Financial Markets and Economy
The Cloud Is Raining Cash on Amazon, Google, and Microsoft (Bloomberg)
Each companys impressive earnings can be attributed to a shift in the industry thats punishing a slew of legacy firms.
Traders are starting to buzz about stocks conquering this chart level (Market Watch)
After Thursday’s leap higher by the S&P 500, traders are watching to see if the stock benchmark can climb further and clear a key chart level.
Some chart watchers on Twitter say topping that mark — the 200-day moving average — could bring more gains.
Thomson Reuters third-quarter net profit rises (Business Insider)
Thomson Reuters Corp <TRI.N> <TRI.TO> on Friday reported higher quarterly net profit even as revenue dipped, hurt by foreign currency, and the news and information company reaffirmed its full-year forecast.
Third-quarter net earnings were $293 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with $250 million, or 28 cents per share, a year ago.
BofA Says It Knows the Place to Be for Top Bond Returns in 2016 (Bloomberg)
Bank of America Corp. says the worlds best bond rally has more life in it.
Whirlpool posts higher quarterly profit, revises 2015 EPS outlook (Business Insider)
Whirlpool Corp <WHR.N> posted a higher quarterly net profit on Friday as benefits from costs and capacity reductions, acquisitions, and favorable price-mix offset declining demand in Latin America and unfavorable currency exchange rates, the company said.
The world’s largest maker of home appliances reported third-quarter net income at $235 million, up from $230 million a year ago.
The best six months for stocks is about to begin (Market Watch)
Odds are that the Halloween Indicator will be especially good for the stock market this year.
Glencore Gain Puts FTSE 100 Index on Track for Weekly Advance (Bloomberg)
The FTSE 100 Index is headed for a weekly gain, helped the prospect of more stimulus by the European Central Bank.
China worries are going 'through the roof' (Business Insider)
China has had everyone worried this year.
Official third-quarter GDP figures put growth at 6.9%, beating analysts' expectations.
But people either don't believe it – even Premier Li Keqiang recommended looking at better measures such as electricity output – or are worried that the huge wave of corporate debt built up in the post-2008 boom times will come crashing down soon.
China rate cut adds to rally fever on Wall Street (Market Watch)
Wall Street was set to extend a rally on Friday begun 24 hours ago, after stock-index futures surged as China’s central bank cut interest rates and a clutch of heavyweight tech stocks rose in the wake of strong earnings.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ5, +0.88% jumped 163 points, or 0.9%, to 17,568, while those for the S&P 500 index ESZ5, +0.80% advanced 17.15 points, or 0.8%, to 2,070.25. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index NQZ5, +1.56%climbed 69.25 points, or 1.5%, to 4,621, as shares of Amazon.com, Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. looked set to rally after earnings late Thursday.
Aluminum Rebounds From Lowest in Six Years as Metals Advance (Bloomberg)
Aluminum climbed from the lowest level since 2009, snapping seven days of losses, as metals rallied across the board.
TalkTalk shares are getting obliterated by another hack announcement (Business Insider)
TalkTalk shares are getting absolutely crushed this morning, as the telecoms company reveals that it's been hacked, resulting in the potential theft of data relating to 4 million customers, including credit card details.
When Mario Draghi talks, the euro can’t contain itself (Quartz)
When Mario Draghi speaks, investors listen. And while you could say the same for most central bank chiefs, few central bankers move markets with words alone the way the president of the European Central Bank can.
He was at it again this week. As with many monetary-policy meetings before it, the ECB left interest rates unchanged after its latest gathering. But the combination of persistently weak economic growth, low inflation, and turmoil in emerging markets is clearly spooking Draghi and his ECB colleagues.
FTSE 100 in position for a weekly advance (Market Watch)
U.K. stocks rose Friday, moving toward a gain for the week, with British blue chips moving up after the European Central Bank indicated it may expand its stimulus measures.
The FTSE 100 UKX, +1.21% gained 0.6% at 6,412.58, with all sectors moving higher as other European markets also advanced. The index was in line for a weekly rise of 0.6%, which would mark its second weekly gain in three weeks.
Poste Italianes Initial Stock Sale Raises About $3.5 Billion (Bloomberg)
Italy raised about 3.1 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in the initial public offering of postal company Poste Italiane SpA, the country’s biggest IPO since 1999, as it seeks funds to cut debt.
The Italian Treasury fixed the final price at 6.75 euros per share, Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters in Rome on Friday, after offering the stock for 6 euros to 7.5 euros. Demand was more than three times the shares that were on sale and the stock will probably start trading in Milan on Oct. 27.
Weak Japan inflation, output data to cast cloud over BOJ meeting (Business Insider)
Japan's core inflation probably slipped for a second month in September, while factory output fell for a third month in a row, a Reuters poll showed, adding to headaches facing Bank of Japan policymakers as they head into a key policy meeting on Friday.
Private spending data also due next week is expected to show modest improvement, helped by holiday spending, but the rate of recovery likely remained moderate due to slow growth in wages.
Gold recovers from prior day’s drop, still down for the week (Market Watch)
Gold futures stepped higher early Friday, bouncing back from the prior day’s dollar-driven dip, but they still showed a moderate drop for the week.
December gold GCZ5, +1.11% rose $6.80, or 0.6%, to $1,172.90 an ounce, while December silver SIZ5, +1.19% tacked on 14 cents, or 0.9%, to $15.98 an ounce.
French Economy Picks Up as Services, Manufacturing Strengthen (Bloomberg)
French economic output picked up in October to the fastest in four months as growth in manufacturing and services accelerated.
A composite index of both industries by Markit Economics rose to 52.3 from 51.9 in September, moving further above the 50 level that divides expansion from contraction. A gauge of services activity increased to 52.3 from 51.9, while a factory output measure jumped to a 19-month high.
European Index Futures Climb After Draghi-Fueled Equity Rally (Bloomberg)
European index futures rose, signaling equities will extend an advance that began yesterday after Mario Draghi hinted that additional stimulus measures may come soon.
Nikkei, Hang Seng rally on hopes for more stimulus in Europe (Market Watch)
Markets in Asia soared to their highest levels in roughly two months on bets of easy-money policies from global central banks.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +2.11% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng IndexHSI, +1.34% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +1.67% each reached their highest levels since August.
Oil prices climb on upbeat economic data, ECB stimulus moves (Business Insider)
Oil prices extended gains into a second day in Asian trade on Friday, finding support from brighter economic data and a global stock market rally after the European Central Bank signaled its willingness to launch more stimulus measures.
Brent for December delivery rose 36 cents to $48.44 a barrel at 10.52 p.m. ET after settling up 23 cents in the previous session.
Oil at $50 Is Driving Norway to Zero as Recession Risk Soars (Bloomberg)
With oil prices still wobbling around $50, Norway is in danger of a recession that could drive its benchmark interest rates, already at a record low, to zero.
How to ladder bonds (Market Watch)
Bond laddering is a go-to strategy that can work well for many investors, said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist for Schwab Center for Financial Research. In one common application of this strategy, retirees cover their fixed expenses with income from individual bonds of staggered maturities.
Ferrari's First Family Locks Doors After Supercar Maker's IPO (Bloomberg)
Now that Ferrari NV is a publicly traded company, two Italian auto dynasties are planning a pact to make sure it stays that way.
Piero Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo Ferrari, and the Agnelli family — heirs of the founder of Fiat — are poised to sign an agreement tightening their control over the supercar maker. Under the terms of the IPO, the two families can take advantage of rules that will give them almost half of Ferrari’s voting rights, rendering any potential takeover virtually impossible.
Asia joins global stocks rally after ECB signals more stimulus (Business Insider)
Asia extended a global stocks rally on Friday after the European Central Bank signaled its readiness to inject more stimulus, helping the dollar scale a fresh two-month peak against the euro.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.6 percent, on track for a modest weekly loss of about 0.1 percent.
Worry about ‘myflation’ not inflation or deflation (Market Watch)
The breathless media coverage of the Federal Reserve’s decision last month to leave a key interest rate unchanged fueled the perception among investors that when the Fed finally does raise that rate off its historic lows, the move will have a big impact on their portfolios.
Pundits predict that the Fed will raise the federal-funds rate to some degree by the end of the year, reversing the near-zero level that has been in place since the end of 2008. The federal-funds rate influences rates offered by bonds, mortgages, student and car loans and other debt. Smart people can — and do — debate the extent to which the Fed’s action will hit home for ordinary investors by spurring inflation and putting a damper on market returns.
Draghi's Open Mouth Operations Briefly Sent Italian and Spanish Two-Year Yields Negative (Bloomberg)
What a turnaround.
Jack Dorsey is giving $200 million of his Twitter stock to employees (Quartz)
The equity will come directly from Dorsey’s own holdings, and amount to about a third of his 21.86 million shares. His total shares are worth $640 million, according to FactSet. One percent of Twitter’s stock is 6.74 million shares, which is worth $196.64 million, as of Thursday’s closing price.
Twitter told Quartz it will file an 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission tomorrow before the markets open in the US, which may provide additional details about how the pool will work.
American Airlines profit jumps, beats expectations (Business Insider)
American Airlines Group Inc <AAL.O> on Friday reported third-quarter profit above analysts' expectations, as cheap fuel continued to help its bottom line.
American, the world's largest airline, earned a net income of $1.7 billion in the quarter, up 80 percent from a year ago.
Nasdaq Futures Jump After Amazon, Google Earnings Beat Targets (Bloomberg)
Futures on theNasdaq 100 Index rallied after Amazon.com, Microsoft and Google parentAlphabet all posted quarterly profit that topped estimates, together adding about $100 billion to their shares in after-hours trading.
Don’t worry about the Fed rate hike, worry about your financial plan (Market Watch)
Given the intense speculation around the timing of a potential Federal Reserve policy move, it’s no surprise that retirement investors are fretting about what higher interest rates could mean for their portfolio.
But they probably shouldn’t fret over the near-term impact, according to one adviser who spoke at a MarketWatch-sponsored panel held recently in New York — coincidentally the eve of the conclusion of the Fed’s last monetary policy meeting, in which policy makers opted to leave rates unchanged.
Microsoft's stock just hit the highest point since a judge ruled it broke antitrust law back in 2000 (Business Insider)
The spring of 2000 was a critical time for the tech stock market.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ peaked on March 24. You could pinpoint that as the beginning of the dot-com bust.
But what changed everybody's minds? Why did everybody believe in tech one day, then suddenly take a closer look at all those weird balance sheets the next?
Politics
Hillary Clinton Defends Actions in Benghazi (Wall Street Journal)
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton endured a daylong congressional grilling concerning the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya, largely avoiding the sorts of pitfalls that Republicans could exploit in the 2016 election.
The former secretary of state was on Capitol Hill for nearly 11 hours on Thursday before a Republican-led House committee probing a deadly attack in Benghazi that loomed as one of the most serious tests she was facing on the path to the Democratic nomination.
Senate Panel Is Chilly to Puerto Rico’s Pleas and Obama’s Aid Plan (NY Times)
Officials from debt-plagued Puerto Rico, hoping for some comfort and sympathy — and even practical advice — from senators at a committee hearing in Washington on Thursday, got little of it.
And the Obama administration’s proposal for helping the island out of its financial fix got no love either. (The Treasury Department, which outlined the plan for reporters Wednesday night, officially presented it to the Senate Energy and Natural Affairs Committee on Thursday.)
Technology
5 Great Free Apps To Help You Sell Anything (Fast Company)
Collaborate, hunt down leads, track email, and more.
Your ability to sell stuff is what will ultimately keep your business afloat. So it's time to lace up your wingtips, pound the pavement, and seal some deals.
Eternal Flashlight Turns Body Heat to Electricity (PSFK)
The Lumen is a tiny flashlight that converts body heat into light energy. With no buttons or batteries, all it takes to turn the tiny flashlight on is a grip around the solid body so it can absorb all that body heat.
The product uses a kind of thermoelectric generator (TEG) to work. TEGs are used when heat needs to be converted into an electrical flow. In the Lumen, the temperature differences between two sides of the lumen, make electrons flow like it would with a normal battery.
Health and Life Sciences
Ask Well: Is Grass-Fed Beef Better for You? (NY Times)
Grass-fed beef tends to be higher in some nutrients, and studies suggest it may contain fewer bacteria that can cause food poisoning — which could be good for your health.
Grass-fed can mean a lot of things. But the American Grassfed Association, which has a certification program, refers to grass-fed animals “as those that have eaten nothing but grass and forage from weaning to harvest, have not been raised in confinement, and have never been fed antibiotics or growth hormones.”
The potential to sniff out disease (BBC)
The fact diseases have a smell comes as no surprise – but finding someone or something that can detect them at an early stage could hold huge potential for medicine.
Breath, bodily odours and urine are all amazingly revealing about general health.
Even the humble cold can give off an odour, thanks to the thick bacteria-ridden mucus that ends up in the back of the throat.
Life on the Home Planet
Hurricane Patricia, strongest hurricane ever recorded, will soon hit Mexico (Mashable)
Fueled by near-record warm ocean water and favorable atmospheric conditions, Hurricane Patricia has become the strongest hurricane ever measured — period — with maximum sustained winds at an astonishing 200 miles per hour
The storm will make landfall later Friday in a populated part of Mexico's Pacific coast, potentially wiping out tourist resorts and anything else in its path between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. The storm may strengthen or weaken some before it strikes land, but it is likely to still be a Category 5 storm at landfall.
What is climate change? (BBC)
The planet's climate has constantly been changing over geological time. The global average temperature today is about 15C, though geological evidence suggests it has been much higher and lower in the past.
However, the current period of warming is occurring more rapidly than many past events. Scientists are concerned that the natural fluctuation, or variability, is being overtaken by a rapid human-induced warming that has serious implications for the stability of the planet's climate.
My Grandfather Fought to Establish Israel. I hope I Get to Treat Palestinians (Forbes)
On October 16th I was supposed to go to the West Bank to treat patients as part of a medical mission co-sponsored by the apolitical Palestinian Childrens Relief Fund and IVUmed. The point of the trip is to help train local urologists on a wide range of urologic surgery as well as provide complex urologic care to the West Bank population. This mission has been a success story over the past eight years and it was the first time I was invited to provide bladder cancer care. But the trip was canceled for security reasons as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict arched into another fitful spasm of violence.
