Financial Markets and Economy
Americans' confidence in the economy has plunged to an 11-month low (Business Insider)
Americans' confidence in the economy continues to slide.
Who Crashed China's Stock Market? (The Atlantic)
China’s stock markets continue to stumble, despite the massive stimulus that the government has unleashed to prop them up. The Shanghai benchmark index fell by 1.23 percent Tuesday, after closing down slightly Monday. The index has fallen by nearly 40 percent from its mid-June peak.
Some big stock-market winners, losers amid bruising rout for Dow, S&P 500 (Market Watch)
A sprawling stretch of market quiescence has been replaced by stomach-churning price swings, amounting to a brutal rout for equities. It is a tumultuous environment, sparked by nagging China worries and uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy plans, that has been unkind to average folk.
But as it turns out, it is also no cakewalk for hedge-fund masters of the universe. That even goes for those who managed to deftly navigate the financial crisis and other past periods of extreme market upheaval.
Morgan Stanley: Central Banks Are Playing a Game of Chess That Results in an Endless Cycle of Easing (Bloomberg)
After the European Central Bank decided to initiate an asset purchasing program, President Mario Draghi reportedly elected to unwind with a game of chess on his iPad during the plane ride back to Rome.
According to Morgan Stanley's Marco Spaltro and Jim Caron, Draghi's choice for a game could not have been more fitting. In a new commentary, the two portfolio managers argue that diverging monetary policies and persistently low levels of inflation mean that central banks are now engaged in a global game of chess.
Netflix down 5% as Apple talks to Hollywood (CNN)
The company has been reaching out to high-level people in the entertainment industry for confidential talks, an executive familiar with Apple's plans told CNNMoney's Brian Stelter.
Apple is assessing whether it should start producing its own original shows and movies. The company could also be looking to buy existing entertainment from Hollywood studios.
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Stocks Get Crushed: Here's what you need to know (Business Insider)
It was an ugly day for the markets, as each of the major US indexes dropped nearly 3% to start September, traditionally the weakest month of the year for the stock market.
Oil got slammed Tuesday, falling 8% with West Texas Intermediate crude prices falling back near $45 a barrel after a 30% runup in just three days saw WTI erase almost all of its August losses.
Android manufacturers swoon as Apple rules cut-throat smartphone market (Market Watch)
English poet T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, but for many Android smartphone manufacturers, it was August.
After 39% Rout, China Stocks Still Cost Double Hong Kong Prices (Bloomberg)
For all the losses in Chinese stocks since the nation’s record bull market ended in June, shares on mainland exchanges are still more than twice as expensive as their identical counterparts in Hong Kong.
Dual-listed companies traded at a 115 percent premium in China at the end of last month, within three percentage points of a four-year high in July, according to monthly data compiled by Bloomberg. The price differences have persisted even as a $4.6 trillionselloff dragged the Shanghai Composite down 39 percent from this year’s high.
Construction emerging as strongest sector of the economy (Market Watch)
With little fanfare, the U.S. construction sector is heating up, turning it into a growth engine for the economy.
“Private construction is on a roll,” said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight.
Construction played a pivotal role in the second quarter, adding 1.3 percentage points to the solid 3.7% annual gross domestic product.
Investors are so scared that it might be a rare opportunity to buy stocks (Business Insider)
When you see the value of your investments drop before your eyes, your brain sends a funny feeling into your belly that makes you panic and want to "Sell!"
With the global rout we're experiencing right now, that's a feeling that a lot of investors and traders may be getting.
Ford and Fiat Chrysler Post Surprising Sales Gains in August (NY Times)
Domestic automakers reported surprisingly strong results on Tuesday for August sales in the United States, defying analysts’ expectations of losses in a month that had turmoil in the stock markets and an unusual calendar quirk that had been expected depress sales.
Fiat Chrysler and Ford Motor reported unexpected gains, while General Motors fell slightly but avoided a larger loss that analysts had predicted.
Citi: Maybe Flash Crashes Aren't So Bad After All (Bloomberg)
Flash crashes—those days when stocks, bonds, and currencies all make big, sudden moves in tandem—may roil financial markets, but they don’t seem to make a big difference to the real economy, according to Citigroup.
Analyst Steven Englander built a working definition of what qualifies as a flash crash, then went about analyzing what the impact of all that frenzied trading was. His conclusion: not much.
The New York Stock Exchange is under attack for the way it handled the most volatile market in years (Business Insider)
The New York Stock Exchange is under attack.
One of its biggest rivals, as well as electronic trading firms that do business on the exchange, are criticizing the way it handled recent swings in the market.
At the heart of the matter is the way NYSE operates: Sticking with human traders at a time when computers have taken over trading, making it faster and more volatile than ever.
This chart shows how China has quickly become a trading partner that matters (Business Insider)
China's been front-and-center over the last few weeks with its volatile stock market and its devaluation of its currency.
Politics
Colbert books Biden, Fallon books Trump (CNN)
Colbert himself announced the booking via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon. He'll be welcoming Biden on Thursday, September 10.
There was immediate speculation that perhaps Biden would share some campaign-related news with Colbert, the former faux-conservative-pundit of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."
Obama close to clinching votes for Iran nuclear deal (Market Watch)
President Barack Obama is nearly at the magic number he needs to uphold the nuclear agreement with Iran.
On Tuesday, Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania became the latest Democrats to come out in support of the deal, which lifts sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. Obama needs 34 senators to sustain a veto of Republican legislation aimed at blocking the deal. He’s now at 33.
Technology
The "Taxi of Tomorrow" Is Finally the Official Cab for New York City (Gizmodo)
Against all odds, the Nissan NV-200 will rule the streets of New York. As of today, the vast majority of cab drivers must buy the so-called Taxi of Tomorrow when they retire their old yellow cabs.
Anybody who’s ever taken a cab in the city will agree that new cars are a good thing. This one’s different, though.
Health and Life Sciences
Can vitamin D prevent macular degeneration? (Futurity)
Vitamin D could possibly prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among women who are more genetically prone to developing the sight-damaging disease.
Online in JAMA Ophthalmology, a team of researchers reports that women who are deficient in vitamin D and have a specific high-risk genotype are 6.7 times more likely to develop AMD than women with sufficient vitamin D status and no high risk genotype.
Wasp venom 'a weapon against cancer' (BBC)
The venom of a wasp native to Brazil could be used as a weapon to fight cancer, scientists believe.
A toxin in the sting kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, lab studies suggest.
The University of Brazil team say the experimental therapy latches to tumour cells and makes them leak vital molecules.
Mental health: Stigmas shift, but accessing care a struggle (CNN)
Mental health has a long-standing public perception problem, but the stigma appears to be shifting, at least in the United States, a new survey reveals.?Results from a national online survey on mental health, anxiety and suicide indicate that 90% of Americans value mental and physical health equally.?
"Progress is being made in how American adults view mental health, and the important role it plays in our everyday lives. People see connection between mental health and overall well-being, our ability to function at work and at home and how we view the world around us," said Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Life on the Home Planet
Climate event 'among strongest' (BBC)
The current El Nino weather phenomenon could be one of the strongest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The event occurs when the waters of the Pacific become exceptionally warmand distort weather patterns around the world.
Researchers say parts of the Pacific are likely to be 2C warmer than usual.
