Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Job Openings Hit Record High in April, Topping 6 Million (Bloomberg)
An increase in U.S. job openings in April to a record high indicates demand for workers remains strong in the world’s largest economy while the supply is tightening, a Labor Department report showed Tuesday.
Stocks Waver, Havens Like Bonds and Gold Rally (The Wall Street Journal)
Stocks wavered while gold and U.S. government bonds gained Tuesday, signaling a note of caution among investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.8 points, or 0.1%, to 21174 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%.
Fewer municipal bonds have investors snapping up riskier hospital deals (Reuters)
A lean issuance calendar in the municipal bond market is propping up debt prices for U.S. cities and states and will likely keep a floor under some of the market’s wobbly sectors, even hospitals, according to data and analysts.
China Looks to Capitalize on Clean Energy as U.S. Retreats (NY Times)
China’s devastating pollution problems began here, in coal country, where legions of workers toiled and often died to exhume the rich deposits that fueled the country’s sooty rise to economic power.
China's Gold Imports Seen Jumping 50% as Haven Demand Booms (Bloomberg)
China, the world’s biggest gold market, may boost imports through Hong Kong by about half this year as local investors seek to protect their wealth from currency risks, a slowing property market and volatile stocks, according to the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society.
Oil Slides on Supply Glut (Dow Jones Newswires)
Oil rose in early trade after Saudi Arabia and three other countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, but investors remain pessimistic about the oversupplied crude market and the gains petered out by late morning in London.
The bond market is giving the stock market a stern warning (Market Watch)
Conservative news blogger Matt Drudge, a source of endless entertainment in the election and now with the related Russia-gate scandal, posted a rather peculiar main story Saturday.
Americans Are Pouring Money Into Their Homes Like It's the 1990s (Bloomberg)
Americans’ spending on residential construction projects — from the pouring of foundations to home improvement — just hammered out its strongest three-month period since 1994.
AAII Asset Allocation Survey: Fixed-Income Falls To Two-Year Low (Forbes)
Individual investors’ fixed-income allocations fell to a two-year low last month, according to the May AAII Asset Allocation Survey. Both equity and cash allocations rose.
Watch for a shake-up among U.K. stocks after Thursday’s election (Market Watch)
The outcome of the U.K. election is looking increasingly difficult to predict, setting investors up for a potential market shake-up once the results are known Friday morning.
The problem with our maps (Visual Capitalist)
Maps shape our understanding of the world – and in an increasingly interconnected and global economy, this geographic knowledge is more important than ever.
Stock Market Bubble: Biggest Bubble Since 1999 And Surpassing 2007 (Think Long Term, Seeking Alpha)
While investors continue to cheer rising stock prices, even as world economic and social issues are causing massive problems, several warning signs continue to be ignored that an imminent major correction in the stock market is overdue.
Long Promised, the Global Market for Natural Gas Has Finally Arrived (The Wall Street Journal)
One day in March, the Rioja Knutsen tanker, filled with liquefied natural gas, was traveling from the U.S. to Portugal. Suddenly, Mexico’s power company lobbed in a higher bid for its cargo. At the Bahamas, the ship abruptly made a starboard turn and headed south.
SVXY: When Volatility Is Very Low, Buy 'Smart Volatility' (II) (Argantonio Investing, Seeking Alpha)
Weeks ago, I wrote my first article for SA devoted to SVXY long options: SVXY: When Volatility Is Very Low, Buy 'Smart Volatility'. First of all, I want to thank all the SA members that kindly commented to contribute to the trade, some of them with really good ideas and smart points of view, they helped to enrich the idea I introduced: buying SVXY strangles when the implied volatility (IV) is historically low.
Companies
Axon Enterprise Inc's Growth Potential Is Enormous (The Motley Fool)
Axon Enterprise Inc (NASDAQ:AAXN) may play one of the most influential roles in changing how law enforcement is done this century. It's become the go-to provider of electroshock weapons (its Taser brand) and body cameras, even adding capabilities like artificial intelligence that's intended to make video easier to search and use in the courtroom.
Billionaire Draper Shuns China Investments Amid Capital Controls (Bloomberg)
Billionaire investor Tim Draper, an early backer of Baidu Inc., has stopped investing in China-based companies because getting money out of the country has become too difficult.
How a Startup Accelerator at Boston Children’s Hospital Helps Launch Companies (Harvard Business Review)
Physicians, nurses, and others who work on the front lines of patient care are an important potential source for innovations that could improve patients’ health and reduce the cost of care.
Technology
Denmark Is Killing Tesla (and Other Electric Cars) (Bloomberg)
Sales in Denmark of Electrically Chargeable Vehicles (ECV), which include plug-in hybrids, plunged 60.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared with the first three months of 2016, according to latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
How far is too far? — Genetic engineering in babies (Salon)
The past few decades have seen an explosion of technologies that make reproduction possible for people — same-sex couples, couples struggling with infertility — that, in the past, would have gone childless.
China's 21st Century Industrial Policy Spawns Robot Bubble (Bloomberg)
China wants to own the 21st Century economy. That's why Beijing economic planners have mapped out a full-on strategy called Made in China 2025 to dominate in artificial intelligence, robotics, electric vehicles and other key sectors.
Politics
Steve King’s Democratic opponent drops out, says she received death threats (Salon)
Kim Weaver, the candidate Iowa Democrats had nominated to challenge Rep. Steve King in the state’s 4th congressional district, formally withdrew from the race over the weekend citing a number of factors, including threats against her life.
Some U.S. Diplomats Stage Quiet Revolt Amid Tensions With Trump (NY Times)
As President Trump strains alliances and relationships around the world, some of the nation’s top career diplomats are breaking publicly with him, in what amounts to a quiet revolt by a cadre of public servants known for their professional discretion.
In Trump’s White House, Everything’s Coming in ‘Two Weeks’ (Bloomberg)
From overhauling the tax code to releasing an infrastructure package to making decisions on Nafta and the Paris climate agreement, Trump has a common refrain: A big announcement is coming in just “two weeks.” It rarely does.
Senate GOP aims for June vote on Obamacare repeal (Politico)
Senate Republicans’ uncertain efforts to repeal Obamacare are at a crossroads, with GOP leaders pressing members to make decisions on moving forward and pushing for a vote by the end of June, according to senators and aides.
The Rest of the World Already Builds Infrastructure the Way Trump Wants To (Bloomberg)
Tapping private money to rebuild America’s decrepit infrastructure, the linchpin of President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion vision, would be a no-brainer in large parts of the world.
Mick Mulvaney’s snake oil: A blend of bad science, bad math and really bad politics (Salon)
In its zeal to trot out the most mendacious humans alive to defend the president and his policies, the Trump administration has recently turned to Mick Mulvaney. A haircut in search of a decent suit, Mulvaney serves as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Before that, he was known mostly to political junkies as a backbench Tea Party congressman from South Carolina.
Associated Press lays out a scathing case on Trump’s untrustworthiness (Salon)
The Associated Press, which usually avoids offering political commentary, bluntly stated on Monday that “President Donald Trump can’t be counted on to give accurate information to Americans when violent acts are unfolding abroad.”
TILLERSON: Trump's 'been clear to me' that I should rebuild ties with Russia (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump told his top diplomat that the dispute over probes into links between his inner circle and Russia should not undermine U.S. efforts to rebuild relations with Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday.
Trump Hotel Received $270,000 From Lobbying Campaign Tied to Saudis (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump’s Washington hotel received roughly $270,000 in payments linked to Saudi Arabia as part of a lobbying campaign by the Gulf kingdom against controversial terrorism legislation last year.
Trump Grows Discontented With Attorney General Jeff Sessions (NY Times)
Few Republicans were quicker to embrace President Trump’s campaign last year than Jeff Sessions, and his reward was one of the most prestigious jobs in America. But more than four months into his presidency, Mr. Trump has grown sour on Mr. Sessions, now his attorney general, blaming him for various troubles that have plagued the White House.
The $110 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia is fake news (Brookings)
Last month, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia and his administration announced that he had concluded a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom. Only problem is that there is no deal. It’s fake news.
Is the Paris Accord Unfair to America? (Project Syndicate)
When President Donald Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, he justified the move by saying “the bottom line is that the Paris Accord is very unfair, at the highest level, to the United States.” Is it?
EPA chief exaggerates growth of coal jobs by tens of thousands (Think Progress)
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt made the Sunday morning talk show rounds in an effort to defend President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Paris climate accord.
Trump to Meet With House and Senate Leaders on Health Care and Tax Reform (The Wall Street Journal)
President Donald Trump will meet with House and Senate leadership at the White House Tuesday afternoon to plot a path forward on health care and tax reform—two of the administration’s top legislative priorities that have been stalled in recent months amid a growing investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russia.
Scott Pruitt gets debunked by climate scientists (Grist.org)
They came after EPA Administrator Pruitt in a very sciencey way: by publishing a study that takes down a claim Pruitt made during confirmation questions.
Health and Biotech
CAR-T Cancer Approach Has Surprising Success in Multiple Myeloma (NBC News)
Doctors are reporting unprecedented success from a new cell and gene therapy for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that's on the rise. Although it's early and the study is small — 35 people — every patient responded and all but two were in some level of remission within two months.
A New Antibiotic Multitool Could Beat The Toughest Bacteria (Forbes)
Doctors may soon have a new weapon in the long-running war between antibiotics and bacteria. It’s a Swiss Army knife of a drug that’s tens of thousands of times more effective in lab tests against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Life on the Home Planet
Workplace Shootings, Like Orlando's, Tick Upward in U.S. (Associated Press)
Fatal workplace shootings, like the one Monday in Orlando, Florida, are ticking upward in the United States, government statistics show.
South Florida tries to hold back the sea (The Economist)
TURRETS and terracotta tiles, palm trees and pillars adorn properties on La Gorce Island. Trucks roll by on their way to plots where homes are being torn down or built up.
In Tears, First Trial Witness Says Cosby Drugged and Assaulted Her (NY Times)
Prosecutors, in opening remarks, said that Bill Cosby’s own words would help convict the once-popular comedian and actor of drugging and sexually assaulting a Temple University employee at his nearby home in 2004.
Wonder Woman Crushes Thor With a $101 Million Hammer (Bloomberg)
The new film based on the DC Comic heroine delivered a massive $101 million in domestic ticket sales, the third best debut of the year to date. More importantly, its success gives Warner Bros. a fresh blockbuster franchise that will pay off for years to come as it battles Walt Disney’s men in tights over on the Marvel squad.
Gunshots at Notre-Dame in Paris cause alarm after man attacks police (Market Watch)
Shots fired near Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris caused alarm at the popular tourist and religious site Tuesday, after officers wounded a man who attacked a patrol with a hammer, according to media reports.
