Financial Markets and Economy
Zuckerberg to Give 99% of Facebook Stock Away During Lifetime (Bloomberg)
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, whose wife just gave birth to a baby girl, announced plans to give away 99 percent of his stock in the social network during his lifetime to advance philanthropic causes.
U.S. crude oil prices dip after unexpected rise in stockpiles (Business Insider)
Crude prices dipped in early Asian trading hours on Wednesday as U.S. stockpiles rose against expectations, compounding a glut that is seeing hundreds of thousands barrels of oil being produced every day in excess of demand.
Why stock market investors shouldn’t shrug off weak manufacturing data (Market Watch)
A key gauge of manufacturing activity has double-dipped into recession territory, but stock market investors don’t seem to care. History suggests, however, that maybe they should.
Yellen to Peer Past December Rate Hike and Stress Gradual Pace (Bloomberg)
Janet Yellen will leave expectations for a December interest-rate rise in place when she speaks publicly twice this week while drawing attention to what will happen to policy after liftoff.
According to Las Vegas, the US economy is doing great (Business Insider)
Las Vegas air traffic is the simplest argument yet that the US economy isn't being brought down by the rest of the world.
Stock Market Begins the Month With Solid Gains (NY Times)
As investors looked ahead to a busy week of economic reports and central bank meetings, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase had some of the biggest gains.
Valeant shares jump almost 10% to highest close in a month (Market Watch)
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped almost 10% Tuesday and closed at $98.72, up $8.76 on the day and its highest close in a month.
There was no clear driver of the move, and volume of 22.8 million shares traded was slightly below the daily average, according to FactSet. But short positions on the stock have quadrupled in the last three months, which means some investors may be covering those positions.
Most Asian Stock Futures Tip More Gains as Dollar Nurses Losses (Bloomberg)
The dollar maintained losses, following its retreat from a seven-month high against the euro, amid speculation central banks will be gradual in winding down support amid signs of unevenness in the global economy. Australian stocks dropped with Japanese index futures.
U.S. auto sales pull back from 10-year high in November (Market Watch)
U.S. auto sales eased in November, marking a slight decline from the 10-year high notched in October.
Autodata reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 18.19 million, down from a pace of 18.24 million. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a rate of 18.3 million.
It's that time of year when the stock market's losers become winners (Business Insider)
There's a popular saying out there: "So the last shall be first, and the first last."
Will December keep its reputation for being the kindest month for U.S. stocks? (Yahoo! Finance)
December is off to a strong start and is looking to keep its reputation for being the kindest month for U.S. stocks.
Credit Markets Scream Recession, But Goldman Says Not to Worry (Bloomberg)
The credit market is pricing in an overly dour assessment of the U.S. economy, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a mistake that could prove profitable for buyers.
Forget the consumer; energy, tech must start driving profits (Market Watch)
Forget how consumer-based spending over the holiday season will boost corporate earnings this quarter, the real indicators of profit growth for the fourth quarter and next year will lie in the tech and energy sector.
Morgan Stanley is pulling a surprise move — and Wall Street loves it (Business Insider)
Morgan Stanley is reportedly planning to fire up to 25% of its bond-trading staff by the end of the year — and Wall Street analysts think it's a great idea.
In a note on Monday, UBS analyst Brennan Hawken described the positive effect the layoffs could have on the bank's fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) division.
Treasuries Gain After Two-Month Slide as Manufacturing Contracts (Bloomberg)
Treasuries surged, driving 30-year bond yields down the most since September, as a report showing U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly shrank last month bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will take its time raising interest rates after liftoff from near zero.
Dollar returns are tough to come by and it’s killing the mood (Market Watch)
With the U.S. currency on the rise, It hasn’t been easy to generate positive dollar returns in 2015.
SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts – Blue Skies, Unicorns, and Santa Claus Rallies (Jesse's Cafe Americain)
The economic news was fairly awful this morning.
It's just brutal out in the Bakken oil fields right now (Business Insider)
It's been a rough year for the energy sector, and investors in two US regions have been feeling the pain more than most.
This chart shows which companies have the most on the line this holiday season (Market Watch)
Every year you see news reports that say holiday sales are slow, retailers are suffering and the end of the world is nigh. And it’s not only because online retailers are taking market share. I’m old enough to remember the constant flow of holiday-retail angst way before anyone even heard of the Internet.
Politics
Ted Cruz Is the Ultimate Insider (Bloomberg View)
Huelskamp, whose office had not responded as of press time, could be a valuable ally for Cruz as he works to consolidate support from the conservative flank of the Republican party. Part of Cruz’s pitch to voters is that while he works in Washington, D.C., he remains an outsider. Support from Huelskamp and other members of the Freedom Caucus, a group that has publicly butted heads with Republican leadership and claims some credit for Speaker John Boehner’s resignation earlier this year, would bolster that portrayal.
How Hillary Clinton Will Make Medicine More Affordable (Forbes)
More than half of Americans—and 9 out of 10 seniors—take prescription drugs every month, and many of the people I’ve met are struggling to afford their medications. Prescription drug prices have shot up 12 percent in the last year alone, but wages have remained stagnant. Meanwhile, the largest pharmaceutical companies are raking in $80-90 billion in profits each year. We have to bring drug costs down and reward pharmaceutical companies for real innovation that saves lives—not for jacking up prices on the same treatments that have been around for decades.
Technology
The Inside Story on Wearable Electronics (Scientific American)
Göran Gustafsson looks at people and thinks of cars—the ageing models that rolled off assembly lines a few decades ago. Today, says Gustafsson, cars are packed with cutting-edge sensors, computers and sophisticated communications systems that warn of problems when they are still easy to fix, which is why modern vehicles rarely surprise their drivers with catastrophic breakdowns.
Health and Life Sciences
Can this pill end the AIDS epidemic? (CNN)
Charlie Ferrusi is a 23-year-old gay man with a winning smile and an easygoing manner. In May, he completed a master's degree in public health and recently began a job at the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.
Safer way to do gene editing (BBC)
Scientists say they have fine tuned a gene editing method to make it safer and more accurate – vital if it is to be used in humans to cure inherited diseases or inborn errors.
The advance, outlined in Science Magazine, comes as world leaders in the field gather to debate the ethics of altering human DNA using the method, known as Crispr-Cas9.
Life on the Home Planet
Trophy Hunters' Smiles Show How Much They Really Like to Kill (The Huffington Post)
Trophy hunting, or what some call "trophy murder," is a hot button issue. In a recent essay called "Is Trophy Hunting Really Trophy Murder? Intentions and Words Should Matter" I examined some of the reasons why people choose to go out and kill other animals for fun and pleasure, essentially engaging in gratuitous violence. I also wrote about this topic in an earlier essay called "Do Some People Simply Like to Kill Other Animals?" and concluded that some people do, indeed, get pleasure out of killing another animal when they really don't have to do it.
