Financial Markets and Economy
Volkswagen shares are popping on its disaster-recovery plan (Business Insider)
Volkswagen shares are popping in Frankfurt on Wednesday morning after the troubled carmaker spelled out how it was going to recover from the emissions-rigging scandal that has engulfed the company.
S&P 500 under 1,800? That’s better news than you think (Market Watch)
All’s well when oil’s well, right? That may be the strategy in the early going for this stock market, which is looking cheery, despite the fact the S&P 500 got its winning streak derailed last night.
But soon enough, earnings will be in your face, possibly batting this market around. Tim Knight, blogging for Slope of Hope, is purveying a little doom. He says as investors “head into another earnings season, the bulls better pray to whatever pagan gods they worship that company after company magically defy the downturn that the economy is quite obviously entering.”
Charting the Markets: Day Six of the Global Stock Rally (Bloomberg)
The yen rises, crude oil extends its winning run andSABMiller sharesrise on AB InBev Bid.
Samsung shares just exploded to their best day in six years after strong Q3 sales (Business Insider)
Samsung had an awesome day in Korea's stock market, after announcing bumper results for Q3.
The Dow Theory suggests stocks are about to tank, but it’s wrong (Market Watch)
Here’s my definition of technical analysis (TA), the dubious belief that squiggly lines on a chart will predict price moves. While some signals work sometimes, generally TA is just cartoons for investors who can’t be bothered with fundamental analysis.
Like most cartoons, technical analysis is entertaining but not much help.
“Dow Theory,” a trusty old gauge for technicians, offers a great example right now.
Glencore Bears Dust Off Forgotten Credit Swaps for Cheap Short (Bloomberg)
As the investing world rushed last week to sell anything related to Glencore Plc, traders in the credit market turned to an all-but-forgotten derivatives contract in a bid to juice their bets against the commodities giant.
U.S. stocks: Dow futures rise more than 100 points (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, joining in a global advance led by energy stocks as crude prices rose about 2%.
Investors also will look out for quarterly earnings from Constellation Brands Inc.STZ, +1.28% and Monsanto Co. MON, -3.21% that are due ahead of the opening bell.
Tesco shares are sinking as European markets open (Business Insider)
European markets are looking generally positive at the open on Wednesday.
Tesco, the largest supermarket in Britain posted an operating profit of £354 million, a slump of 55%. Like-for-like sales in the same period fell by 1.1%.
Richest Irish Man Pulls IPO in Blow to Bondholders and Bankers (Bloomberg)
Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien’s surprise decision to pull Digicel Group Ltd.’s share sale may frustrate his growth ambitions, disappoint creditors and hurt the bankers planning to feast on fees from the second-biggest initial public offering in the U.S. this year.
Dollar weakens against yen after BOJ keeps monetary policy unchanged (Market Watch)
The dollar was weaker against the yen in choppy Asia trade Wednesday, with some speculative players disappointed to see the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep its monetary policy intact.
The greenback USDJPY, -0.09% was at ¥120.11, after briefly falling as low as ¥119.75 shortly after the BOJ decision. The dollar was lower than ¥120.24 late Tuesday in New York.
Vodafone goes back to basics after failed Liberty deal (Business Insider)
With a $120 billion merger with Liberty Global <LBTYA.O> off the table, Vodafone <VOD.L> boss Vittorio Colao needs his strategy of higher network investments and acquisitions of European cable companies to start paying off, quickly.
The world's second-largest mobile operator abandoned talks with John Malone's Liberty last week over valuation disagreements that would have seen a swap of assets or a broader merger that could have helped Vodafone, in one fell swoop, offer mobile, broadband and TV in its biggest markets.
U.S. Index Futures Rise, Tracking Oil, Commodity Gains in Europe (Bloomberg)
U.S. stock-index futures climbed, mirroring oil and commodity-fueled gains in European and Asian stocks markets, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index snapped its longest winning streak this year.
Crude oil inches closer to $50 a barrel on lower U.S. production (Market Watch)
Crude oil prices climbed on Wednesday on signs of ebbing U.S. production and increasing willingness among the major oil producers to collectively jump-start the market amid the prolonged price slump.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November CLX5, +1.03% jumped 94 cents, or 1.9%, to $49.47 a barrel, after briefly trading as high as $49.71. November Brent crude LCOX5, +1.19% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 71 cents, or 1.4%, to $53.16 a barrel.
'Bud-Miller' merger is brewing once again (CNN)
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AHBIF) — the world's largest brewer — has submitted a revised proposal to take over SABMiller, its chief rival, in efforts to create a "super brewery."
The new proposal would see AB InBev acquire SABMiller (SBMRF)for £42.15 ($64.34) per share in cash, according to a stock exchange filing. That would value SABMiller at £68.2 billion ($104 billion), or 44% higher than SABMiller's closing share price of £29.34 in mid-September, before takeover buzz began circulating.
Glencore Gains a Fourth Day in Longest Run Since July (Bloomberg)
Glencore Plc shares rose for a fourth day in London, its longest run of gains since July.
The shares rose as much as 4.5 percent to a two-week high and were up 3.4 percent at 121.8 pence by 8:02 a.m. local time.
Coal Challenges Persist for Glencore as Slowdown Worsens Glut (Bloomberg)
The slowdown across global economies is exacerbating a coal glut thats driven prices for the fuel to the lowest level in eight years, according to Glencore Plc.
European Index Futures Signal Stocks to Advance for Fourth Day (Bloomberg)
Commodity and oil producers prolonged a winning streak, pushing European stocks higher for a fourth day, the longest stretch of gains since August.
German Industry Output Unexpectedly Falls Amid Chinese Slowdown (Bloomberg)
German industrial production unexpectedly declined in August, signaling that Europe’s largest economy is vulnerable to risks including weaker growth in emerging markets.
Earnings Still Matter (Slope of Hope, via Zero Hedge)
From the Slope of Hope: Many years ago, if you asked someone what drove stock prices, they would give you a simple, honest answer: earnings. If a company had strong earnings, and those earnings were projected to grow, then the stock price was strong. If not, then not.
Emerging Stocks Climb to Seven-Week High as Energy Shares Rally (Bloomberg)
Emerging-market stocks headed for their biggest six-day rally since 2011 as speculation the Federal Reserve will delay an interest-rate increase until March boosted investor appetite for riskier assets. Malaysia’s ringgit jumped the most in 17 years.
Traders Challenge Belka to Cut Polish Rates as Deflation Weighs (Bloomberg)
Polish central bank Governor Marek Belka will go back on his pledge to keep interest rates on hold before his term ends in mid-2016, according to derivatives traders.
Politics
Obama points fingers instead of solving gun violence (Market Watch)
President Barack Obama may be absolutely right that we need more gun-safety laws, but it’s hard to see what he hoped to accomplish with his divisive and judgmental comments after the shooting in Oregon.
Many Americans no doubt resonated with the president’s heartfelt expressions of frustration and anger at the mass shootings that occur far too often.
Russian Warships Launch Missile Attack On Syrian Targets, Clearing Way For Iran Ground Invasion (Zero Hedge)
In case it wasn’t clear enough what was set to happen soon after the Russian air force had spent a few days softening up anti-regime positions on the ground, allow us to spell it out: with the opposition on the run thanks to five days of aerial bombardment, Iran will now send in the Hezbollah/Shiite militia/Quds clean up crew, who will personally ensure that whoever is left in the wake of the Su-34 strikes is swiftly eliminated at close range.
Technology
Disney's Crazy New Tech Brings Coloring Books To Life (Fast Company)
That elephant you just colored is now a 3-D cartoon character, prancing around your iPad.
In the age of iPads and apps, coloring books are evolving from the go-to distraction for kids into a hobby for mindful adults. But Disney Research's latest invention—bringing coloring books to life through augmented reality—might make the children's version cool again.
China Reveals Flying Robot Car (Popular Science)
AVIC's current Swift Gazelle weighs 100 kilograms. That may not seem like much, but its an unmanned tech demonstrator that will lead to bigger, manned vehicles. The PLA is already reportedly interested in being one of the launch customers for the full scale vehicle.
Health and Life Sciences
Ovarian transplants are 'safe option' (BBC)
Ovarian transplants are a safe and effective way for women who have had cancer to have their own children, a study shows.
Danish doctors offered the procedure to 32 women whose cancer therapy had left them at risk of infertility.
It's time to get your flu shot (CNN)
Now is the time to get your flu shot — and this vaccine is expected to be more effective than last season's.
Flu season is that time of year when more of your co-workers call in sick and more of your children stay home from school; it starts in October and typically runs through May.
Life on the Home Planet
El Niño heat sets off waves of dengue fever (Futurity)
New research shows that epidemics of dengue—caused by a mosquito-borne virus—across southeast Asia appear to be linked to the abnormally high temperatures brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
