Financial Markets and Economy
Junk-Bond Fear Gauge Nears 3-Year High After Third Avenue Freeze (Bloomberg)
A day after a prominent Wall Street firm shocked investors by freezing withdrawals from a credit mutual fund, things only got nastier in the junk-bond market. Prices on the high-risk securities sank to levels not seen in six years and, to add to the growing sense of alarm, billionaire investor Carl Icahn said the selloff is only starting.
Mutual fund implodes, blocks investors from money (CNN)
A mutual fund focused on the riskiest corners of the junk bond market blew up this week and blocked investors from getting their money back.
The Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund invested in distressed debt of companies that were close to defaulting on their loans and ones that already had.
The weird speculation that Apple could buy GoPro makes perfect sense — here's why (Business Insider)
Facebook, Sony, Google, HTC, Microsoft, and just about every other company under the sun appear to be prepping for a future ruled by virtual reality, interactive holograms, anddorky-looking goggles.
But Apple, the most valuable company in the world, has not joined the chorus of so-called "mixed reality" supporters — at least, not yet.
Stocks Tumble in Worst Week Since August as Fed Anxiety Spreads (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks capped their worst week since the August selloff as optimism over the economys strength gave way to anxiety over the Federal Reserve just as commodities and credit markets flashed signs of danger.
Wal-Mart gives customers almost zero reason to use Walmart Pay (Market Watch)
Walmart Pay is here, but will anyone use it?
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, -0.34% debuted its own mobile-payment system on Thursday, called Walmart Pay, the first mobile payment option the retailer has allowed in its stores.
An anonymous short-seller called a company a 'Ponzi-like real-estate scheme' and the stock has crashed 65% (Business Insider)
United Development Funding IV, a Texas-based real-estate-investment trust (REIT), has fallen more than 50% in the last 24 hours.
On Thursday afternoon, UDF's stock fell 35% after an anonymous short-seller published a report on an investing website that said the company is operating a "Ponzi-like real estate scheme."
Investors Are the Most Bearish They've Been on Oil Since 2008 (Bloomberg)
Analysts at Credit Suisse channel Arnold Schwarzenegger in their latest note discussing the state of black gold, entitled: "Oil Be Back."
The seeming dissolution of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries prompted oil to end this week on a poor note, and more negative catalysts proceeded to emerge.
Investors have spent the last 6 months piling into cash (Business Insider)
Investors have spent the second half of this year piling into cash.
Oil eyes 11-year low as IEA warns of worse glut, U.S. stays warm (Yahoo! Finance)
Oil prices extended their freefall on Friday, flirting with 11-year lows, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oversupply of crude could worsen next year. Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell as much as 5 percent on the day and 12 percent on the week as mild pre-winter weather and a plummeting U.S. stock market added to the toll on oil prices. "The bearish IEA report has put further selling pressure on an already soft market.
Stock Options Surge as Hedge of Choice for Cornered Junk Owners (Bloomberg)
Traders trying to stanch losses in high-yield credit are pouring into options on the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the space.
How to invest like Warren Buffett (Business Insider)
Warren Buffett is known for his ability to find great companies at discount prices. He's also great at sharing his wisdom and advice. But turning these words of wisdom into investment opportunities can be difficult.
We've taken some of Buffett’s sage advice and given you the tools to identify investments that would qualify. Here are a few simple metrics that you can look up for any stock to figure out whether it might be good enough for Buffett.
Chipotle's Seattle Woes Put Fresh Scrutiny on Safety Procedures (Bloomberg)
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is facing new questions about its food-safety procedures in Seattle, a sign the restaurant chain may have a hard time bouncing back from recent E. coli and norovirus outbreaks.
China just dropped a hint about the next massive change for its currency (Business Insider)
China's Central Bank suggested in an editorial on Friday that it may be time to de-peg the yuan from the dollar, and instead peg it to a basket of currencies, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The posting, published in Chinese state media outlet The People's Daily, gave no details on what that basket would include, or when these moves could be made.
Economic Takeaways of U.S. Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment (Bloomberg)
What you need to know about Friday’s U.S. economic data.
There is quite a bit going on next week.
Most of the economic reports before Wednesday afternoon will be interpreted in light of the pending FOMC decision on whether to end ZIRP.
Crude oil collapses to a 7-year low (Business Insider)
Crude oil will not stop falling.
Wealth Managers Say Zuma Shock Has Clients Seeking Rand Escape (Bloomberg)
South African wealth managers say their clients are considering how to move assets abroad after President Jacob Zuma shocked markets by firing his finance minister this week, sending the rand plummeting to record lows.
The Rise of the 1099 Economy (Bloomberg View)
There are a lot of names for it: the "sharing economy," the "gig economy" and the "on-demand economy" seem to be the three most popular. But the most precise description of the new labor relationships being enabled by digital technology may actually be, in the U.S. at least, the "1099 economy."
Politics
Ben Carson threatens to bolt Republican Party (Market Watch)
It’s not just Donald Trump. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is threatening to bolt the Republican Party.
Carson remains among the leading contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, though his poll numbers have dropped in recent weeks. He suggested in a statement Friday that he would consider an independent bid, following a Washington Post story about Republican leaders preparing for the possibility of a brokered convention.
Anonymous Wants To Take Down Donald Trump (Fast Company)
As a response to his radical views on Muslims and Latinos, Anonymous has declared war on Donald Trump.
Hacktivist group Anonymous appears to have a new target: Donald Trump. The group started taking down websites affiliated with Trump's presidential run and business holdings earlier this week. In a statement on YouTube, Anonymous said it is focusing its efforts on Trump due to his deeply bigoted rhetoric against Latinos and Muslims.
Technology
Tech Titans Create Company to Develop Artificial Intelligence (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and other technology entrepreneurs are betting that talented researchers, provided enough freedom and money, can develop artificial intelligence systems as advanced as those being built by the sprawling teams at Google, Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Along the way, they’d like to save humanity from oblivion.
Watch Japan’s Police Drone Catch A Quadcopter (Popular Science)
Police Drone With Practice Target
The future is clumsy as heck. Yesterday, Tokyo Police launched their first anti-drone squad, a team designed to enforce new rules banning drones from dense urban areas. To stop bad guys with drones, they have big net-wielding drones of their own, built to catch the offending craft in the act. If that sounds like it’d be sleek, that’s exactly wrong. Here’s what a police drone catching a quadcopter with a net actually looks like.
Health and Life Sciences
Do Sleeping Pills Induce Restorative Sleep? (NY Times)
Researchers hate to admit it, but they don’t know enough about sleep to answer this question. Their best guess, several experts said, is that sleep is sleep.
Dr. John Weyl Winkelman, a sleep disorders expert at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said if a patient asked him whether medicated sleep was restorative, “I’d say: ‘You tell me.’
Implanted Lung Valves Show Promise in Some Emphysema Patients (Medicine Net)
New research suggests that more careful selection of patients could help improve the success rate of valves implanted into the lungs of people withemphysema.
The valves aim to improve breathing, allowing patients with the chronic lung disease to be more active and to perhaps survive longer. Previous research into the valves has been mixed, but the new Dutch study found that they work more effectively if physicians are more selective about which patients get them.
Life on the Home Planet
Is This California Pier the First Victim of El Niño? (Gizmodo)
Southern California residents witnessed a foreign substance falling from the sky as rain swept through the region over the last 24 hours. The storm also brought huge waves to the coast which ended up smashing the city of Ventura’s pier.
Just before high tide this morning, a set of waves sloshed over the 1,600-foot pier, damaging the beams and deck. No one was hurt, but the pier was closed indefinitely. The pier has been in place for 143 years but was refurbished most recently in 2000.
