Financial Markets and Economy
25 Years of Stock Market Milestones for China (Bloomberg)
This year has been a wild ride for Chinese stocks, something that long-time investors have come to expect from a country that's seen 55 bull and bear markets since the ruling Communist Party first allowed equity trading in 1990. As the Shanghai Stock Exchange celebrates it's 25th anniversary on Thursday, here's a look at some of the key milestones on China's path from equity-market upstart to $7 trillion behemoth.
Oil rig count falls (Business Insider)
The US oil rig count fell by 9 to 555 this week, according to driller Baker Hughes.
Junk-bond yields are soaring — and the Fed hasn’t raised rates yet (Market Watch)
Is there trouble brewing in the junk-bond market?
Deal of the Week: Pfizer Sticks It to U.S. Treasury (Bloomberg)
In this episode, Alex and Global M&A Managing Editor McCracken discuss the largest deal of the year and the biggest health care deal ever, Pfizer Inc. and Allergan Plc's $160 billion merger. They ponder whether the deal, constructed so that Pfizer will pay lower taxes by domiciling in Ireland, opens the door for more so-called inversions just as the U.S. Treasury tries to crack down on them.
Wall Street is betting on a big rebound in a grim business (Business Insider)
There's one business on Wall Street where deal flow is at a fraction of what it was a few years ago.
It's also the place where bankers and lawyers are in high demand right now.
Anticipating a wave of new business ahead, Wall Street firms are ramping up hiring for restructuring and bankruptcy specialists.
Market Wavers as Holiday Approaches (NY Times)
HP shares were sinking after the company reported weak PC, printer and software sales, but shares of its HP Enterprise unit rose as sales improved.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – Happy Thanksgiving (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
“Stand up for what you believe, even if you are standing alone.”
Pemex Cut Can't Shake Investor Faith in `Daddy's' Support (Bloomberg)
Petroleos Mexicanos had its credit rating cut following the worst quarterly loss in the company’s history and bondholders shrugged.
One of the most depressing economic stories of the past year is finally over (Business Insider)
The drawback of low oil prices on business spending is over, according to one economist.
Fed gives largest U.S. banks extra year for debt rule calculation (Yahoo! Finance)
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that bigger U.S. banks would have an extra year to calculate a capital requirement known as the supplementary leverage ratio for stress testing.
Institutions subjected to the leverage ratio requirement will have to show regulators what the ratio would be in a stressed scenario beginning in 2017.
The Ballad of the Repo Trader (Bloomberg)
Times are tough for traders in the so-called repo market, where a wide variety of banks and investors pawn their assets in exchange for short-term loans. The market was ground zero for the financial crisis, with a pullback in repo funding blamed for Lehman Brothers' collapse. New rules implemented in the wake of the crisis have seen a dramatic decline in repo usage in recent years, with many now looking to shrinking repo to help explain a series of recent dislocations in the wider market.
In Land of 3,500% Stock Returns, Crashes Are Quickly Forgotten (Bloomberg)
Fang Zhengdao set up shop on a rainy day in mid-November, a yellow umbrella in his hand and a handwritten sign by his side. Two months had passed since the great Chinese stock-market crash of 2015, and Fang figured it was time to start peddling equities again.
What If Companies Shared Exactly How They Determine Salaries? (The Atlantic)
Comparing salary numbers with a coworker seems like it could only do damage: If there’s a pay differential, which there almost always is, the conversation (and relationship) could get awkward, and the person being paid less might start to harbor ill feelings toward an otherwise good employment situation.
Politics
Artist paints portraits of the presidential candidates as clowns (Market Watch)
Presidential election campaigns often are described as political circuses. The 2016 cycle has been particularly prone to such comparisons, with a comically long list of candidates posturing for attention, and Donald Trump’s lead in early polls leading one debate moderator to wonder (somewhat rudely, as it has been pointed out) if this is a “comic-book version” of a campaign.
Who are Donald Trump's supporters, and what do they see in him? (Business Insider)
Forget what the pundits said.
Late into November, Donald Trump is still leading the Republican field in the race for President.
Technology
Robots are learning to say “no” to human orders (Quartz)
It may seem an obvious idea that a robot should do precisely what a human orders it to do at all times. But researchers in Massachusetts are trying something that many a science fiction movie has already anticipated: They’re teaching robots to say “no” to some instructions.
China robot event pulls Beijing crowds (BBC)
The World Robot Conference in Beijing has drawn big crowds to its showcase of "jiqiren", or "machine people", in Chinese.
The country still has a long way to go until it catches up with Japan, among others, but on the evidence of the conference, it is only a matter of time before robots are cooking us dinner and cleaning up afterwards too.
Health and Life Sciences
Exercise and Memory (Science-Based Medicine)
There is no escaping the evidence that regular moderate exercise is associated with a host of medical benefits. Among those benefits are perhaps improved memory and cognition, and questionably a decreased risk of developing dementia.
The latest study to show this correlation involved younger and older adults who wore a step-monitor. The number of steps they took during the study interval was then correlated with their performance on neuropsychological testing.
Is Your Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffed With Antibiotics? (Forbes)
If you bought your Thanksgiving turkey this year from a grocery store, there’s a good chance it was raised using antibiotics as a feed additive.
In a new report, the Chicago-based nonprofit Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) surveyed the top 20 U.S. turkey producers about their use of antibiotics and the growth drug ractopamine. In their responses to the organization, which advocates humane farming practices, only two companies stated that they do not allow their producers to routinely use antibiotics related to those used in human medicine either for disease prevention or growth promotion.
Many Doctors Unaware of Truvada, Drug for Preventing H.I.V. (NY Times)
Even though taking a daily pill can protect almost completely against getting H.I.V., a third of primary care doctors and nurses in the United States have never heard of it, federal health officials said this week.
Taking Truvada daily gives better than 90 percent protection to men at risk of getting H.I.V. from gay sex, and better than 70 percent protection to drug injectors at risk of getting it from sharing syringes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Life on the Home Planet
Raging bushfire kills 2 people and 2,000 pigs in South Australia (Mashable)
South Australia is still burning after a bushfire ripped through the north of the state, killing two people.
Premier Joe Weatherill confirmed the two deaths at a press conference on Wednesday, calling it "the worst of news." He also said grave fears were held for many more lives.
Wolves return to Warsaw area after decades (Phys)
Wolves have returned to a large national park on the northern outskirts of Warsaw, decades after they were wiped out in the area under a hunt launched by the communist authorities.
