Financial Markets and Economy
U.K. Bonds’ World-Beating Gains Become Losses Surpassing Peers (Bloomberg)
Spurred by a post-Brexit economy that’s defying the doomsayers, gilts are not only joining the global government-bond selloff but are leading it.
Tumbling Long-Dated Bonds Lead Global Selloff After ECB Inaction (Bloomberg)
The deepening global bond selloff has longer-dated securities bearing most of the brunt.
Debt from Japan to the U.S. has tumbled since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that officials didn’t discuss an extension to the institution’s asset-purchase plan, disappointing investors who had been speculating that more stimulus was imminent.
How one hedge fund manager missed out on the 'Big Short' (Business Insider)
We've all heard about "The Big Short."
The trade was made famous by Michael Lewis' book focused on a band of Wall Streeters who made serious money betting on a housing crisis.
Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now (Business Insider)
Via Dave Lutz, head of ETFs at JonesTrading, here's a quick guide to what traders are talking about right now:
Taiwan Is Sidestepping China To Bid For India's Tough (But Eager) Market (Forbes)
Taiwan has invested in China since about 1990 and became one of the first overseas commercial forces to thrive there. But China’s economic growth is slipping now and the place is unpopular politically with the Taiwanese because of Beijing’s will to leverage economic ties to push for unification.
Carmakers, Union Sign Wage Deal to Avert South Africa Strike (Bloomberg)
South African units of automakers including Nissan Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG signed a three-year wage agreement with the main industry union, marking the first time in nine years that talks have concluded without labor disruptions or work stoppages.
San Francisco's housing market has been on a 'wild ride' (Business Insider)
The housing market in San Francisco has a notorious reputation.
It's hard to find a place to live, it's expensive, and it may or may not be driving out people that have lived there for years.
"You Get Nothing" – Japanese, German Bond Yields Surge To 0% (Zero Hedge)
Concerns about Japan's possible 'var shock'-inducing reverse twist policy has sparked selling across global sovvereign bond markets. Both Japanese 10Y and German 10Y yields have surged to 0% overnight.
How To Keep Your Brand Strong After Bankruptcy (Forbes)
Although bankruptcy is often perceived as a big, black mark on the reputation of any business, it’s not always a bad thing. Often times, it enables a business to stop, take a look around, and reorganize to allow them to get back to business.
Wells Fargo will pay $190 million to settle customer fraud case (Reuters)
Wells Fargo has long been the envy of the banking industry for its ability to sell multiple products to the same customer, but regulators on Thursday said those practices went too far in some instances.
"Markets In Turmoil" – S&P 500 Falls 1% For First Time In Over 2 Months (Zero Hedge)
Get back to work Mr Chairwoman…
China’s Rising Gold ETF Market: A Hybrid (Bullion Star, Zero Hedge)
In 2013 we’ve witnessed the inception of the Chinese gold ETF market. At first demand for the gold ETFs was neglectable, as investors mostly preferred to buy the physical gold directly at the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) or buy jewelry or investment bars through retail channels. This year, however, there has been a major shift in gold ETF demand in China.
The ruble is sliding (Business Insider)
The currency is down by 0.6% at 64.3917 per dollar as of 7:37 a.m. ET.
The ruble's tumble follows Friday's dip in oil prices. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is down 1.5% at $49.24 a barrel.
Deutsche Bank Surges on Report U.S. Mortgage Settlement Is Near (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG shares jumped the most in two months after a media report that Germany’s largest lender is nearing a settlement deal with U.S. authorities on an investigation into the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
Small Business Owners Should Manage Profits First (Forbes)
Many small business owners think of profits as whatever cash is left over at the end of the month. Turnaround expert and Forbes contributor Louis Mosca of American Management thinks that’s doing things backward.
China Seen Targeting ‘Comfortable’ Coal Price by Managing Miners (Bloomberg)
China is targeting a price range for thermal coal after output cuts led to a sharp increase in imports and prices, according to analysts from Citigroup Inc. and UOB-Kay Hian Ltd.
Farmers Face Storage Crunch With Bumper U.S. Harvest Looming (Bloomberg)
There’s an avalanche of grain coming as U.S. farmers gear up to harvest record corn and soybean crops. And one question looms large: where will it all go?
Three Ex-Tesco Executives Charged in U.K. Accounting Scandal (Bloomberg)
Three former Tesco Plc executives were charged with fraud and false accounting by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, after a multi-million dollar shortfall discovered two years ago led to a criminal investigation of the grocer’s finances.
Politics
'It gives me the goose bumps': Concern about a Donald Trump presidency is spreading (Business Insider)
Peru's central bank chief said on Wednesday that he gets "goose bumps" when he thinks about what would happen to the global economy if US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins the November election.
Syria ready to cooperate with U.N. watchdog on gas attack accusations (Reuters)
Syria said on Thursday it was ready to cooperate with the global chemical weapons watchdog over accusations it had used poison gas against insurgent held areas.
Trump says he was against Iraq war despite Howard Stern interview (Reuters)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday said he was against the Iraq war all along despite telling radio interviewer Howard Stern in 2002 that he favored it.
How Trump and Clinton Stand Up Against Marine Leadership Principles (TIME)
I spent 10 years on active duty as a U.S. Marine, 10 years working for technology firms, and 14 years leading my own investment bank. I am registered as an independent voter, and I’ve voted for people in both major parties for Congress, Senate and Governor. In 30 years, I have never voted for a Democrat for President.
Technology
Google’s DeepMind Achieves Speech-Generation Breakthrough (Bloomberg)
Google’s DeepMind unit, which is working to develop super-intelligent computers, has created a system for machine-generated speech that it says outperforms existing technology by 50 percent.
AT&T charges its poorest customers more for super-slow internet (CNN Money)
AT&T is benefiting from providing slow broadband internet service to some poor neighborhoods.
Alphabet Drones to Deliver Burritos as Part of Test at Virginia Tech (The Wall Street Journal)
Google parent Alphabet Inc. plans this month to use drones to deliver burritos to a small number of staff and students at Virginia Tech, a limited test of the tech giant’s ambitious plans to quicken deliveries with unmanned aircraft.
Passengers warned not to use Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on planes (CNN Money)
Air travelers are being warned not to use their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on planes after the company recalled the devices over complaints the batteries can catch fire.
Eye-Tracking Technology for Cars Promises to Keep Drivers Alert (The Wall Street Journal)
Future buyers of General Motors Co.’s semiautonomous driving system will have to be comfortable with Big Brother sitting in the passenger seat.
Health and Life Sciences
The rise of 'super bugs' just prompted a UN General Assembly meeting (Science Alert)
While researchers have been hard at work looking for new kinds of medicine to treat pathogens, they have been fighting a losing battle to drug-resistant bacteria.
Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain (NY Times)
As a woman of a certain age who consumes a well-balanced diet of all the usual food groups, including reasonable amounts of animal protein, I tend to dismiss advice to take a multivitamin supplement.
Fear of vaccine safety is higher in Europe than in the US (New Scientist)
Europe is the world’s most vaccine-sceptic region. That’s according to a study that has surveyed 66,000 people living in 67 countries about their views on the importance and safety of vaccines.
Mistrust of Vaccines Is Greatest in France (Reuters, Scientific American)
Public confidence in immunization varies widely across the world with the French the most skeptical about the safety of vaccines, according to a survey published on Friday.
Life on the Home Planet
Humans have destroyed 10% of Earth's wilderness in just 25 years (Science Alert)
A recent report has found that over the past two decades, we’ve lost a tenth of the world’s wilderness, thanks in no small part to mining, illegal logging, agriculture, and oil and gas exploration.
Iranian oil output stagnates for third month amid OPEC bargaining (Reuters)
Iran's steep oil output growth has stalled in the past three months, new data showed, suggesting Tehran might be struggling to fulfill its plans to raise production to new highs while demanding to be excluded from any OPEC deals on supply curbs.
North Korea Says Tested Nuclear Bomb, Can Miniaturize Arms (Bloomberg)
North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday, the anniversary of the reclusive nation’s founding, and said it was now able to produce miniaturized nuclear arms.
Iraq Readies for Offensive to Rid Mosul of ISIS (Reuters, TIME)
The U.S.-led war on Islamic State has depleted the group’s funds, leadership and foreign fighters, but the biggest battle yet is expected later this year in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his “caliphate” two years ago.
US Tries Rescue Mission in Afghanistan, Hostage Not Found (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S special operations forces launched a rescue mission to retrieve two men kidnapped by insurgents in Afghanistan last month, but the hostages were not there when the rescue team arrived, U.S. defense officials said Thursday.
Decoding North Korea’s Claim of a Successful Nuclear Test (NY Times)
The Korean Central News Agency, the official news service of North Korea, on Friday published a statement issued by the nation’s nuclear weapons institute. Following is the complete text of the statement, with key passages highlighted, accompanied by context and analysis by the correspondents of The New York Times:
