Financial Markets and Economy
Iron Explorer Sells Eggs as Australia Goes From Mining to Dining (Bloomberg)
The iron-ore business is so lousy that one Canadian mining company is shelving its biggest project and starting a new venture: selling Australian eggs to China.
Goldman Sachs's unit obtains Hong Kong banking license (Business Insider)
A wholly-owned unit of Goldman Sachs Group <GS.N> received a banking license from The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the HKMA announced on Wednesday, in a step that creates a local subsidiary through which the U.S investment bank can book its trades.
The so-called restricted banking license that Goldman Sachs has obtained allows it to take deposits of HK$500,000 ($64,495.32) and above, but is normally used for investment banking and capital markets activities, according to the HKMA's website.
Dollar slips ahead of Fed minutes, inflation data (Market Watch)
The dollar dropped against other major currencies on Wednesday ahead of closely watched inflation numbers and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which will be scrutinized for any clues on the first rate hike.
The ICE Dollar index DXY, -0.06% fell 0.1% to 96.885, on track to break a four-day winning streak. The string of advances for the greenback came on the back of a stabilization in the Chinese yuan and upbeat economic U.S. data, which have strengthened the case for higher interest rates this year, maybe as soon as next month.
Ten Years and Counting: Heres Why Merkel Can Win a Fourth Term (Bloomberg)
Shes criticized abroad forausterity and at home for economic timidity.But Angela Merkel givesGermans a sense ofgrowing international clout.
The inflation nightmare that terrifies central bankers actually happened in the late-1960s (Business Insider)
There's an economic scenario out there that scares central bankers more than any other – a sudden inflation jump that can't be tamed by slow and steady interest rate rises.
A rise in interest rates can take the heat out of the economy, calming prices, because it makes mortgage repayments and other types of debt more expensive.
The problem is that it's a bit of a blunt tool and can take a while to have an effect.
Oil Patchs Biggest Losers Sell Crude for More Than Exxon Mobil (Bloomberg)
Some of the worst-performing oil companies in North America are getting more for their crude than Exxon Mobil Corp. and other giants. That may not help them for long.
Japan July export growth slows as global demand shows signs of weakening (Business Insider)
Japan's export growth slowed in July on reduced shipments of cars and electronics to Asia in a sign that the global demand outlook may be losing its luster.
The 7.6 percent annual increase in exports in July was bigger than the median estimate for 5.5 percent annual growth expected by economists in a Reuters poll, but still slower than a June's robust 9.5 percent year-on-year rise.
European stocks dragged down by Chinese, Greek worries (Market Watch)
European stocks dropped Wednesday, with investors juggling concerns over China and Greece.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.85% fell 1.1% to 384.06. No sectors traded higher, and the basic resources group SXPP, -2.54% was the worst performing.
European stocks opened lower, while U.S. stock futures pulled backed, “plagued by the Chinese stock market meltdown,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +1.23% on Wednesday dropped as much as 5% intraday before turning higher to close in positive territory.
Why Yellen Doesnt Need to Worry About Spooking U.S. Consumers (Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has a lot to worry about as she gets ready to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. One concern she may be able to put aside: Spooking U.S. shoppers.
A top bank lobbying group is taking aim at payments startups (Business Insider)
The Clearing House, an advocacy group owned by the world's largest commercial banks, is gunning for payment startups.
The body said in a report seen by Business Insider that startups and tech companies playing in the payments space should be regulated like big Wall Street banks.
U.S. stocks: Futures slip with Fed release on the horizon (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures pointed to a dip at the market’s open Wednesday, with buying subdued as traders wait for a key Federal Reserve release and a fresh reading on inflation.
Lowe’s Cos. Inc. LOW, +0.75% shares fell nearly 4% in premarket action after the home-improvement retailer posted weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while Staples Inc. SPLS, -0.56% dropped about 1% after its quarterly revenue missed forecasts.
These Are the Biggest Losers Since the Yuan's Shock Devaluation (Bloomberg)
A week has passed since China roiled global markets with its first major devaluation in more than two decades. The epochal move hit beleaguered emerging markets the hardest, contributing to record lows in the currencies of Colombia and Turkey.
China’s Turbulent Markets Keep Still-Eager Investors Guessing (NY Times)
As China’s once-staid currency suddenly dropped sharply last week, Wall Street began sniffing around for a way to profit.
A trader on Goldman Sachs’s Hong Kong trading desk sent a memo to hedge fund clients highlighting one opportunity: Taking advantage of a price difference between China’s onshore renminbi and its offshore version. The currency is not freely tradable, and it was trading in Hong Kong as much as 1.5 percent lower than in China.
Losing $51 Billion May Not Matter for Swiss National Bank (Bloomberg)
Economists mostly unruffled by record shortfall.
OPEC's Fragile Five Face Rising Cost in the Fight for Oil Market Share (Bloomberg)
The costs of OPEC’s plan to protect members' share of the oil market by out-producing rivals are mounting.
As oil prices slump to six-year lows, the risks of worsening political turmoil are rising in the organization’s most vulnerable nations. This includes Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela, a group dubbed the ‘Fragile Five' by RBC Capital Markets Ltd.
Bond Market Has a Message for Companies Seeking M&A Debt: Pay Up (Bloomberg)
Bond investors helping to underpin a record year for mergers and acquisitions have a message for borrowers with plans to fund another $95 billion in deals: youll have to pay up.
Politics
Political elites have lost control of the campaign, and they can’t stand it (Market Watch)
Whatever else you want to call this presidential campaign, you can hardly call it politics as usual.
A billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star who many Americans loath is leading a pack of 17 contenders for the Republican nomination in an ongoing circus that the term “clown car” no longer fully describes.
Technology
New Cameras In Japan Can Detect Drunks At Train Stations (Popular Science)
To save lives, West Japan Railway is installing cameras on the Loop Line around the Japanese city of Osaka that can identify drunk behavior. The logic is as basic as it gets: drunk people waiting for a train can easily imperil themselves or others, so the cameras can detect that behavior and then alert conductors, simultaneously saving lives and improving the functioning of the rail.
The cameras aren’t designed to record information about individuals, so there’s minimal risk to privacy. Instead, they pick up on actions, like staggering, lingering around the platform, or sleeping on the benches, Railway Gazette reports. West Japan Railway has already installed 46 of these special cameras on various platforms.
A Japanese company's electric cars will sound 'neo-futuristic' thanks to Roland synthesizers (The Verge)
What should an electric car sound like?
The truth is, no one really knows. Some automakers have left their EVs in their natural states, making them as quiet as possible; others have installed systems designed to alert nearby pedestrians (there are laws about this, but they aren't fully fleshed out yet). Still others occasionally "enhance" the audio to make the driver's seat sound like the cockpit of a muscle car.
Health and Life Sciences
Parents struggle with teens' mental health (CNN)
Then the news broke that Rosie O'Donnell's 17-year-old daughter Chelsea was missing, and that she is suffering from an undisclosed mental illness, stopped taking her medication and had run away, I imagine any parent who has been touched by mental health issues immediately felt for O'Donnell and the rest of her family.
Trying to help a teenager who is dealing with mental health issues is difficult, experts who work with children say. You have all the intensity of adolescence combined with a child suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or a host of other mental health issues that affect teens.
MRI scans can deliver cancer therapy (BBC)
A hospital scan normally used to detect cancer could be used to steer tumour killing treatments to hard-to-reach targets in the body, say scientists.
The UK team at Sheffield University deployed the magnetic power of MRI scans to control the movement of a specially designed injectable cancer therapy.
Life on the Home Planet
Blanket of smoke from Northern California fires (Phys)
The River Complex, Route Complex, South Complex, Fork Complex and Mad River Complex fires are raging over a large area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, located west of Redding, California. To the north is the Nickowitz Wildfire and Gasquet Complex Wildfire, just south of the Oregon state line.
Another Yosemite campground closed due to plague (CNN)
California authorities on Tuesday reported they're looking at a second person with the plague in the state — and, like the other case, this one visited Yosemite National Park.
The California Department of Public Health announced "a presumptive positive case of plague" involving someone from Georgia who had spent time in early August in the state.
Secrets of mosquito-repelling grass (BBC)
US scientists have identified the chemicals responsible for the mosquito-repelling activity of sweetgrass, a plant traditionally used by some Native Americans to fend off the bugs.
In laboratory tests, two sweetgrass compounds drove mosquitoes away from tantalising fake blood samples, just as well as the widely-used repellent Deet.
Further tests are needed to see how long the effects last.
