Financial Markets and Economy
Minimum Wages Set to Increase in Many States in 2017 (The Wall Street Journal)
Minimum wages will increase in 20 states at the start of the year, a shift that will lift pay for millions of individuals and shed light on a long-running debate about whether mandated pay increases at the bottom do more harm or good for workers.
Natural Gas Is 2016’s Best-Performing Commodity Amid Cold Blast (Bloomberg)
A polar blast that’s poised to sweep the U.S. has turned natural gas into the year’s best performer among major commodities.
Dollar Rises for Fourth Consecutive Year; DXY Index Up 3.5% (Bloomberg)
The dollar was on track for its fourth consecutive annual gain as measured by the DXY dollar index, set to close out 2016 with a gain of ~3.5% after rising as much as 5.1% at its peak on Dec. 20.
Treasuries Rally on Month-End Buying, Paring December Losses (Bloomberg)
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury index fell 0.33 percent through Dec. 29 after four straight monthly declines. It lost 2.67 percent in November, the most since January 2009, as Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election fueled bets that inflation and economic growth would accelerate.
A 10% Rally in S&P 500 Makes Geniuses of Wall Street Strategists (Bloomberg)
They didn’t exactly nail every detail. But U.S. equity strategists got one thing right about 2016: where the S&P 500 Index would end up.
China Vows to Ease Curbs on Foreign Investment in Finance (The Wall Street Journal)
SHANGHAI—China says it will give foreign companies long-sought greater access to its financial industry.
Paschi Rescue to Cost Italy 6.6 Billion Euros, Central Bank Says (Bloomberg)
Italy’s rescue of troubled lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA will cost the government about 6.6 billion euros ($7 billion), the country’s central bank says, providing the first official estimate of public funding.
Dow industrials post best annual gain in 3 years (Market Watch)
U.S. stocks fell in the final trading day of the year on Friday as investors took profits on some of 2016’s highflying sectors, although major indexes posted strong annual gains and the Dow closed out its best year since 2013.
U.S. Stocks Decline in Final Day of Trading as Tech Shares Fall (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks slid on the last trading day of 2016 as losses in tech shares and discretionary companies weighed on the market. For the year, the S&P 500 climbed 9.5 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 13.4 percent for its best rally since 2013.
Hedge Funds Bet Oil Rally to Extend Into 2017 as Output Cuts Hit (Bloomberg)
Money managers’ wagers on rising West Texas Intermediate crude prices are triple what they were at the end of 2015, and are the highest since the start of the crude market crash 2 1/2 years ago.
How Bitcoin Beats Stocks, Bonds, And Gold (Forbes)
The digital currency has more than tripled in value, while the S&P 500 and SPDR Gold shares rose in upper single digits; and all three investments outperformed the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond, which declined in value.
Gold Lures Investors Worried About Trade Wars and Trump Tweets (Bloomberg)
While the precious metal has always been hoarded in times of trouble, a bevy of political and economic surprises in 2016 sparked a surge in buying that sent bullion to the first annual gain in four years. Prices may rally about 13 percent in 2017, according to a Bloomberg survey of 26 analysts.
Record U.K. Sparkling Wine Sales as France and Italy Buy British (Bloomberg)
As New Year’s Eve revelers worldwide prepared to raise a glass to see out 2016, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the U.K. exported sparkling wines to 27 nations in 2016, up from 19 a year earlier.
STOCKS SLIP TO END THE YEAR: Here's what you need to know (Business Insider)
Stocks dipped in trading on Friday, the final trading day of 2016.
All three indexes ended the day in the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the losses.
Companies
Troubled Chinese Nuclear Project Illustrates Toshiba’s Challenges (The Wall Street Journal)
SANMEN, China—Toshiba Corp.’s ambitions to make nuclear power a centerpiece of its future have instead led to an accounting scandal and billions of dollars in potential losses.
Wells Fargo Settles With Brokers Over Claims of Racial Bias (Bloomberg)
The bank will pay $35 million to more than 500 financial advisers and trainees, according to a settlement agreement filed Friday. Wells Fargo also agreed to add employees tasked with recruiting and coaching black brokers, and to set up a $500,000 business-development fund.
Technology
Twitter CEO Solicits Product Feedback as He Takes Larger Role (Bloomberg)
His tweet Thursday soliciting product feedback from users drew hundreds of responses, highlighting concerns with everything from abuse on the site to users’ inability to fix errors after they publish tweets.
Apple to cut iPhone production by 10 percent, report says (CNet)
Apple is cutting production of iPhones by 10 percent in the first three months of 2017, according to a report published Friday in the Japanese business paper the Nikkei Asian Review.
Facebook temporarily bans author after he calls Trump fans 'nasty fascistic lot' (The Guardian)
A journalist was temporarily banned from Facebook after a post in which he called Trump supporters “a nasty fascistic lot”, in the latest example of the social media platform’s censorship of journalists.
Outlook for Android and iOS now supports shared calendars (Venture Beat)
A Microsoft employee today confirmed that the company has added support for shared calendars, a long requested feature, in its Outlook app for iOS. The feature is also available on Outlook for Android, as well as Microsoft’s Calendar app for Windows 10.
Hyundai's next fuel cell SUVs have a reported range of 348 miles (Engadget)
Hyundai's next line of fuel cell SUVs will have a range of 348 miles, besting the current Hyundai Tucson by 30 percent, according to Nikkei. Hyundai reportedly plans to roll out its second generation of fuel cell SUVs in January 2018.
Samsung will likely bring Chromecast-like functionality to its TVs (Engadget)
Samsung's Smart View app has let users pipe movies and photos on their device to a nearby TV for years, but the latest version's App Store page has screenshots suggesting it's expanding into the streaming market.
This Year's VR Milestones Elevated It From Novelty To Art Form (Digital Trends)
Virtual reality has shaped gaming this year in a number of important ways. It’s pushed GPU hardware to more accessible places, made high refresh rates and OLED panels a priority, and brought about a wealth of new underlying feature improvements that will permeate PC gaming and VR software.
Politics
Trump’s Border Wall, Deportation Plans Face Pushback From GOP (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump’s pledges to deport undocumented immigrants and build a U.S.-Mexico border wall helped fuel Republicans’ surprising election victories, but they now face growing challenges from fellow party members.
Donald Trump’s Plan to Partner With Russia Faces New, Bigger Hurdle (The Wall Street Journal)
A central promise of President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy is that he will forge a working partnership with Russia, turning an old adversary into an ally in combating terrorist networks overseas and other global threats that bedeviled President Barack Obama.
Trump could reverse effects of Obama order on Russia: official (Reuters)
President-elect Donald Trump could reverse President Barack Obama's executive order and allow Russian intelligence officials back into the United States once he takes office, but that would be inadvisable, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
U.K.’s May Criticizes Kerry’s Speech on Israeli Settlements (Bloomberg)
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May criticized outgoing U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for his condemnation of Israeli policy, saying he focused too much on the issue of settlements and shouldn’t have attacked the political make-up of an ally’s elected government.
Trump Praises Putin for Rejecting In-Kind Response to Obama (Bloomberg)
President-elect Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin as “very smart” after the Russian leader ruled out a tit-for-tat retaliation for the Obama administration’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over cyberattacks aimed at interfering with the U.S. election.
Malaysian Leader Najib Razak Promised Openness, but Dissent Over 1MDB Stifled (The Wall Street Journal)
KUALA LUMPUR—Graphic designer Fahmi Reza is facing up to two years in prison. His problem? He painted red clown lips on a picture of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and sent it around.
Obama to huddle with Hill Democrats on saving Obamacare (Politico)
President Barack Obama will head to Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with congressional Democrats about how to shield Obamacare from Republican efforts to dismantle it, a Capitol Hill source told POLITICO.
US Deportations Of Illegal Immigrants Up 2 Percent (Associated Press)
The Obama administration has deported 240,255 immigrants over the past 12 months, a 2 percent increase over 2015.
But while the number of deportations was greater than last year, it was a sharp decrease from 2014.
Donald Trump Praises Vladimir Putin: ‘I Always Knew He Was Very Smart!’ (The Huffington Post)
President-elect Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon, after the Russian leader said he would not expel any U.S. diplomats from his country.
Health and Biotech
Researchers are developing nanodiscs that can wipe out tumours (Science Alert)
Cancer research is an area of medical science that, rightfully, gets considerable attention.
There are nearly 14.5 million Americans with a history of cancer and with more than 13 million estimated new cancer cases each year.
Life on the Home Planet
The world's highest bridge just opened and it's terrifying (Science Alert)
Those with vertigo, look away now. Everyone else, gawp in wonder at the Duge Beipanjiang Bridge in southwest China, opened to traffic this week and now the highest bridge in the world, some 565 metres (1,854 feet) above the valley below.
Clashes, air raids tarnish Russia and Turkey's Syria truce (Reuters)
Clashes, shelling and air raids in western Syria marred a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire that aims to end nearly six years of war and lead to peace talks between rebels and a government emboldened by recent battlefield success.
Bomb Threat Forces Emergency Airplane Landing in Prague (Bloomberg)
A bomb threat forced a flight carrying 168 people from Las Palmas, Spain to Warsaw to make an emergency landing in Prague, Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said.
NASA astronaut explains how his journeys into space changed his view on life (Business Insider)
Astronaut Jeffrey Williams has spent 534 days in space so far, currently giving him the record for most days in space of any American astronaut. In this video, he shares his insights after observing the Earth from far away.
Winter storm socks U.S. New England region, snaps power lines (Reuters)
A winter storm lashed New England with heavy snow and high winds on Friday, cutting power lines as some areas were blanketed with more than 24 inches (60 cm) of snow, the U.S. National Weather Service said.
