Financial Markets and Economy
The recent rise in inflation might mean recession is already here (Business Insider)
The recent rise in inflation might mean recession is already here.
Analyst Darlings Turn Stock-Market Pariahs as Momentum Unravels (Bloomberg)
A successful strategy to avoid the worst of this years equity retreat: ask your analyst what to buy and sell, then do the opposite.
The Ultimate Source of Edge in Financial Markets (Trader Feed)
There are two sources of edge when trading financial markets: 1) looking at new information; and 2) looking at old information in new ways. The traditional sources of information are so mined that there is no edge in looking at old things in traditional ways. This is one reason that creativity is central to trading success.
The Fed could be back in play in 2016 (Sober Look)
One or more rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2016 remains a real possibility. Why would the Fed consider such a policy action given the recent collapse in inflation expectations?
Who Will Buy The New ETMFs? (ETF)
As a person who thrives on innovation in the financial markets, I appreciate the notion of what the new, just-launched exchange-traded managed funds are trying to do.
Can a Rebounding Economy Support Stock Prices? (Dash of Insight)
This week’s economic calendar is loaded with all of the most important data. In addition, Super Tuesday might provide a defining event to the political campaign. Oil remains volatile, and Fed Speakers are on the loose.
Oil prices may be going up, but they can still cause a US recession (Business Insider)
It appears oil prices have found the bottom in recent days, with prices recovering from mid-$20-a-barrel lows back into the $33-$34 range.
But according to Jason Schenker, president and chief economist at Prestige Economics, the uptick in oil price isn't enough to save many oil companies — or the US economy — from disaster.
Viacom's Next Step Should Be A Separate Tracking Stock For Paramount? (Forbes)
On Tuesday, Viacom’s (VIAB) CEO Philippe Dauman announced in comments at the Jefferies Media Conference that Viacom was expecting to sell a minority stake in Paramount by the end June.
Yen Rallies After Being Singled Out at G-20 While Data Hits Kiwi (Bloomberg)
Markets seemed to welcome the Group of 20’s commitment to do more to boost growth, with Australian equities and Japanese index futures rising amid a pull back in gold and government debt. The yen rallied after Japan’s currency and monetary policy were singled out as a source of concern by some ministers at the meeting.
Buffett: More Fun Every Year (Bloomberg)
Warren Buffett's eating habits are entirely unhealthy. His jokes and analogies induce groans — and he sprinkled plenty of them into the annual letter he released to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Saturday morning.
The Deadly Trading Bias Affecting Stock Market Traders (Forbes)
A while ago I conducted a seminar for traders interested in trading psychology and decided to attempt an informal experiment. I printed out a chart of a past period in the stock market and asked participants to predict the future direction of the market based solely upon the chart patterns they perceived.
Gold Becomes the Biggest Winner of 2016 (Bloomberg)
Golds comeback is dominating 2016.
Politics
Trump's Promises Don't Pass Muster (Bloomberg View)
A powerful force driving Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the presidential race is the frustration of grass-roots voters that politicians in Washington haven't kept their promises.
Democrats, though still high on President Barack Obama, are upset about an economic recovery that benefited Wall Street more than Main Street, top executives more than workers.
Technology
Asus Zenfone Zoom's 3x optical zoom disappoints for shooting pics from afar (Mashable)
I cringe every time I watch someone pinch-to-zoom on their smartphone’s screen right before snapping a photo. The seemingly simple act of zooming in on an object, despite what the screen on the phone displays at the time, almost guarantees the end result will be a pixelated, garbled mess of a photo. All smartphones available today use this "digital zoom" technique.
WhatsApp is killing support for BlackBerry and other old platforms (The Next Web)
If you’re a WhatsApp user with an older device, I have some bad news for you: your OS may no longer be supported by next year. To summarize, WhatsApp will only be available on Android 2.3+, iOS and Windows phone 8.1+ “by the end of 2016.” In total, it’s ending support for: All BlackBerry OS devices, even the newish BlackBerry 10 Nokia S40 Nokia Symbian S60 Android 2.1 and Android 2.2 Windows Phone 7.1 That said, the company doesn’t say if it will remove its software from the respective app stores or if it will just stop updating the app.
Health and Life Sciences
How the Brain Dumps Its Trash (Scientific American)
The brain gets rid of some 1.5 kilograms of waste products a year, equivalent to its own weight. One puzzle: Where does its built-in garbage disposal reside? New findings that reveal detritus-carrying passages—what is called the glymphatic system—traffics the brain’s discarded leavings.
Reporting results from clinical trials is vital for science-based medicine (Science-Based Medicine)
Real medicine is built on high quality data. That’s one lesson I learned through myrehabilitation as a former naturopath. I can assure you that this principle does not apply to naturopathy or any of the other types of alternative medicine, which are mostly based on anachronistic traditions, magical thinking, and poor academic integrity. I now know that real medicine incorporates any therapy scientifically demonstrated to be effective and safe, regardless of origin. Therapies that fail to demonstrate effectiveness remain alternative for good reason.
Life on the Home Planet
Scientists discover major Jurassic fossil site in Argentina (Phys)
Paleontologists in Argentina have announced the discovery of a major Jurassic-era fossil site four years after it was first discovered.
The site, which spans 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in Patagonia, southern Argentina, came to light this week with the publication of a report in the journal Ameghiniana.
