What I Am Reading

February 07 (Friday) Markets Dow rises more than 80 points to a record as Wall Street extends winning streak to four days C China Tariff Relief Boosts Stocks W Virus China grows isolated as airlines cancel more than 50,000 flights amid coronavirus epidemic C Coronavirus: The hit to the global economy will be worse than SARS C Chinese Doctor Who Warned of Virus in Wuhan Dies, Hospital Says B Big Economic Reads: Virus Spread Unnerves Global Central Bankers B Central banks Fed’s Quarles Calls Current Stance on Interest Rates Appropriate W Fed includes ‘heightened stress’ in leveraged loans in 2020 bank stress tests R Senate Democrats ask Fed’s Powell about repo market ahead of hearing R US Mnuchin Says U.S. 2020 Growth to Be Less Than 3% Due to Boeing W US productivity rebounds in fourth quarter as labor costs growth slows C New U.S. jobless claims fall 15,000 to 202,000 and return close to a 50-year low MW US politics Trump Denounces Impeachment, Saying He ‘Went Through Hell’ W Guilty vote topples Mitt Romney’s old image NN Top Democrat calls for audit of Iowa caucuses as problems delay final tally R The Shoestring App Developer Behind the Iowa Caucus Debacle W Geopolitics & trade China to halve tariffs on some U.S. imports as coronavirus risks grow R China to Cut Tariffs on $75 Billion of U.S. Goods W Companies Find Ways to Bypass Tariffs on Chinese Imports W Huawei Sues Verizon Over Patents W Industries & companies Autos: Tesla passes Apple as No. 1 holding on SoFi as young investors rush into surging stock C Autos: Fiat Chrysler Thrives on Its North American Business W FAANGs: Bezos’s Sales of Amazon Stock Reach $3.45 Billion in a Week B Media: ViacomCBS to launch new streaming service blending CBS All Access with Paramount films, Viacom channels C Social Media: Pinterest shares surge after earnings beat C Tech: Uber shares spike as company says it will reach a key profitability goal sooner than expected C Corporate finance NYSE Owner Abandons Potential eBay Deal W YRI Daily Markets Overview

February 06 (Thursday) Markets I Dow jumps 480 points, S&P 500 closes at record as market shakes off coronavirus fears C S&P 500, Nasdaq mint record highs after strong U.S. data, waning virus fears R Market’s Highest Flyers Lose Favor in S&P 500’s Return to Record B Markets II Citi Warns of Euphoria, ‘Substantive’ Complacency on Stock Surge B JPMorgan Cuts Equities in Asset Allocation on Virus Fallout B Asian shares gain after solid U.S. data, focus on virus R Coronavirus Threatens a Popular Crude Trade W Virus Coronavirus live updates: US can’t keep virus ‘out of our border,’ NYC has 2 new ‘patients under investigation’ C China virus hits cruise ships, carmakers, airlines and Airbus R China Deaths at 563; More Japan Cruise Cases Found: Virus Update B China’s Virus Outbreak Prompts Patients to Scramble for Remedies W Wuhan Coronavirus Hospitals Turn Away All but Most Severe Cases W Central banks Fedcoin? The U.S. central bank is looking into it R US Private payrolls soar in January, the best monthly gain in nearly 5 years C U.S. trade deficit narrows in 2019 for first time in six years R US politics Trump acquitted of both charges in Senate impeachment trial C Trump Touts Economy, Ignores Impeachment in State of the Union Speech W Biden says he’s ‘not going anywhere’ after poor Iowa showing R How Iowa Slipped Away From Joe Biden W Bernie Sanders Backed by One-Third of New Hampshire Democrats in Poll B Geopolitics & trade U.S. must be ‘understanding’ if China virus impacts trade pledges: agriculture secretary R Industries & companies Autos: Tesla shares crater 17% after coronavirus delays Model 3 deliveries C Autos: Ford Skids Again but Might Yet Pass GM W FAANGs: Rapid Spread of Coronavirus Tests Apple’s China Dependency W FAANGs: Justice Department Ramps Up Google Probe, With Heavy Focus on Ad Tools W Retail: Nike CEO John Donahoe: Shoppers care about sustainability C Retail: Nike Alphafly Sneakers Will Also Avoid Olympic Ban W Corporate finance Merck to Spin Off Slow-Growth Products Into New Company W Casper Prices IPO at $12 W Offbeat Ancestry to lay off 6% of workforce because of a slowdown in the consumer DNA-testing market C YRI Daily Markets Overview

February 05 (Wednesday) Markets Wall Street jumps as China stimulus measures soothe virus worries R Virus Virus Cases Cross 20,000; First Hong Kong Victim Dies W Researchers say the coronavirus may be more contagious than current data shows C China virus claims second life off mainland, Macau casinos told to close R China Is About to Find Out Whether Its Mass Quarantine Worked B China Marshals Its Surveillance Powers Against Coronavirus W US Defense aircraft demand lifts U.S. factory orders; underlying softness remains R Virus Has U.S. Gas Export Prospects Going From Bad to Worse B US politics Iowa Democrats to release first results after chaos R Partisan rancor on display as senators explain their positions in Trump trial R Geopolitics & trade White House adviser says China virus to delay U.S. export surge from trade deal R No meeting with Trump, but WTO chief sees U.S. ‘sense of urgency’ on trade reforms R U.S. Pushing Effort for 5G Networks Without Huawei W Chinese Lead Foreign Selling of U.S. Commercial Property W Industries & companies Autos: Ford loses $1.7 billion in fourth quarter on flawed Explorer launch, labor costs, China C Autos: Tesla’s 2020 Advance Blows Past 100%, Leaving Wall Street in Awe B Autos: Tesla draws comparisons to past speculative bubbles: ‘Stock is going to get absolutely clobbered’ C FAANGs: Amazon Finally Closes Above $1 Trillion After Months of Flirting B FAANGs: Instagram Brings In More Than a Quarter of Facebook Sales B Media: Disney shares flat despite earnings beat C Media: Disney now has 26.5 million Disney+ subscribers C Media: Twitter to label deepfakes and other deceptive media R Restaurants: Chipotle earnings beat Wall Street estimates C Retail: Macy’s to close 125 stores, cut 2,000 corporate jobs, in hunt for growth C Corporate finance Boeing to Set Loan At $13 Billion After Lenders Step Up B NYSE Owner Makes Offer to Buy eBay W Technology Anti-solar panel can generate electricity at night, researchers say Offbeat How to Handle Air Travel During the Coronavirus Outbreak W YRI Daily Markets Overview

February 04 (Tuesday) Markets Stocks rebound from Friday’s deep sell-off, but coronavirus fears linger C Oil bear market deepens as OPEC talks emergency action to deal with coronavirus crisis C Dollar gains on upbeat manufacturing data, virus threats cap yuan R Virus Virus Outbreak a Major Test of China’s System, Xi Says W China accuses U.S. of whipping up panic over virus R WHO chief: Widespread travel bans not needed R Coronavirus causes Goldman Sachs to cancel annual partners meeting R Coronavirus live updates: China says its death toll hits 425 as total cases rise to 20,438 C Coronavirus Outbreak Likely Began With Bats, an Omen for Next Epidemic B US U.S. manufacturing rebounds; Boeing, coronavirus loom R Global Factory Revival in Doubt as Coronavirus Spreads W Emerging Hong Kong Suffers First Annual Recession in a Decade W US politics Democrats get their first chance to choose their 2020 presidential candidate in Iowa, which has been at the center of Trump’s trade war C Trump Trial Prosecutors Invoke Senate Duty Yet Await Acquittal B Geopolitics & trade Trump Administration Denying More Tariff-Exemption Requests W Industries & companies Autos: Tesla up 20% after Panasonic posts first quarterly profit at battery business R Autos: The Auto Industry Wanted Easier Environmental Rules. It Got Chaos. W FAANGs: Google still isn’t telling us about a key metric for YouTube and cloud: Profits C FAANGs: Alphabet shares fall as Google misses on sales, YouTube revenue disappoints R Financials: Goldman Sachs is close to a deal with Amazon to offer loans to the e-commerce giant’s merchants C Tech: How Today’s Tech Run Differs From the Dot-Com Bubble W Technology FAA Moves Toward Certifying Specific Drones for Package Deliveries W Offbeat Clean Power So Cheap a Staunch Defender of U.S. Coal Went Green B YRI Daily Markets Overview

February 03 (Monday) Markets An analysis of the market sell-off: What’s likely causing it and how worried you should be C If coronavirus fears escalate, Wells Fargo warns 10-year Treasury yields could fall another 30% C Where to Find International Dividend Stocks Now BR The Super Bowl Is the Biggest Moment for Ad Agencies. Investors Should Still Run Away From Their Stocks. BR Central banks China to inject $174 billion of liquidity on Monday as markets reopen R Virus The Big Question Hanging Over China’s Virus Attack: How Long Before Containment? BR Coronavirus Kills Its First Victim Outside China as Toll Grows W Trump says U.S. has ‘shut down’ coronavirus threat R Ninth US case confirmed in California as White House studies economic impact of coronavirus outbreak C Hong Kong Hospital Workers to Strike Over Coronavirus W US Boeing’s Woes Create Headwinds for U.S. Economy W US politics Americans Stuck to Their Views on Trump Through Impeachment Trial W Revolution or return to decency? 2020 Democrats’ final Iowa arguments show their case against Trump C ‘I will pay more’: Bloomberg unveils $5 trillion tax plan targeting the wealthy and corporations C Industries & companies Retail: More retailers file for bankruptcy twice as they struggle with rising debt, pressure from Amazon C Semiconductors: Buy These Car Chip Makers Instead of Tesla or GM BR Tech: Tech Sector Fears Supply Delays as Effects of Virus Ripple Through China W Corporate finance JPMorgan’s Rising Stock Makes Buybacks More Expensive W YRI Daily Markets Overview

February 01 (Saturday) Markets Dow plummets 600 points in worst day since August as coronavirus fears grow C Friday’s massive sell-off ruins ‘January barometer’ market signal C Tech Sector Fears Supply Delays as Effects of Virus Ripple Through China W Energy Stocks Are Black Eye on the S&P 500, Again W Virus CDC issues mandatory quarantine for first time in more than 50 years to Wuhan passengers in California C Chinese Coronavirus Cases Rise to More Than 11,700: Virus Update B China reports 46 new coronavirus deaths, total at 259 R Gilead Sciences Offers Experimental Drug for Coronavirus Treatments, Testing W There’s Another Virus Stalking America: It’s Called the Flu B Central banks Fed’s 2020 Rate Outlook Clouded by Framework Review W Fed’s Clarida: U.S. economy in good place, coronavirus a ‘wildcard’ R US U.S. Manufacturing Titans Portend Gloom for Global Economy B U.S. Consumer Spending, Wage Gains Eased in Late 2019 W Europe UK formally leaves the European Union and begins Brexit transition period C US politics Senate votes against calling new witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial C U.S. Adds Six Countries to Travel Ban List, Including Nigeria B Industries & companies FAANGs: Amazon Joins, Then Leaves, the $1 Trillion Club W FAANGs: Zuckerberg: Our new honesty-first approach is ‘going to piss off a lot of people’ C FAANGs: Facebook to Ban Posts About Fake Coronavirus Cures W Media: Hulu CEO Randy Freer out as Disney moves to absorb the streaming service C Pharma: First Peanut Allergy Drug Wins Approval From U.S. Regulators B Tech: IBM Doubles Down on Cloud Bet With New Leadership Team W Technology Why Porsche and Toyota Are Investing in Flying Cars W YRI Daily Markets Overview

January 31 (Friday) Markets Stocks End Day With Push to Gains W Asia shares struggle to stabilize after punishing week R The Inverting Yield Curve Is About More Than Recession This Time B Commodities’ Drop Deepens on Fears Coronavirus Will Dent Chinese Demand W Coronavirus Spurs Fresh Fears About Growth in Emerging Markets W Central banks The World Is the Dog, the Fed Is the Tail W Virus WHO declares China coronavirus that’s killed more than 200 a global health emergency C Trump says coronavirus outbreak is ‘all under control’ and a ‘very small problem’ in US C Coronavirus live updates: China says death toll hits 213, confirmed cases rise to 9,692 C Passengers May Leave Italy Ship; Tests Show No Virus Danger  B US U.S. Economy Heads Into 2020 With Steady Growth W U.S. economy misses Trump’s 3% growth target in 2019 R US politics Impeachment trial turns to whistleblower ahead of possible weekend finish R Industries & companies Airlines: Southwest Failed to Prioritize Safety, Government Says W Consumer: Maker of Lipton Cools on Tea W FAANGs: Amazon soars after huge earnings beat C FAANGs: Amazon holiday sales jump as one-day shipping pays dividends, stock up 13% R FAANGs: AWS generated revenue of $9.95 billion in Q4, up 34% from a year ago C FAANGs: Jeff Bezos’ net worth jumps by over $12 billion after Amazon’s big quarter C Financials: Deutsche Bank Posts Big Loss as Overhaul Bites W Financials: Visa Posts Record Profit on Higher Spending W Financials: U.S. banks could invest in venture capital funds again under ‘Volcker rewrite’ R Media: Star Wars Game Helps Lift Sales, Profit at Electronic Arts W Tech: IBM’s Ginni Rometty Steps Down as CEO W Wireless: Verizon Adds Wireless Users, Takes Another Hit on Yahoo Unit W Corporate finance Reynolds Raises $1.2 Billion in Top IPO by Household Goods Maker B YRI Daily Markets Overview

January 30 (Thursday) Markets Stock Gains Slip Away in Final Hours W Virus anxiety weighs on Asian stocks, boosts safe-haven bid R Utilities Stocks Set for Biggest Monthly Gains Since 2016 W Central banks Fed holds rates steady, affirms commitment to higher inflation C Fed keeps rates steady, to tailor Treasury bill purchases later this year R Coronavirus outbreak poses risk to U.S. Fed’s economic outlook R Virus Coronavirus live updates: China says death toll rises to 170 as cases rise beyond 7,700 C Amazon restricts employee travel to China ‘until further notice’ as coronavirus spreads C More Japanese evacuated from China virus epicentre as death toll climbs R US U.S. fourth quarter goods trade deficit widens, prompting growth forecast cuts R US politics Trump impeachment trial: Senators seek answers on John Bolton, Ukraine aid timing and the president’s motives C Geopolitics & trade Trump signs USMCA, ‘ending the NAFTA nightmare’; key Democrats not invited R Trump ally Steve Bannon is making a documentary ‘takedown’ of Chinese leader Xi as US seeks ‘phase two’ trade deal C Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing Posts First Annual Loss Since 1997 as MAX Costs Surge W Autos: Tesla spikes on earnings beat, says Model Y production underway C FAANGs: Facebook Earnings Rise, but Expenses Eat Into Margins W FAANGs: Facebook’s new metrics show it’s still a one-trick pony C Tech: Microsoft stock rises on earnings beat and better-than-expected guidance C Offbeat No, Banks Don’t Hold the Key to Climate Change YRI Daily Markets Overview

January 29 (Wednesday) Markets U.S. Stocks Rise Amid Global Efforts to Contain Virus W Dow rallies more than 180 points, rebounding from its worst day since October C Outbreak Tests Faith in Global Economy W Credit Blink and you missed it: the U.S. yield curve inverted again R Falling Yields Drive Bond Buyers to REIT Stocks W Green-Bond Trading Is Going Electronic W Central banks Fed Faces Decisions on Its Balance Sheet W In post-repo squeeze twist, Fed may nudge up interest paid to banks R ECB’s Lagarde extends mandate of top Draghi aide R US U.S. business investment weak; consumer confidence at five-month high R Durable-Goods Orders Rise, Masking Manufacturing Weakness W U.S. economy on path to ‘solid’ 2020 growth; budget deficits to top $1 trillion R U.S. National Debt Will Rise to 98% of GDP by 2030, CBO Projects W Europe Italy’s 2020 deficit target ‘very easily reachable’: Economy minister R US politics Trump impeachment defense wraps up after less than allotted 24 hours C ‘Time for this to end’: Trump team asks for acquittal at impeachment trial R Trump Team Wraps Up Impeachment Defense With Bolton Testimony in Question B Virus China vows to beat ‘devil’ virus as countries rush to evacuate citizens R Officials See Low Risk of Extensive U.S. Coronavirus Infections W US health officials fast-track coronavirus vaccine, hope to start clinical trial in three months C Geopolitics & trade Trump’s Middle East peace plan calls for two states, with Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem C U.K. Allows Huawei to Build Parts of 5G Network, Countering White House W Industries & companies FAANGs: Apple iPhone sales return to growth, pushing profits above expectations R Industrials: 3M to Cut More Jobs Amid U.S. Manufacturing Slump W Restaurants: Starbucks outpaces earnings estimates but warns coronavirus could hit fiscal 2020 C Tech: Software Giant SAP Shows Signs That Revamp Is Bearing Fruit W Offbeat How to Misinform Yourself About the Coronavirus iPod inventor, Thiel Capital among backers of battery company Advano in new funding C YRI Daily Markets Overview

January 28 (Tuesday) Markets Dow drops 400 points as coronavirus fears rise, travel stocks slide C U.S. stock rally faces major test as China virus spreads R These US stocks have the most exposure to China’s consumer market getting hit by coronavirus fears C World’s Pile of Negative Debt Surges by the Most Since 2016 B Central banks Fed’s first hurdle in 2020: Dispensing with ‘QE Lite’ R Fed Officials Weigh New Recession-Fighting Tool: Capping Treasury Yields W The Fed Won’t Take Away Markets’ Punch Bowl W ECB’s Mersch Warns Loose Policy Raises Risk of Market Drop B Global New Cloud Over Global Growth: Synchronized Housing Slowdown W Virus US companies suspend China operations, restrict travel as coronavirus outbreak spreads C Honda Evacuates, Starbucks Stores Shut: Virus Impact on Business B Confusion and lost time: how testing woes slowed China’s coronavirus response R Wuhan Mayor Points to Beijing for Lack of Transparency Over Virus W U.S. Advises Citizens to Reconsider China Travel Over Virus B CDC is monitoring 110 possible coronavirus cases across 26 states in US C Europe EU tells UK it will ‘never, never, never’ compromise on single market R Italy Establishment Has Upper Hand Again After Salvini Loss B US politics Trump’s Impeachment Defense Challenged to Address Bolton Revelations B Legal Fight Over Bolton Testimony Would Enter Uncharted Territory W Geopolitics & trade U.S. Disputes Taliban Claim It Shot Down Plane Over Afghanistan B Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing secures more than $12 billion in financing to help weather 737 Max crisis C Autos: GM investing $3 billion to produce all-electric trucks, autonomous vehicles C Pharma: J&J scientific officer ‘pretty confident’ they can create coronavirus vaccine as outbreak widens C Pharma: ‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli, company sued for ‘illegally monopolizing’ drug C Retail: Bath & Body Works’ owner could see sales of hand sanitizer and soap rise as deadly coronavirus spreads C Corporate finance Regulators Probe Potential Dean Foods Merger W Sprint Continues to Lose Customers as It Waits for T-Mobile Verdict W Offbeat Ultrafast Trading Costs Stock Investors Nearly $5 Billion a Year, Study Says W YRI Daily Markets Overview