Financial Markets and Economy
The U.S. Economic Recovery Now Depends On Consumers (Five Thirty Eight)
The effects of the global economic slowdown are at last reaching American shores. With the Federal Reserve and Congress unlikely to provide much protection, U.S. consumers may be all that’s keeping the recovery on track.
Are there dead unicorns on the horizon? (CNN)
The tech world calls them unicorns — privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more.
There are roughly 140 of these companies, and they're raising more and more money. Many are funded by nontraditional investors like hedge funds and mutual funds, with an emphasis on growing the company's customer base, rather than turning a profit.
Exxon, Chevron Outlooks Revised Lower by S&P in Oil Slump (Bloomberg)
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. were among several U.S. oil and natural gas producers that had their outlooks or ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s as the industry suffers from weak crude prices, hurting their cash flow and liquidity.
Target to begin selling Apple Watch (Market Watch)
Apple Inc. will begin selling the Apple Watch at Target Corp. stores, the latest third-party retailer to carry the watch.
Target TGT, +0.03% said on its website that some stores will begin selling the watch this week, with the product in all stores by Oct. 25, ahead of the key holiday sales rush. The watch will go on sale on Target.com on Oct. 18.
And you thought the stock market would tank today (Business Insider)
After a disappointing September jobs report sent markets deep into the red early Friday, the stock market came storming back and finished green.
U.S. Stocks Survive Barrages as Selloff Low Becomes Rally Point (Bloomberg)
While everything from Glencore Plc to the Labor Department threw punches at U.S. stocks this week, nothing landed the knockout blow.
What to watch for in PepsiCo earnings (Market Watch)
PepsiCo Inc. is scheduled to report third-quarter results before the bell on Tuesday.
Wall Street is betting on earnings and sales declines year-on-year for the beverage and snack giant. PepsiCo PEP, +0.33% and other major beverage companies continue to feel the pinch of a stronger dollar, and even more so in recent months as the U.S. currency strengthened relative to other currencies, particularly versus emerging-markets denominations.
Casino stocks are ripping higher after a vague promise from the Chinese government (Business Insider)
Casino stocks are ripping higher after the Chinese government made a vague promise about Macau.
Li Gang, China's liaison to the gambling haven, said the mainland will "support Macau's economy in all aspects," according to Teledifusao de Macau.
Investors Are Asking Tough Questions About 'Yieldcos' (Bloomberg)
The website of SunEdison, the renewable energy company, is a virtual smorgasbord of sunshine and light. "Solar perfected," reads one slogan splashed across the page. "Welcome to the dawn of a new era in solar energy," reads another banner over a pink-hued sunset.
Emerging Markets Report: Risky Chinese corporate debt on the rise (Market Watch)
Hayman Capital’s Kyle Bass last month attracted attention when he predicted that China is, at the most, three quarters away from a peak in non-performing loans. Macquarie this week provided context to that warning, publishing data that show financial conditions at Chinese corporations deteriorating.
Uncovered debt, which the analyst defined as debt that exceeds earnings before interest and tax has risen to 23.6% in 2014 from 19.9% in 2013 among the 780 Chinese corporate bond issuers that Macquarie tracked.
Yen-Driven Buying-Panic Lifts Stocks Green Amid "The Most Aggresssive Buying I Have Ever Seen" (Zero Hedge)
Ignore the fact that today's jobs data printed below the lowest of all economists' estimates,and just buy… because USDJPY is surging.
PE has something to sell you — debt, losses and slow growth (Business Insider)
There's a pair of monster IPOs hitting the market this month – payments processor First Data, and supermarket chain Albertsons.
They've got a lot in common. Both are private-equity backed. Both are looking to raise much more than the average US IPO – which raised just under $200 million this year.
Credit Investors Bolt Party as Economy Fears Trump Low Rates (Bloomberg)
Debt investors are a nervous lot these days, and new signs that global turmoil is weighing on the U.S. economic outlook are only adding to their angst.
Is lower for longer still good news for stocks? (Market Watch)
Is bad news actually bad news for stocks?
That’s the question after equities and other risky assets initially sold off sharply in the wake of a disappointing September jobs report, but turned tail hours later andrallied solidly into the closing bell to erase weekly losses and allow stocks to score the sharpest daily reversal in four years.
Tesla's third quarter deliveries total 11,580, up 49% from last year (Business Insider)
Tesla's third quarter vehicle deliveries totaled 11,580, up 49% from the prior year.
This number also includse the first deliveries of the new Model X SUV, which the company unveiled earlier this week.
Tesla said in its second quarter earnings release back in August that it expects to deliver 50,000-55,000 vehicles in 2015. In the second quarter Tesla delivered 11,532 vehicles and said it expected to deliver about the same number in Q3.
Politics
Donald Trump's Silent Minority (The Atlantic)
A new Pew poll on the Republican race says several useful things about Donald Trump. For example: He’s still solidly ahead of the field in the race for the Republican nomination. The poll has Trump at 25 percent, followed by Ben Carson at 16, Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina at 8, and Ted Cruz at 6. Jeb Bush, meanwhile, has taken a beating—sliding out of the top five, only a bit ahead of Rand Paul, who’s on campaign death watch.
A Day on the Campaign Trail with John Kasich (Bloomberg)
What is it like to be a candidate on the presidential campaign trail?
If you're John Kasich, it starts with a morning work out at the gym. What follows is a stream of press conferences, endorsements, policy reveals, questions from voters, and hopefully a stop for food along the way.
Technology
Solar Panels Are About To Get Way, Way Better (Fast Company)
SolarCity has a big announcement that may help reshape the economics of renewables.
SolarCity, the solar energy company that Elon Musk helped found, has been on a tear over the past several years, adding thousands of employees, expanding across the country, and building what will be North America's largest solar panel manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York. Now it has a new claim to fame: maker of the world's most efficient solar panels.
The Robot Hand with the Softest Touch (PSFK)
Picture a robot. Now picture a robot’s lumbering grip. What if the robot’s grip could be softened, become as fluid and sensitive as a human’s? Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) recently demonstrated a 3D-printed robot hand that can do just that: picking up an egg without crushing the brittle shell.
Health and Life Sciences
This Test Can Detect Any Virus That Infects Humans (Popular Science)
In order for a doctor to treat a patient, the exact cause of that patient’s illness must be found first. If a virus is the cause, current diagnostic tests are often not sensitive enough to detect the virus, or the doctor must already suspect which virus in particular is causing the symptoms before they can order the appropriate test to confirm it. But a new test developed by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis may have solved this problem. “ViroCap” is a new diagnostic test that can detect any virus that infects people and animals. Their work was published in the journal Genome Research.
Why do teens in Nicaragua have kidney disease? (Futurity)
Researchers trying to find the cause of an epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America had previously identified strenuous manual labor in agriculture as a possible risk factor. But now they believe the initial kidney damage may be present in adolescence, before young people start working.
Life on the Home Planet
Hillside collapses on Guatemalan town, killing 26; hundreds missing (Reuters)
The collapse of a hillside onto a town on the edge of Guatemala City killed at least 26 people and left hundreds missing on Friday, as rescue crews desperately searched for survivors in homes buried by dirt and sludge.
The East Coast’s Heavy Rains Are Not From Hurricane Joaquin (Wired)
Right now, the East Coast is getting drenched by some nasty Atlantic moisture. But there are worse things than rain. Take wind, for instance, or heavy seas. Or maybe take a hurricane, like the one that’s been squatting over the Bahamas.
