Financial Markets and Economy
Why this may be an ideal time to buy stocks (Market Watch)
After a miserable month for the stock market on top of lackluster economic data, investors might understandably be jumping on the recession bandwagon. But at least one economist believes there is no better time to buy stocks.
Berkshire resumes buying Phillips 66 stock (Business Insider)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, has resumed its purchases of Phillips 66 stock, and spent roughly $832 million in January to boost its stake even as the oil refiner's profit margins narrowed.
Alphabet, Exxon results to mark midpoint of tough earnings season (Market Watch)
With Google’s parent company and Exxon Mobil Corp. set to release results in the week ahead, more than half the companies in the S&P 500 Index will have reported quarterly results in a tough earnings season that is showing little sign of improving.
Stocks posted their second week of gains as the Bank of Japan on Friday pushed a key interest rate into negative territory with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index both rising 2.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 2.4%.
Germany is stockpiling gold (Business Insider)
Germany is accelerating a programme to bring its gold back to the country, after decades of storing the majority of its reserves overseas.
According to a statement, in the past year, the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, has moved 210 tonnes of gold into its vaults in Frankfurt, bringing 110 tonnes back from Paris, and just short of 100 tonnes from the Federal Reserve building in New York.
Olam Sees Sugar Market Turning Bullish as Imports Beat Exports (Bloomberg)
The global sugar market is turning bullish as world exports are set to trail rising demand, according to Singapore-based Olam International Ltd., one of the world’s largest food traders.
Valero earnings plunge 74% in fourth quarter (Market Watch)
Valero Energy Corp. said its fourth-quarter earnings fell 74%, hurt by a hefty charge and a sharp decline in its ethanol business caused by falling prices, while operating income in its refining business was flat.
Shares fell 0.6% after hours, after dropping 2.2% to $64.53 in regular trading, as per-share earnings, excluding certain one-time items, and revenue beat expectations.
German Bond Rally Seen Enduring After Best Month Since 2012 (Bloomberg)
This month’s rally in German government bonds pushed the yield on Europe’s benchmark 10-year securities down by the most since May 2012, two months before European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged he’d do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. Analysts say there may be more to come.
Taiwan Bond Yields Plunge to Record as Overnight Rate Cut (Bloomberg)
Taiwans government bond yields tumbled to a record after the central bank was said to have lowered the overnight guiding rate, adding to expectations it will cut the benchmark rate when it next meets in March.
Americans Weigh in on the State of Economic Opportunity (The Atlantic)
In an election year riveted to an unprecedented extent by changes in the nation’s demography, Americans divide almost exactly in half on whether immigration—and the nation’s increasing diversity—is making life in the United States better or worse, according to the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll.
Politics
Democrats add four more debates to the primary calendar (Market Watch)
The Democratic National Committee and its three presidential campaigns have agreed to add four debates to the primary calendar, with one next week in New Hampshire, two Democratic aides said on Saturday.
The two aides said a tentative schedule had been devised for debates also in March in Washington state, April in Pennsylvania and May in California.
Ted Cruz's Howitzer (New Republic)
The final debate of the Republican runoff in Cruz’s bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The former Texas solicitor general had entered the race as a footnote, his polling in the low single digits, his political résumé extremely thin. Ted who? But over the course of 18 months, the little-known corporate litigator had caught fire with the Tea Party faithful, snagging endorsements from Sarah Palin and Freedom Works, upending every expectation about his chances except his own. Now he stood on the cusp of one of the great upsets in Texas political history.
Technology
Apple May Be Developing An Augmented Reality Windscreen For Its (Rumored) Car (Fast Company)
Apple, like Facebook and others, is actively exploring its own flavor of a virtual/augmented reality future.
Apple is already well into an effort to explore the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality products, and one of the applications may be in the rumored Apple car.
This smart bag can charge phones, weigh itself… and nearly got me kicked off a flight (The Next Web)
When I first received Bluesmart‘s pitch email to test its smartphone-controlled carry-on luggage, it was as if timing was fate. I was about to embark on a multi-city trip between New York, Montreal, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Ludlow, Vermont in a span of three weeks and it seemed like a great opportunity to test out a travel product in real-life circumstances.
Health and Life Sciences
Why you might want to think twice about getting your wisdom teeth removed? (Fusion)
As far as I can remember, when I had my wisdom teeth removed in my early teens, about 15 years ago, they were not causing any problems. I wasn’t in pain. They were somewhat impacted, or growing in at a bit of an angle. My parents decided to go ahead with the surgery to remove them anyway.
More Exercise Doesn’t Always Mean Losing Weight (Bloomberg)
Americans spend $27 billion a year on gym memberships. They spend that money because they believe exercise is the key to losing weight—and fitness companies happily promote this narrative. It's a message the food industry pushes as well: Coca-Cola funded scientists who blamed weight gain on too little exercise rather than on too many calories.
Life on the Home Planet
U.S. Warship Enters Waters Claimed by China Without Approval (Bloomberg)
The Pentagon confirmed it had sent a ship into waters claimed by China, calling it a “freedom of navigation” operation meant to challenge attempts by that country and others to restrict navigation in the area.
The USS Curtis Wilbur got to within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of Triton Island in the South China Sea, Defense Department Spokesman Mark Wright said in an e-mail Saturday.
It's not just Flint — every major American city has hazardous amounts of lead hurting kids (Vox)
The story of Flint, Michigan's children being poisoned by lead-contaminated drinking water has, rightly, shocked and scandalized the nation. But while the situation in Flint is certainly an extreme case, the problem is much more widespread than many realize: Children in essentially every city in America are being exposed to hazardous levels of toxic lead, and very little is being done about it.
