Financial Markets and Economy
That Time I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil (Bloomberg)
"Don't buy a barrel of oil," the broker said. "It'll kill you."
A fortuitous meeting between a gas trader and his broker at a bar in downtown New York was not going the way I had hoped. After revealing a long-held plan to try to buy a barrel of crude, I was now receiving a disappointingly stern lecture on the dangers of hydrogen sulfides. The wine tasted vaguely sulfuric, too.
VW is falling, again (Business Insider)
Shares in Volkswagen dropped as much as 5 percent on Tuesday after U.S. regulators widened their accusations of emissions test cheating against the German carmaker to include larger diesel engines used in high-end models.
Follow this leader to see whether stocks will march higher (Market Watch)
The big question is whether this market’s five-week rush higher will rev up even more — or now totally fall apart.
Look closely at one market leader for an answer, says Chris Kimble over at Kimble Charting Solutions. He advises watching the biotech sector, “which has been in the leadership role since the 2011 lows.”
BP Says Technology Can Keep Oil and Gas Abundant, Affordable (Bloomberg)
Technology can be used to increase the worlds proved oil and gas reserves by two thirds — almost double the amount needed to meet demand through 2050 — keeping energy supplies plentiful and affordable, according to BP Plc.
The company cofounded by the former CEO of Apple has just acquired one of eBay's enterprise businesses (Business Insider)
Zeta Interactive, the $1 billion big data and analytics company cofounded by former Apple CEO John Sculley, announced on Tuesday it had acquired eBay Enterprise's CRM (customer relationship management) division.
Wall Street looks set to lose fizz after rally (Business Insider)
U.S. stocks set to fall back from the previous day’s solid rally, as stock futures inched lower ahead of prominent earnings and factory-orders data.
Norway Oil Income Heading for Six-Year Low Amid Price Plunge (Bloomberg)
The state’s oil income is on track to dip to the lowest in at least six years.
Shell Says Purchase of BG Group Would Allow Further Cost-Cutting (NY Times)
Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that it planned to step up its efforts in the expanding field of liquefied natural gas as it prepares to complete its $70 billion acquisition of the British oil and gas producer BG Group.
Standard Chartered is axing 15,000 jobs and wants to raise $5.1 billion (Business Insider)
Standard Chartered confirmed its plans on Tuesday to raise around $5.1 billion (£3.3 billion) and slash around 15,000 jobs in a bid to shore up its balance sheet amid the slowdowns in China and emerging markets generally.
European stocks waver as lackluster earnings fail to cheer (Market Watch)
European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday, as declines for shares of Volkswagen AG and two major banks put a second day of gains for the region’s benchmark in question.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.17% was up 0.1% at 377.27, but dipped into negative territory during the session. Utilities, financial, basic materials and consumer-goods issues fell, while consumer services, health care and technology gained ground.
Goldman: Government Spending Is About to Boost the U.S. Economy for the First Time Since 2010 (Bloomberg)
U.S. President Barack Obama praised the budget plan that raises the debt ceiling and maps out the government's outlays through 2017 as "a good piece of business."
Wall Street Sours on Whole Foods Market (NY Times)
Sales of organic and natural products are soaring — but you would never know it from the share price of Whole Foods Market, the premier purveyor of such merchandise.
Shares are almost 50 percent lower than they were in February, the high point of the year.
What we learned at the Money 20/20 conference (Business Insider)
Money20/20, one of the biggest US fintech and payments conferences, was held last week in Las Vegas. Companies at the three-day event largely focused on the importance of reaching millennials, who are digital-savvy, mobile-focused, and now the largest working generation. Importantly, millennials — those aged 18-34 — are becoming essential clients for payments businesses. Mobile is the fundamental channel for younger consumers to make purchases, process payments, and interact with banks, and companies have realized that if they don't adapt, they'll likely be left behind.
Here’s why U.S. stocks are likely to beat China’s markets (Market Watch)
For the first time in many years, demographic trends appear to be more positive for the U.S. stock market than they are for Chinese equities.
Media Earnings Results Are Awaited, a Bit Warily (NY Times)
It looked as if the world was coming to an end across the media business three months ago.
Major media stocks crashed suddenly as panic spread that the number of people canceling or paring their cable and satellite subscriptions was accelerating. Eroding television ratings and dismal advertising sales prompted apocalyptic forecasts about the role of traditional television in the digital future.
Fitbit says the Apple Watch hasn’t had an impact on its business (Quartz)
Thus far, Apple remains mum on how many smartwatches it has sold, but Fitbit’s CEO said today (Nov. 2) that the Apple Watch hasn’t made a dent on sales of its fitness trackers.
U.K. Bonds Worst Performers as Traders Look for BOE Rate Clues (Bloomberg)
U.K. government bonds are the worst-performing sovereign-debt market over the past month as investors awaited new growth and inflation forecasts from Bank of England policy makers meeting in London this week.
Dell eyes $10 billion asset sales ahead of EMC merger – sources (Business Insider)
Dell Inc is preparing to sell around $10 billion in non-core assets, including software and services, to reduce the heavy debt load it will be taking on to buy EMC Corp <EMC.N>, according to people familiar with the matter.
Dell, which will assume $49.5 billion of debt once the merger with EMC is completed, has communicated the plan to credit rating agencies in recent days, the people said on Monday.
FTSE 100 hunts for direction as third loss in four days looms (Market Watch)
U.K. stocks were struggling for firm direction Tuesday, with shares of oil producers Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BG Group PLC getting a boost from merger-related developments, while home builders dropped following ratings downgrades.
Credit Suisse CEO Resisted Pressure to `Destroy' Investment Bank (Bloomberg)
Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said he “resisted calls to destroy the investment bank” as Switzerland’s second-largest lender seeks to focus on wealth management.
U.S. crude oil edges up after drops, but market remains oversupplied (Business Insider)
U.S. crude futures edged up early on Tuesday, but the market outlook remains bearish as supply still exceeds demand and due to worries the dollar will strengthen when the U.S. Federal Reserve eventually raises interest rates.
Oil prices wait to see if global supply will keep ballooning (Market Watch)
Crude-oil prices inched up slightly on a technical rebound in Tuesday Asia trade but concerns of ballooning global supply will likely keep gains limited.
U.S. Index Futures Little Changed as Stocks Erase August Losses (Bloomberg)
U.S. stock-index futures fell as investors assessed gains after the Nasdaq 100 Index hit a 15-year high and the Standard & Poor’s Index recovered the ground lost in the August selloff.
Asia shares look to break losing streak (Business Insider)
Asian share markets crept ahead on Tuesday after the benchmark for U.S tech stocks hit its highest in 15 years, while a holiday in Japan kept currencies tethered within recent tight ranges.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> firmed 0.4 percent after losing ground for five straight sessions. Australian stocks <.AXJO> bounced 1.2 percent, recouping a little ground after a vicious run of selling.
China Aims for 6.5% Economic Growth Over Next 5 Years, Xi Says (NY Times)
President Xi Jinping of China announced on Tuesday that the Communist Party and the national government had set a 6.5 percent target for annual economic growth from 2016 to 2020.
Charting the Markets: European Bank Earnings End November Advance (Bloomberg)
The Australian dollar rises after the RBA keeps rates on hold, Standard Chartered shares sink after announcing a rights offer and UBS shares drop 5 percent.
TransCanada requests suspension of Keystone XL permit: WSJ (Business Insider)
TransCanada Corp <TRP.TO> on Monday requested the suspension of the U.S. permit for its Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Calgary-based TransCanada sent a letter to the U.S. State Department to suspend its application while the company goes through a state review process in Nebraska, the report said.
How Gas-Guzzling Americans Are Aiding the Call for More Biofuels (Bloomberg)
Americans are burning the most gasoline in eight years. And the nation’s ethanol suppliers wouldn’t have it any other way.
More demand means more gasoline being blended. And more blending means more ethanol potentially getting added to the mix.
Amazon to open its first bricks-and-mortar bookstore (Market Watch)
To sell more books, Amazon.com Inc. is getting physical.
Amazon AMZN, +0.39% said it would open a brick-and-mortar store in its Seattle hometown on Tuesday, stocked with books and Amazon devices, like Kindle e-readers. The company sent an email to customers announcing the new store in a mall near the University of Washington.
U.K. Stocks Are Little Changed; Standard Chartered Shares Drop (Bloomberg)
U.K. stocks were little changed, as plunging shares of Standard Chartered Plc offset a rally in Stagecoach Group Plc.
Zambia Raises Benchmark Interest Rate to 15.5% From 12.5% (Bloomberg)
The Bank of Zambia raised its benchmark lending rate by a record 3 percentage points to rein in inflation after the currency of Africa’s second-biggest copper producer lost almost half its value this year.
Activision Blizzard is buying Candy Crush maker King for $5.9 billion (Business Insider)
Activision Blizzard is purchasing King Digital, the makers of popular game Candy Crush, for a total equity value of $5.9 billion.
The deal is all cash.
Activision Blizzard will $18 per share, which is nearly a $20% premium over King's recent price.
Politics
Republicans’ Talk of Taxes Leaves Much Unsaid (NY Times)
The Republican presidential candidates talked a lot about their tax plans at last week’s debate, but most of the conversation was not very illuminating. Here are some details you may have missed about the candidates who did mention plans.
Donald Trump calls Democratic National Committee chief a ‘highly neurotic woman’ (Market Watch)
Donald Trump says the head of the Democratic National Committee is a “highly neurotic woman” who made Hillary Clinton’s first debate of the 2016 presidential election easier on her.
“This is a woman that is a terrible person,” Trump said about DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, during an interview with Breitbart News on Sirius XM radio on Monday. He also called the Florida representative “crazy.” He said Wasserman Schultz negotiated a great deal for Democratic presidential front-runner Clinton “because they gave Hillary all softballs” during the first Democratic debate.
Technology
Drones vs. Robots: The Battle For Our Delivery Future Is On (Fast Company)
Amazon is banking on flying drones to be the delivery system of the future, but the founders of Skype have a more earthbound idea.
Health and Life Sciences
'Double whammy' of diabetes and TB (BBC)
More needs to be done to tackle a dual threat of patients having both tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes, global health experts say.
A declaration made at a summit in Indonesia warns that the convergence of the two illnesses represents a "looming co-epidemic".
Breast-Feeding May Reduce Risk of Aggressive Breast Cancer: Study (Medicine Net)
A new study finds a link between breast-feeding and a woman's reduced risk for an aggressive form of breast cancer called hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer.
This type of cancer accounts for about 20 percent of breast cancer cases in the United States and is more common among women younger than 50, black women and those with the BRCA1 gene mutation, the researchers said.
Life on the Home Planet
Africa's Migrants Form a Second Wave (Wall Street Journal)
A new chapter of the migrant crisis is building on Africa’s Mediterranean coast.
As the world watches hundreds of thousands of Syrians crossing into Europe from the east, territories north of the Sahara are filling with comparable numbers of Africans determined to make their own entrance.
The New Home of the Most Exotic Bomber Ever Built Is Aerospace Heaven (Gizmodo)
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the world’s largest military aviation museum—and it’s also home to the world’s only remaining North American XB-70 Valkyrie, which was moved to a new hangar a few days ago.
Thankfully the spectacle that was the October 27th relocation of the aircraft was thoroughly photographed, so fans of this extraordinary experimental supersonic strategic bomber can admire its lethal beauty in brand-new outdoor and indoor images.
