Financial Markets and Economy
SocGen: The U.S. Dollar Has a Brand New Role in Global Markets (Bloomberg)
A safe haven no longer?
Kit Juckes, global strategist at Société Générale, has noted that the movements of the world's reserve currency—the U.S. dollar—have been out of the ordinary for the past two months.
The S&P 500 bought $134 billion worth of itself in Q2 (Business Insider)
One of the big drivers of earnings per share growth has been stock buybacks.
The math is relatively straight forward: companies use cash to buy their own stock, allowing net earnings to be divvied up among a smaller number of shares.
Treasurys rally as investors fret about slowing global economy (Market Watch)
Treasury prices rose Tuesday, pushing yields down, as demand for safe investments, such as U.S. government bonds, increased amid falling oil prices,faltering stock markets and concerns over China’s economic slowdown.
Worries about global growth expressed by the U.S. Federal Reserve last week, along with news Tuesday that the Asian Development Bank has lowered its forecast for China’s annual economic growth drove investors to government bonds all over the world.
Burned by Oil Trade, Debt Investors Think Twice This Time Around (Bloomberg)
When banks began to scale back financing for energy companies earlier this year amid the slump in oil prices, some of Wall Street’s savviest asset managers sought to capitalize by lending at high rates.
Brazil's currency just dropped to a level it's never seen before (Business Insider)
Brazil's economy is getting absolutely hammered.
Last week Business Insider's Myles Udland charted the awful data coming out of Brazil. Business and consumer confidence and retail sales are slumping, while inflation and unemployment are picking up.
Gold eyes 2-day losing streak as dollar weighs (Market Watch)
Gold futures retreated Tuesday, extending a pullback for the precious metal that began Monday as the dollar ticks higher amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise benchmark interest rates sometime this year.
Gold futures for December delivery GCZ5, -0.98% gave up $6.80, or 0.6%, to $1,126 an ounce in early trade, after enjoying a brief run higher sparked by the Fed’s decision to delay normalization of monetary policy in the U.S., citing concerns about global growth.
Routed by Market, Turkey Puts Ousted Policy Guru Back on Bench (Bloomberg)
How much can one man mean to an economy? Investors in Turkish equities value Ali Babacan at more than 1 percent of the nations stock market, if Fridays moves are anything to go by.
Markets are getting slammed (Business Insider)
Markets around the world are getting slammed.
US stock markets are down by over 1% in early trading with the Dow down 165 points, the S&P 500 down 20 points, and the Nasdaq down 63 points.
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16 ‘sharing economy’ companies that can make you money today (Market Watch)
I wish I could buy stock in Uber.
Even if I weren’t barred by my company’s policy from holding individual stocks, I wouldn’t be able to participate in the ride-share pioneer’s success in winning so many battles all over the world, as entrenched local taxi operators and politicians try to maintain the status quo.
Though Uber was valued at $50 billion the last time it raised money, the company is privately held, which means you can’t make money off it, at least for now.
Charting the Markets: Fed Uncertainty Sours Mood of Global Investors (Bloomberg)
Confusion reigns. Less than five days after the Federal Reserve kept interest ratesunchanged, a total of four U.S. central bank officials have paved the way for a hike this year. Traders still aren't convinced. According to Fed fund futures the probability of a rate increase in 2015 is less than 50 percent. Thursday's lecture by Fed Chair Janet Yellen in Amherst, Massachusetts, has taken on extra significance as investors seek more clues on the possible timing of a change in monetary policy. Asian stocks excluding Japan, which is closed for a second day, were little changed after the biggest loss in three weeks. The Shanghai Composite Index rose for a third day, the longest stretch of gains in over a month, as President Xi Jinping visits the U.S.
Futures sharply lower on falling oil, copper prices (Business Insider)
U.S. stock index futures were down about 1.5 percent on Tuesday as oil and copper prices fell on uncertain demand from China.
Copper prices hit two-week lows, while oil was down about 2 percent. Chinese government efforts to stimulate growth by easing fiscal and monetary policy have yet to bear fruit.
Greek Bank Review Holds Key to 3 Billion-Euro Payment, EU Says (Bloomberg)
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will need to enact banking-sector reforms to unlock 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in bailout funds set aside for Europe’s most indebted nation, according to Thomas Wieser, head of the Euro Working Group.
Volkswagen shares are getting obliterated for a second day as emissions scandal hits 11m cars (Business Insider)
Volkswagen shares are diving again on Tuesday morning. They're down by as much as 20% as of 11 a.m. UK time (6 a.m. ET) after losing more than 20% in trading on Monday — more than a third of the company's market value has been wiped away in just 2 days.
Slump in Miners Drags U.K. Stocks Lower, With Glencore Down 7.7% (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks fell for the third time in four days, heading for their lowest level in almost a month.
Glencore Plc sank 7.7 percent, while Anglo American Plc and Antofagasta Plc lost more than 5 percent. A gauge tracking the nation’s miners is heading for its lowest close since 2009 as commodities fell.
IG Index revenue soars 24% as retail traders pile in to volatile markets (Business Insider)
China's two share market sell-offs and sudden devaluation made for a volatile summer, which is good news for online trading company IG Index.
The company said revenue in the three months to August was £106 million ($ million),24% up on the previous year.
European Stock-Index Futures Rise as Investors Weigh Fed Signals (Bloomberg)
Volkswagen AG’s unfolding emission-test scandal and worries about global growth weighed on investor sentiment in Europe, dragging the region’s stocks lower.
Areva, EDF seek investment from Mitsubishi Heavy: Nikkei (Business Insider)
French nuclear giant Areva <AREVA.PA> and power utility EDF <EDF.PA> have asked Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries <7011.T> to invest in Areva's reactor subsidiary, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.
EDF agreed in July to buy between 51 percent and 75 percent of Areva's reactor arm Areva NP, a deal seen crucial for France which generates three quarters of its electricity from nuclear plants. EDF said it will look for partners to take a minority stake.
China Stocks Rise for Third Day for Longest Win Streak in Month (Bloomberg)
Chinese stocks rose for a third day, their longest winning streak in a month, as optimism grew over President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the U.S. and brokerages rallied on prospects of an exchange link between London and Shanghai.
China Investors Shun World's Wildest Stocks as Trading Dries Up (Bloomberg)
Plunging turnover and the world’s wildest price swings mean that China’s stock market just keeps getting uglier for investors.
Investors Think It's Time to Buy AirAsia Shares (Bloomberg)
Investors are saying it’s time to buy into AirAsia Bhd.
Shares of Southeast Asia’s largest low-cost carrier reached a record low in August after dropping more than 70 percent from a 16-month high in December, when it suffered its first plane crash. Then concerns surfaced about its accounting method and the ringgit declined. The stock’s tumble convinced fund manager Danny Wong Teck Meng there was value in buying the stock.
The most important driver of stock prices is finally rolling over (Business Insider)
The most important driver of stock prices is earnings.
Dow tumbles triple digits as commodity slide hits sentiment (Market Watch)
U.S. stocks declined sharply on Tuesday as a selloff in global equity markets and a slide in oil and other commodity prices hit sentiment.
More negative news from China may also be adding to fears about slowing global economic growth that have been heightened after the Federal Reserve last week chose to stay pat on interest rates.
Politics
Why Chinese won't get to read president's interview (CNN)
The interview is something of a journalistic coup — Xi rarely speaks with foreign media, and this is his first interview since China's stock markets crashed in June.
The Journal questioned Xi on his government's response to the market crisis, its campaign to build islands in the disputed South China Sea, cybersecurity, and Beijing's anti-corruption crackdown.
Hillary Clinton to propose new rules for drug makers (Market Watch)
Hillary Clinton is proposing new rules that would pressure prescription-drug companies to spend a set portion of their revenue on research and development, one of several ideas aimed at controlling the rising cost of pharmaceuticals.
Her plan, to be laid out in Iowa on Tuesday, also would attempt to dissuade drug companies from spending large sums on consumer advertising by barring that from counting as a tax-deductible business expense.
Technology
Which Is a Better TV Screen, LCD or OLED? (Gizmodo)
It’s an age-old question, like cats or dogs,Kirk or Picard? PlayStation or Xbox? All tough questions with equally tough answers, and the same can be said for LCD versus OLED televisions.
An impressive new generation of TVs with the very latest advanced display technologies launching in 2015 include the newest state-of-the-art large screen OLED displays and LCDs with Quantum Dots and Full Array Local Dimming, plus a new wide DCI Color Gamut, 4K Ultra HD resolution, and curved screens.
Do We Need to Prepare for the Robot Uprising? (Scientific American)
For most of my life, I've been disappointed in robots. Movies always depicted them as walking, talking, humanoid, smart—and cool. But for decades, real robots have been little more than assembly-line arms at car factories.
In the past three years, though, something has shifted. Self-driving cars have logged nearly two million miles on public roads. Drones have gotten smart enough to avoid hitting things. And two-legged, walking robots are suddenly real.
Health and Life Sciences
Vaccine might replace surgery for cervical cancer (Futurity)
A genetically engineered cervical cancer vaccine performed well in a clinical trial, offering hope that many women can one day avoid surgery that short-circuits the disease but threatens their ability to have a baby.
The vaccine eradicated high-grade precancerous cervical lesions in nearly half of women who received it, scientists report.
Bird Flu Vaccine Conditionally Approved, but Still Can’t Be Sold (NY Times)
A vaccine to help protect the nation’s chickens from avian influenza after more than 48 million birds died during an outbreak this year has cleared a first hurdle, with the Agriculture Department granting its maker a “conditional” license.
Harrisvaccines announced on Monday that the department had granted the license, a type issued to deal with emergencies, market limitations or other special circumstances, for a vaccine that can be easily updated as new strains of the virus appear.
Weight of the union: Obesity state-by-state (CNN)
New numbers from the Centers for Disease Control find that while adult obesity rates remain steady, they are still high around the country.
In a state-by-state analysis, Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi were states with the highest adult obesity rates. Hawaii, the District of Columbia and Colorado had the lowest rates. While the Midwest had the greatest prevalence of obesity, the South was not far behind and was home to seven of the states with the highest obesity rates in the nation. Obesity rates have been steadily rising since the 1990s. In 2013, Mississippi and West Virginia were the first two states to ever report more than 35% of their adult population as obese.
Life on the Home Planet
Swan River flowing with gold (Phys)
Solid gold particles have been discovered in the Swan River, but don't grab your prospecting kit just yet.
The University of Western Australia's Dr Andrew Rate says much of the gold his team collected is nanoparticulate, comprising nuggets thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, or fewer than 100 atoms across.
"We're measuring gold concentrations in the order of a few tens of parts per trillion," Dr Rate says.
