Financial Markets and Economy
U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Utility Gains Offset Phone Shares (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks closed little changed Thursday as investors assessed 4Q earnings reports and economic data met analysts’ expectations.
Why Italians Might Be Outright Economic Losers in Era of Euro (Bloomberg)
“The comparison with other countries clearly shows that the Italian economy has expanded at too-slow a pace over the period,” said Loredana Federico, an economist at UniCredit Bank AG in Milan.
Bank of Japan Disappoints With Bond Purchases, Roiling Markets (Bloomberg)
Investor confidence in the Bank of Japan’s commitment to hold down bond yields was shaken Friday as the central bank offered a limited expansion of debt purchases in a regular operation, sending the yen higher and roiling government securities.
Trump’s Yen Comments ‘Wide of the Mark,’ Says Japan FX Chief (Bloomberg)
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his main lieutenant in the cabinet and Japan’s top foreign exchange official on Wednesday all pushed back against President Donald Trump’s assertion that Japan is keeping its currency devalued.
No, Trump Can't Cut U.C. Berkeley's Federal Funding by Himself (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump mused about cutting off nearly $500 million in annual federal funds to the University of California-Berkeley in a tweet on Thursday, following a night of violent protests against a provocative speaker that led the school to cancel the event.
No Fireworks for Chinese Stocks After Week-Long Break (Bloomberg)
Chinese stocks opened lower after a week-long break that saw growing international concern over President Donald Trump’s policies.
Asian Stocks Mixed as China Returns After Break: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks were mixed as Chinese markets returned from a five-day break, while investors awaited Friday’s U.S. jobs report.
Investors are dumping hedge funds just when they’re needed most (Market Watch)
Endowment funds and pension funds are reducing allocations en masse in favor of indexing and private equity, as outflows reach levels unseen since the financial crisis.
Goldman defends its strong-dollar call, even as buck weakens (Market Watch)
One of Goldman Sachs Group’s top trades of 2017 has gotten off to a rough start. But the storied investment bank’s strategists aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
U.S. Bacon Supplies Fall to Record Low for December (The Wall Street Journal)
Demand for bacon depleted frozen pork-belly supplies in the U.S. to a record low for December, but the pork industry is taking steps to avoid any serious shortages.
Retailers, trade groups increase fight against tax proposal (Associated Press)
More than 100 retailers including Wal-Mart and Target as well as key trade associations are launching a new coalition aimed at fighting a Republican proposal on how imports get taxed, a measure they believe would harm their businesses.
Vancouver Home Sales Plunge 40%, Extending String of Declines (Bloomberg)
This time last year, Vancouver was one of world’s hottest housing markets as buyers turned up throughout the winter for bidding wars and sales reached an all-time high.
“Affordable Housing" Alert! Home Prices Rise 5.6% YOY (Too Bad Wages Are Growing At 2.5% YOY) (Confounded Interest)
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.6% annual gain in November, up from 5.5% last month. The 10-City Composite posted a 4.5% annual increase, up from 4.3% the previous month. The 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.3%, up from 5.1% in October.
The Art and Science of Investing (Collaborative Fund)
Technology is a science. It’s semiconductors and code and batteries.
But Steve Jobs talked about how the iPad was playful and begged you to pick it up as much as he’d talk about its processor. The iPhone is a technological marvel, but Jobs spent a lot of time talking about how it felt in your hand, and the experience of opening the box.
Companies
Chipotle Comeback Remains Slow Going as Results Disappoint (Bloomberg)
The burrito chain posted underwhelming earnings on Thursday, along with a smaller-than-expected increase in revenue. The results signal that the company will have a slow rebound from a series of food-poisoning outbreaks that scared away customers last year and crushed its once highflying stock.
Apple’s Market Value Rose An Astonishing $40 Billion In a Single Day (Fortune)
Apple's strong financial results in the latest quarter helped send its shares to their highest level in 18 months on Wednesday while adding $40 billion to the company's market value.
Disney earnings: Questions over the state and future of ESPN linger (Market Watch)
Walt Disney Co. will deliver its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the market opens on Tuesday.
Disney DIS, -0.62% is expected to report per-share earnings of $1.50 for the quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Technology
Snap lost $514 million last year and warns that it 'may never be profitable' (Business Insider)
Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. posted a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, according to the initial public offering prospectus it filed on Thursday.
Google-Parent Alphabet’s Self-Driving Car Testing Far Ahead in California, Reports Show (The Wall Street Journal)
New data on tests of self-driving car technology in California suggest that Alphabet Inc.’s efforts remain ahead of many rivals in the intensifying race to bring fully autonomous vehicles to the roads.
Cadillac Is Huge in China (Bloomberg)
General Motors has been spending billions of dollars on Cadillac, trying to recapture the magic that made the name synonymous with luxury in the U.S. for almost 60 years. There are signs the effort is finally paying off—in China.
Sony Jumps Most in Three Months as Chips, Games Top Movies Loss (Bloomberg)
Investors cheered a quick rebound at Sony Corp.’s semiconductor business and robust PlayStation sales, even as the Japanese electronics giant lowered its annual profit forecast because of a writedown at its movie division.
Panasonic Falls as U.S. Authorities Investigate Avionics Unit (Bloomberg)
Panasonic Corp. fell in Tokyo trading after the company said its in-flight entertainment and communications systems subsidiary is under investigation by U.S. authorities for allegedly breaking bribery and securities laws.
Inside Libratus, the Poker AI That Out-Bluffed the Best Humans (Wired)
For almost three weeks, Dong Kim sat at a casino in Pittsburgh and played poker against a machine. But Kim wasn’t just any poker player. This wasn’t just any machine. And it wasn’t just any game of poker.
Electric Cars Could Cause Big Oil This Much Damage (Bloomberg)
The growth of battery-powered cars could be as disruptive to the oil market as the OPEC market-share war that triggered the price crash of 2014, potentially wiping hundreds of billions of dollars off the value from fossil fuel producers in the next decade.
Politics
Trump’s enigmatic Supreme Court pick: Neil Gorsuch is too conservative for many liberals, too liberal for some conservativesAt the White House on Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump announced that he is nominating Colorado federal judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Neil Gorsuch Is Critic of Legal Doctrine That Bolsters Executive Authority (The Wall Street Journal)
Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, is seen by the right as a credible heir to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But in one respect, his judicial record could offer Democrats something of a silver lining.
Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for Supreme Court (Reuters)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights.
Republican leaders “proudly” defend Trump poaching congressional staffers to help draft refugee ban (Salon)
Top Republican congressional leaders rushed to defend the Trump administration Tuesday after it was revealed that the White House directed GOP Hill staffers to not divulge the details of the “extreme vetting” and refugee ban they helped draft.
Republicans’ Paths to Unraveling the Dodd-Frank Act (NY Times)
President Trump took aim at financial regulations and other federal rules on Monday, signing an executive order to trim back the federal regulatory thicket and promising to do “a big number” on Obama-era Wall Street restrictions.
Who is Neil Gorsuch? (Think Progress)
Judge Neil Gorsuch is Republican nobility — the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, who spent her brief tenure as President Reagan’s EPA administrator cutting staff and gutting anti-pollution regulations before resigning amidst scandal.
The 4 Rules That Will Explain Neil Gorsuch’s Confirmation Fight (Politico)
So Donald Trump has handed the proverbial rose to Neil Gorsuch, a conservative originalist in the mold of Antonin Scalia.
Profiles In Tremendousness – Scotus Nominee Neil Gorsuch (The Daily Show)
President Trump announces the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch, a Colorado judge who may be more even conservative than his predecessor, the late Antonin Scalia.
Health and Biotech
Powerful Zika vaccine protects mice and monkeys from the virus (New Scientist)
A new vaccine against Zika virus gives mice and monkeys immunity in tests. The vaccine is based on the inactivated virus, and just one low dose is needed.
Studies Link Some Stomach Drugs to Possible Alzheimer’s Disease and Kidney Problems (Scientific American)
Over-the-counter packages of Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec tell you to take the pills—known to doctors as proton-pump inhibitors, or PPIs—for just two weeks at a time unless otherwise directed by a physician.
Life on the Home Planet
Last refugees arrive in U.S. before 4-month ban takes effect (Market Watch)
The last refugees arrived around the U.S. on Thursday in the final hours before the U.S. resettlement program is suspended for four months following a White House order.
Uncertainty Clouds Raiders’ Plans to Move as Vegas Stadium Deal Collapses (The Wall Street Journal)
fter a whirlwind 48 hours in which not one but two big-money backers pulled out of a deal to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas, football fans across much of the southwest are asking the same question: Where will the team end up?
An expedition to search for Antarctica's 'lost meteorites' has been approved (Science Alert)
Antarctica should be the perfect place to find meteorites – the dark rocks are easy to spot against the ice-covered landscape, and upward-flowing ice regularly dumps buried meteorites onto the surface.
Syrian army says it will press on against Islamic State near Aleppo (Reuters)
The Syrian army signaled on Thursday it would press on with operations against Islamic State northeast of Aleppo, in a veiled warning to Turkey which backs a separate military campaign in northern Syria.
