Financial Markets and Economy
Japan Futures Signal Drop Before China Data; Dollar Holds Losses (Bloomberg)
Asian equities looked set to snap the longest rally for global stocks since February, with Chinese trade figures expected to provide a catalyst for investors. The dollar was weaker following a rally in commodity-linked currencies as traders continue to bet U.S. interest-rate increases will be pushed out until 2016.
What to watch for in Intel’s earnings (Market Watch)
Intel Corp. INTC, +0.22% is set to report third-quarter earnings after the market’s close on Tuesday.
While Intel’s shares have outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average since its last earnings report, analysts continue to keep a close eye on the state of the PC market.
Agricultural giant FMC just gave a big warning about its business in Brazil and now the stock is crashing (Business Insider)
Agricultural giant FMC is the latest company to warn about operations in Brazil and now the stock is crashing.
Humbled Metal Traders Lick Wounds Amid Slump, Ponder Next Moves (Bloomberg)
Metals traders often brag that they can make money whether prices rise or fall, but few are crowing these days.
These stocks went from worst to first and it has caused a debate on Wall Street (Market Watch)
Market strategists are split in their opinion of the recent rally in the S&P 500’s weakest sectors of the year: While some think it is the bull market gathering its second wind, others see it as an unsustainable bear rally.
Investment firm Fortress to shutter its macro hedge fund (Business Insider)
Fortress Investment Group is planning to close its global macro hedge fund after suffering heavy losses and Michael Novogratz, the fund's portfolio manager, is expected to leave the hedge fund and private equity company, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The news comes just three months after Fortress reshuffled the senior ranks at its macro fund, making Novogratz, 50, the sole chief investment officer.
OPEC Sees U.S. Oil Output Falling for First Time in Eight Years (Bloomberg)
U.S. oil production is projected to decrease in 2016 for the first time in eight years, according to OPEC.
Total output of crude and natural gas liquids is forecast to fall 0.5 percent to 12.47 million barrels a day next year, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly market report Monday. The decline is being driven by the fall in prices, which has curbed spending, OPEC said. U.S. oil drillers have idled more than half thenation’s rigs since last October, data from oilfield-services company Baker Hughes Inc. shows.
Are bonds markets telling us that gloom over China is overdone? (Market Watch)
Investors in global stock markets have lost a lot of money due to gloom about China’s economy, but bond markets have taken the risks much more in stride. Who’s right? asks Craig Stephen.
Apocalypse Not-Quite-Now for Oil Producers (Bloomberg)
If you watch oil markets, you have reason to feel nervous heading into Houston these days. But the most horrific thing about the city turns out to be the traffic on the Sam Houston Parkway.
Chinese investors put $400 million into U.S. startups (CNN)
The fund is backed by one of China's largest private equity firms, China Science & Merchants Investment Management Group, which recently opened up a new venture capital firm, CSC Upshot.
Founded in 2010, AngelList is a platform for angel investors and venture capitalists to band together and back young companies.
Oil Traders Targeting Iran for $1 Billion in 2016 Gasoline Sales (Bloomberg)
Iran will need to import about 20 percent more gasoline to meet pent-up demand in the first year after economic sanctions are lifted, creating a market for some $1 billion in fuel sales from abroad, according to traders and analysts.
U.S. dollar is having a rough October (CNN)
The U.S. dollar is not having a good October.
It's value has sunk along with uncertainty around when the Federal Reserve will raise its key interest rate. These recent losses come after the dollar has surged against most currencies for much of this year.
Pepsi, Coca-Cola competing for investment in Chobani (Business Insider)
PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> and Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> are in talks to invest in Chobani LLC, in a deal that the Greek yogurt maker hopes could value it at as much $3 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
The negotiations illustrate how soft drink giants are making a push to diversify beyond the slow-growth carbonated beverage sector into the U.S. consumer market's faster-growing healthy lifestyle segment.
Politics
Trump-less Democratic debate expected to focus on policy, not personality (Market Watch)
If you like watching presidential debates for policy details, you might love Tuesday night’s contest among the five Democratic contenders.
But if you prefer personality clashes with larger-than-life White House hopefuls, you could be in for a disappointment.
Jeb Bush has a new plan to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare (Business Insider)
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is set to become the third major GOP candidate to introduce a plan to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, a feat that has eluded Republicans since the law's passage more than five years ago.
Bush plans to unveil the plan Tuesday morning during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
Technology
Solar Car Race Tests Its Resolution Against Australia’s Unforgiving Terrain (PSFK)
Since major developments in the late 2000s greatly reduced the cost of producing panels, solar energy has made some of the largest leaps forward of all alternative energy sources. One example of the growing acceptance of solar is Australia’s World Solar Challenge where 50 teams will test their models for fully-functioning solar cars against one another and the rugged environment of the Outback.
Health and Life Sciences
Anorexia May Be Habit, Not Will power, Study Finds (NY Times)
Women who suffer from anorexia are often thought of as having an extraordinary degree of self-control, even if that discipline is used self-destructively.
But a new study suggests that the extreme dieting characteristic of anorexiamay instead be well-entrenched habit — behavior governed by brain processes that, once set in motion, are inflexible and slow to change.
Fighting back against Alzheimer's for 3 years (CNN)
Sandy Halperin closes his eyes. His expression is pensive, his mouth slightly upturned. Memories, like glints of light, dance inside his mind — a kind of neural film strip.
It is 1962. He is in a small neighborhood pharmacy in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, the pharmacist, hands a customer a wooden nickel, good for a free cup of coffee while she waits. He sees his 12-year-old self standing over a towering hot fudge sundae at the soda counter. The smell of warming cashews and peanuts curls out of a corner machine.
Life on the Home Planet
Could ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ really happen? (Futurity)
In the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow climate warming causes an abrupt collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which in turn leads to catastrophic events like tornadoes destroying Los Angeles, New York being flooded, and the northern hemisphere freezing.
Treating the Trauma of Young Syrian Refugees (NY Times)
In global health, mental illness has historically taken a back seat to more deadly medical concerns like infectious diseases. But aid organizations, local charities and independent doctors have often intervened during crises to address one of the most disabling psychological problems of all: trauma, whether from rape, natural disasters or civil war.
