Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Oil Rises Above $45 a Barrel for First Time Since November (Bloomberg)
Oil climbed above $45 a barrel in New York for the first time since November after U.S. industry data showed a decline in crude stockpiles.
Near-Zero Growth Happens Often in Slow-Motion U.S. Economy (Bloomberg)
Here’s one trademark of the slow-motion U.S. economic expansion: Near-zero growth in any given quarter is nothing to panic about.
This finance trend is so hot even Amazon wants in (Business Insider)
The arrival of the age of fintech is about to shake up the financial services world as we know it.
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Banco Santander Profit Falls Amid Turbulent Currency Markets (NY Times)
Banco Santander of Spain said on Wednesday that its profit declined 5 percent in the first quarter as fluctuations in the British poundand other currencies, as well as a deterioration in lending and fee income, weighed on its results.
Fed’s calling in the ‘helicopter money,’ says Gundlach — buy bonds now (Market Watch)
Apple investors may be hoping that the Fed decision later Wednesday will divert away the spotlight’s glare this morning. That’s shining down and melting stocks in the pre-open, hours after the iconic company reported its first drop in sales in 13 years, along with other ugly numbers.
Comcast in Talks to Buy DreamWorks Animation for More Than $3 Billion (Wall Street Journal)
Comcast Corp. is in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. for more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could make the cable giant a rival to Walt Disney Co. in the lucrative family-entertainment business.
Oil's Magic Number Becomes $50 a Barrel for Promise of Recovery (Bloomberg)
The new magic number in the oil industry is $50.
You'll Never Guess Who's Been Buying This Rally… (Zero Hedge)
Futures are looking weak again.
Delaware's $1 Billion Opacity Industry Gives U.S. Onshore Haven (Bloomberg)
Chevron Corp. used a shell company in a tax haven to escape hundreds of millions of dollars in Australian taxes, according to a 2015 court ruling. The subsidiary, which allowed Chevron to eliminate Australian taxes on $1.7 billion in profit earned there, wasn’t secreted away on a remote tropical island — it was set up in the very mundane locale where corporate secrecy was born: Delaware.
Barclays Posts Drop in Profit on Falling Returns at Investment Bank (Wall Street Journal)
Barclays PLC executives Wednesday vowed to continue shedding businesses as legacy operations and lower investment banking returns dragged down first quarter results.
The Australian dollar is cratering — Here's what's happening in FX (Business Insider)
The Australian dollar is cratering after consumer price index (CPI) came in way below expectations for first quarter, opening the door to a potential rate cut from the RBA next week.
Chipotle Sales Tumble 23% as Food-Safety Fallout Persists (Bloomberg)
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. posted first-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates and reported its first loss as a public company, reminding investors the chain faces a long road to recovery from the food-safety crisis that has engulfed it since November.
"We Are Disappointed" – Goldman Removes Apple From "Conviction Buy" List, Cuts Price Target From $155 To $136 (Zero Hedge)
With AAPL back in bear market territory and the stock back at levels last seen when the S&P was at 1820, it only makes sense for Goldman to take profit on its AAPL short position, which in this case manifested itself with a "Conviction Buy" call on the stock (for Goldman to short the stock, clients have to buy), and moments ago it closed out its "conviction buy" saying "we are disappointed by Apple’s quarter and guidance, as it reflects a much weaker iPhone 6s product cycle than we had anticipated, with most of the negative surprise vs. our expectations coming from China", and cutting its 12 month price target on the stock from $155 to $136.
Oil Companies’ Bet on Kurdistan Turns Sour (Wall Street Journal)
Oil companies that piled into Iraqi Kurdistan after Saddam Hussein’s ouster are running into trouble, unraveling the region’s promise as source of easy-to-drill oil and threatening Iraq’s production surge.
1MDB Bondholders Face Threat of More Tussles Ahead of May Coupon (Bloomberg)
Bondholders of 1Malaysia Development Bhd. face the threat of more complications ahead of another bond interest payment due next month amid a tussle with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund that has already resulted in a default.
Politics
Acela primaries: Winners, losers (The Hill)
Call it what you want — the Acela primaries, the Atlantic primaries or one more Super Tuesday — but it was another big night on the electoral calendar as voters in five states went to the polls.
This time, the action wasn’t all on the presidential level.
Trump Says He’s ‘Presumptive Nominee’ as Clinton Wins Four (Bloomberg)
Republican Donald Trump declared himself the “presumptive nominee” and Hillary Clinton all but sealed the Democratic race as both scored dominating wins in northeastern state presidential primaries.
Trump, Clinton press closer to general election showdown (AP)
Bolstering his grip on the Republican primaries, Donald Trump prepared Wednesday for a general election showdown with Hillary Clinton, accusing the Democratic front-runner of "playing the woman card" in her presidential campaign.
Technology
Dyson’s First-Ever Hair Dryer Will Make All Others Look Weak (Wired)
A couple years ago, Dyson’s New Product Innovation team started buying up human hair, by the tress-ful. A single tress of human hair is not a large amount—it’s about 1.5 inches wide and 16 inches long—but when all was said and done, Dyson engineer Annmarie Nicolson says the tech company had used 1,010 miles of human hair. That’s enough to stretch from the northernmost tip of California down past the Mexican border.
Finally, A Hoverboard That Actually Flies (Popular Science)
On May 22, 2015, Lake Ouareau in Quebec, Canada, was peaceful and sunny. Then something straight out of science fiction roared across the water. Alexandru Duru, balancing on a homemade hoverboard 16 feet above the surface, flew a distance of 905 feet, 2 inches—smashing the previous Guinness World Record (a measly 164 feet) for the farthest hoverboard flight. “Riding it is a feeling that no other machine can provide,” Duru says. “Nothing comes close.”
Health and Life Sciences
Obesity 'explosion' in Chinese youth (BBC)
Obesity has rapidly increased in young rural Chinese, a study has warned, because of socioeconomic changes.
Researchers found 17% of boys and 9% of girls under the age of 19 were obese in 2014, up from 1% for each in 1985.
10 Things You Need To Know About Depression (Forbes)
According to The National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH), in 2014, an estimated 15.7 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. This number represented 6.7% of all U.S. adults. Research also indicates that those in certain profession are at a higher risk for depression. For example, in a recent study, 28% of lawyers suffered from depression. 29% of young doctors are reported to suffer from depression.
Life on the Home Planet
Saving the Planet One Light Bulb at a Time (Bloomberg View)
Ikea, the Swedish retailing behemoth, is installing "Solar Shops" in its U.K. superstores to sell solar panels. It's a defiant move given that the British government has slashed subsidies for homeowners who sell surplus electricity to the national grid. This suggests that the market is picking up where government aid left off; perhaps Britain will achieve its target of generating 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 after all.
Paris attacks suspect Abdeslam extradited to France (Reuters)
Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the sole survivor among a group of Islamist militants who killed 130 people in Paris in November, was extradited to France from Belgium on Wednesday.
Abdeslam, 26, was Europe's most wanted fugitive until his capture in Brussels on March 18 after a four-month manhunt. He was taken by helicopter to Paris under armed guard and then driven to the capital's main law courts.
