Financial Markets and Economy
Charting the Markets: Stocks Jump After Yellen Shows the Way (Bloomberg)
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has spoken: the U.S. central bank is on track to raise interest rates this year.
The dollar rose for the fifth day in six with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index on track for its biggest weekly gain in two months. Asian stocks swung between gains and losses, as did emerging market equities. Gold dropped after its biggest increase since January and highest close for a month.
BlackBerry posted a quarterly loss and its stock is getting smoked (Business Insider)
BlackBerry shares fell as much as 7% ahead of the open on Friday morning after the company reported weak quarterly earnings.
The smartphone maker reported a second-quarter adjusted loss of 13 cents per share on revenues of $490 million, down 46.5% compared to a year ago.
Analysts had expected a loss of 9 cents and revenues of $605.3 million, according to Bloomberg.
U.S. Index Futures Advance as Yellen Supports 2015 Rate Increase (Bloomberg)
U.S. stock-index futures advanced as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank is on track to raise interest rates this year, indicating its confidence in the economy.
It looks like one of the world's best-funded bitcoin companies is running into trouble (Business Insider)
Bitcoin payment processing company BitPay is scaling back its business.
Industry news site CoinDesk reports that BitPay has cut staff numbers by as much as 20, just a day after it scrapped its "free and unlimited" bitcoin processing offer for new merchants.
In an email sent to staff and seen by CoinDesk, BitPay CEO Stephen Pair says the decision to cut staffing number was necessary to "reduce costs" and "better align with the pace of growth" in the industry.
U.K. Cuts Lloyds Stake Below 12% Even as Stock Price Dropped (Bloomberg)
The British government sold another 1 percent stake in Lloyds Banking Group Plc in the past month, pushing its holding below 12 percent as the bank’s shares hovered near the state’s minimum disposal price.
The government owned about 8.55 billion shares as of Thursday, down from 9.28 billion shares in its last filing on Aug. 24, the bank said in a statement Friday.
BMW shares rocketed up 5% at the open after a clarification over its engine emissions (Business Insider)
BMW shares surged as markets opened Friday morning, after cratering on Thursday.
After reports from German publication AUTO BILD that one of the German carmaker's X3 models didn't meet EU emissions standards, shares dropped by as much as 8%, ending down 7.28% for the day.
Yellen 2015 Rate-Increase Signal Pushes Germany's Bonds Lower (Bloomberg)
Europe’s government bonds followed Treasuries lower after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed the U.S. central bank is poised to raise interest rates this year.
Weak Japanese data weighs on oil markets (Business Insider)
Oil markets remained subdued in early trading in Asia on Friday after weak data from Japan reinforced concerns over global economic growth.
Japan's core consumer prices fell 0.1 percent in August from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, marking the first year-on-year drop since April 2013. The index includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices.
Oil Risk Blows Up Inflation Goal as Norway Targets Krone (Bloomberg)
Has Norwegian central bank Governor Oeystein Olsen thrown away his inflation target?
That’s what analysts were wondering Thursday after he unexpectedly cut interest rates to a record low and signaled further easing, even as he predicted faster inflation.
Gold drops, hit by Yellen remarks, but still up for week (Market Watch)
Gold futures slumped Friday, hurt by the Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen saying the economy is improving and she expects an interest-rate hike in 2015.
December gold GCZ5, -0.91% fell $10.20, or 0.9%, to $1,143.60 an ounce, while December silver SIZ5, -0.50% dropped 7 cents, or 0.5%, to $15.06 an ounce.
1MDB Dollar Bonds Slump to Record as U.S. Probes Hurt Sentiment (Bloomberg)
Malaysia Development Bhd.’s dollar bonds fell to a record as a plunge in the ringgit pushes up financing costs for the debt-ridden state investment company under investigation in the U.S.
Stock investors haven’t been this bearish in 15 years (Market Watch)
Bearishness has reached an extreme not seen at least since the top of the Internet bubble in early 2000.
Yet this is a bullish omen, according to the inverse logic of contrarian analysis: Extreme levels of bearishness indicate that there is a very robust “wall of worry” for the market to climb.
Iron-Ore Profit Mojo Rivals Hermes, Dior Even After Price Plunge (Bloomberg)
At the peak of the iron-ore boom, the world’s biggest producers were spinning out profit margins the envy of luxury goods makers such as Christian Dior SE and Hermes International SCA. What’s surprising is how much money some are still making, even after prices plunged.
Japan stocks climb after Abe stresses economic pledge (Market Watch)
Shares in Japan rebounded Friday after a pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen the country’s economy, while markets elsewhere mostly fell amid the prospect of higher rates in the U.S.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +1.76% finished up 1.8%, with the benchmark rallying from negative territory.
China Firms Seek to Pay Down Overseas Debt Early After Yuan Drop (Bloomberg)
At least three Chinese companies have said this month that theyre seeking to pay off overseas debt early, after the yuans tumble pressured the nations firms to do more to reduce foreign exchange risk.
Sharp Drop in Currency Adds to Growing List of Woes in Brazil (NY Times)
Since it was created in 1994, the Brazilian currency, the real, has been synonymous with the country’s return to financial stability and its subsequent ascent as an economic power.
But a stunning decline in the value of the currency — dropping to a record low against the dollar this week — is now the latest blow to Brazilian businesses struggling with recession.
Stock Trading Dominated by Bears as S&P 500 Nears Lows of August (Bloomberg)
Bears are winning out when it comes to daily U.S. stock trading.
Russian Stocks May Rally 21%, BCS Says (Bloomberg)
Russia’s benchmark stock gauge, one of the most volatile in the world, may rise 21 percent over the next year in dollar terms as valuations already reflect the worst of the country’s economic crisis, according to BCS Financial Group.
Politics
Speaker Boehner resigns: the fallout (The Christian Science Monitor)
House Speaker John Boehner stunned Washington on Friday by announcing that he will step down from his leadership post and resign from Congress by the end of October.
The move ends Mr. Boehner’s long struggle over goals and tactics with the restive conservative faction of the House GOP. But it could lead to a more immediate, open, and contentious fight between the tea party and establishment wings of the party over leadership posts, spending bills, and even the upcoming 2016 presidential race.
Bernie Sanders Wins Endorsement of Ghost From Hillary Clinton’s Past (NY Times)
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is resurrecting a ghost from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s past as he looks to expand his lead in New Hampshire.
The Vermont senator who is battling Mrs. Clinton for the Democratic nomination has invited Jonathan Tasini to join him on the campaign trail in New Hampshire on Saturday. While Mr. Tasini might not be a household name these days, he is quite familiar with Mrs. Clinton, having challenged her in a primary contest for her Senate seat in New York in 2006.
Jeb Bush: Hope, not ‘free stuff,’ will win black voters (Market Watch)
“Our message is one of hope and aspiration,” the former Florida governor said at a Republican women’s club dinner in South Carolina on Thursday night. “It isn’t one of division and get in line and we’ll take care of you with free stuff,” Bush said, according to the Washington Post. “Our message is one that is uplifting — that says you can achieve earned success.” The “free stuff” comment echoed a line from Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee who struggled with minority voters. That year, Romney said at a Montana fundraiser: “I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy — more free stuff.”
Catalonia's Election: The Grapes of Independence (Bloomberg)
The roots of the vines surrounding the Albet i Noya winery on the western slopes of Catalonia's Ordal mountains penetrate deep into the earth, clawing their way through clay and calcareous stone.
'The soil here is perfect for vines," says Josep Maria Albet i Noya, the fourth generation of his family to run this vineyard. "And this year the conditions were fantastic. I think 2015 will be a very good vintage."
Technology
The Origin of a High Tech Vaporizer Comes Deeply Rooted in Robotics (PSFK)
It wasn’t until recently that one might attribute clean energy and robotics to getting stoned, but when robotic toy designers got into the vaping game, high tech sprouted to life. New to the modern world of vice is the Vapium Weekender Edition, a solar-powered vaporizer you can blaze off the grid using renewable energy.
Vapium creator Michael Trzecieski went from creating products for small kids to creating products for big ones. Before Vapium, he cut his teeth in the toy industry, designing robotic pets and accessories. The first robot he built was a solar-powered dragster with his sister which went on to win first place in a Montreal robotics competition.
Health and Life Sciences
How Hormones Make You Feel Hungry and Full (Gizmodo)
The need to find fuel to generate energy is a profound drive within the biology of all living organisms: we all need food to survive. So it’s not surprising that our bodies have such a complex system to control food intake, driven by hormones.
Hormone levels also change when we lose weight. As much as we battle to trim down via diets and eating patterns, they’re also the reason most of us will regain the weight we lose – or more.
Mimicking diet changes of global travel reveals clues to gut health? (Phys)
When travelers embark on a world tour, they may look forward to encounters with new people, traditions and cultures, including unfamiliar foods. But experienced globetrotters also know that partaking of the local cuisine, while tasty, often changes their bowel habits.
Adding to the growing understanding of the importance of gut bacteria in human health, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied gut motility, measuring in mice the time it takes food to move through the gastrointestinal tract in a way that mimics the dietary effects of world travel.
Ask Well: Alcoholism and Depression (NY Times)
Alcoholism is not a form of depression, but both are quite common, and there is plenty of overlap between the two.
Depression makes people more vulnerable to alcoholism and visa versa, said Dr. Shelly Greenfield, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of McLean Hospital’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Clinical and Health Services Research Program.
Life on the Home Planet
Hajj disaster fallout puts pressure on Saudi's (BBC)
It is a matter of immense prestige for the Saudi royal family that it hosts the Hajj. Saudi kings have proudly adopted the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
But the honour carries a heavy responsibility too.
The Saudis feel they have lived up to this by spending billions on expanding Mecca and Medina and improving the transport and infrastructure to try to ensure that the huge mass of humanity that converges on Islam's holiest sites is able to move as smoothly and safely as possible.
That Arctic Seed Vault Isn’t Just There for a Doomsday (Wired)
In 7 years since the Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened, hundreds of thousands of seed samples have gone into its icy tombs. And not one has come out—until now. This week the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas asked for the return of 325 little black boxes of seeds it had stored in the Svalbard vault. For many years, the center housed its own seed bank near Aleppo, Syria. Now, its scientists hope to use the Svalbard samples to regenerate that collection outside of their war-torn home.
