Financial Markets and Economy
Treasuries Decline After Yields Test Bottom of Range for 2017 (Bloomberg)
Treasuries fell, pushing up yields from near the lowest levels of 2017, as traders weighed fading optimism about fiscal stimulus against the risk of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases and potential changes to the central bank’s balance-sheet policy.
How the global debt pile rose to ‘eye-watering’ levels (Market Watch)
The world is racking up a record level of debt, much of it driven by emerging markets. But with interest rates in the U.S. heading up, the excessive reliance on easy money to drive economic growth can backfire on countries that depend on money flows from abroad.
Asian Stocks Set to Nudge Higher as China Reopens: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg)
Asian equities were poised to climb as many markets open following holidays and investors await comments from the latest Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the timing of tighter U.S. monetary policy.
Almost a Decade Later, U.S. Money Markets Are Yet to Recover (Bloomberg)
Regulators’ effort to stamp out risk in the $2.6 trillion U.S. money-fund industry is creating unintended ripple effects across financial markets, with far-reaching consequences for companies and investors.
Manufacturing growth caps strong first quarter, led by China (Reuters)
Factories across Europe and much of Asia posted another month of solid growth in March, rounding off a strong quarter for manufacturers, even though exporters fear a rise in U.S. protectionism could snuff out a global trade recovery.
Retailers Drop as Bad News Keeps Piling Up on 2017's Worst Stocks (Bloomberg)
Retailers, already this year’s worst performing stocks, just got hit by a new round of bad news.
‘Cartel’ Traders Weigh Surrender to Face U.S. Rigging Charges (Bloomberg)
Some of the U.K. currency traders whose online chats led to guilty pleas by four of the world’s biggest banks are weighing whether to present themselves to the U.S. to fight charges against them.
5 ways to invest in the robot revolution (Market Watch)
Donald Trump voters have found comfort in his promises about more U.S. manufacturing jobs and threats to get tough on trade.
Global debt hits $215 trillion in 2016, led by emerging markets: IIF (Reuters)
Global debt rose to 325 percent of the world's gross domestic product in 2016, totalling $215 trillion, an Institute for International Finance report released on Monday showed, boosted by the rapid growth of issuance in emerging markets.
Buying a Home This Spring Will Be Hardest in Years (The Wall Street Journal)
Robin Manthie and her husband have been looking for their first home in Minneapolis since last May. They thought this spring would bring a flood of inventory, making their search easier. But by most measures it is getting tougher.
Richmond Fed President Resigns, Admitting He Violated Confidentiality (NY Times)
Jeffrey M. Lacker, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, resigned abruptly Tuesday, admitting that he had passed on information about the Fed’s internal deliberations in a conversation almost five years ago.
Solar Manufacturing Shakeout Could Leave Just a Few Dominant Players (The Motley Fool)
For more than a decade, the solar industry's manufacturing buildout has been fast, chaotic, and — for the most part — financially destructive. Dozens of companies would take on short-term debt, primarily from Chinese state-run banks, to build out capacity using standard equipment that led to lots of capacity, but very little differentiation among manufacturers.
Bespoke’s Asset Class Performance Matrix (Bespoke)
Below is a look at the recent performance of various asset classes using key ETFs that we track daily in our ETF Trends report. For each ETF in the matrix, we provide its percentage change since the end of February, since the close on Inauguration Day (1/20/17), and year-to-date so far for all of 2017.
Expect A 10-15% Decline In The Stock Market (Michael Bryant, Seeking Alpha)
For those who argue that past performance does not guarantee future results, I agree, there is no guarantee. But a statistically significant model result can predict the future, much like how weather forecasters can predict the weather fairly accurately for the next 10 days.
Companies
Tesla (TSLA) is now America’s most valuable car company by market cap, GM falls to second place (Electrek)
We reported last week how Tesla’s stock price increase following an investment by Tencent led to the company surpassing Ford’s market capitalization.
EXCLUSIVE: American Dream Mall Restarts Construction, Plans 2018 Opening (Forbes)
At the Meadowlands sports complex in Northern New Jersey, Triple Five Group has resumed construction on the 3M SF first phase of American Dream. The shopping and entertainment complex, when complete, will be home to the country's first indoor ski slope, an indoor water park, an amusement park and hundreds of retailers.
6 Reasons Gilead Sciences Could Be the World's Most Perfect Stock (The Motley Fool)
It's been a less-than-stellar year for biotech blue chip Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD). The company's stock has been mired in a pretty steady downtrend since June 2015, and, over the trailing 12 months, it's off an unsightly 26%.
Mars and Hershey are going to war over malted-milk balls (The Washington Post)
Mars Inc., based in McLean, Va., is bringing its bite-size malt ball Maltesers to the United States — and back to the company’s roots. The treat has been sating British urges for sweets since its creation by Forrest Mars Sr. in the 1930s. He invented Maltesers and other confections abroad after squabbling with his father and setting out on his own.
Overwatch cheaters owe Blizzard $8.6M after court ruling (TNW)
Let’s break it down: A court in California has unleashed a primal punch on Bossland, a company known for Overwatch hacks. If you have used its hacks, then basically no one could hide from your sight, as you’d be able to spot enemy positions and health scores you wouldn’t ordinarily see outside of very specific circumstances.
18 companies pull ads from 'The O'Reilly Factor' in growing backlash (CNN)
"The O'Reilly Factor" is facing a growing advertiser revolt, as 18 companies have pulled their commercials from the show amid a scandal involving the host, Bill O'Reilly.
Toshiba shares tumble after sources say third earnings postponement likely (Reuters)
Shares in Toshiba Corp tumbled on Monday after sources told Reuters that the troubled Japanese conglomerate would likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results.
Payless Files for Bankruptcy in St. Louis (Bloomberg)
Payless Inc., the discount shoe seller, filed for bankruptcy with a plan to slash debt by almost 50 percent as the retail spiral persists.
Technology
Apple reportedly orders 70M bendable OLED displays from Samsung for iPhone 8 (9To5Mac)
As we inch closer to the release of the iPhone 8 later this year, Apple is starting to solidify its plans for the device. According to a report from Nikkei, Apple has placed an order for 70 million “bendable” OLED displays from Samsung for use in the iPhone 8.
$50 gadget adds a high-tech Head Up Display to any car (BGR)
Unless you’ve got money to burn, luxury cars aren’t really worth the money anymore. Cars from affordable brands like Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai and others offer so much value at price points that are infinitely more reasonable.
Tesla delivers quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles in first quarter (Reuters)
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), the U.S. luxury electric car maker, said on Sunday first-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped 69 percent from a year ago to a quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles, bouncing back from delays in the previous quarter.
Politics
Cillizza: There's a lot of smoke around Donald Trump's associates and Russia (CNN)
President Donald Trump likes to dismiss the allegations surrounding the contacts between top aides on his campaign and Russian officials as "fake news."
Trump insists that there is no there there. That there is no fire.
Change To President Trump's Trust Lets Him Tap Business Profits (NPR)
With an oversized check for $78,333, written to the National Park Service, White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday took the first step in fulfilling President Trump's pledge to give away his presidential salary.
Health Deal Could Weaken Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions (NBC News)
Less than a month after President Donald Trump walked away from health care legislation, members of the House Freedom Caucus are working on a deal with the White House to revive the failed bill.
Susan Rice: 'I Leaked Nothing to Nobody' on Trump Transition (TIME)
Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice strongly denied Republican charges that the Obama Administration sought to politicize surveillance during the presidential transition.
Democrats amass support to force showdown over Trump Supreme Court pick (Reuters)
Democrats on Monday corralled enough support to hold up a Senate confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee but Republicans threatened to change the Senate rules to ensure conservative judge Neil Gorsuch gets the lifetime job.
Democrats Choose Path on Gorsuch That Could Change Washington (Bloomberg)
Senate Democrats set the stage for a confrontation this week that likely will change how Washington works, as they assembled more than enough votes to block President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee under the current rules.
Democrat Donnelly to support Trump pick for U.S. Supreme Court (Reuters)
Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly threw his support on Sunday behind Judge Neil Gorsuch, becoming only the third Democrat to back President Donald Trump's nominee to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Trump presses China on North Korea ahead of Xi talks (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump held out the possibility on Sunday of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation against North Korea and suggested Washington might deal with Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs on its own if need be.
U.S. backs out of Latam development fund in sign of policy shift (Reuters)
The United States, historically a major backer of multilateral lending institutions, will not renew its contribution to a Inter-American Development Bank fund that supports pilot development projects, the head of the Washington-based organization said on Sunday.
Health and Biotech
Most Kids Who Died of Flu Weren’t Vaccinated, Study Finds (NBC News)
Most children who have died of flu in recent years were not vaccinated against the virus, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers reported Monday.
Life on the Home Planet
A new US weather satellite is recording violent storm systems at a level of detail scientists have never before seen from space.
One in 10 Pregnant Women With Zika in U.S. Have Babies With Birth Defects (NY Times)
One in 10 pregnant women in the continental United States with a confirmed Zika infection had a baby with brain damage or other serious birth defects, according to the most comprehensive report to date on American pregnancies during the Zika crisis.
Poland accuses Russian air traffic controllers over Smolensk plane crash (Reuters)
Polish prosecutors said on Monday they would press charges against two Russian air traffic controllers of deliberately contributing to a 2010 plane crash that killed Poland's president and 95 other people.
Scientists Create Graphene-Based Sieve That Removes Salt From Seawater (International Business Times)
It is estimated that over 660 million people in the world still do not have access to clean and safe drinking water — a number that is only expected to rise in the coming decades as water supplies begin to run dry. According to the United Nations, by 2025, 14 percent of the world’s population will face water scarcity.
