Financial Markets and Economy
The summer is over, complacency is dead, and markets are fun again (Business Insider)
On Friday, after more than 40 straight days of the S&P 500 closing inside of a 1% range, markets are selling off as the meme of the summer dies a quick death.
Complacency, the dominant theme in markets for the two months since the June 23 Brexit vote in the UK, has felt as though it's been the only theme in markets. And now, it seems, this is over.
Gas Traders Caught Short by Cheniere Work That Hasn’t Begun (Bloomberg)
There’s a terminal on Louisiana’s coastline that seemingly everyone in the U.S. natural gas market is watching closely.
U.S. Stalls North Dakota Oil Pipeline After Judge Okays It (Bloomberg)
The Obama administration said it would not allow work on federal land along the route of Energy Transfer Partners LP’s controversial crude oil pipeline, less than an hour after a judge ruled construction could proceed on the $3.8 billion project.
South African Rand Leads Currency Declines as Liquidity Dwindles (Bloomberg)
South Africa’s rand fell the most in more than two weeks against the dollar, leading global currency losses amid lingering political risks and as central banks signaled they are starting to question further monetary easing.
The economy is set for three decades of sluggish growth (Value Walk)
It is not possible to understand how the stock market and economy works without understanding long-term business cycles.
The world is constantly changing over the medium to long-term but for the short-term focused financial markets, extrapolation of the recent past is usually all it takes to put together a long-term forecast.
Draghi Pleads Again for Help as ECB Stands Pat (Fortune)
The Eurozone needs a pay raise
The Eurozone needs a pay raise and it needs fiscal stimulus, but the economy hasn’t weakened enough to warrant the European Central Bank using up any more of its fast-dwindling stock of ammunition.
Bondmageddon Sparks Crude Carnage & Biggest Stock Slump In 7 Months (Zero Hedge)
Oops…Compared to recent lack of volatility, today was indeed a bloodbath and the week was the worst week for stocks in 7 months…
Federal Reserve Asks Congress to Limit Wall Street Merchant Banking (Reuters)
The Federal Reserve Board and two other regulators on Thursday issued a report that recommends Congress pare back Wall Street's access to commodity and merchant banking investments.
Our Investing Philosophy In Action (Paul Price, Seeking Alpha)
Our investing philosophy is captured well by these famous quotes from Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett:
"Basically, price fluctuations have only one significant meaning for the true investor. They provide him with an opportunity to buy wisely when prices fall sharply and to sell wisely when they advance a great deal." ~ Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor
"The common intellectual theme of the investors from Graham-and-Doddsville is this: they search for discrepancies between the value of a business and the price of small pieces of that business in that market." ~ Warren Buffett, speaking at Columbia Business School in 1984
Legal tax reduction tactics that everyone should be taking advantage of (Sovereign Man)
If you’ve been a reader of this letter for any length of time, you know I hate taxes.
I unequivocally believe that I have a moral obligation to reduce my taxes to the lowest level possible.
Global stocks slide on rate hike talk, German data; euro off (Reuters)
Stocks across the globe fell the most since June on Friday, dragged lower by expectations that the Federal Reserve could be closer to an interest rate hike, which in turn boosted the U.S. dollar and weighed on commodities.
Here's Why Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz Thinks the Euro Is Doomed (Reuters)
Not only is the euro doomed, but the demise of the single currency is going to be a messy affair, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said on Wednesday.
Monte Paschi is losing its head at the worst possible time. The bank's already trying to pull off a complex and risky plan to simultaneously raise capital and shed bad loans to avoid a painful state rescue. Now it's ousting its CEO.
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.
Chinese Billionaire Linked to Giant Aluminum Stockpile in Mexican Desert (The Wall Street Journal)
Two years ago, a California aluminum executive commissioned a pilot to fly over the Mexican town of San José Iturbide, at the foot of the Sierra Gorda mountains, and snap aerial photos of a remote desert factory.
PIK Toggle Issuance Is Bubbling Over Again…Last Time Around This Was the "Beginning Of The End" (Zero Hedge)
In hindsight, the 2007 ramp in PIK Toggle note issuance was a pretty good indicator that the high-yield market was frothing over and the party was near an end.
There's a Simple Reason Why UBS Is Hiring So Many Quants (Bloomberg)
UBS Group AG doubled the number of quants working for Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele in the past two years. He wants to hire even more.
Monte dei Paschi CEO to be replaced as cash call looms (Reuters)
Fabrizio Viola, the chief executive of troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, has agreed to quit and allow a new boss to try to convince reluctant investors to back an emergency rescue plan.
German exports plummet in July, hit trade surplus (Market Watch)
FRANKFURT–Germany's trade surplus in July came in lower than expected as exports plummeted, the latest in a string of weak economic data from Europe's industrial powerhouse at the start of the third quarter.
Hedge Fund and Cybersecurity Firm Team Up to Short-Sell Device Maker (NY Times)
The cybersecurity firm behind a short-seller’s campaign against St. Jude Medical, a major manufacturer of pacemakers, has a curious operating history.
It’s Tough Being Over 40 in Silicon Valley (Bloomberg)
After Andrea Rodriguez lost her job last fall, she put away her suits. Not because she didn’t plan to keep working—she just had to seem younger. She’d been a successful sales trainer at SugarCRM, a Cupertino, Calif., company that pitches marketing and customer service software to businesses.
David Geffen’s New York City Apartment Seeks $27.5 Million (The Wall Street Journal)
Entertainment mogul David Geffen will list his Fifth Avenue apartment overlooking Manhattan’s Central Park for $27.5 million.
It’s Millionaire Versus Billionaire in Beverly Hills Tower Spat (Bloomberg)
Beverly Hills, home to some of the priciest properties in the U.S., is becoming the site of an expensive battle over real estate.
Ford Stock Stubbornly Sinks as Bosses Try to Rally Investors (Bloomberg)
Record profits, strong sales, an aluminum truck, a road map for rapid rollout of robot taxis. None of these developments have managed to lift Ford Motor Co.’s stock.
Listening for the Market's Bell (Pimco)
The old Wall Street expression is “They don’t ring a bell at the top.” This snarky adage is usually employed by those saddened financial managers who ride a successful investment to a peak and then watch in horror as it reverses course to a level below their cost basis.
Testing Support and AAPL Revisited (Slope of Hope)
I wasn’t planning a post here today but I have more time than I expected this morning, and I didn’t manage to do the AAPL post I was planning yesterday, so I’m going to combine them both into a single post here this morning.
Politics
Duterte says he told Obama he never insulted him, thinks U.N.'s Ban a fool (Reuters)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told Barack Obama he never called him a "son of a bitch", he said on Friday, but he maintained a defiant stance on his war on drugs, saying U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was a fool for bringing up human rights.
10 Reasons Why The Government Does Not Deserve Your Tax Dollars (Zero Hedge)
Government has plenty of money, and as The Rebel's Lauren Southern explains, the idea that feeding more money into a broken system will somehow fix the system is quite literally insane.
5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls (The Pew Research Center)
In presidential elections, even the smallest changes in horse-race poll results seem to become imbued with deep meaning. But they are often overstated. Pollsters disclose a margin of error so that consumers can have an understanding of how much precision they can reasonably expect.
Clinton: National security experts 'chilled' by Trump (Politico)
Hillary Clinton issued a dire warning against Donald Trump on Friday, saying that those tasked with keeping our nation safe are "chilled" by the Republican nominee's proposals and rhetoric.
Trump Threatens Act Of War As Response To Rude Hand Gestures (The Huffington Post)
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday threatened to respond with an act of war if Iranian sailors made rude gestures toward U.S. Navy ships.
Presidential Politics and CEO Pay (Truth Out)
Politicians love to beat up on overpaid CEOs.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crash, Republican presidential candidate John McCain lashed out at executives of bailed-out banks, calling for their pay to be cut to the salary level of the President of the United States, $400,000 a year.
Technology
Why Tim Cook Is The Genius Apple Needs (Felix Salmon, Reuters, Seeking Alpha)
Later this morning, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is going to unveil the iPhone 7, and when he does, the familiar litany of complaints will almost certainly be aired. “This new phone is evolutionary, not revolutionary.” “Apple’s very good at making money, but its spark has gone.” “Why can’t it innovate anymore?”
A Chinese startup created a camera that digitally enhances your face in real time (South China Morning Post)
As the audience reach for China’s fast-growing live streaming video industry widens, one Shenzhen-based start-up has developed a device to that enhances people’s looks in real time when broadcasting their lives to the web.
Shipping delays plague iPhone 7 preorders (CNN Money)
Preorders began early Friday morning for the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus ahead of the September 16 release. But the overwhelming demand for the new black and jet black iPhones in particular is prompting Apple to push delivery dates as late as November for some models.
PS4 Pro's 4K HDR patches could cost money (CNet)
Patches that update existing PlayStation 4 games with 4K HDR support may cost money, Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Masayasu Ito has indicated. Speaking to Game Impress Watch, as translated by Kotaku, Ito suggested that publishers may decide to charge for these patches.
Want to listen to an iPhone 7 and charge it simultaneously? That'll be £35 (The Guardian)
Apple’s removal of the headphone socket on its latest iPhone 7 has had several knock-on effects, but one thing most people might not realise is that if you’re using wired headphones with it, you can’t charge it at the same time. Unless you buy a £35 adapter. Or a £49 dock.
The drone race is off and running, with Israel in the lead (Tech Crunch)
Audiences around the globe enjoyed all the action of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games thanks in large part to the drones hovering above the events (or below them), capturing every movement, from every angle.
GM Recalls 4M Cars For Airbag Software Defect, Bolt EV To Get OTA Updates (Digital Trends)
Vehicle software updates were featured in General Motors news twice this week. GM has recalled more than 4 million vehicles to correct an airbag software defect already linked to at least one death, reports the LA Times.
Researchers can find your deepest secrets by scanning your brain (Engadget)
Verifying your identity with brainwave scans sounds pretty awesome on the surface, but new research from from Texas Tech University shows that EEG identification could be the start of a whole new world of privacy concerns.
Facebook Stops September 11th Anniversary From Trending Due to Hoax Story (Gizmodo)
Facebook’s trending news module is making headlines again, and this time it’s for propping up 9/11 truther nonsense as “news.” Instead of simply removing the offending article, however, the platform has now dropped the trending topic—broadly titled “September 11th Anniversary”—altogether.
Health and Life Sciences
Is Evolution Over? Synthetic Biology Anticipates Nature’s Next Steps (Singularity Hub)
Some biological processes are so central to life as we know it that it’s tempting to assume all the key innovations in biochemistry have already happened.
Nearly a million people that don't have coeliac disease are going gluten-free (Science Alert)
Over recent years, the number of people following a gluten-free diet has more than tripled, a new study has found, though the rates of coeliac disease – which causes gluten intolerance – have remained the same.
Investigators find another superbug case in the US (Stat News)
There’s some moderately good news and bad news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the new superbug that has been generating concern in the United States and elsewhere.
My Bunk-Bashing Diatribe at a Deepak Chopra Conference (Scientific American)
It’s been a topsy-turvy year. Last May, at a major skepticism shindig, I accused capital-S skeptics of tribalism and other sins. This week I crossed the country and a cultural chasm to speak at “Sages & Scientists,” convened by holistic-health and spirituality mogul Deepak Chopra, a frequent target of skeptics.
Are We at the Edge of a Second Sexual Revolution? (Singularity Hub)
Do you remember your first formal lesson about the birds and the bees? Our biology or health teachers stood before a classroom full of giggling, squirming preteens and told us how babies are made. The best way to make a baby, they said, is to find someone you love, get married, and have sex.
Life on the Home Planet
A Quadruple Take on the Giraffe: There are Four Species, Not One (NY Times)
You would think that giraffes, the tallest land animals in the world, would be hard to overlook.
Yet, for centuries scientists may have missed a fundamental fact about these long-necked creatures: They aren’t one species, but rather four distinct ones
North Korea's fifth nuclear test prompts U.S. calls for more sanctions (Reuters)
North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.
Lavrov, Kerry express concern after latest North Korea nuclear test (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday.
Lavrov told reporters while meeting Kerry in Geneva to discuss Syria peace efforts that a message must be sent "very strongly" on implementing U.N. resolutions on North Korea
Federal government steps in to ask for pause in construction of part of the North Dakota pipeline (Mashable Asia)
NEAR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. — An American Indian tribe's attempt to halt construction of an oil pipeline near its North Dakota reservation failed in federal court Friday, but three government agencies asked the pipeline company to "voluntarily pause" work on a segment that tribal officials say holds sacred artifacts.
