Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. job growth slows; unemployment rate drops to 4.3 percent (Reuters)
U.S. job growth slowed in May and employment gains in the prior two months were not as strong as previously reported, suggesting the labor market was losing momentum despite the unemployment rate falling to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
Commodity Rebound Evaporates as Slowing Demand Spells More Gluts (Bloomberg)
After a 2016 rally that ended five straight years of declines, prices of everything from crude oil and zinc to sugar and soybeans are once again mired in slumps.
Yuan's Forecasters Getting It Wrong as China Jolts Markets (Bloomberg)
The sudden surge in the last four days — for the onshore exchange rate, it’s been the steepest gain in more than four months — pushed the currency beyond levels predicted by even the most optimistic analysts.
EU, China trade spat blocks climate statement (Reuters)
The European Union and China warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday he was making a major error by withdrawing from the Paris climate pact, but the pair failed to agree a formal climate statement because of divisions over trade.
Puerto Rico’s Exodus Is Speeding the Island’s Economic Collapse (Bloomberg)
The choice is heartbreaking: stay to help other families, or leave to help your own.
That’s the calculation thousands in Puerto Rico are making. The bankruptcy of the U.S. commonwealth, the culmination of years of decline, has accelerated an exodus that’s adding to the island’s economic misery.
Why Whistleblowers Get Paid in the U.S. but Not in Britain (Bloomberg)
In April, Barclays Plc said its chief executive officer, Jes Staley, was under investigation for trying to unmask an employee who’d raised ethical concerns about a senior staff member.
Stock market bracing for potentially the most explosive stretch of trading this year (Market Watch)
The stock market could face its most turbulent week of trading so far this year, with a trio of potentially destabilizing events on deck: former FBI director James Comey’s testimony, the U.K. election, and the ECB monetary-policy meeting.
EU Sees Taxpayers Funding Bank Bad-Loan Fix Within Current Rules (Bloomberg)
European Union member states can use public funds to help struggling banks dispose of soured loans, but only within the limits of laws put in place since the financial crisis, according to an EU report.
Job growth in America is 'rip-roaring' (Yahoo Finance)
In May, the U.S. private sector added 253,000 jobs, according to data from the ADP Research Institute. Economists had expected private payrolls to rise by 180,000 during the month.
Coal miners and alienated workers just trumped corporate America.
By canceling America’s participation in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, President Trump snubbed many of the nation’s biggest businesses. Corporate giants including Exxon (XOM), General Electric (GE), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL) urged Trump to stick with the agreement, which nearly every other country in the world has signed on to.
Stocks just got a majorly bullish signal (Business Insider)
US consumer sentiment has proved fickle in recent decades, gyrating unexpectedly and generally keeping investors on their toes.
But when it has stayed high for a prolonged period, it has historically unlocked massive gains for stocks.
Stock market and bonds rallied at the same time, and it’s befuddling investors (Market Watch)
The stock market clambered to records on Friday, while government bonds remained in rally mode, pushing the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield to a seven-month low, marking a puzzling dynamic on Wall Street.
Companies
Munich prosecutors expand Audi investigation (Reuters)
Munich prosecutors said they have widened an investigation at Audi (NSUG.DE) to examine the carmaker's sales in Germany and elsewhere in Europe after the federal government accused the Volkswagen division of cheating on emissions tests in its home market.
World's Biggest Wind-Turbine Maker Falls as Trump Drops Paris (Bloomberg)
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, dropped to its lowest in more than 1 1/2 months after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Paris climate accord threw into doubt the future of renewable energy.
Mylan shareholders revolt, say directors’ greed has gone too far (Ars Technica)
A group of disgruntled Mylan investors launched a campaign late Tuesday to block the re-election of six directors over their exorbitant—and increasing—compensation. That’s according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Musk, Iger to quit Trump advisory councils after Paris accord decision (Reuters)
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger said on Thursday they would leave White House advisory councils after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
J&J’s Zytiga Boosts Survival in New, Severe Prostate Cancers (Bloomberg)
Johnson & Johnson’s Zytiga helps men newly diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer live longer, according to new findings that could expand use of the medication.
Technology
Denmark Is Killing Tesla (and Other Electric Cars) (Bloomberg)
Sales in Denmark of Electrically Chargeable Vehicles (ECV), which include plug-in hybrids, plunged 60.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared with the first three months of 2016, according to latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Inside The Lamborghini Lab That's Reinventing Carbon Fiber (Digital Trends)
It’s easy to draw parallels between a Lamborghini and an airplane. Both boast a wind-cheating design, both are incredibly quick, and both are coveted by the rich and the famous.
Mindmaze's System For VR Is Still Learningf About How You Smile And Frown (Digital Trends)
While Bebop Sensors is serving up gloves to virtual and augmented reality headset makers that track hands and fingers, Mindmaze is working on technology to correctly track facial expressions.
Google Photos archiving rolls out with AI-powered suggestions (Engadget)
The new Archive feature recently spotted in Google Photos is now rolling out to all users, but it has an extra trick. While the Archive button lets you push more mundane photos (scans of receipts, screenshots of a random tweet, or maybe particularly personal photograph) out of the main Photosdisplay without deleting it, there's also a new suggestion in the Assistanttab that will use its machine learning skills to find likely candidates for you.
Microsoft’s vision for connected PCs gives me hope for Windows (Engadget)
I wasn't expecting a major news announcement from Microsoft's Computex keynote this year — not on the heels of events in New York, Seattle and Shanghai.
HoloKit is like Google Cardboard for augmented reality (Tech Crunch)
The revelation behind Google Cardboard was that if you put your phone close enough to your eyes, it’s basically a VR headset — but it’s not quite that simple for mixed reality setups like Microsoft’s HoloLens.
Apple’s Siri is expected to remain limited to a small set of tasks (Reuters)
Apple is expected to announce plans next week to make its Siri voice assistant work with a larger variety of apps, as the technology company looks to counter the runaway success of Amazon’s competing Alexa service.
Politics
Factbox: Critics lament Trump climate move, supporters seek new deal (Reuters)
World leaders, Democratic members of Congress and others deplored U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on Thursday to pull out of the Paris climate accord, while supporters said the United States needed a more advantageous deal.
Trump’s Paris Exit Leaves Him Isolated From C-Suites to Capitals (Bloomberg)
The response to President Donald Trump’s announcement he was exiting the Paris climate accord and wanted to renegotiate on his terms was immediate: The leaders of France, Germany and Italy said no.
Trump Adviser Cohn Open to Concessions on U.S. Debt Ceiling (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser said Friday that Congress has no choice but to vote to raise the government’s borrowing authority, and that the White House will consider spending cuts or other riders to avert an unprecedented default.
Three lawmakers question Kushner Cos on concerns over White House tie (Reuters)
Three Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the president of Kushner Companies on Thursday seeking information related to concerns that the real estate firm has exploited Jared Kushner's role as a White House adviser to attract investment through a federal immigration program.
Mattis says U.S. committed to Asia-Pacific as allies seek clear policy (Reuters)
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday the United States remains committed to its Asia-Pacific allies, as he arrived in Singapore for the region's premier security forum.
Will Trump's Slow-Mo Walkawaym World In Flames Behind Him, Finally Provoke Consequences For Planetary Arson? (The Intercept)
Now that it seems virtually certain that Donald Trump will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, and the climate movement is quite rightly mobilizing in the face of this latest dystopian lurch, it’s time to get real about something: Pretty much everything that is weak, disappointing, and inadequate about that deal is the result of U.S. lobbying since 2009.
Putin Says Snowden No Traitor, But Leaking Information Was Wrong (Bloomberg)
Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden didn’t damage his country’s interests by making public surveillance secrets, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
These titans of industry just broke with Trump’s decision to exit the Paris accords (The Washington Post)
Thirty states and scores of companies said Thursday that they would press ahead with their climate policies and pursue lower greenhouse gas emissions, breaking sharply with President Trump’s decision to exit the historic Paris climate accord.
Trump vs. Planet Earth (Rolling Stone)
"Did everyone yell 'Fuck Trump!' today?" a friend emailed shortly after hearing that the president intends to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
America’s foreign policy: embrace thugs, dictators and strongmen (The Economist)
On April 29th Donald Trump rang Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines. According to a leaked transcript, he said: “I just want to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”
Fact-checking President Trump’s claims on the Paris climate change deal (The Washington Post)
In his speech announcing his decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord on climate change, President Trump frequently relied on dubious facts and unbalanced claims to make his case that the agreement would hurt the U.S. economy.
6 Reasons Pulling Out of the Paris Climate Agreement Was Totally, Definitely the Right Move (Ben & Jerry's)
Sometimes an idea comes along that is 100% awesome. An idea so good that there’s only one thing you can do: Take an admiring step back and say, “Wow, that’s a really good idea.”
Trump's Trip Was a Catastrophe for U.S.-Europe Relations (The Atlantic)
Seven years after the end of the Second World War, on the 10th of March 1952, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the newly established Federal Republic of Germany received an astounding note from the Soviet Union.
Trump's Budget: Making America Less Great (Scientific American)
The President’s newly proposed budget has been roundly criticized, not only for its unrealistic assumptions about growth, but for the draconian cuts it will make to social welfare programs for the elderly and the poor.
Health and Biotech
This one weird antibody reduces belly fat (in post-menopausal women) (Ars Technica)
So, you know how some women of a certain age get kind of… well, thick around the middle? This “enhanced visceral adiposity” is just one of the many joys that accompany the end of fertility.
Life on the Home Planet
General leading Philippine battle with Islamists relieved of command (Reuters)
The general leading an offensive against pro-Islamic State militants holed up in a southern Philippine town has been relieved of his command, an army spokesman said on Friday, the 11th day of the country's biggest security crisis in years.
No, There Wasn't an Advanced Civilization 12,000 Years Ago (Scientific American)
Graham Hancock is an audacious autodidact who believes that long before ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Egypt there existed an even more glorious civilization.
LIGO’s Latest Black-Hole Merger Confirms Einstein, Challenges Astrophysics (Scientific American)
Some three billion years ago, when Earth was a sprightly ocean world dotted with protocontinents and inhabited solely by single-celled organisms, a pair of black holes spiraled together and collided in a far-off region of the universe, leaving behind a single black hole some 50 times heavier than our sun.
