Financial Markets and Economy
The Fed just tweeted a brutal chart showing the sorry state of US department stores (Business Insider)
It's Black Friday, which means American consumers everywhere are knocking down doors in their efforts to take advantage of what they perceive to be a good deal.
Oil prices fall more than 3% as dollar and oversupply continue to weigh (Market Watch)
Oil prices settled sharply lower Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar and the global oversupply of crude still clouding the outlook for the industry.
Weak industrial data from China and a regulatory crackdown on Chinese stockbrokers also put pressure on the commodity, as fears about oil demand resurfaced.
Canada's Oil Price Shock Means Better Prairie Borrowers for CMHC (Bloomberg)
The oil price shock has a silver lining for Canada’s state-owned housing agency: the quality of home buyers in energy-rich provinces is actually improving.
This is the roller-coaster ride stock market investors must be willing to endure (Business Insider)
Historically, the stock market has been able to deliver around 10% annual returns on average.
Dollar ends week higher in low-volume trading session (Market Watch)
The U.S. dollar rose against most of its major rivals Friday, pushing the euro below $1.06 in a low-volume trading session.
An overnight rout in Chinese equities, during which the Shanghai Composite Index recorded its biggest one-day drop since Aug. 25, pushed the yen lower. The dollar traded at ¥122.82 in Friday afternoon New York trade, compared with ¥122.65 late Thursday in New York.
Half of Gold Output May Not Be `Viable' as Price Sags: Randgold (Bloomberg)
Half of the gold coming from mines may not be viable at current prices, underscoring the industrys need for consolidation and cuts in output, according to the best-performing producer of the metal in the past decade.
Disney is demonstrating what 'pricing power' is all about at its Magic Kingdom (Business Insider)
The price of a one-day ticket to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando was hiked up to $105 back in February.
AIB Seeks $872 Million From Citigroup in Rogue Trader Clash (Bloomberg)
Allied Irish Banks Plc is seeking $872 million from Citigroup Inc. as a 12 year-old dispute over claims the U.S. bank helped rogue AIB currency trader John Rusnak hide almost $700 million in losses nears trial.
Why stock-picking is a dangerous game (Business Insider)
Buying and holding the wrong stocks can get ugly in the long run.
Because stocks usually go up, buying stocks and refusing to sell even during pockets of volatility pays off long-term.
However, by "stocks," it's usually a safer bet to be parked in an index fund that tracks a resilient benchmark like the S&P 500, unless an investor is picking the right individual stocks.
U.S. Index Futures Are Little Changed After Thanksgiving Holiday (Bloomberg)
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed little changed for a fourth straight day amid declines in energy and Walt Disney Co. shares, while a gauge of small-cap stocks posted its longest winning streak in eight months.
The Swiss Franc just took a sudden dive (Business Insider)
The Swiss franc just slumped in value against its major pairs. It's down about 0.65% against the dollar and 0.5% against the euro.
As China Weighs Metal Stockpiles, History Shows It's No Panacea (Bloomberg)
Every time China considers stockpiling a commodity, the market jumps — at least at first. Longer-term, the record for state intervention in metal and agricultural markets is mixed.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – Quiet Markets, Cheap Shots – Jobs Report (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
Hold the presses, there was an actual 'delivery' of gold on the Comex the other day. A customer of JPM let some of their holdings go, and the house account at Nova Scotia swept it up.
China Stock Bulls Hit Breaking Point as State Dials Back Support (Bloomberg)
For three weeks, China’s stock investors have kept their cool as the government dialed back an unprecedented campaign to prop up share prices. On Friday, they suddenly decided to head for the exits.
Politics
Who Wins When a U.S. Presidential Candidate Drops Out? (The Atlantic)
Every poll trumpets its top-line figures. But some also ask respondents for their second-choice preferences, or the politician voters would pick if their No. 1 candidate dropped out.
In a race where there’s no prize for second place, this may seem a useless statistic. But with a crowded field that seems bound to narrow, it gives a glimpse of how the race may evolve. What does it mean, for instance, if a major portion of Jeb Bush’s supporters say they’d switch to Carly Fiorina if he threw in the towel?
Obama plans aggressive regulations push in final year (Market Watch)
President Barack Obama is moving to complete scores of regulations in his final year in office, for everything from food safety and drones to electronic cigarettes.
The Hill writes the White House quietly released its formal rulemaking schedule late last week, revealing the administration’s plans for regulations in the works at agencies across the federal government. Among them is a final version of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “pay for performance” rule, the Hill writes.
Technology
Audi Will Unleash Self-Parking Cars in a Bid to Fix Urban Gridlock (Wired)
Today, more than half the people on earth live in urban areas. By 2050 that number is projected to reach 66 percent. That’s 2.5 billion or so people squeezing into the world’s cities. Now imagine even 10 percent of those people have a car. That’s another 250,000,000 vehicles.
Health and Life Sciences
Teens on ADHD meds are twice as likely to be bullied (Futurity)
Children who take Ritalin or other medications for ADHD are twice as likely to be physically or emotionally bullied by their peers as those who don’t have ADHD, a new study shows.
SCAM Cell Therapies (Science-Based Medicine)
Injecting animal cells into humans for therapeutic reasons has a long history. The most infamous was John Brinkley who injected goat testicles into 16,000 men in the 1920s and 30s to treat impotence. Harriet wrote a review of Charlatan: America’s Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam, which covers the topic. I wonder who would get the title today. Chopra…Gesundheit.
Life on the Home Planet
Support for climate deal 'declines' (BBC)
Public support for a strong global deal on climate change has declined, according to a poll carried out in 20 countries.
Only four now have majorities in favour of their governments setting ambitious targets at a global conference in Paris.
Belgium charges six suspects within two weeks after Paris terror attacks (Mashable)
Belgium has charged a man arrested in Brussels with "terrorist attacks," the most recent in a string of cases brought by the government against people that may have aided the Paris attackers or been plotting further terrorist operations.
