stock of the world around an autonomous vehicle.
7 in 10 smartphone apps share your data with third-party services (The Conversation)
Our mobile phones can reveal a lot about ourselves: where we live and work; who our family, friends and acquaintances are; how (and even what) we communicate with them; and our personal habits.
Microsoft Office bug nags you with a pop-up every hour (Engadget)
Every software glitch is at least a little irksome, but Microsoft's latest bug is driving some people up the wall. Office users running a recent update have noticed a bug that ever-so-briefly pops up a background task window… every hour.
Politics
Oregon GOP Official Wants Private Militias To Protect Republicans (The Huffington Post)
The move comes after Friday’s deadly stabbing attack in Portland in which two people were killed and a third injured while defending a Muslim teen from a man shouting anti-Islamic slurs.
White House Communications Director Resigns as Shake-Up Begins (NY Post)
After his first foreign trip, President Trump begins shaking up his White House. Resignation of White House communications director may only be the start.
A Texas Republican is accused of threatening to ‘put a bullet in one of my colleagues’ heads’ (The Washington Post)
Lawmakers scuffled on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives on Monday after a Dallas-area Republican told Democrats that he called Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on protesters in the House gallery.
Former Trump adviser Flynn to turn over some documents subpoenaed by Senate panel: source (Reuters)
Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has told the Senate Intelligence Committee he will begin turning over some documents subpoenaed by the panel, according to a government source familiar with the matter.
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Tired of losing the Rust Belt, new Democratic group has strategy to un-Pelosi the party (Vox)
At least three House Democrats are backing a new political organization that aims to give progressive candidates in the Midwest and Appalachia a new form of support that isn’t dependent on the Democratic Party's coastal financial elite.
Kushner tries to pretend everything’s normal (Politico)
There has been no rallying the troops in the White House, and no open acknowledgment from President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that he has transformed from behind-the-scenes West Wing power broker to its lead distracting story.
Life on the Home Planet
U.S. starts first test of key defense against ICBM attack (Reuters)
The U.S. military has begun the first missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, firing off an interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a Reuters witness at the base said.
New York's 9/11 memorial to add tribute to rescue workers (Reuters)
Thousands of workers who scoured the wreckage of the World Trade Center for the remains of the dead after the skyscrapers were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, will be recognized at the memorial in New York City, officials said on Tuesday.
Rings and asteroids may explain ‘alien megastructure’ star (New Scientist)
It may not be aliens after all. A fresh model that might explain the so-called “alien megastructure” star evokes only natural phenomena, such as a ringed planet that puts Saturn to shame and clouds of comets that contain more mass than Jupiter.
Woman trying to walk into Canada dies of possible hypothermia: police (The Canadian Press)
It was just a matter of time until an aslyum seeker died trying to illegally cross the border into Canada, the reeve of Emerson, Man., said Tuesday.
Using the Sun as a Cosmic Telescope (Scientific American)
Within just a few years, astronomers may at last find a planet that shows signs of life as we know it, in the form of atmospheric gases that betray signs of biological activity. This would be a transformational event for our civilization.
