Financial Markets and Economy
The Biggest Difference Between the Real World & Academia (A Wealth of Common Sense)
When new investors are just starting out in the markets they’re often told that a paper portfolio is a good way to test out a strategy without putting real money to work. This one sounds good in theory but is fairly useless in practice.
The thing is that there are no simulations that can prepare you for the emotions you feel when investing actual money in the markets. The feelings you get from making or losing money can’t be simulated.
China, Japan and South Korea Pledge to Expand Trade at Joint Meeting (NY Times)
Meeting for the first time in three years, leaders from China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Sunday that they would meet annually and work toward greater trade ties, even as they continued to wrangle over territorial and historical disputes.
U.S. small-business borrowing rose in September: PayNet (Business Insider)
U.S. small businesses boosted borrowing in September, an index released on Monday showed, a sign that more firms are betting on an increase in household spending in the coming months.
Jeep Sales Keep Soaring as Shoppers Dismiss Poor Quality Ratings (Bloomberg)
Is Jeep the new Jaguar?
Last month, Consumer Reports readers ranked the sport utility vehicle line the second-least-reliable in the U.S. market, leading only Fiat. If quality alone mattered, Jeep would be doomed to the bargain bin.
One of the world's biggest banks still doesn't know where it should be based (Business Insider)
When a bank the size of HSBC, which has a $2.6 trillion (£1.7 trillion) balance sheet, looks at moving its headquarters, it creates waves.
The bank said on Monday that its review into where its headquarters should be based is taking longer than it thought, and probably won't make a decision this year.
China Funds Buying Dollar Property Bonds Risks Exporting Bubble (Bloomberg)
Either China’s bond investors know something about the nation’s cash-strapped developers global funds have missed or they are exporting a leverage-driven rally.
Aussie Retailers' Price Cuts Show Slack Giving RBA Rate-Cut Room (Bloomberg)
Australia's biggest supermarket chain is slashing prices and steelworkers are accepting pay freezes in an economy with enough slack to allow the central bank to cut interest rates.
Fed Rate Odds Rising to 50% Spell Losses for Treasury Investors (Bloomberg)
The odds that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates before year-end climbed to 50 percent, suggesting Treasuries are poised to extend Octobers biggest monthly loss since June.
The recession fearmongers might have it dead wrong (Business Insider)
The recession fearmongers might be dead wrong.
Japan Post's IPO Affects Trillions in Savings, Billions of Letters and Thousands of Motorbikes (Bloomberg)
Japan is privatizing its postal service. The size of the initial public offering when it starts trading on Nov. 4 will make it the biggest IPO in the world this year — in fact the biggest since Alibaba Group Holding went public in Sept. 2014. Selling shares in the mail delivery and financial giant, whose origins date back to 1871, has been a decade in the making.
China to Unveil Narrow-Body Jet, Showcasing Aerospace Ambitions (Bloomberg)
China unveiled a prototype of its first homegrown passenger jet that it hopes will compete with airliners from Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE, setting the stage for the plane’s first flight sometime next year.
Why the S&P may already be in a bear market (Market Watch)
Remember the third quarter? As a refresher: It was nasty. Nastier than a Matt Harvey slider (pre-9th inning). The worst quarter in four years. The market seemed to have finally surrendered itself to the bears. A rebound didn’t appear to be in the offing, either. Then October happened, and it was scary good.
Carry-Trade Revival Buoys Currency Investors Reeling From Shocks (Bloomberg)
At last, currency traders are finding some traction.
China Steps Up Market Reforms Despite Record Capital Outflows (Bloomberg)
China is signaling that it’s not letting record outflows this year deter capital-market reforms.
Two Great Predictors of Trading Success (Trader Feed)
For many years I've been involved in interview and selection processes to hire traders at prop firms and hedge funds. Those years of experience have been valuable, because I've been able to see, first-hand, who makes it in the trading world and who doesn't.
One standout conclusion comes from all of this: The two best predictors of long-term trading success are…
Amazon launches Black Friday Deals store to lure shoppers to Prime (Market Watch)
Amazon appears to have shot off the first salvo in the retail battlefield that Black Friday has become.
The online retailer AMZN, -0.10% kicked off the first day of November with the launch of its Black Friday Deals store, which gives Prime members access to over 30,000 “Lightning Deals” 30 minutes early. Steve Shure, vice president for Amazon consumer marketing, said the company was “pulling out all of the stops” over holiday shopping.
Bonds Send Same Ominous Signs No Matter Where in World You Look (Bloomberg)
Ask any bond trader in Tokyo, London or New York what their view on the global economy is, and you’re likely to get a similar, decidedly downbeat answer.
Saudi Consumers Are Still Spending Like Oil Slump Never Happened (Bloomberg)
Spend the afternoon strolling through Riyadhs shiny shopping malls, or an evening at one of its luxury restaurants, and youd never guess theres an oil slump.
This very day will decide whether you’ll be rich or poor in the future (Market Watch)
Today is actually a very big day for you, and this week is a very big week. But I’ll bet nobody else told you.
So brush your teeth, wake the kids, walk the dog and drink your coffee. And get ready for a heads-up.
Apple Financing Seen a Boon for Cheaper Carriers Like T-Mobile (Bloomberg)
Apple Inc.’s entry into iPhone financing is starting to dislodge some customers from the biggest carriers and sending them shopping for cheaper, smaller providers like T-Mobile US Inc.
T-Mobile said last week it had its best iPhone quarter ever, not only because of surging sales in its own stores but also from consumers who bought their handset directly from Apple, just as analysts had predicted.
Charting the Markets: Global Stocks Drop After China Manufacturing Data (Bloomberg)
China-listed shares in Hong Kong dropped for a fifth day, the Turkish lira surged and the euro rose following Draghi comments.
U.K. October Manufacturing Grows at Fastest Pace in More Than a Year (Bloomberg)
U.K. manufacturing growth unexpectedly accelerated to the fastest in 16 months in October as new orders surged.
Dollar weakens after China manufacturing disappoints (Market Watch)
The yen rose on Monday as China’s manufacturing data pointed to slowing activity, keeping market participants from buying riskier, higher yielding currencies.
Data on Sunday showed China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers indexremained unchanged at 49.8 in October from a month ago, undershooting the 50.0 level expected.
Top Rubber Glove Maker to Raise Funds Chasing Condom Takeovers (Bloomberg)
Top Glove Corp. expects to conclude at least one acquisition in the fiscal year through August as the Malaysian company seeks to maintain record earnings momentum.
Politics
Powerful Politician Argues White Privilege Doesn’t Exist, Accidentally Demonstrates White Privilege (Think Progress)
One of Rhode Island’s most powerful Democrats doesn’t believe that “white privilege” exists. In a recent interview with the Providence Journal, Nicholas Mattiello, the state’s speaker of the House, said that that racial disparities are simply due to African-Americans’ and other minority groups’ failure to “take advantage” of the opportunities available to them.
A Feasible Roadmap to Compulsory Voting (The Atlantic)
Not enough people vote. It’s a perennial source of concern in American politics. There’s no shortage of reforms designed to address the problem, but one idea that seems particularly promising, at least in theory, is compulsory voting. It would produce much higher turnout for the obvious reason that it requires people to vote. It’s long been dismissed, though, as an impossible pipe dream, unlikely to ever happen in the United States. But if reformers were to start at the municipal level, they could set into motion forces that might lead to its nationwide adoption.
Technology
Truly empathic robots will be a long time coming (Phys)
The Japanese robot Pepper, made by Aldebaran Robotics, has sparked interest regarding the potential of robots to become companions.
According to its makers, Pepper can recognise emotions from your facial expressions, words and body gestures, and adjust its behaviour in response.
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This might be the car of the future (Business Insider)
Recently, Business Insider got a chance to see a revolutionary electronic car called the SunCruiser, which can run for 550 miles on a fully charged battery.
The car was created by a group of 30 students from Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany.
Health and Life Sciences
Researchers Say They've Identified 3 Type 2 Diabetes Subtypes (Medicine Net)
Medical data routinely gathered from millions of patients can be used to detect previously unseen patterns in chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests.
As a result, researchers say they've identified three distinct subgroups of type 2 diabetics by combing through the health records of more than 11,000 patients.
Eat Everything In Moderation? Not So Fast, Says New Study (Forbes)
In the past week, consumers learned that processed, red meat likely raises the risk of certain cancers, and low-fat diets don’t actually help promote weight loss. Now, it seems like another study confirms that the way we’re used to eating is wrong.
The research, which appears in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, suggests that the longstanding dietary recommendation “eat everything in moderation” may have negative effects on our health.
Life on the Home Planet
Russian Plane Disintegrated Due To "Mechanical Impact" Airline Claims, Hinting At Bomb Explosion (Zero Hedge)
On Sunday, officials confirmed that the Russian passenger jet which crashed in the Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board “broke apart in the air.” Although we cannot of course be sure, that does seem to suggest that the plane exploded.
Obviously, getting to the bottom of what happened to the Airbus A321 as it was flying to St. Petersburg from Egypt has serious geopolitical consequences. As we noted yesterday, if there’s any evidence to corroborate the notion that the aircraft was “destr
Why don't people see the yeti any more? (BBC)
Until recently it was common for people in Bhutan to share stories of their encounters with the Himalayan yeti. But with the arrival of modernity, villagers no longer need to climb high into the mountains, where they once saw traces of the yeti – or thought they did. So a legend is slowly fading away.
