Financial Markets and Economy
Currencies' Turmoil Respite May Be Brief as Fed, BOJ Set to Meet (Bloomberg)
For currency traders whove been battered by increased volatility, next week may turn out to be the moment of truth.
The bullish story for the US economy never changed (Business Insider)
While the manufacturing sector was buckling the fundamental story of the US economy never changed: it was all about consumers.
The consumer economy and the industrial economy are experiencing diverging fortunes right now.
Consumer spending is the engine propelling the US economic growth, while industry is under strain.
Investors look to Fed, earnings for direction next week (Reuters)
Investors hoping equities can sustain their recent bounce next week will carefully watch the U.S. Federal Reserve's mid-week policy meeting for signs the central bank may slow the path of interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 (.SPX) has already fallen as much as 9 percent this year, with stocks battered by concerns over China's slowing economy, plunging oil prices and Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer's comments that he expected about four rate hikes this year. "The speculation is the message will continue to be dovish from the Federal Reserve and the four rate increases they have been talking about is not realistic, so that is being viewed as a positive" for stocks said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.
Bond Traders Tell Fed Optimism on Growth, Inflation Is Misplaced (Bloomberg)
The bond market is sending the Federal Reserve some ominous signals on the economy and inflation as officials gather next week to debate the path of interest rates.
The global commodity rout in one handy table (Business Insider)
Oil is in dire straights right now and commodity prices are weak — you hear that a lot, but sometimes it's hard to grasp just how bad things are.
Global mining giant BHP Billiton has produced a handy table in its half-year report, released Wednesday, showing just how much the price of everything from oil to copper has tanked over the last year. The smallest drop is 20% — the biggest, oil, a huge 51%.
IMF's Lagarde says markets need clarity on China currency (Reuters)
Financial markets need more clarity on how the Chinese authorities are managing their currency, particularly the relationship of the yuan to the U.S. dollar, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Saturday. Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said his personal view was that capital controls would be an appropriate way for China to reconcile its need to keep domestic monetary policy loose while stabilising its currency.
Ocado shares soared after rumours that Amazon is ready to make a takeover offer (Business Insider)
Ocado's shares soared on Tuesday morning, after rumours that Amazon is preparing a takeover bid for the online grocery retailer.
How Wall Street Finds New Ways to Sell Old, Opaque Products to Retail Investors (Bloomberg)
As securities watchdogs crack down on complex investments that promise mom-and-pop investors access to strategies of trading pros, Wall Street is finding a way to sell the same products in places those regulators don't reach.
Why we'll never see another Warren Buffett or George Soros ever again (Market Watch)
George Soros' investment track record made him the equivalent of a .400 hitter in baseball. Yet, in a decade that has been lousy for all investors, even the "Granddaddy of Hedge Fund Managers" has had it tough.
Soros quietly left the hedge-fund scene in 2011, turning his fund into a family office. But his last few years in the game were hardly like his first. Indeed, 2010 was Soros' worst year since 2002, with his flagship fund up a mere 2.63%. The following year was even worse, with his famed Quantum fund reportedly down 15%.
A 'canary down the coal mine' that predicted the 2008 crisis is signalling another crash (Business Insider)
A measure of international trade often seen as a bellwether for the global economy has crashed to its lowest level ever, fueling fears we could be heading for another 2008-style crash.
Hong Kong's Chan Says City's Economic Growth to Slow From 2015 (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong is expected to grow at a slower pace this year than in 2015 as the city’s economy is constrained by difficulties in its exports sector and lower spending by visiting tourists, according to the city’s top financial services official.
Iran oil minister says proposed OPEC emergency meeting may hurt market (Yahoo! Finance)
Iran's oil minister said on Friday any emergency meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would hurt the crude oil market if it made no decision to shore up falling prices. Venezuela has been calling for an emergency meeting to discuss steps to prop up prices, which are at their lowest since 2003.
Rolling 2-Year Change in Oil Hits -71% (Bespoke)
Oil’s price decline has reached a fever pitch recently, with everyone in the financial world monitoring its moves because of the impact it’s having on other asset classes like equities and bonds.
Politics
Is This The Hillary Clinton "Smoking Gun"? (The Hill)
Special Access Programs (SAP) is a game changer. It is now undeniably clear that the results of the FBI investigation will be the end of one of two things: Hillary’s bid for the White House or the legitimacy of the FBI—at least when it comes to prosecuting cases on the mishandling of classified material.
Iranian, Chinese presidents agree to expand strategic ties (Reuters)
Iran and China agreed to expand bilateral ties to form a comprehensive strategic partnership, President Hassan Rouhani and visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping said on Saturday, calling it a "new season" in bilateral relations.
The Chinese president is the first leader to visit Iran since international sanctions on the Islamic Republic were lifted on Jan. 16 after it struck a deal with six major powers to limit its nuclear program. China was one of the six.
Technology
Google paid Apple $1 billion to be the search engine on your iPhone (Mashable)
The fact that Google is the default search engine on your browser is not a coincidence. It's a $1 billion deal between Google and Apple.
That was the previously unknown revelation in a Jan. 14 court hearing around a completely unrelated issue: Oracle's lawsuit against Google for a long-running and very boring copyright dispute about whether Google borrowed Oracle's Java technology to build Android phones.
Health and Life Sciences
Poverty may alter the wiring of kids’ brains (Ars Technica)
Growing up poor is known to leave lasting impressions, from squashing IQ potential to increasing risks of depression. Now, as part of an effort to connect the dots between those outcomes and identify the developmental differences behind them, researchers have found that poverty actually seems to change the way the brain wires up.
Compared to kids in higher socioeconomic brackets, impoverished little ones were more likely to have altered functional connections between parts of the brain. Specifically, the changes affected the connections from areas involved in memory and stress responses to those linked to emotional control.
Americans 100 and Older Are Living Even Longer Now (Medicine Net Daily)
The more than 72,000 Americans who have celebrated 100 birthdays or more are now surviving longer, a new federal report shows.
Although death rates for centenarians were on the rise between 2000 and 2008, that has since changed, the study found.
Life on the Home Planet
Snow blankets Washington D.C. in potentially record-breaking storm (Reuters)
Thick snow covered the Washington D.C. area on Saturday as a potentially record-breaking blizzard paralyzed road, rail and airline travel on the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina to New York.
More than 85 million people in at least 20 states were covered by a winter weather warning, watch or advisory, the Weather Channel said, and many stores were left with bare shelves as residents stocked up on food, water and wine, preparing to spend the weekend indoors.
