News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

US consumer confidence explodes to the highest level since 2000 (Business Insider)

US consumer confidence spiked to a 16-year high in March, according to the Conference Board's monthly survey. 

Traders betting against Wall Street's favorite Trump trade are making a killing (Business Insider)

The biggest beneficiaries of the so-called Trump rally are giving up some of the gains they made after the election.

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rise at Fastest Pace Since 2014 (Bloomberg)

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed in the 12 months through January at the fastest pace since July 2014, while nationwide the increase in property values also accelerated, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data reported Tuesday.

China Stocks Have Best Start to Year Since 2006 (Bloomberg)

The MSCI China Index’s 14 percent jump this year is its strongest start since 2006, and one of its best performances versus world equities since the global financial crisis. 

Asia Stocks Outside Japan Rise, Oil Extends Gains: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)

Asian stocks outside Japan built on gains for a second day as a rise in consumer confidence rekindled optimism in the strength of the U.S. economy.

Coal Is Losing an Appalachian Stronghold as Trump Fights Back (Bloomberg)

Natural gas already won the battle with coal on America’s Atlantic coast. Now it’s about to move west and take Ohio — and President Donald Trump’s new rollback of environmental regulations won’t stop the rout.

Shipping stocks rocket after analyst calls the bottom (Market Watch)

Shares of shipping companies soared Tuesday, after Morgan Stanley upgraded several stocks and more than doubled a number of price targets, on the belief that the dry bulk market had bottomed and was on course to start making money.

Global Drugmakers Poised for Windfall of Approvals in China (Bloomberg)

China is starting to approve new medicines at an unprecedented pace this year, opening the floodgates for innovative therapies to enter the country and potentially turbo-charging growth for multinationals in the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market.

Japanese Retail Sales Growth Slows as Wage Gains Stall (Bloomberg)

Japan’s recent growth has been mostly supported by exports, with tepid gains in wages limiting any recovery in domestic private consumption. Workers will receive a smaller increase in base pay this year, according to preliminary results from the annual spring wage talks.

What’s in a name? For hedge funds, more money but terrible returns (Market Watch)

Some of Wall Street’s most sophisticated offerings are being selected for the least sophisticated reasons: their names.

Bulls Cool Off as Pricey India Valuations Seen Reining in Rally (Bloomberg)

Traders are paying less than average to roll futures contracts tied to an index of India’s top 50 companies after the recent rally pushed equity valuations to a six-year high.

Sterling Drops as May Signs Brexit Trigger for Process to Begin (Bloomberg)

Sterling fell in early Asian trading as investors brace for the start of the two-year negotiation for the U.K. to leave the European Union.

Stock-picking fund managers double down on economic growth (Marlet Watch)

Stock-picking fund managers are doubling down on bets that a strengthening economy will lead to a return of clear winners and losers in the stock market, emphasizing shares that would benefit from continued growth.

Why long-term U.S. stock returns look dismal (Market Watch)

A look at historical returns preceding stock market peaks shows that the fear of missing out at the last stage of a bull market is justified. But piling into expensive stocks with the hope of padding returns right up until a market turns can hurt long-term future returns dramatically.

Another challenge for coal: Wind power is getting cheaper (OilPrice.com)

Last week, Xcel Energy announced a multi-state wind capacity project, anticipated to be the largest in the United States.

Judge Fines Bank of America $45 Million for 'Heartless' Treatment of Mortgage Borrowers (Dow Jones Newswires)

A bankruptcy judge issued a $45 million fine against Bank of America Corp., calling the bank's treatment of a California couple who fought to save their home "brazen" and "heartless."

Morgan Stanley Finds A "Stunning Divergence" In The Economic Data (Zero Hedge)

Since we first highlighted the data, there has been a great deal of attention paid to the post-election divergence between the so-called soft (sentiment) data in the US, and the hard (quantifiable) data.

Tuesday Humor: Richmond Fed Smashes Expectation by Six Standard Deviations (Zero Hedge)

The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey has now risen for 7 straight months, soaring to 22 in March – the highest since April 2010.

The physics of wealth inequality (EurekAlert)

A Duke University professor has proposed an explanation for why the income disparity in America between the rich and poor continues to grow. It is, he says, part of the laws of physics.

VIX Slammed To 11 Handle Sends Dow Green On Week (Zero Hedge)

Desperate to avoid the worst losing streak in 39 years, the machines are working overtime today to crush VIX and ignite momo in The Dow.

Companies

Apple’s stock climbs to fifth record in March, 11th record this year (Market Watch)

Shares of Apple Inc. surged to yet another record on Tuesday, after a UBS analyst said he could envision a scenario that would boost the stock by about 40% over the next few years.

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $110 million to settle customer accounts lawsuit (Associated Press)

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $110 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over up to 2 million accounts its employees opened for customers without getting their permission, the bank announced Tuesday.

Bitcoin dives after the SEC shoots down plans for another bitcoin ETF (Business Insider)

Bitcoin has slid into negative territory after the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the plans for the SolidX Bitcoin ETF.

Technology

Google's Duo chat app expands beyond video calls (Engadget)

Google loves to put out messaging apps, and until now, Duo was the one for making video calls. That changes today, according to a tweet from Google exec Amit Fulay.

RISE wants to battle lionfish with robots (Mashable Asia)

Unwittingly introduced to the Atlantic Ocean over a quarter of a century ago, the lionfish, which is native to the Pacific, is responsible for an ecological disaster of epic proportions in the Caribbean, Bermuda's, and off the shore of Florida coast, and it's spreading up the coast.

Facebook pivots into Stories (Tech Crunch)

Starting today, all users will soon have access to the new Facebook Camera feature that lets them overlay special effects on photos and videos. They can then share this content to a Snapchat clone called Facebook Stories that appears above News Feed on mobile and works similarly to Instagram’s 24-hour ephemeral slideshows.

Pico App Makes Smartphone Film Photo Emulation Sleek And Simple (Digital Trends)

What was once a niche market has now become standard in the world of mobile apps. Film emulation apps have been flooding the iOS App Store since Hipstamatic and there is no sign of them stopping. One of the latest to hit the market is Pico.

Robots do destroy jobs and lower wages, says new study (The Verge)

The fear that automation in the form of robots or artificial intelligence is going to destroy jobs is widespread. But it can be difficult to gauge just how serious to take the threat.

Congress just cleared the way for internet providers to sell your web browsing history (The Verge)

The House of Representatives passed a resolution today overturning an Obama-era FCC rule that required internet providers to get customers’ permission before sharing their browsing history with other companies.

Politics

Trump tweets: 'Russia story is a hoax' (Politico)

President Donald Trump criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's policies on Russia in a series of tweets Monday night, adding, the "Trump Russia story is a hoax."

McConnell Says Senate Won't Take Up 'Obamacare' (Associated Press)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says "Obamacare" will stay in place after House Republicans failed to pass an alternative last week.

McConnell indicated there are no plans in the Senate take up the issue.

Daily Mail Compares 2 U.K. Leaders — Their Legs, Not Their Ideas (NY Times)

Britain’s prime minister and Scotland’s leader met on Monday to discuss the most consequential of questions: Will Britain’s departure from the European Union cause Scotland — joined with England since 1707 — to leave the United Kingdom?

Head Of Trump-russia Probe Under Fire, Won't Step Down (Associated Press)

Potential White House entanglement in Congress' investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election brought new cries of protest from Democrats on Tuesday as fresh political allegations clouded the probe.

Trump Vacation Costs: Mar-A-Lago Trips A Major ‘Financial Burden’ On Florida District, Democrats Say (Imternational Business Times)

President Donald Trump’s weekend visits to his Florida estate have been a source of great “financial burden” on the local government, Florida Democrats say, urging the president to pay for the spike in expenditure or cut down on his trips to Mar-a-Lago, his exclusive Palm Beach resort.

Nunes, White House defiant as Russia controversy deepens (Politico)

Embattled House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes on Tuesday rejected calls for his recusal, questioning why he should step aside from leading the panel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election and possible collusion between Russian officials and President Donald Trump’s associates.

As Brexit begins, the British face a Europe with far more at stake (The Washington Post)

In the bitter breakup between Britain and the European Union, Britons on Wednesday will finally file the divorce papers. But the 27 spurned partner nations of Europe may have far more at stake.

From health care to tax reform: Paul Ryan’s empty-suit act is about to get worse (Salon)

For years now, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has bamboozled huge numbers of political journalists and Beltway insiders into believing he’s some kind of policy genius.

Kansas moves to expand Medicaid as GOP legislatures face pressure after ‘Trumpcare’ failure (The Washington Post)

State lawmakers in this deep-red state on Tuesday did what a year ago would have been unthinkable: They voted to expand Medicaid under the health-care law that Republicans here have railed against for years.

Life on the Home Planet

Maryland student plotted Columbine-style attack, police say (CNN)

Nichole Cevario's journal was not your typical high school diary.

City Where Japan's Industrial Boom Began Is Decimated by Old Age (Bloomberg)

Few places evoke the rise and fall of Japan’s industrial might than the head office of the Imperial Steel Works in Kitakyushu. The red brick Meiji-era building was the heart of the nation’s first big steelworks. Now it’s a Unesco World Heritage site.

Training Your Brain So That You Don’t Need Reading Glasses (NY Times)

By middle age, the lenses in your eyes harden, becoming less flexible. Your eye muscles increasingly struggle to bend them to focus on this print.