What I Am Reading

March 18 (Monday) YRI Video Podcast: Stock Market Singing: “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” Daily Markets Overview Markets Market Rebound Reaches Crossroads After Latest Rally (W) S&P 500 Gains 2.9% for the Week Because Up Is the New Down (BR) Investing as Globalization Declines (BR) Looking for Hope in the Rubble of Value Investing (W) Credit & commodities Russia will be fully compliant with OPEC-led supply cuts by April, energy minister says (C) Jim Grant: The Difficult Art of Conjuring Up Yield From Mortgage-Backed Securities (BR) Central banks As China Faces Slowdown, Stimulus Will Have Smaller Global Reach (W) The Federal Reserve Faces a Reckoning (BR) Fed Could Show Greater Confidence in Extended Rate Pause (W) US Headwinds might turn into tailwinds soon for U.S. economy after shaky start to new year (MW) Methamphetamine Is Flooding Into U.S., Drug Officials Say (W) China China’s Slowdown Is Worse Than You Thought (BR) US politics Trump Vetoes Congressional Disapproval of Emergency Declaration (W) Pentagon Fails to Provide List of Projects Affected by Emergency (W) Trump lashes out at GM and Ohio union official, calling for ‘fast’ action to reopen plant (C) Biden Makes Verbal Slip as He Almost Calls Himself a Candidate (B) Biden Edges Closer to a Presidential Run (W) As Beto O’Rourke Soaks Up Attention, His Rivals Appeal for Funds (W) Geopolitics & terrorism Trade Fight With China Enters Overtime, With Tariffs a Costly Sticking Point (N) New Zealand Attack Brings Gun Debate to the Fore (W) Industries & companies Aerospace: Ethiopian Airlines crash shows a ‘clear similarity’ with Lion Air accident, official says (C) Aerospace: After two fatal Boeing plane crashes, the world turned on the US (C) Aerospace: The Long View for Boeing Shareholders: Don’t Panic (BR) FAANG: Apple’s Big Spending Plan to Challenge Netflix Takes Shape (N) Media: Future of Sports Is Interactive, Immersive and Intense (W) Corporate finance Lyft will reportedly launch road show for up to $2 billion IPO (C) Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank Enter Formal Merger Talks (W) Offbeat Colleges Rethink Athletic Special Admissions in Wake of Indictments (W) Want to Earn a Degree in Outrage? Study U.S. Colleges (BR)

March 16 (Saturday) Markets Dow rises more than 100 points, S&P 500 posts best weekly gain since November (C) Weak Economic Data Spurs U.S. Government Bond Rally (W) $10 Billion Corporate Debt Sale Highlights Credit Market’s Recovery (W) Central banks Fed to raise interest rates once more in third quarter, then done: Reuters poll (R) Fed Puts Inflation Expectations at Heart of Major Policy Review (B) ECB Official Calls for Fresh Look at Strategy, Tools (W) Bank of Japan Takes Gloomier View of Economy (W) The Era of Cheap Money Shows No One Knows How Monetary Policy Works (B) US U.S. manufacturing sector slowing as economy loses steam (R) U.S. corporate leaders are getting worried about a recession (MW) U.S. Job Openings Ticked Up to 7.58 Million in January (W) U.S. Consumer Sentiment Improved in March (W) Baby boomers are more prepared for death than they are for their own lives (MW) Nashville’s Job Market Hits High Note (W) US politics Trump rejects bill that would block his border emergency in his first veto (C) Beto O’Rourke’s secret membership in America’s oldest hacking group (C) Beto O’Rourke’s Past GOP Ties Could Complicate Primary Run (W) Geopolitics & trade China Investment in U.S. Startups Keeps Flowing Despite New Rules (W) Trump’s trade war cost U.S. economy $7.8 billion in 2018: study (R) North Korea may suspend talks with ‘gangster-like’ U.S., rethink nuclear test freeze (R) Terrorism At least 49 people killed in shootings at New Zealand mosques (C) Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are struggling to remove New Zealand mosque shooting videos (C) A year after Zuckerberg’s testimony on violent content, has anything changed? (MW) It’s Hard to Spot the Terrorists Among the Trolls (W) Industries & companies Aerospace: Piece Found at Boeing 737 Crash Site Shows Jet Was Set to Dive (B) Airlines: Air Canada Suspends 2019 Guidance After Boeing 737 MAX Grounding (W) Autos: Tesla’s introduction to the Model Y underwhelms and stock promptly falls (MW) FAANGs: Amazon is introducing private investors to high-risk start-ups in a new pilot program (C) FAANGs: Amazon Tests Pop-Up Feature Touting Its Cheaper Products (W) Health Care: Amazon takes another step into the medical space by accepting pre-tax health spending accounts (C) Media: New York’s super mall at Hudson Yards is open at last — and it’s not getting rave reviews (MW) Pharma: Fast-acting treatment for postpartum depression, if approved, could help hundreds of thousands of new mothers (MW) Retail: How Sears Lost the American Shopper (W) Corporate finance Uber’s eye-popping $120 billion valuation would make it worth more than Nvidia, 3M and PayPal (C) Corona brewer Constellation is nearing a deal to sell some wine brands to E. & J. Gallo (C) SEC Charges Volkswagen With Defrauding U.S. Bond Investors (W) Offbeat Warren Buffett Is No Fan of Modern Monetary Theory (B) Key Ingredient in College-Admissions Scam: A Harvard-Grad Test Whiz (W) Eggs Might Not Be That Great for You After All (W)

March 15 (Friday) Markets U.S. Stocks Waver Amid Trade, Growth Tensions (W) Investors Embrace Riskier Sectors as Stocks Extend Rebound (W) Why some investors say tech stocks are becoming less risky (MW) Global Why the Worst May Already Be Over for the Global Economy (B) US U.S. data underscores slowing growth, muted inflation (R) U.S. New-Home Sales Fell in January (W) Economists Cut Forecasts for Jobs, Economic Growth (W) China China’s Slowdown Already Hit Its Factories. Now Its Offices Are Hurting, Too. (N) US politics Trump tweets ‘VETO!’ after Senate votes to block his border emergency declaration (C) 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is a media darling, but many Americans still don’t have an opinion of him (C) O’Rourke Enters 2020 Race, Bringing Fund-Raising Clout (W) Geopolitics & trade China suggests linking an official state visit by Xi to a US trade deal, sources say (C) China Aims to Placate U.S. With Trade-Secret Theft Ban (W) Mnuchin’s Hollywood Ties Raise Ethical Questions in China Talks (N) Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing Analysts Say Best Case Is 6-Week Grounding, Software Fix (B) Aerospace: Ethiopian Airlines Crash Highlights FAA’s Diminished Global Clout (W) Autos: Elon Musk Set to Unveil a New Tesla for the Masses (W) FAANGs: Facebook blames ‘server configuration change’ for its longest outage ever (C) FAANGs: Apple says it’s trying to keep people from overusing its products — it doesn’t seem to be working, according to this chart (MW) Financials: Goldman Sachs Says It Plans to Cut 65 Investment-Banking Jobs (B) Industrials: GE Warns of Another Year of Falling Profits (W) Retail: Walmart’s Food-Delivery Challenges: Patchwork of Drivers, Tolls, Crowded Aisles (W) Tech: Oracle’s Cloud Growth Tempers Expectations (W) Offbeat Robert Kraft case reveals how police can secretly install cameras inside a private business (C) Class-action lawsuit filed against 8 colleges in admissions bribery scandal (C) Bribing your way to college? Do the math, it may not pay (R)

March 14 (Thursday) Markets S&P 500 Hits Four-Month High on Economic Data (W) Tripling Down on Oil Is Paying Off, but Not Everyone’s a Fan (W) British pound surges the most in nearly two years after UK lawmakers vote to reject a no-deal Brexit (C) US U.S. core capital goods orders rebound; inflation muted (R) U.S. Producer Prices Remained Tame in February (W) U.S. construction spending posts biggest increase in nine months (R) Europe Brexit set for delay after May wounded by rejection of ‘no-deal’ (R) Reining in Big Tech: A Middle Way (W) Spotify Accuses Apple of Stifling Competition in EU Complaint (W) US politics Even SALT-Pinched Minnesotans Flocking to ‘Last Great Tax Haven’ (B) Manafort Sentenced to 43 Additional Months in Prison (W) Geopolitics & trade U.S. says Iran has lost $10 billion in oil revenue due to sanctions (R) Industries & companies Aerospace: US grounds Boeing 737 Max planes, citing links between 2 fatal crashes (C) Autos: Fiat Chrysler to Recall Nearly 863,000 Vehicles After Emission Tests (W) Health Care: Everything we know about Haven, the Amazon joint venture to revamp health care (C) FAANGs: Facebook faces criminal probe into data deals: NYT (C) Financials: JPMorgan Chase to Open 90 Branches This Year (W) Industrials: How GE Built Up and Wrote Down $22 Billion in Assets (W) Restaurants: Starbucks Races Coffee Rival in China (W) Technology: Facebook has been down for hours, Instagram and WhatsApp also affected (C) Wireless: How Much for 5G? Verizon Says $10 Extra Per Month (W) Corporate finance SoftBank, Others in Talks to Invest $1 Billion in Uber’s Self-Driving Unit (W) Technology China Gains on U.S. in Highly Cited AI Research (W) ‘We Know Them. We Trust Them.’ Uber and Airbnb Alumni Fuel Tech’s Next Wave. (N) Offbeat At USC, Admissions Cheating Scandal Runs Deeper (W) Scientists Call for Moratorium to Block Gene-Edited Babies (W)

March 13 (Wednesday) Markets I S&P 500 Rises as Investors Weigh Inflation Data (W) Chips are on a tear, and one Dow stock could be on its way back to recent highs (C) Boeing’s Crisis Hit Airline Stocks. The Market Is Overreacting. (MW) Markets II China’s Night Traders Are Moving U.S. Stocks (W) Small Stocks’ Slide Prompts Concern (W) U.S. Cuts Oil Production Forecast for the First Time in 6 Months (B) Quant Funds Hit By Misfiring Strategies (B) Global Global debt is up 50% over the past decade, but S&P still says next crisis won’t be as bad (C) Central banks ECB Calls General Idea Behind MMT a ‘Dangerous Proposition’ (B) As Fed Ponders a New Lever, Here’s Wall Street’s View (B) US U.S. Workers Gain From Rising Wages, Low Inflation (W) Is There a Future for Good Manufacturing Jobs in the U.S.? (N) Europe Theresa May’s Brexit deal is rejected again: Here’s what happens next (C) US politics Trump pledged to protect Medicare and Medicaid, but his 2020 budget calls for major spending cuts (C) Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal is not going over well at one of the year’s biggest energy gatherings (C) White House Might Put Colleges on the Hook for Student Loans (W) Geopolitics & trade U.S.-China Trade Deal Is Getting Closer, Lighthizer Says (W) U.S. energy exports a lever in trade talks with China: Perry (R) America’s Undersea Battle With China for Control of the Global Internet Grid (W) U.S. working on steel, aluminum tariff relief for Mexico, Canada: trade chief (R) In Private Talks, OPEC Warns Wall Street on NOPEC (B) Momentum Slips for Auto Tariffs (W) Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing 737 Max’s world is getting smaller: These countries have grounded the jet (MW) Aerospace: Boeing to Update 737 MAX Software as Groundings Spread (W) Aerospace: Boeing 737 MAX: The Latest Example of a Passive DOT (W) Autos: Honda to recall 1.2 million vehicles in North America to replace Takata airbags (R) Defense: Army’s Five-Year Plan Outlines a $25 Billion Shift in Weaponry (B) FAANGs: iPhone Trends Going ‘From Bad to Worse,’ Longbow Research Says (B) Health Care: UnitedHealth to Require Drug Rebates Go to Consumers (W) Corporate finance Disney Sets March 20 Closing Date for Fox Assets Deal (W) Cybersecurity & technology Navy, Contractors ‘Under Cyber Siege’ by Chinese Hackers (W) A 3-D-Printed Family Home? Texas Startup Says Yes (W) Offbeat Fearing the collapse of civilization, ‘BirthStrikers’ vow to not have kids (MW) Fire Warren Buffett? Investors obsessed with quarterly performance probably would (C) Celebrity Parents and Coaches Charged in Vast College-Entrance Bribery Scheme  (B) The Web turns 30 today — this is the feedback its inventor got when he pitched the idea to his boss in 1989 (C)

March 12 (Tuesday) Markets Dow rallies 200 points as Apple gain offsets big Boeing decline (C) Tech Gains Lift Stock Benchmarks (W) The Bull Market Began 10 Years Ago. Why Aren’t More People Celebrating? (N) On bull market’s 10th anniversary, can stock investors shrug off latest gloom? (MW) Morgan Stanley: The stock market correction isn’t over as evidence builds for a further slowdown (C) Investors Are Winning More Treasury Auctions (W) Central banks Why rising wages could push the Fed toward more rate hikes yet (C) Global Global Economy Hits Its Weakest Spell Since Financial Crisis (B) US U.S. Retail Sales Rise in January, Stabilizing After a Slump (B) A Really Bad Retail Sales Report (W) Drop In February Inflation Expectations, N.Y. Fed Report Says (W) Sum of All U.S. Credit Fears Sinks to Almost Five-Year Low (B) Europe London’s Finance Industry Has Decided: Brexit Is Already a Reality (W) US politics White House Proposes $4.7 Trillion Budget for Fiscal 2020 (W) White House Budget Would Cut Safety Net, Boost Defense (W) White House Proposes to Cut Labor Department Funding by Nearly 10% (W) Why Ocasio-Cortez’s trendy brand of ‘socialism’ is doomed to fail (N) Modern Monetary Theory is the Democrats’ intellectual breakthrough du jour Geopolitics & trade This Is What To Watch Next With Chinese Trade Negotiations (B) U.S. Tells Germany to Drop Huawei or See Intelligence Sharing Pared Back (W) Russia’s Economic Clout in Europe Grows Despite Sanctions, Study Says (W) Industries & companies Airlines: US airlines try to calm nervous travelers after fatal crash of Boeing 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia (C) Airlines: Boeing Shares on Track for Worst Day Since 2016 (W) Airlines: FAA Says Boeing 737 Max Remains Airworthy Despite Latest Crash (B) Autos: Tesla, in Reversal, to Keep More Stores Open (W) FAANGs: Apple announces event for March 25 where streaming TV and subscription news services are expected (C) Corporate finance Nvidia to Acquire Mellanox for Roughly $7 Billion (W) Amazon’s Zero Tax Liability Comes from Bipartisan Consensus Technology Tonight’s Dinner? In a Cooler-Sized Robot That Knows Where You Live (W) Offbeat Bigger Than E*Trade: A Chinese Online Broker Soars (W) Smartphone Addicts’ New Tactic to Break Their Habit: Buy a Second Phone (W)

March 11 (Monday) YRI Video Podcast. Happy Birthday to the Bull Market! The Conventional Wisdom About Stock Buybacks Is Wrong (B) Daily Markets Overview Markets How Big Tech Has Powered Global Stocks (W) Riskier Stocks Are Paying Off (W) The Case for Avoiding U.S. Stocks and Buying Asia Instead (BR) Europe’s Most Important Bond Edges Back Toward Negative Territory (W) Central banks Dramatic policy reversals by central banks are intensifying global growth (C) Central Banks Play a Game of Risk Management (W) Fed Chairman Powell Sees No Need to Change Rate Policy (W) | Transcript Fed Chair Powell: ‘The law is clear,’ Trump can’t fire me (C) India Central Bank Is Having Trouble Getting Banks to Cut Rates (B) US Trump’s budget will project 3% GDP growth over the next few years – defying consensus forecasts (C) Japan Japanese Workers Can Expect Smaller Raises This Year (B) Emerging The Bank With India’s Worst Bad Debt Will Sell $1.4 Billion of Loans (B) US politics ‘Medicare-for-all’ vs. the public option: Health care could shape the Democratic primary race (C) Trump to Request $8.6 Billion for Border Wall in 2020 Budget (W) Geopolitics & trade Why the Record Trade Gap Is No Big Deal (BR) Trump Kept Allies at Bay in China Trade Talks (W) A Russian Gas Pipeline Is Driving a Wedge Between the U.S. and Its Allies (W) Industries & companies Aerospace: Boeing’s top-selling plane is set for new scrutiny after second deadly crash in 5 months (C) Aerospace: Two Short, Erratic Flights End in Tragedy: Could They Be Linked? (B) Aerospace: China Grounds Domestic Boeing 737 Max Jets, Caijing Says (B) Autos: Landlords to Tesla: You’re Still on the Hook for Your Store Leases (W) Energy: Offshore Oil Drilling Stocks Are Energy Bargains (BR) Home Builders: Times Are Tough for Home Builders. But Here Are a Few Winners (BR) Media: ‘Captain Marvel’ dominates the box office in another stellar superhero opening weekend for Disney (C) Retail: At SXSW this year, Walmart bills itself as a tech company (C) Tech: I Want to Stop Liking Microsoft Again. Why Is It So Hard? (BR) Tech: Intel Is Finally Getting New Blood and That’s Good News for Investors (BR) Offbeat DNA testing company 23andMe is hoping to reach millions more users with a new genetic report on diabetes (C)

March 09 (Saturday) YRI The Conventional Wisdom About Stock Buybacks Is Wrong (B) Daily Markets Overview Markets Wall Street Reacts to Jobs Report by Putting ‘Abysmal’ Data in Context (B) This 135-year-old stock index is poised to log its longest skid in about 50 years (MW) Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman: A trade deal will not lead to a ‘meaningful’ rally in stocks (C) China’s $345 Billion Stock Rout Shows Beijing’s Fear of Bubbles (B) Central banks The Fed and ECB Confront a New Normal That Looks a Lot Like Japan’s (B) February’s Hiring Chill Will Make the Fed Even More Patient (W) US U.S. February job growth weakest in nearly one and a half years (R) Hiring Growth Slows Sharply as U.S. Adds Just 20,000 Jobs (W) What If This Jobs Report Is No Fluke? (W) U.S. Payrolls Shock Suggests Dawn of a Long-Forecast Slowdown (B) Here’s where the jobs are — in one chart (C) U.S. housing starts increase more than expected in January (R) Europe As Draghi Moves to Avert Recession, Eurozone Looks for a Jolt (W) Emerging Venezuela Blackout Stretches Across Country (W) US politics Sen. Elizabeth Warren pushes to break up big tech companies like Amazon and Facebook (C) Bill Shine resigns from the White House to advise Trump’s 2020 campaign (C) House passes plan aiming to limit money in politics, require presidents to release tax returns (C) Trump says ex-lawyer Cohen asked him for a pardon, but he declined (R) IRS Looks for Ways to Squelch New York, Connecticut SALT Workarounds (B) Geopolitics & trade Trump ‘confident’ about getting a trade deal with China (R) China’s Belt and Road plan could be good for Italy: Italian PM (R) U.S.-China Trade Deal Isn’t Imminent, Envoy Says (W) U.S. Seeks Access to North Korean Missile Base (W) Industries & companies FAANGs: How the epic ‘Lord of the Rings’ deal explains Amazon’s slow-burning media strategy (C) Media: It Was Once ‘Game of Thrones’ Inside Time Warner. AT&T Said, Enough. (W) Technology Elon Musk’s SpaceX capsule splashes down off Florida coast (R)

March 08 (Friday) Markets U.S. Stocks End Lower After the ECB Launches Fresh Stimulus Measures (W) Here’s why the ECB’s surprise policy move is sending shivers through global stock markets (MW) The Dow is on the verge of a bullish golden cross, but stock-market analysts aren’t exactly cheering (MW) Stock-Market Volatility Takes a Bite Out of U.S. Households’ Net Worth (W) Asia stocks shudder as ECB reversal spooks markets (R) China China tightens rules on wealth management, boosting prospects for foreign banks (R) Central banks Slow Growth Likely Keeps Fed on Hold, Spurs ECB Action (W) ECB to Launch New Stimulus in Major Policy Reversal (W) ‘Pervasive uncertainty’ pushes top central banks to patient stance (R) The Fed doesn’t have to worry about high inflation anymore, and that’s a problem (C) US February’s jobs report should show whether there’s anything to really fear about economy (C) US households see biggest decline in net worth since the financial crisis (C) Productivity Growth Shows Signs of Long-Awaited Strength (W) US politics Manafort Sentenced To 47 Months for Tax Evasion, Bank Fraud (W) Trump Administration Weighs Publicizing Rates Hospitals Negotiate With Insurers (W) Industries & companies Airlines: American Airlines takes jets out of service, cancels flights due to overhead bin problem (C) Autos: Tesla doesn’t know where it will build the Model Y as it rolls out more layoffs and cost cuts (C) FAANGs: Amazon to Shut Its U.S. Pop-Up Stores Amid Strategy Shift (W) FAANGs: When Mark Zuckerberg Said Privacy, He Didn’t Mean Privacy From Facebook (W) Media: Disney Shareholders Support Company in Say-on-Pay Vote (W) Retail: Philadelphia Is First U.S. City to Ban Cashless Stores (W) Retail: Kroger Shares Fall as Online Investments Dent Profit (W) Geopolitics & trade Trump’s Huge Trade Deficit Means America Is Doing Great (B) Huawei’s Lawsuit Marks Shift to War Footing (W) Offbeat Exclusive: SEC scrutinizes fairness of stock exchange pricing (R) The Tiny Plastics in Your Clothes Are Becoming a Big Problem (W)

March 07 (Thursday) Markets Trump said to have concluded his path to a second term runs through the stock market (MW) Volcker 2.0 Is Said to Face Do-Over After Wall Street Wails (B) Muni Bonds Enjoy Historic Run Despite Tax Overhaul (W) Central banks Federal Reserve scraps ‘qualitative’ test for U.S. banks in 2019 stress tests (R) US U.S. Posts Record Annual Trade Deficit (W) U.S. Private Sector Adds 183,000 Jobs in February (W) Tariffs, government shutdown weigh on still-growing economy: Fed (R) More new-home sales are for houses that haven’t even been started yet. That’s not a good thing. (MW) CEOs tell Trump they are hiring more Americans without college degrees (R) Europe Silicon Valley Hit With New Digital Tax in France (W) US politics Democrats bar Fox News from moderating debates after reported Trump ties (R) Geopolitics & trade As Trump wages trade war, U.S. goods deficit hits record high in 2018 (R) U.S.-China Trade Deal Expected to Give Limited Boost to Growth (W) Industries & companies FAANGs: Amazon to close all of its pop-up stores in the U.S. (C) FAANGs: Apple to add 1,200 employees in San Diego (C) FAANGs: Facebook’s Zuckerberg has vision for a ‘privacy-focused’ internet (C) FAANGs: Some advertisers are quitting Facebook after privacy scandals (C) Financials: Deutsche Bank Is Said to Be Making Deep Cuts to 2018 Bonuses (B) Health Care: Amazon-JPMorgan-Berkshire Health-Care Venture to Be Called Haven (B) Corporate finance This $1.3 trillion asset manager wants to end buybacks and quarterly earnings (C) Uber Partner Picks Up $1.5 Billion From SoftBank (W) Technology 40% of A.I. start-ups in Europe not related to A.I.: MMC report (C)