Financial Markets and Economy
Charting the Markets: Fed Minutes Loom Large (Bloomberg)
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
Saudi Arabia's oil exports climbed in September and it's pumping its way into a major crisis (Business Insider)
Saudi Arabian oil production climbed in September according to data from JODI, showing that the world's biggest oil producer sent 7.11 million barrels of oil per day abroad.
There's no sign that the country is making any efforts to slow down its production, even as oil prices slide.
Amazon ups the ante on Black Friday with deals every five minutes (Market Watch)
Upping the ante on Black Friday competition among retailers, Amazon.com Inc. said it will kick off its Black Friday deals several days early this year, and list them as often as every five minutes for eight straight days.
While traditional Black Friday sales have started around Thanksgiving Day, which is next Thursday, Amazon said its holiday deals will start Friday, Nov. 20.
Bond Traders Seek Clues in Fed Minutes on Post-December Pace (Bloomberg)
With a December interest-rate increase seemingly in the bag as far as investors are concerned, bond traders are now looking to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes for clues on how quickly policy makers plan to raise rates back toward historical levels.
Barclays will be fined AGAIN for its currency trades (Business Insider)
Barclays faces its second fine in under a year over its currency trading, according to a report in the Financial Times.
This time the bank faces a $100 million (£66 million) penalty from the New York Department of Financial Services over the way it handled electronic currency trades for clients.
U.K. Stocks Decline With Miners After Biggest Gain in 6 Weeks (Bloomberg)
A drop in commodity producers led U.K. stocks lower for the first time in three days.
India to Sell 10% Stake in Coal India Valued at $3.2 Billion (Bloomberg)
India’s cabinet today approved a plan to sell a 10 percent stake in Coal India Ltd. as part of a federal asset-sale program.
The time and price of the sale will be decided by the finance ministry, coal minister Piyush Goyal told reporters Wednesday in New Delhi. The government, which holds about 79 percent in the world’s biggest miner of the fuel, had sold a 10 percent stake in January.
Wall Street eyes wary start as terror worries continue, Fed minutes loom (Market Watch)
U.S. stock futures drifted lower on Wednesday as investors braced for a set of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting that could firm up expectations for an interest-rate increase at the central bank’s December meeting.
Emerging Stocks Retreat With Currencies Before Fed Minutes (Bloomberg)
The biggest rally in emerging-market stocks in a month faded as concern about China’s economic slowdown deepened and investors awaited the release of Federal Reserve minutes. Indonesia’s rupiah paced losses by developing-nation currencies.
Ford's Lincoln brand debuts new face for its best-selling model (Business Insider)
Ford Motor Co's Lincoln brand is changing the look of its vehicles, starting with a new face for its best-selling model, the MKZ sedan.
Ford plans to unveil the restyled 2017 Lincoln MKZ at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday, showing the first production version of a new grille design. The new Lincoln look debuted on the Continental prototype earlier this year and drew comparisons to British luxury brands such as Jaguar or Bentley.
Oil prices rise, but analysts say fundamentals stay bearish (Market Watch)
Oil prices rose slightly amid volatile trading in Asia on Wednesday, with the market largely focusing on over-supply ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next month.
“We are likely to see the kind of volatility … particularly as you hear different things from different ministers” before the OPEC meeting, said Virendra Chauhan, oil analyst at Singapore-based Energy Aspect. “There is a little bit of geo-political risk, but the fundamentals remain bearish. In this kind of market, 50 cents up or down is more or less just noise.”
RBA Says Yuan IMF Win Won't Cannibalize Aussie in World Reserves (Bloomberg)
Australia’s central bank said its currency’s place as a global store of value will be safe after the yuan enters International Monetary Fund reserves.
Lowe's 3rd-quarter results top Street as sales climb (Yahoo! Finance)
Lowe's third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates as its sales rose, buoyed by the ongoing housing market recovery. Its shares edged up in premarket trading..
The home-improvement retailer's performance is similar to that of rival Home Depot Inc., which posted strong quarterly results a day earlier.
Alibaba's Jack Ma Says Nations Shouldn't Use Trade as a Weapon (Bloomberg)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma urged business leaders Wednesday to help poorer nations and smaller businesses benefit from global trade, and he called for “a third world war” to eradicate poverty, climate change and disease.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila, the chairman of China’s biggest e-commerce company touted his vision for a new trade agreement, dubbed “e-WTO” or “WTO 2.0,” formulated without considering political interests.
How we turned $500,000 into $1.3 million in a month (CNN)
On nights he couldn't sleep, he started reading about the stock market.
"I was Googling stuff all day long. I would spend hours just reading about how stocks behave," the 21-year old told CNNMoney.
Yuan Drop Not Over for Bears as Currency War Blunts Devaluation (Bloomberg)
A gauge of the yuan's strength is almost back to where it was prior to Augusts surprise devaluation, spurring speculation China will reenter a global currency war.
Square IPO set to price Wednesday in highly watched deal (Yahoo! Finance)
Mobile payments company Square Inc (SQ.N) is set to price shares for its initial public offering late Wednesday in what is expected to be a harbinger for how other highly valued tech companies are received in their public debuts. San Francisco-based Square, run by Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, is one of the most prominent "unicorns," or private companies valued at $1 billion or more, to plan a public debut this year. This month it sent chills through the technology industry when it set the price range for its IPO at $11 to $13 a share, valuing Square at up to $4.2 billion, or 30 percent less than in a private fundraising round a year ago.
Fed balance sheet is next battleground for hawks and doves (Market Watch)
The Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as early as December. When it does move, expect the debate to shift not only to the pace of future rate increases, but also to the fate of the Fed’s massive balance sheet.
Politics
Race-Baiting for the Presidency (The Atlantic)
In February 2000, George W. Bush’s presidential campaign was in peril heading into the South Carolina primary. John McCain had just scored an unexpected victory in New Hampshire, and his candidacy was picking up steam. The Bush campaign was fighting for its life. What happened next is political lore. Push polls and flyers began appearing around South Carolina that blatantly accused, or implicitly suggested, that McCain’s adopted daughter from Bangladesh was really “a Negro child” he fathered out of wedlock. The end result?
United With Putin Against Terror? (Project Syndicate)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has just vowed to “find and punish” those responsible for using a homemade bomb to bring down a Russian airliner over Egypt in October, killing 224 people. The timing of his announcement, just days after terrorists used suicide bombs and Kalashnikovs to kill 129 people in Paris, is no coincidence. Putin sees an opening to the West, and he wants to take advantage of it. The West should not shut him out.
Hillary Clinton's Libya (The Huffington Post)
Clinton: Well, we did have a plan, and I think it's fair to say that of all of the Arab leaders, Gaddafi probably had more blood on his hands of Americans than anybody else. And when he moved on his own people, threatening a massacre, genocide, the Europeans and the Arabs, our allies and partners, did ask for American help and we provided it. And we didn't put a single boot on the ground, and Gaddafi was deposed.
Technology
NASA gives MIT a humanoid robot to develop software for future space missions (Phys)
NASA announced today that MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is one of two university research groups nationwide that will receive a 6-foot, 290-pound humanoid robot to test and develop for future space missions to Mars and beyond.
Hasbro Now Has a Toy Line For Seniors Starting With a Lifelike Robotic Cat (Gizmodo)
After already conquering demographics including kids, teenagers, and those technically considred adults, Hasbro is reaching out to that last frontier of consumers: seniors, with a new toy line featuring lifelike robotic companion pets that only need affection, not feeding or bathroom breaks.
Health and Life Sciences
Brawn and Brains (NY Times)
Sturdy legs could mean healthy brains, according to a new study of British twins.
As I frequently have written in this column, exercise may cause robust improvements in brain health and slow age-related declines in memory and thinking. Study after study has shown correlations between physical activity, muscular health and mental acuity, even among people who are quite old.
Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer (Medicine Net)
Coffee lovers may live longer than those who don't imbibe — with lower risks of early death from heart disease and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease, a large U.S. study finds.
Researchers said the study, published online Nov. 16 in Circulation, adds to a large body of evidence on the good side of coffee.
Life on the Home Planet
Shots Fired in Paris Suburb as Police Surround Suspects: AFP (Bloomberg)
Heavily armed police and military descended on a Paris suburb before dawn, targeting what they believed was the hideout of the architect of last week’s terrorist violence in a raid that led to at least two deaths and seven arrests.
In Maryland, Burning Chicken Manure Counts As Renewable Energy (Think Progress)
As the Maryland state legislature prepares for a new session in early January, environmental activists want lawmakers to cut the crap — out of the state’s renewable portfolio standards.
