Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Index Futures Rise as Earnings Pick Up Pace, EBay Rallies (Bloomberg)
U.S. stock-index futures rose after quarterly profits at EBay Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. beat projections and investors watched for more reports to gauge the health of corporate America.
A company involved in Valeant's alleged fraud put out a fascinating statement as the market slept (Business Insider)
Around 7:10 pm EST Wednesday night, Philidor — a specialty pharmacy company which distributes and bills clients for embattled drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals — put out a press release relevant to fraud allegations a short selling firm levied against Valeant on Wednesday.
And we now have a better understanding of the opaque specialty pharmacy industry.
The Story of Wall Street's First Black Millionaire (The Atlantic)
No one will ever erect a statue honoring Jeremiah G. Hamilton. As an African American broker in the mid-1800s, Hamilton was part of no one’s usable past: Wall Street in that time was completely white, and New York’s black leaders disdained him for his brashness. But his death, in 1875, attracted national attention, and scores of newspapers reported that Hamilton was the richest non-white man in the country and that his estate was worth about $2 million, or about $250 million today.
Gold struggles for direction ahead of data, ECB meeting (Market Watch)
Gold futures were switching between modest gains and losses in early Thursday trade as metals investors awaited U.S. economic reports on employment and guidance from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
Teck Resources Profit Beats Estimates on Cost Cutting (Bloomberg)
Teck Resources Ltd. reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates after Canada’s largest diversified miner cut costs to combat the rout in commodity prices.
McDonald's global same-restaurant sales rise (Business Insider)
McDonald's Corp reported its first rise in quarterly global same-restaurant sales in more than a year as demand recovered in China, where it had struggled after a food safety scandal, and menu changes boosted sales in the United States.
The danger for investors as today’s earnings fire hose hits (Market Watch)
There’s a fire hose of earnings hitting us full in the face, and one problem is that it could leave us blinded, seeing only what we want to see.
“With so many companies reporting, traders can find plenty of evidence to prove whatever bias they harbor,” writes Jani Ziedins over at the CrackedMarket blog.
Vale Earnings Slide as Iron-Ore Rout Blunts Cost-Cutting Efforts (Bloomberg)
Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron-ore and nickel miner, reported a decline in quarterly earnings as slumping prices overshadowed efforts to focus on higher quality deposits and cut costs.
United Air sees further decline in unit revenues; profit misses view (Business Insider)
United Continental Holdings Inc said on Thursday it expects a steep decline in unit revenue to continue into the fourth quarter as the strong U.S. dollar dents foreign sales, and reported quarterly earnings that came in below analysts' expectations.
U.K. Stocks Drop as Travis Perkins, Anglo American Shares Slide (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks rose fell for the third time this week, hurt by a slump in shares of Travis Perkins Plc.
Investors would be wise to move their money out of the U.S. (Market Watch)
While many investors worry that the U.S. economy is so weak it’s teetering on recession — and a slowdown in China will make matters worse — the real risk might be just the opposite.
U.S. economic growth is too hot. But at only 2.3% GDP growth, how can that be?
Caterpillar third-quarter profit tumbles (Business Insider)
Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported a lower quarterly net profit as global machinery sales fell during the third quarter as worldwide construction activity, mining and drilling for oil and gas remained severely weak.
German Stocks Show Signs of Life After $368 Billion Wipe Out (Bloomberg)
After German stocks lost as much as $368 billion this year, their appeal is slowly coming back.
Euro steadies versus dollar as investors wait for ECB meeting (Market Watch)
The euro fell to its lowest level in three weeks Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi all but promised an expansion of the central bank’s program of asset purchases.
The euro EURUSD, -1.4198% fell to a session low of $1.1159 while Draghi spoke, its lowest level since Oct. 2, according to data from FactSet. The shared currency traded at $1.1339 late Wednesday in New York.
Under Armour just had its first billion-dollar quarter (Business Insider)
Under Armour just reported third-quarter earnings results that were better than expected.
The retailer of active clothing and accessories reported revenues of $1.2 billion, the first time it has posted over a billion dollars. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.45.
Steel Rout Means Russian Producers Can't Rely on Weaker Ruble (Bloomberg)
The lowest steel prices in more than a decade mean Russian producers can no longer rely on a weaker ruble for protection.
Traders love a winner’s tale and ignore the cautionary ones (Quartz)
Your buddy bragging online about her huge investing returns probably sounds like she’s having a good run, but what do you do with that information?
VMware plunges 20% after EMC details Virtustream cloud spinoff (Market Watch)
Michael Dell envisions the $67 billion merger of the computer company that bears his name with storage giant EMC Corp. as the birth of a business-computing juggernaut. For now, though, EMC’s data-center software subsidiary VMware Inc. may be a casualty of the deal’s complexity.
Crashing commodities are scalping the world's biggest iron producer (Business Insider)
Commodity prices are crashing right now, and the slump could be about to claim another victim.
Vale, the Brazilian mining company, is having an absolutely crazy year, and its third quarter results are a testament to that.
Draghi Rubs Shoulders With Gamblers for High-Stakes Decision (Bloomberg)
Mario Draghi and European Central Bank policy makers have chosen the perfect setting for their high-stakes discussion on the euro area’s monetary policy: a Maltese resort that boasts one of the Mediterranean’s biggest casinos.
What to expect from Microsoft’s earnings (Market Watch)
Microsoft Inc. is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after the market closes Thursday. Here’s what to expect from the software giant:
Earnings: Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Microsoft MSFT, +1.99% to report earnings per share of 58 cents, above the 54 cents a share reported in the year-earlier period. Estimize, a crowdsourced estimate platform, expects revenue of 59 cents.
Advertising company Publicis Groupe said a 'surprising' number of clients have been cancelling ad campaigns — now its stock is tumbling (Business Insider)
Publicis Groupe, the world's third-largest advertising agency holding group, delivered a set of disappointing Q3 results and cut its full-year forecast, in part due to a "surprising" number of clients either canceling or postponing their ad campaigns.
Norway Gas Output Set for Record as Monster Field Is Revived (Bloomberg)
The Troll A platform rocks like a boat as North Sea waves pound its four gigantic concrete legs, but monitors inside the control room show a steady flow of natural gas continues unabated — enough to meet the needs of 10 million homes in Europe.
Investors say ‘adios’ to Chipotle after earnings, but analysts stand by (Market Watch)
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. may have tumbled after the fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain reported a weaker-than-expected third-quarter profit, but analysts are maintaining their ratings for the company.
Raymond James reiterated its market perform rating in a note published Wednesday that emphasized the fact that Chipotle CMG, -0.52% reported earnings that were “essentially in line with third quarter comp store sales and earnings per share results.”
Dunkin' Brands revenue beats as royalty fees rise (Business Insider)
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc <DNKN.O> reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by increased royalties from franchisees and higher sales at company-operated restaurants.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $46.2 million, or 48 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 26 from $54.7 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.
iPhones in Christmas Stockings Bring Cheer to Asia's Exporters (Bloomberg)
It's never too early to start your Christmas shopping, and Asian nations are starting to benefit. Exports from the region are recovering as demand from the U.S. and other developed economies picks up.
Should You Be Allowed to Invest in a Lawsuit? (NY Times)
The Miller quick coupler comes in a few different sizes. The one I tried out has the proportions of a laundry bin and weighs nearly 700 pounds. It allows the operators of hydraulic digging machines to switch buckets without ever leaving the cab. Two flanges rise from its sides, supplying it with the Volkswagen-like curves that inspired its nickname, the Bug. The flanges are drilled clean through with four holes set inside four bosses; beneath the front pair of holes are two upturned latches, like the open ends of two wrenches. Other than its poppy-red color, the device appears to be an ordinary specimen from the menagerie of heavy-duty construction equipment.
Anglo American's diamond business is getting crushed (Business Insider)
Anglo American has serious problems right now, and the company's diamond business isn't helping.
Aussie Sliding Toward 60 U.S. Cents in Citigroup's 1998 Redux (Bloomberg)
If you want to know what lies ahead for Australias dollar look back to 1998, according to Citigroup Inc., the worlds largest currency trader.
Ladbrokes and Debenhams lead the FTSE (Business Insider)
The FTSE 100 opened in slightly negative territory, thanks to the major slump in the Travis Perkins stock price.
Wall Street Analysts Say Valeant's Stock Collapse Is a Buying Opportunity (Bloomberg)
Shares of Valeant took quite the beating yesterday after Citron Research accused the company of an Enron-like accounting strategy. At one point, the stock fell as much as 40 percent before Valeant posted a rebuttal calling the short seller’s allegations “erroneous.”
Ferrari Shares Surge in Trading Debut (NY Times)
Shares of Ferrari got off to a speedy start in the automaker’s new life as a public company, rising well above their initial public offering price in their first day of trading on Wednesday.
Ferrari’s stock — trading under the ticker symbol RACE on the New York Stock Exchange — closed up nearly 6 percent at $55. The shares opened at $60, about 15 percent higher than the offering price.
Politics
Joe Biden Won't Run for President (Wall Street Journal)
Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he would forgo a run for the White House, bringing clarity to the shape of the Democratic primary race and giving front-runner Hillary Clinton a substantial boost.
Obama Administration Draws Up Plan to Help Puerto Rico With Debt (NY Times)
Looking for a way to help debt-ridden Puerto Rico, administration officials on Wednesday proposed an ambitious — if politically perilous — plan that stops short of a direct federal bailout but that its backers hope is sweeping enough to keep the island from becoming America’s Greece.
Benghazi panel to focus on attack, not Hillary Clinton emails, Republicans say (Market Watch)
The House Committee on Benghazi will focus its long-awaited questioning of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on details of the 2012 attack on a Libyan diplomatic outpost, rather than on Clinton's email arrangements, Republicans said this week.
The panel's hand has been forced by recent suggestions, including by some Republicans, that the committee's motivations are chiefly political. That has shifted the dynamics of Thursday's high-profile hearing, with Republicans facing pressure to show they are playing fair just as Clinton faces pressure to show she didn't botch a tragic incident.
Technology
Inventors Race to Find Best Way to Recycle Polluting Carbon (Scientific American)
Last year, human activities released about 32 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), those greenhouse gas emissions must fall to almost zero by 2100 to avoid irreversible damage to our environment. The best way to achieve this is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels—but it also makes sense to prevent the CO2 that we do emit from reaching the atmosphere.
Why a ‘Back to the Future’ Hoverboard Never Took Off (NY Times)
We were promised hoverboards. And if you’re angry because we don’t have them, the movie that planted the dream might also be to blame.
Health and Life Sciences
The woman who can smell Parkinson's (BBC)
Meet the woman from Perth whose super sense of smell could change the way Parkinson's disease is diagnosed.
Joy Milne's husband, Les, died in June, aged 65.
For a healthier and younger brain, eat Mediterranean (CNN)
As we age, our brains naturally shrink and our risk of having a stroke, dementia or Alzheimer's rise, and almost everyone experiences some kind of memory loss.
Scientists know that people who exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, avoid smoking and keep mentally stimulated generally have healthier brains than people who aren't as careful about diet and exercise. This latest study from the journal Neurology shows how one easy-to-follow diet (which includes wine!) may make your brain about five years younger.
Life on the Home Planet
The refugee crisis slashed Eurotunnel's freight traffic by 33% (Business Insider)
Europe is in the middle of the worst refugee crisis since World War II.
Around 700,000 refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern and African nations are estimated to be arriving in Europe this year and the United Nations is forecasting the same amount of asylum seekers for 2016 in Europe.
The Strongest El Nino in Decades Is Going to Mess With Everything (Bloomberg)
It has choked Singapore with smoke, triggered Pacific typhoons and left Vietnamese coffee growers staring nervously at dwindling reservoirs. In Africa, cocoa farmers are blaming it for bad harvests, and in the Americas, it has Argentines bracing for lower milk production and Californians believing that rain is finally, mercifully on the way.
El Nino is back and in a big way.
