Financial Markets and Economy
Asia stocks, Mexico peso bounce as markets see Clinton as winner of debate (Reuters)
Asian shares recovered and the Mexican peso surged on Tuesday as investors seemed to award the first U.S. presidential debate to Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump.
Chinese Exports Slow Their Decline; Imports Increase (The Wall Street Journal)
BEIJING—Chinese exports fell again in August as weak demand and global uncertainty continued to weigh on the world’s second-largest economy, though the decline wasn’t as steep as in July and imports rose for the first time in nearly two years.
U.S. Bond Market’s Biggest Buyers Are Selling Like Never Before (Bloomberg)
They’ve long been one of the most reliable sources of demand for U.S. government debt.
But these days, foreign central banks have become yet another worry for investors in the world’s most important bond market.
Oil Skeptics Shattered the Record for Bearish Bets on Crude (The Wall Street Journal)
Money managers are growing increasingly skeptical that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will reach an agreement when it meets Wednesday in Algeria’s capital. Hedge funds, pension funds and others added 50,558 bets on lower oil prices in the week ended last Tuesday, according to Commodities Futures Trading Commission data.
Corporate-Bond Buying Attracts Doubts as Growth Tool for Europe (The Wall Street Journal)
European central banks are turning to buying corporate debt to help get the region’s economy firing on all cylinders again, but many companies remain reluctant to invest the proceeds of such bond issues.
Economic imbalances risk 'destabilising' euro zone: ECB's Draghi (Reuters)
Economic imbalances within the euro zone risk destabilising the currency bloc, top European Central Bank officials said on Monday, stressing the responsibility of governments to help boost growth while respecting EU rules.
Facing Losses, Energy Funds Ask Investors for More Time, Money (The Wall Street Journal)
Rocked by the fall in oil-and-gas prices, some energy-focused private-equity funds are pleading with their investors for more time and money.
Carney's Corporate-Bond Purchases May Worsen Liquidity Squeeze (Bloomberg)
The start of the Bank of England’s corporate-bond buying program on Tuesday may exacerbate already tight liquidity in the sterling debt market.
The world's largest experiment in giving people free money launches in October — here's how it'll work (Business Insider)
A groundbreaking social experiment will begin in Kenya in roughly one month.
The charity GiveDirectly will begin giving people in 200 villages free sums of money, no strings attached.
Immigration Does More Good Than Harm to Economy, Study Finds (The Wall Street Journal)
Waves of immigrants coming into the U.S. in recent decades have helped the economy over the long haul and had little lasting impact on the wages or employment levels of native-born Americans, according to one of the most comprehensive studies yet on the topic.
China’s Wanda Group in Talks to Acquire Control of Dick Clark Productions (The Wall Street Journal)
China’s richest man is going for glamour with his latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Billionaire Wang Jianlin is in discussions to acquire control of Dick Clark Productions at a valuation of about $1 billion through his Dalian Wanda Group Co., according to people with knowledge of the situation.
This early warning indicator of looming financial risks is flashing red for China (Business Insider Australia)
Chinese debt levels have grown at an enormous pace in the seven years since the global financial crisis, adding to existing concerns over financial stability in China’s financial sector that flared earlier this year.
Germany Sees ‘No Grounds’ for Speculation Over Deutsche Bank Aid (Bloomberg)
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government sees “no grounds” for speculation over state funding for Deutsche Bank AG, her chief spokesman said, pushing back against a magazine report that the German leader has ruled out any such aid.
Draghi Says U.K. Shouldn’t Get Any Favors in Brexit Deal (Bloomberg)
Mario Draghi said the U.K. shouldn’t be granted any special favors on single-market access during negotiations over its exit from the European Union.
ECB Board Member Admits Central Bank's Monetary Policy Risks "Tearing Up Social Fabric" (Zero Hedge)
Time to toss yet another "conspiracy theory" on the composite heap of "theories that became fact." A recurring theme we have pounded the table on over the past nearly 8 years is that central bank policy has been the primary driver leading to not only a record wealth and income divide, but to such manifestations of populist (and nationalist) fury as Brexit, the gradual collapse of the Eurozone and, of course, Trump.
Options Exchange CBOE To Buy Bats For $3.2 Billion In Equities Trading Push (Forbes)
CBOE Holdings, the largest U.S. options exchange, is buying Bats Global Markets, the second largest stock exchange, as trading venues continue their consolidation and push to have business lines across all financial asset classes.
WTI Crude Surges Back Above $46 On Saudi Hype But Traders Pile Into Protection (Zero Hedge)
The machines are in charge again as Saudi cut hopes created just the right amount of momentum to fill the gap to the drop highs from Friday (after Iran's denial of any deal)… However, Oil volatility is spiking as hedgers pile into protection.
"My Order Book Is Abysmal" – Dallas Fed Contracts For 21st Straight Month (Zero Hedge)
For the 21st month in a row, Dallas Fed's manufacturing outlook remains stuck in contraction (-3.7 vs -2.5 exp). This is the longest streak outside of recession in the survey's history as new orders cratered (one respondent noting "my order book is abysmal") and inventories tumbling (not good for GDP).
Companies
Caesars Says Parties Made `Significant Progress' in Debt Talks (Bloomberg)
Caesars Entertainment Corp. said it made “significant progress” in reaching a debt-restructuring agreement.
Discussions are continuing between the casino operator’s parent and operating companies and all of its major creditors, Caesars said in a statement on Monday.
The CEO of Mylan Lied to Congress, Actually Earns 60 Percent More on Each EpiPen (Gizmodo)
Last week, Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, testified in front of Congress about why the company has raised the price of EpiPen from roughly $57 in 2007 to $600 today.
Mylan Admits EpiPen Profits 60% Higher Than It Told Congress, Stock Slips (Zero Hedge)
The post-hearing dead cat bounce in Mylan stock is over. The "blood in the streets" buyers are in trouble as the stock is tumbling following WSJ reports that Mylan is admitting its pre-tax profits for EpiPen are actually 60% higher than they told Congress.
Wells Fargo Workers Claim Retaliation for Playing by the Rules (NY Times)
In two lawsuits seeking class-action status, workers say they were fired or demoted for acting ethically and falling short of unrealistic sales goals.
Viacom readies U.S. dollar bond – sources (Reuters)
NEW YORK (IFR) – Media conglomerate Viacom (Baa3/BBB-/BBB) is preparing to price a US dollar bond as soon as this week, market sources told IFR on Monday.
Politics
'There's something he's hiding': Clinton calls out Trump for not releasing his tax returns (Business Insider)
Hillary Clinton gave a minute-long answer during the first presidential debate about why Donald Trump should release his tax returns.
The weekend America's newspapers called Donald Trump a liar (CNN Money)
On the weekend leading up to 2016's first presidential debate, four news organizations came to a similar and sweeping conclusion: Donald Trump lies more often than Hillary Clinton.
Hey, Lester Holt: We Made a Cheat Sheet of Trump’s Favorite Lies for You (Slate)
Donald Trump lies. A lot. He lies about big things, and small things, and things in between. As Matt Lauer can attest, that will pose a particular problem this fall for the debate moderators as they decide whether and when to fact-check in real time a man for whom hyperbole and mendacity are the norm.
Donald Trump and the Return of Seditious Libel (Pro Publica)
In 1733, New York printer John Peter Zenger began publishing the eighth newspaper in the American colonies, and the first willing to venture criticism of the government. The New-York Weekly Journal was the second paper in a city of 10,000 or so people, 1700 of them slaves.
Trump directed $2.3 million owed to him to his tax-exempt foundation instead (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump’s charitable foundation has received approximately $2.3 million from companies that owed money to Trump or one of his businesses but were instructed to pay Trump’s tax-exempt foundation instead, according to people familiar with the transactions.
Technology
Now You Can Own A Transformer In Real Life (New Scientist)
As children, many of us sat in front of the television on Saturday mornings, wishing the characters from fantasy worlds would inhabit our own. Now, a Turkish startup called Letvision is working to make that dream a reality.
The world's first hydrogen-powered passenger train is coming to Germany (Science Alert)
The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train has been unveiled this week by French transport company Alstom, which will be operating the incredibly quiet and environmentally friendly 'Coradia iLint' in Germany from next year.
Google shields security reporter targeted by massive cyberattack (CNet)
Google is putting its considerable internet might behind protecting the reporting of Brian Krebs, a respected security journalist who's website has been largely inaccessible for the past week due to a massive cyberattack.
See How iPhone 7 Plus' Portrait Mode Elevates Mobile Photography (Digital Trends)
If you have an iPhone 7 Plus, you can grab the iOS 10.1 beta that enables the new Portrait mode. From our short time experimenting with the new feature, it’s well worth the install.
Microsoft puts AI to work in Office 365 (Engadget)
Microsoft isn't just trying out artificial intelligence through bots and voice assistants — it's going all-in. The crew in Redmond has revealed that Office 365 is wielding cloud-based AI to automate many tasks.
Uber’s Self-Driving Car Passengers Were Signing Their Lives Away (Gizmodo)
Uber’s fleet of self-driving cars in Pittsburgh are super exciting for anyone interested in the future of transportation—but they could come at a huge risk for passengers riding in the vehicles.
German cars will share real-time data to help you find parking (Engadget)
However smart your car might be, there's only so much it can tell you by itself. Wouldn't it be nice if cars regularly shared helpful driving info beyond what you offer in mobile apps? Here thinks so.
Lenovo’s gutting of Motorola is nearly complete (Tech Crunch)
My first cell phone was a Sanyo. But only because I couldn’t afford a Motorola. I wanted a StarTAC. All the cool kids had a StarTAC. My Sanyo said loud and clear I was not a cool kid. Sometime later, I spent around $650 to be one of the first people to get the RAZR.
Health and Biotech
The science world is freaking out over this 25-year-old's answer to antibiotic resistance (Science Alert)
The new approach has so far only been tested in the lab and on mice, but it could offer a potential solution to antibiotic resistance, which is now getting so bad that the United Nations recently declared it a "fundamental threat" to global health.
Brain-eating amoebas hunt brain chemical before they kill you (New Scientist)
All it takes is a splash. Brain-eating amoeba can enter an unwary swimmer’s brain via their nose, and once that happens, their chances of survival are slim. “They have these food cups on their surface, which are like giant suckers,” says Francine Cabral of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “They’ll just start eating the brain.”
Americans wary of using chip implants to boost brain power for the healthy (The Pew Research Center)
Thanks to scientific advancements, brain chip implants are already being tested in individuals to help them cope with an injury or ailment. But when it comes to the potential use of such implants to give an already healthy and capable person abilities that they do not currently have, Americans are more wary than enthusiastic.
Life on the Home Planet
After New York Attack, Congress Wants TSA to Secure Amtrak, Buses (Bloomberg)
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is one of those federal agencies that tends to inspire intense reactions among the traveling public. It’s a bureaucracy that interacts with millions of passengers each day, requiring their shoes, jackets, laptops—and time.
Poor people don’t stand a chance in court (Think Progress)
Your landlord has decided to evict you and your family has nowhere to go. Or you’re in an abusive relationship and need a restraining order and probably a divorce and custody order for your children.
‘The Narrative’ derails proportion, drives fear after terrorist attacks (Columbia Journalism Review)
ONE EVENING IN JULY, I was lying in bed thumbing through TV channels when news of the atrocity in Nice flashed on the screen.
Transfixed by the rolling coverage, I watched as information trickled in?—of a maniac in a truck, mowing down families celebrating Bastille Day on a crowded promenade.
Gunman opens fire at Houston strip mall, injuring at least six (Think Progress)
An unidentified gunman was shot by Houston, Texas police Monday morning, after shooting and injuring at least six people at a strip mall.
According to local reports, the shooter was a black male who fired his revolver at multiple cars in the area.
Puffed-up exoplanets inflate with heat from their stars alone (New Scientist)
A star’s heat goes deep. For the first time, we have spotted a “hot Jupiter” that has expanded thanks to its swelling host star – an observation that could settle a 15-year-old debate.
California Wildfire Forces the Evacuation of 300 Homes (Associated Press, TIME)
The blaze quickly spread to 500 acres
(Cloverdale, Calif.) — A fast-moving wildfire prompted the evacuations of 300 homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains, while fire crews continued to battle a blaze burning close to a massive geothermal power producing facility in Sonoma County, officials said Monday.
