Financial Markets and Economy
CEO Who Survived Dotcom Bust Says He Wants to Kill 1-800 Numbers (Bloomberg)
When Rob LoCascio stopped by the Nasdaq stock exchange last week to mark the 15th anniversary of his company, LivePerson Inc., going public, he hoped to see the shares flash green as he rang the opening bell.
Quarterly Earnings Reports Can Still Move Markets (NY Times)
It is earnings season, and for much of corporate America it is a time of trouble.
Publicly traded companies have been revealing their profits and losses for the third quarter of the year and signaling some of their expectations for the future. While a few big companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft posted strong earnings last week, many of the report cards have been dreary.
Why Tesla is nothing like Ferrari and never will be (Business Insider)
Since the end of the financial crisis, there have been four carmakers that have staged IPOs: General Motors and Tesla in 2010, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles earlier this year, and Ferrari last week.
And General Motors doesn't entirely count, because the company was reentering the public markets after its 2009 bankruptcy.
Pound Traders Buoyed by ECB Seek Data Reassurance for Optimism (Bloomberg)
Currency traders are paying the most to insure against the pound climbing versus the euro since July after the European Central Bank signaled more stimulus is on the way. Next week, they’ll get a chance to scrutinize U.K. data for confirmation the Bank of England is more likely to be headed in the opposite direction.
Three Best Practices of Best Traders (Trader Feed)
Increase your exposure to new and different ideas – The worst traders are caught in confirmation bias: they seek views that bolster their own. The best traders I know are intellectually curious: they seek out fresh perspectives, and that helps them generate fresh trading ideas. After all, you can't expand your mind without challenging your mind. What is your daily and weekly process for mind expansion? A great way to increase your exposure to new and different ideas is to talk with new and different people and read/listen to different online offerings.
Wall Street and Silicon Valley veterans are lining up to make big bets on the NBA (Business Insider)
Veterans from the worlds of finance and technology are using their professional skills to take on a totally new kind of competitive arena: the National Basketball Association.
The season is expected to kick off next week, and the list of Wall Street and Silicon Valley billionaires chasing a return on investment on the hardwood is getting longer.
Singapore Backing Makes Little-Known Indian Junk Bond Issuer a Star (Bloomberg)
A bit of AAA-rated endorsement can go a long way for a little-known junk bond issuer.
Mark Cuban's biggest 'Shark Tank' investment of all time was in this spooky Halloween event — here's what it's like (Business Insider)
The Haunted Hayride has been a popular Halloween attraction in Los Angeles for seven years. Taking place in Griffith Park, it typically brings in about 65,000 people over its 17-night run, and tickets almost always sell out.
For Currency Traders, Central Bank Talk Is Anything But Cheap (Bloomberg)
The central-bank calendar is once again setting the agenda for foreign-exchange traders.
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China's companies are a snake eating its own tail (Business Insider)
China's state-owned enterprises are a snake eating its own tail.
Profits are falling, in part because of the costs of paying back debt. They are responding by adding more debt, making the matter worse.
What Will It Mean for the Yuan to Get IMF Reserve-Currency Nod? (Bloomberg)
International Monetary Fund representatives have given China strong signals that the yuan is likely to soon join the fund’s basket of reserve currencies, known as Special Drawing Rights, Chinese officials with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News this week. Here’s a primer on what that means.
The 19 weirdest risks big companies warn their investors about (Business Insider)
Scrawny pigs. Avian bird flu. And batteries that set cars on fire.
These are just a few of the crazy things that big public companies annually warn investors could harm their operations or sales.
Microsoft’s stock price is the highest it’s been since 2000 (Quartz)
Microsoft reported yesterday (Oct. 22) that its revenue was up for the past quarter—despite poor phone and Windows sales—and Wall Street was pleased. The company’s stock price today hit over $53—a level it has not reached since March 31, 2000.
The global economy is facing a 'dangerous' situation (Business Insider)
During HSBC's Global Investment Seminar in New York this week, Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers brought up secular stagnation.
Politics
The Comedian Vs The Ex-First Lady: Guatemala Goes to the Polls (Bloomberg)
Guatemalans head to the polls Sunday to choose a new leader in a year that saw their president, vice president and central bank chief jailed to face charges for alleged involvement in graft schemes.
The Sept. 6 first-round presidential ballot narrowed a 14-candidate field down to Jimmy Morales, a comedian who has never held political office, and former first lady Sandra Torres. Morales, who ran under the slogan "neither corrupt nor a thief," placed first last month with 23.9 percent support to the 19.6 percent garnered by runner-up Torres. A opinion poll released Wednesday showed Morales with a 2-to-1 advantage over Torres.
Technology
This stroller folds up small enough to fit in a backpack (Mashable)
Pack your baby food, pack your diapers, and pack your stroller?
Now you can, with the GB Pockit — one of the newest strollers on the market — which folds down to the size of a handbag in just a few simple moves.
Health and Life Sciences
Early Alzheimer's Clues Appear In The Brain's Internal GPS (Forbes)
Alzheimer’s researchers have uncovered a surprising clue linked to whether someone is likely to develop the disease later in life. A study published in the latest issue of Sciencefinds that the brains of people at greatest genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s show less activity in a network of neurons that serve as our internal navigation system – known as “grid cells.”
How Meat Producers Have Influenced Nutrition Guidelines for Decades (The Atlantic)
While a doctor might advise against eating too many burgers and steak sandwiches, thanks to the exceptional lobbying skills of the American meat industry, the U.S. government probably never will.
Rejecting the advice of their own expert panel, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced this month that the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans will not include considerations of environmental sustainability. Had they decided otherwise, they likely would have recommended that people lower their intake of meat, the production of which is widely recognized as a major contributor to climate change.
Life on the Home Planet
Indonesia readies warships for haze evacuation (Phys)
Indonesia has put warships on standby to evacuate people affected by acrid haze from forest fires which has killed at least 10 and caused respiratory illnesses in half a million, officials said Saturday.
Mexico Ports Have Minor Damage From Patricia, Official Says (Bloomberg)
Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima and Michoacan ports reporting minor damage to infrastructure, ships, Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, coordinator of the Mexico’s Merchant Marine, says on Twitter. * Puerto Vallarta port has no severe damage to infrastructure, equipment or ships, he says * Lazaro Cardenas port in Michoacan has opened to large navigation * NOTE: Patricia Spares Mexico, Worst Hurricane Fades to Tropical Storm.
