Financial Markets and Economy
Which one of these indicators for the stock market is lying? (Market Watch)
Might a recession be averted after all? The odds that it might got a major boost earlier this week, when the Conference Board reported its index of leading economic indicators rose in March, breaking a three-month downtrend.
Americans despise the market so much, they've dumped $2 trillion of stocks? (Business Insider)
Based on how Americans have been investing, it appears the average citizen really hates the stock market.
Investors pull $7.3 billion from stocks, largest outflow in nine weeks? (Reuters)
Investors withdrew $7.3 billion from stocks in the week to April 20, the largest outflows in nine weeks, while continuing to shovel money into corporate and emerging market debt, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday.
The equity redemptions were led by $4.2 billion of outflows from U.S. stocks and $2.6 billion from Japan. These were the largest outflows for Japanese equity funds since November 2014 and extended the longest outflow streak since February 2012.
Oil rig count falls to new 6-year low (Business Insider)
The US oil rig count fell by 8 to 343 this week, according to driller Baker Hughes. That was the fifth straight weekly drop.
Central bankers will destroy the 'enfeebled' global economy and plunge the world into chaos (Business Insider)
Central bankers are going to destroy the "enfeebled" global economy and cause chaos across the world, according to notorious perma-bear Albert Edwards.
Edwards, a strategist with Societe Generale, is about as bearish as they come.
50% Returns Coming For Commodities And Emerging Markets? (Meb Faber)
If history is any guide, we’re standing at the edge of 40%–96% returns over the next two years.
Japan's massive manufacturing sector just took a turn for the worse (Business Insider)
Activity levels across Japan’s manufacturing sector contracted sharply in April, adding to the prospect that the Bank of Japan may add to its massive monetary stimulus program as early as next week.
Expensive Misconceptions (Dash of Insight)
The investment world abounds with research reports. Intelligent and educated people generally benefit from careful study and accrued knowledge.
Tough times for hedge funds (The Mathematical Investor)
The past few years have not been kind to hedge funds, namely those specialized funds, usually marketed to large institutions and wealthy individuals, which combine a somewhat more risky overall strategy managed by highly professional traders, with a relatively safer “hedge” to limit volatility.
Smart Beta ETFs & The Active Manager (ETF)
Janus Capital Group, one of the world’s best-known active management firms, stepped into the ETF space with a splash when it acquired Velocity Shares more than a year ago. It recently moved beyond the legacy products from that purchase with the launch of two “smart growth” ETFs. Like many other active mutual fund managers, it rolled out smart-beta ETFs—the Janus Small Cap Growth Alpha (JSML) and the Janus Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha (JSMD)—but its Head of Exchange Traded Products Nick Cherney says they won’t be a part of a traditional ETF family.
NAAIM Exposure Highest in a Year (Biiwii)
The rally off of the February 11 low for the SP500 has been called “the most hated rally” by some in the financial media. But it does not appear to be hated according to a lot of the sentiment indicators.
PMI Data Points To A Weak Start For US Manufacturing In Q2 (Capital Spectator)
The prospects for a rebound in US manufacturing in the second quarter took a hit today with the initial April estimate of Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the sector.
Caterpillar cuts 2016 profit outlook, sees China improvement (Reuters)
Caterpillar Inc, the world's largest maker of heavy machinery, on Friday lowered its 2016 sales and earnings outlook as steep declines in revenue from its construction, oil and gas and rail business segments hurt quarterly profit.
Tech Shares Drop After Disappointing Earnings Reports (Wall Street Journal)
Technology shares slumped Friday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 still posted gains on the week.
$270 Trillion In Total Investable Assets (Ritholtz)
The need for good money managers has never been greater. Total investable assets are continuously rising. High-net-worth individuals are now influential sources of capital in both established and emerging markets. Baby boomers are living longer in retirement, and as they stop working they’ll need their assets to last longer. Yet for investors too few good options exist.
USDJPY Soars Most Since QQE2 Crushing Record Shorts (Zero Hedge)
A rumor of The BoJ doing something moar (helping banks with NIRP loans) was the apparent catalyst for today's epic USDJPY spike, but the kindling was a record position among speculative futures traders that USDJPY would continue to fall.
Politics
Why the U.S. Doesn't Want Britain to Secede (Bloomberg View)
Two hundred and forty years after his country ostentatiously tore upits membership card in the British Empire, the American president is traveling to London to warn the British not to do the same with theirs for Europe. It’s a bit rich, as some Brits would put it, but Barack Obama has not merely the right but the obligation to make his case.
I.R.S. Fights Back Against House Republicans’ Attacks? (NY Times)
For five years, congressional Republicans have taken out their anti-tax wrath on the Internal Revenue Service, cutting its budget by nearly $1 billion, reducing its staff by about 17,000, and even threatening to impeach its chief.
Paul Ryan's Republican Ghetto (Bloomberg View)
Since his swearing-in as House speaker, Paul Ryan has maintained his sunny, gung-ho disposition, hobnobbing with his party's guerrillas while gently trying to lure them back to the comforts of civilization.
Wouldn't it be fun to have a comprehensive legislative agenda? Some trinkets for the "accomplishments" page of their campaign web sites? Maybe even a shiny new budget?
Technology
Artificial Intelligence Fights Wildlife Poaching (Popular Science)
Humans tend to do pretty terrible things to the environment. And those who go about illegally killing animals and cutting down trees are downright criminal, and can be difficult to stop. So, the National Science Foundation has turned to artificial intelligence to help out.
Current And Future Trends In Vending Machines (Forbes)
Vending machines have long been a convenient and relatively low cost method of delivering food and drink. They have also been a source of unplanned eating and drinking (after all, currently, few people plan to have lunch or dinner, throw a party, or meet for a date at a vending machine), which makes vending machines a target for improving the diets of children. With a history that dates back to ancient times, vending machines are likely to remain a part (and perhaps a growing part) of the world’s diet in the future. But several current trends have left the vending machine industry at a crossroads.
Health and Life Sciences
Meet the nanomachines that could drive a medical revolution (Business Insider)
A group of physicists recently built the smallest engine ever created from just a single atom. Like any other engine it converts heat energy into movement – but it does so on a smaller scale than seen before.
The atom is trapped in a cone of electromagnetic energy and lasers are used to heat it up and cool it down, which causes the atom to move back and forth in the cone like an engine piston.
Foods Loaded With Sugar, Salt and Fat? Bring It (NY Times)
Dark chocolate is in. So, too, is beef jerky. And full-fat ice cream? You bet.
Life on the Home Planet
Earth’s core is two-and-a-half years younger than its crust (New Scientist)
There’s a surprise lying deep beneath your feet. Physicists have calculated that the centre of the Earth is two-and-a-half years younger than its surface, thanks to the effects of gravity as described by general relativity.
According to Einstein’s theory, your position in a gravitational field changes the rate at which you experience time passing. The idea has been rigorously tested and has an impact on GPS satellites. But the time differences involved here are normally fractions of a second, not a couple of years.
Does more CO2 mean increased crop water productivity? (Ars Technica)
Most of us are by now aware of the harmful effect greenhouse gas emissions exert through rising global temperatures. As temperatures go up, glaciers melt and ocean levels rise. Climate change also exacerbates water scarcity worldwide.
Water scarcity significantly impacts agricultural productivity and food scarcity. These impacts will be felt the most in arid regions, where agriculture depends on irrigation, which represents humanity's largest diversion of fresh water.
