News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

Dollar Bulls Face Historical Hurdles With Fed Close to Rate Hike (Bloomberg)

Dollar bulls counting on a surge in the greenback should the Federal Reserve raise interest rates this year are fighting with historical precedent.

Oil drillers are adding rigs at the fastest pace since before the oil crash (Business Insider)

The number of active US oil rigs rose by two to 416 this week, according to oilfield-services giant Baker Hughes. 

America's newest stock exchange is now going after 'one of the touchiest subjects' on Wall Street (Business Insider)

IEX, the trading firm famous for its efforts to undercut high-speed traders,  just launched as an exchange after winning regulatory approval in July. 

China’s Holdings of U.S. Treasuries Fall to Lowest Since ’13 (Bloomberg)

China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell in July to the lowest level in more than three years, as the world’s second-largest economy pares its foreign-exchange reserves to support the yuan.

Central bank developments are only game in town for markets (Market Watch)

U.S. stocks will be taking cues from central bankers more than usual in the coming week as investors await pronouncements from the Federal Reserve and clarification on the Bank of Japan’s easing efforts.

China's Housing Gets Scarily Expensive (Bloomberg)

For many years, China's authorities took a Goldilocks approach to housing prices: They wanted a market that was neither too hot nor too cold, and took measures as needed to control prices.

Britain's prime minister secretly told the EU when she'll trigger Article 50 for a Brexit (Business Insider)

European Council president Donald Tusk revealed that Britain's prime minister Theresa May told him the date of when she is likely to trigger Article 50 and therefore start the two-year negotiation process on how the UK will exit the European Union.

The 27 scariest moments of the financial crisis (Business Insider)

Eight years ago, the US economy went into recession, the US housing market crashed, and credit markets seized, bringing the banking industry to its knees.

Deutsche Bonds "Dropping Like A Stone" As 'Most Dangerous Bank In The World' Plummets (Zero Hedge)

"They are dropping like a stone," warns one European credit strategist as signals from the bottom of Deutsche Bank's capital structure signal a "huge increase in the potential for a coupon skip."

Russia is seriously running out of cash (CNN Money)

After almost two years in recession, the country's rainy day fund has shrunk to just $32.2 billion this month, according to the Russian Finance Ministry. It was $91.7 billion in September 2014, just before oil prices started to collapse.

Putin might be laying the groundwork for war (Mauldin Economics)

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are growing. According to the Russians, a special operations team from Ukraine attacked Crimea in August. The Ukrainians denied the claim. The Russians appeared to be moving forces around in Crimea and increasing their number and posture.

Waiting For The Fed: FOMC Meeting Seen Dominating Market In Days Ahead (Forbes)

It’s hard to fault investors if they feel the same way this year about the Federal Reserve, which originally signaled a series of rate hikes in 2016 but keeps ending its meetings without changing interest rates.

With Fewer People Buying Homes, Millennials Are Redefining the American Dream (NBC News)

Home ownership in America is not nearly as common as it was in the past. Census Bureau figures show that in the second quarter of 2016, the home ownership rate dropped to 62.9 percent — the lowest in more than 50 years.

Six Striking Observations About Corporate Debt (Zero Hedge)

Here are a handful of striking observations on the real problem with the global debt bubble, courtsy of CLSA's Damien Kestel, and why any spike in interest rates could lead to a global fiasco.

Revisiting the Run on Deutsche Bank: Making the Hypothetical Frighteningly Realistic – You've Been Warned! (Veritaseum)

Following up on "What Happens to Banks When the Real Funding Rate Appears?", we will take a look at could happen to Deustche Bank when LIBOR does this…

Wall Street Thinks It's High Time to Monetize Pot (Bloomberg)

Inside a Brooklyn ballroom, investors smoothed their suits and opened their iPads, preparing for a day of sizing up hungry entrepreneurs and impassioned lobbyists.

Companies

The battle between Tesla and your neighborhood car dealership (The Washington Post)

The first Tesla store opened in Columbus, Ohio, 72 miles away. Then one popped up in Cincinnati. Soon, another was in Cleveland. Tesla’s Ohio invasion was swift and — to longtime auto dealers such as Blake Arbogast — a growing threat, creeping ever closer.

Walmart’s Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy (Bloomberg)

Darrell Ross—Officer Walmart to his colleagues in the Tulsa Police Department—operates for up to 10 hours a day out of the security office of a Walmart Supercenter in the city’s northeast corner. 

Apple Shares Have Best Week in Nearly Five Years (The Wall Street Journal)

Apple Inc. shares posted their best week in nearly five years, leading a rally in technology shares that outshone the broader market.

Politics

Congress To IRS: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves (Forbes)

The U.S. Congress operates under two sets of rules, one for the House of Representatives and another for the Senate. The rules in the House are essentially designed to enable the majority party (now the Republicans) to pass legislation at will. 

Donald Trump Clung to ‘Birther’ Lie for Years, and Still Isn’t Apologetic (NY Times)

It was not true in 2011, when Donald J. Trump mischievously began to question President Obama’s birthplace aloud in television interviews. “I’m starting to think that he was not born here,” he said at the time.

Concern Over Colin Powell’s Hacked Emails Becomes a Fear of Being Next (NY Times)

WASHINGTON — A panicked network anchor went home and deleted his entire personal Gmail account. A Democratic senator began rethinking the virtues of a flip phone. And a former national security official gave silent thanks that he is now living on the West Coast.

Harvard study: Political 'dysfunction' crippling U.S. economy (Politico)

The study, whose lead author was Michael Porter, best known for the book “Competitive Strategy,” argues that the U.S. political system “is no longer delivering good results for the average American.”

Hillary's Growing "Millennial Problem" Forces A Reset (Zero Hedge)

Obama crushed Republicans in the past two presidential elections with young voters.  In fact, 18-29 year old voters skewed toward Obama by 34 points in 2008 against McCain and 24 points in 2012 against Romney.

Technology

The Next Industrial Revolution (The Atlantic)

A “crisis of abundance” initially seems like a paradox. After all, abundance is the ultimate goal of technology and economics. But consider the early history of the electric washing machine. In the 1920s, factories churned them out in droves. 

No Driver? Bring It On. How Pittsburgh Became Uber’s Testing Ground (NY Times)

PITTSBURGH — Any day now, Uber will introduce a fleet of self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, making this former steel town the world’s first city to let any passenger hail an autonomous vehicle.

Tesla Breakup With Mobileye Turns Ugly (Bloomberg)

The public breakup between Tesla Motors Inc. and Mobileye NV took a turn for the worse as the Israeli company said it “expressed safety concerns regarding the use of Autopilot hands-free” to Elon Musk, the automaker’s chief executive officer.

Samsung won't be the last to have exploding batteries (CNN Money)

A Jeep in Florida went up in flames after the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was left charging in the car. Airlines have warned passengers not to bring the device on planes, and the U.S. issued a dire warning to Samsung customers to power down the phones "as soon as possible."

Apple Watch 2 review: There's finally a reason to buy a smartwatch (CNN Money)

If you had to pick the new Apple Watch Series 2 out of a lineup of existing Apple Watches, you'd be hard pressed to do so.

Samsung slapped with lawsuit over exploding Galaxy Note7 (Mashable Asia)

According to a report from Reuters, the lawsuit was filed on Friday by Jonathan Strobel, a Boca Raton, Florida user who says he sustained injuries on Sept. 9 after the Galaxy Note7 allegedly exploded in his front pocket. 

Health and Biotech

The Case Against Reality (The Atlantic)

As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our perceptions—sights, sounds, textures, tastes—are an accurate portrayal of the real world.

How the sugar industry has distorted health science for more than 50 years (Vox)

The sugar industry has a long history of shaping nutrition policy in the United States, working to mask the potential risks of consuming too much of the sweet stuff.

There's something odd about the way insulin prices change (Business Insider)

Insulin prices are rising — increases that mean some people are spending as much on monthly diabetes-related expenses as their mortgage payment.

Canada Just Legalized Heroin for Medical Use to Combat Overdose Epidemic (The Anti Media)

Much like in the United States, Canada has seen a spike in the rates of opiate use among its populace.

Over a four-month period early this year, 256 Canadians died after overdosing on fentanyl, the same substance tied to “bad batches” of heroin that have been killing Americans.

Life on the Home Planet

The Cold War is Over (First Things)

Like most Englishmen, I grew up with a natural dislike of “abroad” and a belief in the inferiority of all foreign things. I think it took me five visits to France before I began to regret leaving that lovely country rather than to rejoice at my return to our safe and familiar island.

False alarm leads to major police operation in central Paris (Reuters)

Parts of central Paris were cordoned off on Saturday after a false alarm triggered a major security operation, French police said.

Pipe bombing at New Jersey race probed as possible terrorism (Reuters)

A pipe bomb exploded in a New Jersey beach town on Saturday along the route of a charity race to benefit military veterans, but no injuries were reported in what investigators were treating as a possible act of terrorism.

String Of Deadly Arsons Strike Chicago Leaving 1 Dead And Dozens Homeless (Zero Hedge)

The level of crime in Chicago these days is more on par with certain violent third-world countries than other U.S. cities.  In fact, we recently pointed out that Chicago has recorded more homicides so far in 2016 than Los Angeles and New York, combined, despite having a fraction of the population (see "Chicago Records "Most Violent Month In 20 Years").