News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

A Wall Street giant has raised $40 billion with the help of Saudi Arabia – and it could 'benefit significantly' from Trump's policies (BX) (Business Insider)

Blackstone Group, the investment giant led by Steve Schwarzman, announced a major deal with Saudi partners during the President's visit to Riyadh over the weekend. Schwarzman is a key outside adviser to the President.

America’s Cities Are Running Out of Room (Bloomberg)

A shortage of homes for sale has bedeviled U.S. house hunters in recent years, so why don’t builders build more? One problem is that they’re running out of lots to build on—at least in the places that people want to live.

Iraq Paves Way for OPEC Deal With Support for 9-Month Extension to Cuts (Bloomberg)

Iraq backed a proposal from Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend output cuts for nine months, removing one of the last remaining obstacles to an agreement at the OPEC meeting in Vienna this week.

The carnage in retail is good news, but only if you know where to look (ULTA, FND, TSCO) (Business Insider)

A handful of industries and companies are defying the downturn in retail as consumers move online to buy things.

They don't include apparel retailers like Macy's and TJX, which disappointed on first-quarter earnings. 

What Economists May Have Gotten Wrong About Refugees and Wages (Bloomberg Benchmark)

How refugees affect native-worker pay is hotly-debated in economic literature, and new research takes a crack at figuring out why different studies arrive at vastly different conclusions. 

U.S. New-Home Sales Fall More Than Forecast (Bloomberg)

A larger-than-forecast decline in new-home purchases in April from the strongest pace in almost a decade indicates a pause in demand in the midst of the busy spring selling season, government data showed Tuesday.

Trump budget wants to halve oil stockpile, open Arctic refuge to drilling (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump's White House wants to sell half of the nation's emergency oil stockpile and open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as part of plans to balance the budget over the next 10 years, documents by the administration showed.

BNY Mellon European chair says big banks are planning for 'the most challenging scenario' on Brexit (Business Insider)

The chairman of US bank BNY Mellon in Europe says major banks are drawing up plans for the worst-case Brexit scenario and warns that no deal for Britain could spark another financial crisis.

Defaulted Azeri Bank Offers Swap Into Sovereign Debt, New Bonds (Bloomberg)

Azerbaijan proposed swapping $3.3 billion of its largest lender’s foreign-currency debt and deposits into a mix of new sovereign securities and the bank’s own bonds, while raising the prospect that it may be shut down if creditors fail to back the restructuring plan.

China regulator says solvency concerns at five insurers, focus on risk prevention (Reuters)

Only five China insurers out of 170 surveyed were near regulatory red lines in the first quarter, the country's insurance regulator said on Tuesday.

German Upswing Set to Last as Sentiment Jumps to Record High (Bloomberg)

The German economy is firing on all cylinders, and a surge in sentiment suggests it has staying power.

Business confidence rose to the highest since 1991 this month, while manufacturers saw the fastest growth in six years amid a surge in orders. 

It’s Not Just the Assembly Lines — Robots Could Wipe Out 40 Percent of Retail Jobs (NBC News)

The death of retail is about to become a mass grave.

A new study finds that robots could destroy up to 7.5 million jobs over the next 10 years. That could be a bigger hit for the retail industry than when automation came for manufacturing jobs.

Venezuela is importing oil despite having the world's largest oil reserves (OilPrice.com)

For over forty days, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have taken over the main streets and roads of the country to protest against the dictatorial Venezuelan regime. Since the protests started, forty-two people have been killed, 2,371 arrested and thousands injured across the country.

The Headwinds To Higher Oil Prices (Lance Roberts, Seeking Alpha)

In late 2016, OPEC, along with Russia and other countries, agreed to cut production in order to try and “balance” the supply/demand imbalance that drove oil prices to the low $30s at the nadir of the oil price crash.

Further Trying To Define Liquidity (Jeffrey Snider, Seeking Alpha)

On December 3, 1999, Enron Communications announced that the company had begun operations selling bandwidth as an energy commodity. After publicizing the venture in May that year, it seemed natural given that they had been selling similar products in the energy sector, pioneering all sorts of products along the way.

Hate Paying Income Tax? These 7 States Don't Have Any (The Motley Fool)

Nobody likes paying taxes, right? While many U.S. states have rather high income tax rates, there are seven that have no state income tax whatsoever and another two that don't tax wage income.

Best Technical Indicators for Day Trading (The Balance)

The MACD, RSI, moving average, Bollinger Bands, stochastics, and the list goes on, but what are the best technical indicators for day trading? Day traders need to act quickly, so trying to monitor too many indicators becomes time consuming, counter productive and is actually likely to deteriorate performance.

Dollar Demise Continues To Escalate – Trump-Bump Dumped (Zero Hedge)

It's official, the post-Trump-election gains in the dollar have now been 100% erased as the broad dollar index drops for the 8th day in the last 9 (down 2.4% in that period), to its lowest level since November 6th 2016 – before Trump was elected.

A Foolish Take: Russia's Surprisingly Small Economy (The Motley Fool)

How big do you think Russia's economy is? It must be huge, right?

Just look at a map. In terms of landmass, it's almost twice as large as the second-largest country in the world, Canada.

Companies

Snap Price Soars After 13F Reveals Big Hedge Fund Interest (SNAP, FB) (Investopedia)

Since its debut several months ago, Snap Inc. (SNAP) has seen its share of ups and downs. The publicly-traded shares of Snapchat dropped precipitously in price after the IPO and have seen dramatic fluctuations since.

Nokia and Apple agree to bury the patent hatchet… again, signing new ‘multi-year’ license (Pocket Now)

Google may want all Android device manufacturers to just get along, royalty-free, when it comes to patents covering the search giant’s many mobile services and apps, but unfortunately, Apple and Qualcomm seem far from ready to adhere to a similarly warm and fuzzy feeling of peace on earth.

Kenya’s Struggling Uber Drivers Fear a New Competitor: Uber (NY Times)

James Njoroge, an Uber driver in Nairobi, earns barely $5 at the end of a grueling 10-hour workday ferrying customers through snarled traffic across the Kenyan capital. Now a new competitor is in town, threatening to undercut even these meager earnings.

Even Harley-Davidson Can’t Resist the Tug of Overseas Factories (NY Times)

President Trump has held up Harley-Davidson as a pillar of American manufacturing. “We’re proud of you! Made in America, Harley-Davidson,” Mr. Trump said to the company’s leather-clad top executives in February as five of its motorcycles rumbled on the White House lawn.

Toll Brothers quarterly profit rises 40% (Reuters)

U.S. luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers reported a 40 percent rise in quarterly profit as it sold more homes and said its orders jumped 26 percent.

Transocean, A Look At Balance Sheet And Fundamentals (Casey Hoerth, Seeking Alpha)

The offshore rig leasing industry has been suffering for almost two and a half years now. Back in 2014 predictions were for sharply rising demand for deepwater and ultra deepwater drillships by which to meet crude oil demand growth and dwindling supply in onshore reserves, much of which is held by national oil companies and are offlimits to international capital.

Annaly Outperformed In Q1 2017… It May Continue To Do So (David White, Seeking Alpha)

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) is the largest mortgage REIT on the NYSE. It is often referred to as a "blue chip" mREIT. Like many mREITs, it had a very ugly Q4 2016. However, it far outperformed many other less well-managed and less-diversified mREITs with a total economic loss of only -5.7%, compared to losses by many other mREITs of over -10% in Q4 2016.

Is Valero Energy Undervalued? (Gold Mining Bull, Seeking Alpha)

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) is one of the world's largest independent refiners. Previously, I called the stock a buy at $58.26 per share back in October of 2016 and I own the stock at an average cost basis of around $53 per share.

Lockheed Martin: Biggest Deal In History (Jonathan Weber, Seeking Alpha)

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) will be one of the key beneficiaries of one of the biggest arms deals the world has seen so far – a deal that could total up $350 billion over the next decade.

Technology

Scientists can see through walls with Wi-Fi to create 3D holograms (Mashable Asia)

Wi-Fi is everywhere — and as the electromagnetic waves are beamed out from routers to connect our devices to the internet, they also travel through empty space, around corners, and even through walls.

Robot cop begins patrolling the streets of Dubai tomorrow night (TNW)

A robotic police officer is making its debut on the streets of Dubai tomorrow night — and I hope everyone there has watched Robocop.

Politics

Trump’s plans to cut food stamps could hit his supporters hardest (The Washington Post)

President Trump’s anticipated cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps, will likely be felt most in regions of the country with chronic high rates of unemployment — from the rural Southeast to aging manufacturing towns to Indian reservations.

Trump’s First Budget Works Only if Wishes Come True (NY Times)

In its inaugural budget, the Trump administration projected that booming economic growth would allow the president to keep a wide range of expensive campaign promises while eliminating federal deficits in 10 years.

Trump’s Budget Cuts Deeply Into Medicaid and Anti-Poverty Efforts (NY Times)

President Trump plans to unveil on Tuesday a $4.1 trillion budget for 2018 that would cut deeply into programs for the poor, from health care and food stamps to student loans and disability payments, laying out an austere vision for reordering the nation’s priorities.

Manchester Attack Changes the Conversation for Trump Trip (NY Times)

President Trump headed on Tuesday to Europe, where a devastating attack at a pop music concert in Manchester, England, grimly underscored his demand that Arab and Muslim countries drive extremists “out of this earth” and offered the first real test of how the president responds to a searing terror strike.

First lady's hand swat a viral sensation (CNN)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, rolled out the red carpet for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Monday morning, but one moment stood out: a flick of the wrist seen 'round the world.

The Daily Prophet: Trump Does His Best to Make Defense Shares Great (Bloomberg)

Whether President Donald Trump’s first foreign visit is deemed a success, failure or something in between, winners in markets are already starting to emerge.

Ethics Office Blasts Trump Refusal To Disclose Lobby Waivers (Associated Press)

The message from a senator to the government ethics office: Use your authority to force the president to reveal how many waivers he's granted to ex-lobbyists in his new administration.

Trump to Pitch Deep Cuts to Anti-Poverty Programs, Medicaid (Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump plans to propose $1.7 trillion in cuts to a category of spending that includes major social and entitlement programs for lower-income Americans, as part of an effort to balance the budget within a decade.

Trump's $3.6 Trillion Budget Cuts Hit His Own Supporters Hard (Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump’s first full budget would dramatically reduce the U.S. government’s role in society, hitting hard many of the rural, working-poor supporters who propelled him into office as he cuts through the safety net for the poor and disabled, hitting farming communities and inner cities alike.

Health and Biotech

Conservative Reps Urge Trump to Fire NIH Chief Francis Collins Over Stem Cells (NBC News)

A group of conservative members of Congress wrote President Donald Trump Monday, urging him to fire National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins because he is not pro-life enough.

Life on the Home Planet

Manchester, Israel, North Carolina: Your Tuesday Briefing (NY Times)

The police in Manchester said today that the death toll in an attack at an Ariana Grande concert had risen to 22 people, including children, with about 60 others wounded.

Manchester Concert Attack Kills 22; Children Among Dead (NY Times)

The death toll in the Manchester attacks has risen to 22 and the bombing was almost certainly carried out by one person, the head of the Manchester police said on Tuesday morning.

James Corden Pays Tribute to Manchester in Heartfelt Monologue (NY Times)

James Corden, a London native, offered a heartfelt homage to Manchester after last night’s attack. He sent prayers to the families affected by the explosion.

100 Therapeutic LSD Trips Helped Cary Grant Prepare for the Future (Inverse)

Hollywood icon Cary Grant is known for his powerhouse acting skills, rugged jawline, and more recently, his great passion for LSD. The latter is the focus of a new documentary on his life, Becoming Cary Grant, which premieres this week at Cannes.

3 arrests, raids, and controlled explosion as police investigate Manchester bomb attack (Business Insider)

At least 22 people died, some of them children, and 59 others were injured in an explosion at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on Monday evening in what the police are treating as a terrorist attack.

New data is in on mystery star's recent weirdness (CNet)

Late last week, astronomers around the world prepared to work through the weekend observing one of the most enigmatic stars known to humanity: KIC 8462852, better known as Tabby's Star, Boyajian's Star or the "alien megastructures star."

The biology of our best and worst selve (TED)

How can humans be so compassionate and altruistic — and also so brutal and violent? To understand why we do what we do, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky looks at extreme context, examining actions on timescales from seconds to millions of years before they occurred.