Financial Markets and Economy
China's Economy May Be Even Bigger Than You Think (Bloomberg)
Before the release of China's economic performance in the third quarter on Monday cast doubt on the reliability of official economic data from the Middle Kingdom are loud again. Bill Gross has called China hard transparent system country among emerging nations. And Premier Li Keqiang said before he took this position again, he will not leave on official statistics but fair economic activity rather using data such as the rail freight or the power consumption.
The oil slump has cut this drilling company's US revenue in half (Business Insider)
It might not be the most well-known company in the world but oil services group Schlumberger is a good indicator of where the oil market is heading.
Schlumberger helps oil companies find and drill for oil and they. The group's chief executive, Paal Kibsgaard, warned that a recovery in the oil and gas industry has been delayed and his clients will cut their spending into 2016.
Rally in Glencore Shares Help U.K. Stocks Pare Weekly Decline (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks rose for a second day to trim its weekly drop, fueled by a rally in Glencore Plc.
Silicon Valley IPO market boom winding down, data shows (Business Insider)
Last year, many tech IPOs enjoyed soaring valuations in their Wall Street debut, raining cash on the companies and their investors and boosting concerns about another Silicon Valley bubble. Now, the party is winding down, according to data analyzed by Reuters: Five of the 12 U.S.-based tech companies that went public this year, or 42 percent, priced their shares at a valuation below or nearly the same as their private market value, compared to 24 percent of the 29 that went public in 2014. "People are no longer out of their minds with valuations and expectations," said Adam Marcus, managing partner at OpenView Venture Partners in Boston.
LSE's Groundhog Day-Inspired Futures Market Leaves the Shadows (Bloomberg)
London Stock Exchange Group Plc for the first time confirmed that it will start a futures exchange to compete with the entrenched derivatives markets owned by its rivals Deutsche Boerse AG and Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
Gold futures dive from four-month high as dollar climbs (Market Watch)
Gold prices dropped for the first time in six sessions on Friday, hit by an advance in the greenback that deterred foreign-currency holders from investing in dollar-denominated metals.
Gold for December delivery GCZ5, -0.81% lost $10.60, or 0.9%, to $1,176.90 an ounce, erasing its gain for the year and dropping from a four-month closing high hit on Thursday.
License to Spend in Poland as ECB and Fed Keep Investors Easy (Bloomberg)
It’s proving tough to damp investor confidence in Poland.
Asian shares rise to two-month highs (Business Insider)
Asian shares got a bright start on Friday, catching some of Wall Street's shine after upbeat U.S. price and jobless claims data calmed some recent concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy.
How fast we forget what drives stock prices (Market Watch)
Volatility doesn’t make you money; paying a fair price for future earnings does, says John Coumarianos.
Hugo Boss Shares Slide as China Slump Hurts Full-Year Forecasts (Bloomberg)
Hugo Boss AG shares fell the most in more than four years after the German fashion label cut its sales and earnings forecasts for the year, weighed down by weak third-quarter results in China and the U.S.
The stock slid as much as 9.4 percent to 92.55 euros in Frankfurt, the steepest intraday drop since Oct. 4, 2011.
VW Loses Market Share in Europe as Diesel-Cheating Recalls Loom (Bloomberg)
Volkswagen AG failed to keep pace with European competitors as the German carmakers market share slipped last month in the wake of the diesel-emissions test scandal.
China stocks end week up 6.5% as hopes for Beijing stimulus build (Market Watch)
China shares logged two consecutive weeks of gains for the first time since August, as investors ramp up borrowing to buy stocks and expectations build for more government stimulus.
The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +1.60% finished up 6.5% this week, gaining 14.7% from the nadir of its recent selloff on Aug. 26. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng IndexHSI, +0.78% is on track for its third straight week of gains, up 2.5% this week and 13% since its late September low through Thursday.
Beyond the Headlines: Five Things to Watch in Chinas GDP Report (Bloomberg)
From Janet Yellen to anxious Shanghai retirees who poured their savings into stocks, eyes worldwide will turn to Beijing on Monday for the 10 a.m. release of the third-quarter gross domestic product report. (Thats 10 p.m. Sunday on Wall Street.)
Bond Traders Face Incredible Shrinking Bonus as Revenue Tumbles (Bloomberg)
Equities traders, be kind to your brethren on the fixed-income desk: Their year started with such promise and is headed for a sour ending.
The ‘new normal’ for markets: Everything stinks (Market Watch)
Bulls have to be feeling pretty good, relatively anyway, after yesterday’s upbeat session brought the S&P 500 back to levels not seen since the nasty drop in August. And feeling good definitely hasn’t been the norm for anybody on the long side of anything these days.
The Financing Gap That May Finally Slow Down U.S. Share Buybacks (Bloomberg)
American companies are sending more money out the door for things like plant upgrades and dividends than they have in the bank. A casualty of the deficit, says one research firm, could be one of the stock market’s biggest support structures: share buybacks.
Stress Building in Kenyan Credit Markets Spells Doom for Growth (Bloomberg)
Doubts are growing about Kenya’s ability to keep economic growth on the boil as it battles a plunging stock market, surging debt costs and a weaker currency.
Nasdaq 100 Facing Key Challenge For Stock Rally (Dana Lyons)
The ability of the Nasdaq 100 to overcome nearby resistance would be one of the first price-based signs that the current stock rally may be more than just a mean-reversion bounce.
Dollar Set for Longest Weekly Loss Since May as Fed Case Weakens (Bloomberg)
The dollar is showing signs of recovery after suffering its longest losing streak since May.
Wall Street looks for signs S&P 500 can hang onto 2,000 (Market Watch)
Wall Street was in a cautious mood on Friday, as investors waited to see if markets can pick up where they left off, after the major indexes closed at their best levels since August.
Readings on industrial production and consumer sentiment are expected later Friday.
GE beats on profits (Business Insider)
General Electric Co said on Friday that its quarterly industrial profit rose 5 percent, as its businesses producing jet engines and power turbines offset declines in its oil and gas segment.
Politics
Bernie Sanders, "Socialist Versus Democratic Socialist," And The Gig Economy (Fast Company)
Coming off the first Democratic debate, here's clarification on Senator Bernie Sanders's ideology, and what it could mean to gig workers.
The meaning of words and phrases change. Dictionaries are updated to add new ones and also to reflect the current usage of old ones—but even with a dictionary, it's easy to get lost.
Trump: The Fed's keeping rates low as a favor to Obama. I like low rates, but they're basically handing a recession to the next president. (Business Insider)
In an interview with Bloomberg TV's Stephanie Ruhle on Friday morning, the republican presidential candidate said chair Janet Yellen is simply doing Obama a political favor.
He said, "Janet Yellen for political reasons is keeping interest rates so low that the next guy or person who takes over as president could have a real problem. Keeping these interest rates at this level, Stephanie, this is a political thing, when they get raised, perhaps with the next president, we're going to see some bad things happen."
Humor
BIDEN TO DECIDE ON 2016 BID BY EARLY 2017 (Andy Borowitz, New Yorker)
An e-mail to potential donors noted, “Joe is trying to decide whether running for President is a good idea…
Uber Vs. Taxis (The Onion)
[It’s a graphic, you’ll have to click on the portion below for the whole thing.]
Technology
Teddy Bear Plays the Role of Babysitter, Baby Monitor, and Teacher (PSFK)
Meet DIRO the Bear, the stuffed animal with the ambitious goal of becoming your child’s new best friend, nanny, parental assistant and homework helper.
This Rifle Doesn't Need Bullets to Shoot Down Drones (Gizmodo)
Hunting quadrotors with #8 buckshot might be a valid pasttime for some people, but the US Army is looking for a little more refinement.
The device you can see being used to kill an unsuspecting quadrotor is a ‘cyber rifle’, built by the Army Cyber Institute and demoed at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition?.
Health and Life Sciences
Immune clue to prevent schizophrenia (BBC)
It may be possible to prevent schizophrenia by calming the brain's immune system, say scientists.
Brain scans found an overactive immune system in patients as well as in those at high risk of schizophrenia.
A New, Life-or-Death Approach to Funding Heart Research (NY Times)
Cardiologists recently hailed early results of a study suggesting that many lives might be saved if people with high blood pressure got it down far below levels now recommended. They predicted swift changes in treatment practices. Patients rushed to call their doctors.
Do annual physicals do more harm than good? (CNN)
Every year, one-third of Americans head into their doctor's office to be prodded and poked, weighed and tested. It's a ritual known as the annual physical and is the most common reason Americans visit the doctor.
Life on the Home Planet
Palestinians set fire to Jewish shrine; Israeli soldier stabbed (Reuters)
Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank set fire to a Jewish shrine near Nablus and stabbed an Israeli soldier near Hebron on Friday as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of violence.
Israel's military said about 100 people converged on the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph in the northern part of the West Bank and set parts of it ablaze before Palestinian security forces arrived and pushed them back.
