Financial Markets and Economy
Mexican Peso Rebounds as Ruling Party Win Eases Political Risk (Bloomberg)
Mexico’s peso advanced, trading near the strongest level in seven months, as President Enrique Pena Nieto’s party forged ahead in the election for governor of the country’s largest state.
U.S. economy keeps up fast pace in May, ISM finds (Market Watch)
The service-oriented companies where most Americans work grew at a slightly slower but still rapid pace in May, signaling steady-as-she-goes for the U.S. economy.
The Bloody Fight for ETF Scraps Is About to Get Even Worse (Bloomberg)
His sojourn in paradise was always going to be temporary, but he needed it. Yook had managed a health-care portfolio at the Galleon Group LLC for five years until 2009, when the New York-based hedge fund became the target of an insider-trading investigation.
Chats by Metals Trader Reveal Spoofing ‘Tricks from the Master’ (Bloomberg)
David Liew was a quick study. Less than a year into his metals-trading job at Deutsche Bank in Singapore, he joked with a colleague about their latest win.
New jobs indexes show labor market still in solid shape (Market Watch)
A pair of labor-market indicators released Monday portray a labor market that’s still in pretty good shape, even after a report from the government showed about 50,000 fewer jobs created than forecast.
Treasury yields try to rebound from November lows (Market Watch)
Treasury yields gained on Monday amid data that was expected to clarity the U.S.’s economic outlook after a weaker-than-expected jobs report helped to pare growth prospects.
India Rates Traders Pricing in Softer RBI, Three Charts Show (Bloomberg)
India’s rates traders seem convinced record-low inflation and an unexpected slowdown in economic growth will prompt the central bank to soften its hawkish stance when its announces a policy decision Wednesday.
Passive funds are on pace to eat the entire US stock market by 2030 (Quartz)
Index funds are on a roll. Funds that passively track indexes are popular because they’re cheaper than the alternatives run by active money managers, and the robotic, rules-driven funds often outperform their human rivals, too.
Draghi Seen Taking Slowest Possible Path Out of ECB Stimulus (Bloomberg)
Ninety percent of respondents in a Bloomberg survey said the ECB will use its meeting on Thursday to acknowledge that the risks surrounding the euro area’s recovery are balanced.
Junk Bonds Couldn't Care Less About Stock Market's Alarm Bells (Bloomberg)
Amid rising interest rates and growing corporate leverage, investors have cast aside debt-riddled companies in favor of cash-rich businesses, which include the FAANG stocks — Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Netflix Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc, according to an analysis by Societe Generale SA.
Investors would rather feel good about themselves than make money (Market Watch)
Financial planners have an even harder job than we thought when trying to persuade their clients to invest in, and then stick with, the stock market.
And that’s really saying something, since we already knew their job was difficult.
Toronto May Home Price Gains Slow as New Listings Surge 49% (Bloomberg)
Toronto’s housing fever is showing signs of cooling as price gains slowed and new listings surged in May, the first full month reflecting a new tax on foreign buyers and a crisis at mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc.
Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian ‘Soft Power’ (NY Times)
It has offices in a sleek Manhattan skyscraper. Its bonds are accessible to millions of American investors. And it holds ties to some of New York’s biggest banks.
John Paulson Is Struggling to Hold On to Client Money (Bloomberg)
A decade after Paulson shot to fame betting on the collapse of the U.S. housing market, the hedge-fund mogul is struggling to persuade investors to stick with him after a string of missteps on everything from gold to European bonds to drug stocks.
Why Aren’t American Teenagers Working Anymore? (Bloomberg)
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in May, the lowest in 16 years, so teens started looking for summer jobs in the best labor market since the tech boom of the early 2000s.
Thinking Through a Change in Asset Allocation (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Last week the Financial Planning Association released its annual investment survey of financial advisors — 2017 Trends in Investing Survey: Where Financial Advisors are Investing Now.
U.S. stocks look for direction in shadow of U.K. terror attacks (Market Watch)
U.S. stocks were little changed near record levels on Monday as investors grappled with a variety of geopolitical issues, both domestic and abroad.
U.S. Productivity Flat in First Quarter (The Wall Street Journal)
U.S. worker productivity was flat in the first quarter, an upward revision from the previous estimate, but still another sign of sluggishness during the eight-year old expansion.
Active Managers And The Dangers Of Desperation (The Evidence-Based Investor)
It’s no secret that active managers have been having a hard time delivering alpha. With fund houses closing and cutting staff, managers, aren’t just fighting for their bonuses any more; they are, quite literally, are fighting for survival.
Companies
Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S. query on Trump, Russia: source (Reuters)
Germany's largest bank has asked for more time to respond to a request from Democrats on a U.S. House of Representatives panel for details about U.S. President Donald Trump's possible ties to Russia, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Tesla is sliding after Toyota sold it's entire stake in the company (TSLA, TM) (Business Insider)
Tesla's stock price doesn't seem to care too much that Toyota sold everything it owned in the company.
Toyota sold off its entire holding of Tesla shares, and it is completely divested as of Monday. Prior to selling, Toyota held a 1.43 percent stake in the company.
'Pink Slime' case against ABC a challenge to press in era of 'fake news' (Reuters)
A South Dakota meat processor's $5.7 billion defamation lawsuit against American Broadcasting Companies Inc, which opens Monday, pits big agriculture against big media, and is a first major court challenge against a media company since accusations of “fake news” by U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters have become part of the American vernacular.
Technology
Password-Free Tethered Internet Could Be Headed To Google Chromebooks (Digital Trends)
The latest Chrome OS Canary build has a new feature in it called “Instant Tethering,” which makes it possible to automatically tether the laptop to your phone in the absence of an internet connection, without prompting.
Apple Tests Giving Third-Party Shops Access yo iPhone Repair Machines (Digital Trends)
Apple has launched a pilot program under which it will provide certain companies access to the highly specialized calibration machine used to repair iPhones. The news was announced by ComputerCare, one of the three companies included in the initiative.
Robot's uncanny dexterity could transform manufacturing (Engadget)
Robotic hands can play drums and even twirl objects with aplomb, but they're still poor at picking up unfamiliar objects. That's why UC Berkeley's DexNet 2.0 bot is so impressive — using deep learning, it can successfully grasp random, real-world objects 99 percent of the time.
Instagram CEO downplays criticism that it copied Snapchat (Engadget)
If you've gotten Instagram and Snapchat confused recently, you'd be forgiven: Even Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom acknowledges that there are similarities between the two services.
Waze sends real-time accident data to drivers and first responders (Engadget)
Earlier this month, Waze teamed up with the Emergency Number Association to help emergency responders react more quickly to incidents across Europe.
Politics
Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt Cut Diplomatic Ties With Qatar (The Wall Street Journal)
Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries severed diplomatic and some commercial links with Qatar Monday, a dramatic move that exposed divides among U.S. allies in the Middle East over policy toward Iran and the role of political Islam in the region.
Trump National Security Team Blindsided by NATO Speech (Politico)
When President Donald Trump addressed NATO leaders during his debut overseas trip little more than a week ago, he surprised and disappointed European allies who hoped—and expected—he would use his speech to explicitly reaffirm America’s commitment to mutual defense of the alliance’s members, a one-for-all, all-for-one provision that looks increasingly urgent as Eastern European members worry about the threat from a resurgent Russia on their borders.
Saudi-Led Alliance Cuts Ties With Qatar (Bloomberg)
Four U.S. Arab allies led by Saudi Arabia pushed ahead with plans to isolate Qatar in an unprecedented escalation designed to punish one of the region’s financial superpowers for its ties with Iran and Islamist groups.
Dems want Hillary Clinton to leave spotlight (The Hill)
They say her string of remarks explaining her stunning loss in November coupled with the public remarks blaming the Democratic National Committee for the defeat — which many took as also critical of Obama — are hurting the party and making the 2016 candidate look bitter.
Donald Trump's Triumph of Stupidity (Spiegel Online)
Until the very end, they tried behind closed doors to get him to change his mind. For the umpteenth time, they presented all the arguments — the humanitarian ones, the geopolitical ones and, of course, the economic ones.
Democrat Questions Russia Link as Comey Heads to Hill (The Wall Street Journal)
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said there was no proof so far of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign, as Congress geared up for a week of high drama highlighted by the testimony of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey.
Kushners Hunting Hard for a Loan to Pay Back Chinese Investors (Bloomberg)
The Kushner family real estate company is seeking a $250 million loan to pay back Chinese investors in a New Jersey luxury tower but finding some major U.S. banks wary of the controversies around its White House links and the visa program used to attract the investors.
Trump unwittingly turns ‘America first’ into ‘China first’ (Market Watch)
Another plausible candidate for a “friend of Trump” accolade is President Xi Jinping of China. Many of Trump’s actions since his inauguration Jan. 20 are likely, directly or indirectly, to strengthen Beijing’s international position.
DC Mayor Reaffirms City's Commitment To Paris Climate Deal (Assocaited Press)
Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the order Monday. She's one of nearly 200 mayors who committed to upholding the climate deal after President Donald Trump announced last week that the United States would withdraw from it.
Trump Tweets Criticism of His Travel Ban With Comey Looming (Bloomberg)
Heading into a crucial week for his presidency, Donald Trump seized on the London terrorist attacks to criticize his own Justice Department for submitting what he called the “politically correct” version of his travel ban for Supreme Court review and not his original measure.
Saudis Lead Push to Isolate Qatar, a Fellow U.S. Ally (Bloomberg)
Four U.S. Arab allies led by Saudi Arabia pushed ahead with plans to isolate Qatar in an unprecedented escalation designed to punish one of the region’s financial superpowers for its support of Islamist groups and ties with Iran.
Health and Biotech
Roche's Pricey New Breast-Cancer Combo Barely Beats Old Drug (Bloomberg)
Roche Holding AG’s new breast cancer combination therapy barely outperformed a current gold-standard drug for the disease — the company’s own decades-old Herceptin — in its latest study.
Life on the Home Planet
London Fortifies Bridges to Protect Pedestrians From Attack (Bloomberg)
Concrete and metal barriers are being erected along the sidewalks on some of London’s bridges after terrorists used cars and vans to target pedestrians for the second time in just over two months.
Qatar asks citizens to leave UAE within 14 days: embassy (Reuters)
Qatar on Monday asked citizens to leave the United Arab Emirates within 14 days to comply with a decision by Abu Dhabi to sever ties with Doha, the Qatari embassy in Abu Dhabi said on social media.
Iraqi Forces Disrupt Islamic State Supply Route (The Wall Street Journal)
Iraqi paramilitary forces captured a hub on a key Islamic State supply route between Syria and Iraq, further disrupting the flow of fighters and goods between the terror group’s major urban strongholds, Iraq’s defense ministry said.
California Localities Primed for Legal Recreational Cannabis Use (Bloomberg)
Twenty years after approving medical marijuana, Californians come 2018 will be able to consume it for recreational purposes, too, and the localities that have reaped the most from legal cannabis sales may be best positioned for what could be a billion-dollar windfall.
How Is Worldwide Sea Level Rise Driven by Melting Arctic Ice? (Scientific American)
Climate change is warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as anywhere else on the planet. One of the most serious consequences is sea level rise, which threatens nations from Bangladesh to the U.S. But exactly how does melting Arctic ice contribute to sea level rise?
Accelerating Antarctic crack will hasten calving of huge iceberg (New Scientist)
An enormous chunk of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula now looks doomed to calve into the Weddell Sea, possibly within weeks.
The hottest planet yet is twice Jupiter’s size and hot as a star (New Scientist)
Finding exoplanets around stars much hotter than the sun is difficult. This is because the blinding brightness and rapid spinning of stars like the one KELT-9b orbits can obscure the relatively minuscule changes to their light that passing planets cause.
