What I Am Reading

March 06 (Wednesday) YRI China and a potential earnings recession are the top 2 obstacles for investors here, says Ed Yardeni (C) Daily Markets Overview Markets Dow transports on the brink of longest losing streak in about 10 years (MW) U.S. Stocks Inch Lower as Investors Await Trade Signals (W) Trump Might Not Like It, but Dollar Should Be Strong (W) Wall Street to Tamp Down on Default Insurance Bets (W) Central banks Fed Official Watching Corporate Debt Levels for Potential Trouble (W) For Fed, few reasons to end ‘patient’ stance on rates (R) US U.S. Services Sector Expanded in February (W) U.S. New Home Sales Rose in December (W) Some Key Ideas Behind MMT, the Theory Everyone’s Talking About (B) Emerging Beijing Drops ‘Made in China 2025’ Slogan, but Policy Remains (W) Venezuela Overwhelmed by Hyperinflation (W) US Politics Mike Bloomberg says Green New Deal ‘stands no chance’ in Senate, offers alternative plan (C) Michael Bloomberg will not run for president in 2020 (C) Business groups go on lobbying offense against financial transaction tax proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats (C) New York authorities subpoena Trump Organization’s insurer as part of big probe into business practices (C) Geopolitics & trade Illuminating the Risks of Trump’s China Trade War (N) Cramer: Why Trump could decide to walk away from a trade deal with China (C) US will look at ramping up North Korea sanctions if it doesn’t denuclearize, Bolton says (C) North Korea rebuilds part of missile site it promised Trump to dismantle (R) Industries & companies Energy: Chevron, Exxon Tighten Their Grip on Fracking (W) Financials: The American With the Toughest Job in Finance: Saving Deutsche Bank (W) Pharma: FDA approves Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-like nasal spray for depression (C) Retail: Amazon, Long Seen as a Threat to Malls, Is Now a Hot Tenant (W) Tech: Salesforce Raises Its Full-Year Sales Outlook as Profit Rises (W) Wireless: Huawei ban won’t make the US fall behind in 5G technology, experts say (C) Corporate finance Has Kraft Heinz Made $24 Billion Since Merger or $6 Billion? It Depends (W) Cybersecurity Chinese Hackers Target Universities in Pursuit of Maritime Military Secrets (W) Offbeat Bill Gates: ‘For the first time in my life, people are saying, Okay, should you have billionaires?’ (C) Suits and ties now optional at Goldman Sachs (R)

March 05 (Tuesday) Markets Stocks Fall as Investors Pause on Trade Developments (W) China trade deal looking more and more like a ‘sell the news’ opportunity for stock investors (C) Asian shares retreat, China cuts growth target (R) Oil dips amid weak demand growth, but OPEC-led supply cuts support (R) Dollar hovers near two-week high as euro flags ahead of ECB meeting (R) Euro Could Plunge to $1.05 If Chinese Gloom Grows (B) US Evidence Grows That Trump’s Trade Wars Are Hitting U.S. Economy (B) U.S. construction spending falls, fourth quarter GDP seen revised lower (R) U.S. Treasury says taking extraordinary measures to avoid debt ceiling (R) High-Speed Rail in the U.S. Remains Elusive: Illinois Shows Why (W) China China Expects 2019 Economic Growth of 6% to 6.5% (W) Chinese premier: ‘We must be fully prepared for a tough struggle’ (C) US politics House panel opens broad Trump obstruction probe (R) Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe (C) Senate Will Block Trump’s Border-Wall Plan, McConnell Says (W) Geopolitics & trade U.S. and China Near Deal That Could End Most U.S. Tariffs (B) Huawei says it would never hand data to China’s government. Experts say it wouldn’t have a choice (C) U.S. Push on Food Trade Pressures EU (W) Trump plans to end India’s preferential trade treatment (R) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla’s onslaught of announcements is raising red flags about demand for its cars (C) Materials: After an Auditor Flunked Brazil Dam, Vale Found Another Who Passed It (W) Tech: Salesforce co-CEO Benioff says $30 billion in revenue is ‘right around the corner’ (C) Corporate finance Purdue Pharma Prepares Possible Bankruptcy Filing (W) AT&T Overhaul Breaks Up Turner, Bulks Up Warner (W) Disney Cuts Compensation for Iger in Fox Deal (W) Cybersecurity Facebook Sues Chinese Companies for Creating Fake Accounts (W) Offbeat London Man May Be Cured of HIV After Stem-Cell Transplant, Researchers Say (W)

March 04 (Monday) YRI Video Podcast: Chauncey Gardiner on GDP, “There will be growth in the spring.” Don’t listen to ‘alarmists’ over earnings slowdown, Ed Yardeni says it’s an ideal time to be in stocks (C) Daily Markets Overview Markets Stocks Sprint to Best Start in 28 Years (BR) The Dow Just Had Its Best Two Months in Years — and There Could Be More to Come (BR) Why Chinese Shares Are Soaring: News That’s Less Bad Than Expected (W) How to Think About Stocks and Bonds in a Bear Market (W) Central banks Will a worsening outlook for inflation force the ECB to act? (E) The Fed Faces a New World (BR) The Federal Reserve reviews its monetary-policy framework (E) Jim Grant: The Danger Lurking in the Fed’s Monetary Policy (BR) US politics House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler says Trump obstructed justice, will request documents from 60-plus people in president’s circle (C) Trump says ‘I am an innocent man,’ calls special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe ‘illegal’ (C) Biden Leans Toward Another Run, While Heart of His Party Has Shifted (W) Do Budget Deficits Matter? Not to Today’s Left or Right (BR) Geopolitics & trade U.S., China Close In on Trade Deal (W) Even Before Trump and Kim Met, Nuclear Talks Had Run Aground (W) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla Makes Record $920 Million Payment for Convertible Bond (W) Autos: Tesla Is Betting It Can Sell Cars Online, Without a Test Drive (W) Autos: Subaru Recalls Cars to Fix Glitch Possibly Caused by Fabric Softener (W) Consumer: Here’s the Real Problem For Big Food Companies (BR) Consumer: Kraft Heinz and its investors taste the food industry’s woes (E) Consumer: What’s Eating Weight Watchers Stock (BR) Financials: The Problem for Small-Town Banks: People Want High-Tech Services (W) Materials: Vale Could Face $7 Billion Fine in Connection With Audit of Mining Dam That Preceded Collapse (W) Media: For AT&T, No More Fiefdoms at HBO and Turner (W) Media: The future of cable may be no TV at all, as one small company from Arizona shows (C) Pharma: Why Big Pharma Is Diving Into Gene Therapy (BR) Tech: The New Foldable Phones Could Be the Next Big Thing (BR) Corporate finance Lyft Kick-Starts a Banner Year for Technology IPOs (W) Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank would gain little by merging (E) Technology SpaceX Capsule Lifts Off for Long-Delayed Test Flight (W) Weapon Makers Declare War on Drones (W) Offbeat Accused of corruption, Binyamin Netanyahu vows to fight on (E) Help, We’re Drowning in Recycling! Cue the ‘Internet of Trash’ (W) Climate change and population growth are making the world’s water woes more urgent (E)

March 02 (Saturday) Markets Global shares rise on trade optimism, tame inflation (R) Stocks rise, pushing the S&P 500 to close above key 2,800 level for the first time since November (C) A Lot of Earnings Are Underpinning Nasdaq’s Hottest Run Since 2012 (B) China’s Stock Market Isn’t Quite The Bargain It Seems (W) The World’s Hottest Stock Market About to See $46 Billion Pour In (B) Biggest LBO Financing of 2019 Shows Junk Bonds Regaining Fervor (B) Central banks Quantitative easing was the father of millennial socialism An MMT response on what causes inflation (FT) Bostic: Markets may doubt Fed’s inflation commitment (R) US Inside the Hottest Job Market in Half a Century (W) Personal Income Cooled in January (W) Inflation Fell Below Fed Target in 2018 (W) Europe Europe Manufacturing Shrinks as Factory Woes Extend Across Asia (B) US politics Medicare for All Loses Momentum Among Democrats (W) Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan is ‘concerned about the Republican Party,’ won’t rule out a primary challenge to Trump in 2020 (C) Amazon Friction Rises in Virginia While Cuomo Woos Bezos to Return to Queens (B) Geopolitics & trade Third time’s a charm? Trump and Kim could meet again as experts divided on whether Vietnam summit was ‘total failure’ (MW) U.S. companies adapt to ‘endless’ China tariffs (R) Canada allows US extradition of Huawei CFO to proceed (C) Punishing OPEC would be a huge mistake for the US (NN) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla stock tanks a day after announcement on store closures, layoffs and first-quarter loss (C) Autos: Tesla Faces Record $920 Million Payment for Convertible Bond (W) Media: YouTube CEO does damage control after advertisers flee over pedophilia scandal (C) Retail: Grocery store stocks take a beating on report that Amazon will launch its own chain of supermarkets (C) Corporate finance Lyft has more employees than did Facebook, Google or Dropbox when they were prepping to go public (C) Lyft’s financials show a $911 million loss ahead of its IPO (C) Matchmaker Seeks Drug Company: Must Have Pipeline, $85 Billion (B) Technology Cybersecurity companies look to artificial intelligence as they struggle to find human workers (MW) Daimler, BMW Team Up on Self-Driving Car Technology (W) SpaceX Prepares Capsule for Humans (W) Offbeat Meet the ‘O.G.’ Uber and Lyft drivers who could cash in on the IPOs (MW)

March 01 (Friday) Markets U.S. stocks edge downward as Wall Street takes a pause (R) Chinese Shares Gain Global Sway Thanks to Index Firm’s Move (W) Europe’s Rallying Stocks Leave Investors Skeptical (W) A Stock-Market Forecasting Tool That Actually Works (BR) Commodities Oil rises on OPEC supply cuts, but surging U.S. output and economic slowdown weigh (R) Why gold is down for the month, but still on a long-term track to reach $2,000 an ounce (MW) Central banks Fed’s Powell: ‘Muted’ inflation gives room for wages to rise (R) Ex-Fed’s Dudley: Wall Street should stop blaming the central bank every time stocks drop (C) US U.S. Economy Grew 2.6% in the Fourth Quarter (W) U.S. economic growth in 2018 misses Trump’s 3 percent target (R) China China’s fledgling junk bond market spawns new breed of vulture funds (R) US politics Cohen ‘fully cooperative’ in Day 3 of Capitol Hill questioning (R) Geopolitics & trade Trump warns he could abandon China trade deal as advisers tout progress (R) U.S., North Korea Trade Blame for Failed Summit (W) Collapse of Trump-Kim summit adds ‘element of uncertainty’ to U.S.-China trade talks, this expert says (MW) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla shares drop after Elon Musk says he does not expect to turn a profit in the first quarter (C) Autos: Tesla launches long-awaited standard Model 3 starting at $35,000 (C) Autos: Tesla is closing stores, shifting all sales online (C) Consumer: Kraft Heinz Says Probe Delayed Financial Report (W) Media: HBO Chief Will Exit As AT&T Gets Ready To Set a New Course (W) Retail: Gap, Old Navy to Split Into Two Public Companies (W) Retail: Gap says it will shut 230 stores over the next two years, posts mixed holiday results (C) Tech: Forget the FAANGs. Pay Attention to the Highflying PUTINs. (B) Corporate finance Some Uber, Lyft Drivers to Get Stock in IPOs (W) Technology & cryptocurrency Bill Gates Reveals The 10 Breakthrough Technologies That Will Change The World in 2019 (F) The ‘existential threat’ cryptos pose to traditional payments systems ‘bears watching,’ says expert (MW) Offbeat Israeli attorney-general plans to charge Netanyahu in corruption cases (R)

February 28 (Thursday) YRI Yardeni says earnings slowdown won’t destroy bull market Daily Markets Overview Markets A ‘shock and awe’ rally scenario that could rip the market 7% higher (C) Fourth quarter growth expected to fall back to slower trend, hit by trade (C) Tech stocks take a beating after hours on disappointing earnings reports (C) Central banks Powell Says Fed Close to Finalizing Portfolio-Runoff Plan (W) Opinion: Powell preaches patience, but these economists predict recession (MW) US U.S. goods trade deficit deteriorates; factory orders edge up (R) U.S. Pending Home Sales Rose 4.6% in January (W) Europe Europe’s Slowing Economy Puts Businesses on the Back Foot (W) China ‘There’s No Money Right Now’: China’s Building Boom Hits a Great Wall of Debt (W) US politics Cohen assails Trump, gives no direct collusion evidence (R) Cohen brings Trump’s net worth statements to hearing. Here’s how to read them (C) Geopolitics & trade USTR to suspend China tariff hike ‘until further notice’ (R) U.S. trade chief sees long-term China challenges, continued tariff threat (R) Trump’s Trade Czar Urges Patience on China Deal President Craves (B) Trump Meets Kim at High-Stakes Summit (W) Industries & companies Airlines: Southwest Airlines finally gets FAA approval to fly to Hawaii (C) Consumer: Weight Watchers calls on Oprah to help sell wellness after abrupt name change to WW left people confused (C) Consumer: Campbell Shows Signs of Turnaround (W) FAANGs: Apple to lay off 190 in self-driving car division (R) Retail: Best Buy’s Profit, Sales Rise (W) Tech: Square falls after reporting slower growth and weak Q1 earnings guidance (C) Offbeat Limiting Your Digital Footprints in a Surveillance State (N) Holiday Inn — A ‘Stay Smart’ retirement plan that’s as unrealistic as it is hilarious (MW)

February 27 (Wednesday) Markets Stocks close down slightly for the day after Home Depot missed on earnings, and housing data was bad (C) The Risk Rally Hasn’t Been This Reliant on the Fed Since 2012 (B) Pound Rally Breaks Investors’ Brexit Boredom (W) US Home-Price Growth at Slowest Pace in Four Years (W) SALT Cap Will Leave Nearly 10.9 Million People Feeling Tax Pain (B) Tell the Goldilocks economy there ain’t no bears out tonight China Earliest Gauges Show China’s Economy Seeing First Signs of Pickup (B) Central banks Powell Affirms Patient Approach to Interest-Rate Changes (W) Powell Says Fed Is in No Rush to Make Judgment on Policy Changes (B) Powell Tells Senators Fed Is Finding More Labor Market Slack (B) BOJ May Resort to More QE If Yen Jumps, Ex-Board Member Says (B) US politics House Set to Pass Measure Blocking Trump’s National Emergency on Wall (W) Cohen to Testify That Trump Engaged in Criminal Conduct While in Office (W) CBO Says U.S. Will Run Out of Cash by Early Fall Without Debt Limit Increase (B) How Does ‘Boss’ AOC Plan To Pay For Her $93 Trillion Green New Deal? (IBD) Powell says economic theory of unlimited borrowing supported by Ocasio-Cortez is just ‘wrong’ (C) Jerome Powell Says the Concept of MMT Is ‘Just Wrong’ (B) Geopolitics & trade Kim Jong Un Enters Second Nuclear Summit as More Seasoned Negotiator (W) U.S. Takes Huawei Fight Directly to Telecom Industry (W) Industries & companies Autos: Fiat Chrysler to Invest $4.5 Billion in Michigan (W) Consumer: WW, formerly Weight Watchers, craters 28 percent after posting disappointing 4Q results and weak full-year forecast (C) Consumer: Weight Watchers Plummets on Profit Forecast at 50% of Estimates (B) Consumer: Supermarkets Sour on Kraft Heinz (W) FAANGs: Apple, Facebook Fight Global Encryption Battle (W) Pharma: CEOs From Pfizer, Merck and Others Face Senate Over Drug Pricing (W) Retail: Macy’s said these are the five areas where it plans to invest in 2019 (C) Retail: Home Depot Blames Wet Weather for Soggy Sales (W) Corporate finance AT&T-Time Warner Deal Upheld, Dealing Blow to Justice Dept. (W) Blank-Check Companies, a Hot IPO Fad, Contain Pitfalls for Investors (W) Offbeat As California Loses People, a Las Vegas Suburb Grows (W)

February 26 (Tuesday) Markets It’s the best start for the stock market in 32 years by one measure — so why is Wall Street so uneasy? (MW) Stocks Pushed Higher by Tariff Delay (W) This Stock Market Rally Has Everything, Except Investors (N) Investors counting on a big rally when China and US trade talks conclude could be disappointed (C) Unloved Part of Treasury Curve Keeps Signaling a U.S. Recession (B) Central banks Fed’s Clarida Says Bond Market Signals Warrant Attention (W) Fed’s Bostic Expects One Rate Rise This Year, Another in 2020 (W) The Federal Reserve needs to update its thinking on inflation (P) Fed’s Powell heads to Congress amid shifting landscape (R) Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen: Far from retired, nowhere near done US politics Janet Yellen says Trump has a ‘lack of understanding’ of Fed policies and the economy (C) Trump’s SALT Cap Is a Hurdle for Balanced N.J. Budget, S&P Says (B) Want a Green New Deal? Here’s a better one. (WP) Geopolitics & trade Trump says ‘signing summit’ with Xi for U.S.-China deal possible soon (R) The US government just made clear it’s going to go after all tech from Chinese companies (C) How North Korea’s Economy Defies Sanctions (W) What’s a Current Account Deficit and Who’s Worried? (B) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla shares fall after SEC asks judge to hold Elon Musk in contempt for violating deal (C) FAANGs: Google Is the Best—and the Worst— Wireless Carrier (W) Financials: Bank of America to Drop Merrill Lynch Name From Some Businesses (W) Financials: Apple’s Deal With Goldman Has Wall Street on Defense (W) Industrials: GE to Sell Its Biotech Business to Danaher For $21 Billion (W) Pharma: Pharmaceutical Industry CEOs Face Senate Hearing on Drug Prices (W) Retail: Wayfair’s 78% Surge Hits Short Sellers With $1 Billion in Losses (B) Tech: Etsy Stock Rises, as Users and Sellers Grow (W) Tech: Microsoft is pitching its most futuristic technology to businesses instead of trying to wow consumers (C) Offbeat Ocasio-Cortez asks if climate change means we should stop having kids (P) Revealed: How The CBO Saved ObamaCare With Bogus Forecasts (IBD)

February 25 (Monday) Markets Stocks Tied to Economic Growth Push Dow Industrials Toward New High (W) The Eerie Calm in Global Markets (BR) All the Ways China Influences the Yuan, and How to Monitor Them (B) Will Copper’s Revival Last? China Is the X-Factor. (BR) China China Steps on the Gas for its Slowing Economy (BR) Central banks Fed Embarks on a Rethink of Its Inflation Target (W) US politics Despite Tight Job Market, Labor Force’s Income Is Squeezed (W) Social Security expansion bill poised to gain traction in Congress, targeting those who earn over $400,000 (C) Industries & companies Consumer: Kraft Heinz reviews options for its Maxwell House coffee business (C) FAANGs: Popular Apps Cease Sharing Data With Facebook (W) Media: Netflix’s ‘Roma’ could be the turning point for the movie industry to shift away from theaters (C) Tech: Huawei’s new foldable phone will top both Apple and Samsung in price, costing around $2600 (C) Tech: The Cold War in Tech (BR) Geopolitics & trade Trump says he will delay additional China tariffs originally scheduled to start on March 1 (C) U.S. lowers expectations for second summit with Kim (R) Trump’s North Korea Summit Goal: Lock In the Steps to Denuclearization (W) Offbeat Oscars 2019: The complete list of winners and nominees for the 91st Academy Awards (C) These Are the World’s Healthiest Nations (B)

February 23 (Saturday) Markets S&P 500 posts highest close since November 8 on trade optimism (R) Dow rises more than 180 points to retake 26,000, notches 9-week winning streak (C) History Shows Stock Rally Could Have More Legs (W) Don’t Be Fooled, This Boring Week in Stocks Was Full of Drama (B) The Dollar Is Still King. How (in the World) Did That Happen? (N) What the end of quantitative tightening means for markets (MW) Central banks Fed’s Balance-Sheet Runoff Could End in Latter Half of 2019 (W) N.Y. Fed’s Williams Calls for Reassessing Inflation-Targeting Framework (W) Clarida Outlines Scope for Fed Review of Interest-Rate Policy Strategies (W) Federal Reserve Report Highlights ‘Resilient’ Financial System (W) Trump’s economy ‘a little under’ 3 percent growth goal: Fed (R) A Fed pivot, born of volatility, missteps, and new economic reality (R) Fed gets earful from Fidelity executive for roiling global financial markets (MW) Economists’ Advice to Fed: Look at Rising Prices and Tight Labor Market (W) US politics Democratic Governors Push for State-Tax Reversal (W) Robert Mueller won’t submit report to attorney general next week, DOJ official tells NBC News (C) Geopolitics & trade US, China extend trade talks as Trump and Xi express optimism (C) Trump, Xi summit being discussed for late March as China commits to buying $1.2 trillion in US goods (C) Trump says inclined to extend China trade deadline, to meet Xi soon (R) No more MOUs! USTR Lighthizer tweaks trade terminology after dispute with Trump (R) Industries & companies Autos: First Tesla Model 3s Zoom Into China, Outracing Tariff Threat (W) Consumer: Kraft Heinz has lost the one thing that distinguished it from General Mills and Mondelez (C) Consumer: Why the $15.4 billion Kraft Heinz brand write-down was unusual (MW) FAANGs: Apps Send Sensitive User Information Directly to Facebook (W) Tech: Microsoft workers demand it drop $480 million U.S. Army contract (R) Tech: How Fast 5G Mobile Internet Feels (W)