Financial Markets and Economy
Asia stocks subdued, safe-haven bonds still rule (Business Insider)
Asian shares sputtered on Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's tone of guarded optimism led to an indecisive finish for Wall Street and further weakness for the dollar.
While European banks found a moment of stability, a renewed rush to the safety of longer-term U.S. Treasury debt suggested the flight from risk was far from over.
Gold Soars Above $1,200 as Yellen Signals Go-Slow on Rates Path (Bloomberg)
Gold jumped to the highest level in eight months after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the U.S. central bank may delay further interest-rate increases should the turmoil in global markets continue.
Here's how insanely volatile oil prices have been this year (Business Insider)
We've seen some epic swings in crude oil prices to start 2016.
Worried about stocks? Keep an eye on the yen (Market Watch)
A strong yen has been bad news for U.S. stocks lately. With the dollar-yen pair trading near critical support, stock-market investors should at least be paying attention, says one chart watcher.
The Fast and the Spurious in Tech (Bloomberg)
The axiom of Silicon Valley is that companies that move fast, break things and grow like weeds are winners. The corollary is that some technology startups move too fast and break.
Wall Street jobs are leaving New York (Business Insider)
For many Goldman Sachs employees, commuting to work does not mean riding the subway down to the firm's waterfront headquarters at 200 West Street in New York City.
That's because a quarter of Goldman Sachs' staff work in lower-cost "strategic locations" around the world.
The Unfortunate Consequences of Reno’s Tech Boom (The Atlantic)
As this city basks in the glow of being Tesla’s location for a new factory, it is grappling with an issue that has long plagued more established tech hubs such as San Francisco: a dearth of affordable housing.
Northern Nevada is expected to add around 50,000 jobs between 2014 and 2019, according to a report by the Economic Planning Indicator Committee. And all those workers are going to need a place to live: The head of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada has said he thinks the region will require an additional 5,000 homes per year.
Dollar Nurses Losses on Yellen Rate Comments; Oil Back Below $28 (Bloomberg)
The yen soared and gold climbed to an eight-month high after Janet Yellen acknowledged the impact of recent market turmoil on global growth and said the Federal Reserve may delay policy tightening. Stocks in Hong Kong resumed following the New Year break to losses as crude oil extended its rout.
Stocks Bounce Back After Market Selloff; Asia Stumbles (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday after three sessions of declines, led by gains in some of this year’s worst performers.
Twitter User Growth Stalls; First-Quarter Sales to Fall Short (Bloomberg)
Twitter Inc. said it failed to add new users in the fourth quarter and forecast first-quarter revenue that will fall short of analysts estimates, evidence that the companys struggle to make its site more accessible is affecting advertising sales growth.
Tesla expects to be profitable by the end of 2016, and Wall Street is psyched (Quartz)
Tesla is getting ready to go into insane mode.
Corporate Inversions Aren’t the Half of It (NY Times)
If you thought there was a problem with inversions — deals that allow American companies to relocate their headquarters to lower their tax bills — wait until you hear about the real secret to avoiding corporate taxes. It’s called earnings stripping, and it is a technique that the Obama administration has so far failed to stop.
Tech Stocks Have Fallen Faster and Further Than Broader Market (NY Times)
As the United States economy muddled along over the last few years, investors paid handsome sums to get in on high-flying technology companies that were among the few pockets of steady growth. Now comes the payback.
As the stock market continues its 2016 slide, technology stocks are falling even further, victims of their own success as well as fears about the global economy and a slowdown in business spending.
It'll Take More Than an Oil Rally to Restart Shale Boom (Bloomberg)
Explorers in U.S. oil fields stung by the quick rise and fall in the market last year are expected to move cautiously when crude prices begin to climb again.
Amazon to buy back $5 billion of shares (Business Insider)
Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest e-commerce company, said on Wednesday its board authorized a $5 billion share buyback program.
The buyback replaces the $2 billion repurchase program approved in 2010. The company had $763 million remaining under the previous plan.
The Rich Are Already Using Robo-Advisers, and That Scares Banks (Bloomberg)
Banks are watching wealthy clients flirt with robo-advisers, and that’s one reason the lenders are racing to release their own versions of the automated investing technology this year, according to a consultant.
Zynga gets crushed after earnings whiff (Business Insider)
Zynga, the creator of online games such as 'FarmVille' and 'Words with Friends,' is getting crushed after it missed on earnings and lowered its guidance.
The Mining Industry Makes Oil Giants Look Great (Bloomberg)
This yearlooks even worse for an industry decimated by the commodities slump.
Wall Street's nightmare stock is tanking again (Business Insider)
SunEdison, the solar-energy company that's been collecting scalps across Wall Street since July, was down 10% on Wednesday. That brings its one-year decline to 88%.
Hong Kong's Stocks Tumble to Three-Year Low After Trading Break (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong stocks tumbled after a three-day holiday as a global equity rout deepened amid concern over the strength of the world economy.
Politics
A Frustrated Obama Returns to the 'Politics of Hope' (The Atlantic)
There was a moment in the middle of President Obama’s address to the Illinois state legislature on Wednesday when a look of fear briefly came over his face.
Speaking to lawmakers with whom he used to serve, the president had been waxing nostalgic about his time as a state senator. Legislating in Springfield, as Obama described it, was nothing like the polarized Washington swamp. Sure, there was plenty of disagreement in Illinois, and the two parties debated the issues vigorously.
Beware a Wounded Clinton (Bloomberg View)
Hillary and Bill Clinton were prepared to lose, but there’s a loss and then there’s a shellacking. After barely winning Iowa, with its coin tosses and independent calls for a public recount of the secret ballots, getting trounced by Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire by 20 points suggests tissue-rejection of the Clinton candidacy. It’s likely some of those voters weren’t even pro-Sanders, just turned off by Clinton. The Republican race is starting to look tame by comparison.
Technology
Locks for the Modern Age Read Your Fingerprints (PSFK)
It’s not an unusual predicament: A person loses their padlock key, or worse, completely forgets the combination. But this is 2016, when mobile phones can be unlocked with a voice or fingerprint, and depending on a key or password seems old-fashioned.
Enter the TappLock and TappLock Lite, smart padlocks that can be unlocked with a fingerprint touch or Bluetooth connectivity.
Legal breakthrough for Google car (BBC)
Google's self-driving car system could soon be given the same legal definition as a human driver, paving the way for vehicles without steering wheels or pedals.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – which sets rules and regulations on America's roads – shared its thoughts in a letter to Google made public this week.
Health and Life Sciences
Cotton Candy Machines May Hold The Answer For Building Artificial Organs (Forbes)
It’s been said that innovation often happens when you least expect it.
And sometimes, a discovery is staring right at you—but you just have to take a deeper look to appreciate it.
Gene nudges food choices of girls, for better or worse (Futurity)
Depending on a teenage girl’s early living conditions, the same gene variant will influence her to make healthy or unhealthy food choices, a new study suggests.
For girls who are carriers of the variant (DRD4 VNTR with 7 repeats), the crucial element is not the gene variant itself, but the interplay between the gene and the girl’s early socioeconomic environment that determines whether they have increased fat intake or healthier-than-average eating compared to their peers from the same class background.
Life on the Home Planet
Could Solar-Powered Drones Deliver Electricity To The Developing World? (Fast Company)
A smart drone network could bring solar panels to places that are off the grid.
Distributed energy systems are a good idea for homes that aren't hooked up to the grid. But distributing solar panels to remote areas in the developing world is hard. That's whyMobisol, a German installer, is testing whether drones could do some of the heavy lifting.
