What I Am Reading

February 22 (Friday) Markets U.S. Stocks End Lower on Disappointing Data, Earnings (W) A prominent Wall Street permabear says the stock market is ‘stoned on free money’ and it could ‘prove fatal’ (MW) US Weak U.S. data underscore growing headwinds to economy (R) Business Investment Falters Amid Growing Global Economic Uncertainty (W) China China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise (N) Emerging North Korea warns of food crisis, almost halves rations before summit (R) US politics Kamala Harris’s dad on her pot-smoking comment: Our family wants to ‘dissociate ourselves from this travesty (MW) Geopolitics & trade U.S., China resume trade talks to thrash out structural agreements (R) U.S. Wrangles China for Firm Commitments as Trade Talks Continue (N) Russia Exploits U.S.-China Trade Tensions to Sell More Soybeans (W) Industries & companies Autos: Tesla shares fall after Consumer Reports says it will no longer recommend Model 3 (C) Autos: Tesla customers describe maddening problems with returns and refunds (C) Autos: Ford probing possible problems with fuel economy, emissions tests (R) Consumer: Kraft Heinz slashes dividend, discloses SEC subpoena — stock tanks (C) FAANGs: Apple to Chinese Consumers: Buy a New iPhone for Under $30 a Month, Interest Free (W) Financials: Apple, Goldman to Launch Credit Card Paired With iPhone (W) Financials: Fidelity Posts Record Revenue, Profit in 2018 (W) Tech: Dropbox drops sharply after guidance disappoints (C) Tech: Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff is out — co-founder Rich Barton is taking over; stock drops (C) Corporate finance Pinterest Files for IPO, Seeking Around $12 Billion Valuation (W) Offbeat There are more people older than 65 than younger than 5 for the first time – here’s how that’s changing the world (BI) YouTube Reaches Out to Advertisers as AT&T, Hasbro Halt Spending (B)

February 21 (Thursday) Markets U.S. Stocks Hold Gains After Fed Minutes (W) US economic momentum can hold the cycle for a ‘few more quarters,’ JP Morgan’s market guru Marko Kolanovic says (C) This stock-market gauge just hit an all-time high — and that’s bad news for bears (MW) Leveraged Loans Are Better Value Than Junk Bonds, Investor Says (B) Central banks Fed Officials Saw Reasons for Patience Amid Risks, Minutes Show (B) Fed Hints a Bias Toward Hiking Endures as Balance-Sheet Rolloff Nears End (B) Fed sees balance sheet reduction ending, notes ‘risks and uncertainties’ (C) Fed Prepares to End Balance-Sheet Runoff Later This Year (W) Markets Warm to the Prospect of an ECB Funding Boost for Banks (W) US What to Do About the New Subprime Boom (B) Europe May’s Grip on Power Weakens as Lawmakers Quit Over Brexit (W) US politics Sanders Campaign Raises $5.9 Million Online in First Day (W) Beto O’Rourke Differentiates Himself From Democratic Socialists (W) Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to testify before US House oversight panel next week (C) Geopolitics & trade Putin Ratchets Up Nuclear Warning Against U.S. (W) Russia bans soldiers from using smartphones to prevent tracking of military (C) Trump Continues to Weigh EU Auto Tariffs (W) Industries & companies Financials: Deutsche Bank Lost $1.6 Billion on a Muni-Bond Bet (W) Tech: Samsung just announced four pricey new Galaxy phones to take on the iPhone (C) Tech: New Samsung Phone Folds in Half, And Costs Nearly $2,000 (W) Corporate finance Lyft Plans to List Shares on Nasdaq (W) Investor Starboard Unhappy With Bristol-Myers’ Deal to Buy Celgene (W) Offbeat YouTube Loses Advertisers After Child-Video Report (W) Pinterest Blocks Vaccination Searches (W)

February 20 (Wednesday) Markets Stocks extend gains after Trump says March 1 trade deadline is not a ‘magical date’ (C) Investors Sound Warning About Markets’ Complacency on Rates (W) U.S. Presses China for Stable Yuan as Trade Talks Progress (B) The Forecast for Emerging Currencies Is Grim. With One Exception (B) Central banks Exclusive: Fed’s Williams says new economic outlook necessary for rate hikes (R) Fed’s Mester Sees Rates Slightly Higher This Year (W) The next big market catalyst will be what the Fed says about its balance sheet this week (C) The Fed’s ‘First, Do No Harm’ Policy Is Harmful (B) US Millennials are not like everybody else — here’s why (MW) Europe Party That Promised to Clean Up Italian Politics Finds It a Messy Business (W) US politics Bernie Sanders is running for president — and his policies would have a huge impact on business (C) Andrew McCabe: I told congressional leaders that the FBI was investigating President Trump (C) Geopolitics & trade As China Trade Talks Resume, Trump Pushes an Ambitious Agenda (W) Europe Again Champions Intervention to Counter China’s Economic Might (W) In Rebuke to U.S., Germany Considers Letting Huawei In (W) 5G Is a Winner for Chinese Companies—at Least at Home (W) North Korea’s Kim Purges Wealthy Elite and Critics of Outreach to U.S. (W) Space Force to Be Part of Air Force at First (W) Industries & companies Autos: Elon Musk: Tesla will have all its self-driving car features by the end of the year (C) Media: Amazon Resets Its Film Operation After Rough Year at Box Office (N) Retail: Amazon isn’t killing Walmart online (C) Retail: Groceries and Toys Drive Strong Holiday Results for Walmart (W) Tech: Google acquires a small cloud start-up as it looks to catch up to Amazon and Microsoft (C) Corporate finance SEC Wants to Make It Easier for Companies to Explore IPOs (W) Offbeat How High-Tax Countries Tax (B)

February 19 (Tuesday) Markets World stocks lifted to 2 1/2-month highs by trade optimism (R) Hulbert: Why the stock market might soon careen down a dangerous ‘slope of hope’ (MW) Bank for Japanese Farmers That Fuels the Global Lending Market (W) Central banks A China Interest-Rate Cut May Be on its Way. But Which Rate? (B) Europe Negative Yields Mount Along With Europe’s Problems (W) In a Volatile World, Europe Struggles to Find Its Voice (W) US politics Trump lashes out at Andrew McCabe and Rod Rosenstein over Russia probe, suggests ‘treasonous’ behavior (C) McCabe says ‘crime may have been committed’ by Trump (MW) California AG: At least 13 states suing over Trump’s national emergency (C) Trump’s Border Wall Faces Texas-Size Backlash From Landowners (B) Voter Initiatives, Including Medicaid Expansion, Could Get Harder to Pass (W) Geopolitics & trade China accuses US of trying to block its tech development by stoking cybersecurity fears (C) U.S. Insists Europe Is Following Trump’s Lead. Cue Awkward Silence (B) EU’s Juncker expects Trump to refrain from imposing higher tariffs on cars (R) Global Car Markets Are in Reverse. Trump Is Making It Worse (B) Auto industry lines up against possible U.S. tariffs (R) Industries & companies Airlines: FAA Probes Southwest Airlines Over Baggage Weight Discrepancies (W) Autos: Discounts on SUVs Are Getting Bigger as Dealer Inventories Rise (W) FAANGs: Apple’s Executive Shake-Up Readies Company for Life After iPhone (W) Media: Netflix bids adieu to The Punisher, Jessica Jones and licensing superhero projects from Marvel (C) Retail: Walgreens and CVS are redesigning their drugstores to focus more on health. Here’s how they compare (C) Corporate finance Navient rejects $3.2 billion takeover bid from Canyon Capital and Platinum Equity (C) Offbeat Berkshire’s Charlie Munger has a very blunt response to those ‘driving rich people away’ as Amazon scraps HQ2 (MW) Growing market economy threatens North Korea’s ‘socialist utopia’ (R)

February 18 (Monday) YRI YRI Video Podcast: Lipstick on a Pig: US Federal Government Debt Daily Markets Overview Markets As Wall Street rallies on US-China trade hopes, bond investors may be worried about a recession (C) Blame Stocks for the Retail Slump (BR) Investors Get Burned After Betting on Electric-Car Metals (W) Why Dividend Investors Should Look to Oil Stocks for Big Yields (BR) Central banks ECB Eyes Data as Slowdown Proves ‘Significant,’ Villeroy Says (B) Europe Playing Catch-Up on New Benchmark Rates (W) The Federal Reserve Seems Oblivious to a Coming Crisis (BR) US Contradictory Data Confound Economists (W) Earnings Growth Slows, Inflation Estimates Drop (BR) Corporate Credit Could Be the Next Bubble to Burst (BR) Worry About Debt? Not So Fast, Some Economists Say (W) U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166 Billion (B) US politics Millennial socialism (E) Democrats Ready to Challenge Trump’s Emergency Move (W) Geopolitics & trade Chinese, U.S. Trade Negotiators Inch Toward a Broad Agreement (W) Trump urges European allies to take back hundreds of ISIS fighters captured in Syria (C) Pence’s Calls to Pressure Iran Fall on Deaf Ears in Europe (W) Industries & companies Conglomerates: Loews: A Conglomerate That Investors Can Love (BR) Telecom: A U.S. Ban of Huawei Would Reshape the Telecom Market—and Boost These Stocks (BR) Corporate finance Tech bankers are making their money in the enterprise while Facebook and Google stay quiet (C) Offbeat Bill Gates Says Taxing Capital Gains Is the Best Way to Tap ‘Big Fortunes’ (B) Japan’s Abe nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — reportedly after the US asked him to (C)

February 16 (Saturday) YRI YRI Video Podcast: Lipstick on a Pig: US Federal Government Debt Daily Markets Overview Markets Dow jumps nearly 450 points, clinches 8th straight weekly gain (C) Nasdaq Exits Bear Market as Stocks Stage Rally (W) Investors may have already missed out on the bulk of the market’s gains this year (C) Opinion: Why the stock market might soon careen down a dangerous ‘slope of hope’ (MW) CAPE Fear: The Bulls Are Wrong. Shiller’s Measure Is the Real Deal (Fortune) Why investors should never mistake the economy for the stock market (MoneyWeek) Opinion: The junk bond market has good things to say about the stock market (MW) Markets II We’re Suing the SEC to Protect the Stock Market (W) Big Three Stock Exchanges Sue SEC Over Trading-Fee Plan (W) ICE Wants to Bring First ‘Speed Bump’ to Futures Markets (W) Central banks Fed’s Daly Sees Good Chance of No Rate Rises This Year (W) Fed’s Brainard Says Balance-Sheet Runoff Should Probably End This Year (W) China’s Muted Inflation Likely to Spur Policy Easing (W) US Factory Output Contracts Unexpectedly in January (W) U.S. Consumer Sentiment Rises (W) US politics Trump declares national emergency to build border wall, setting up massive legal fight (C) Trump Promised to ‘Build That Wall,’ Then Ran Out of Time and Options (W) Here’s where the money for Trump’s border wall will come from (C) Democrats Take Aim at the Reagan Tax Revolution (W) Geopolitics & trade U.S. and China Inch Toward a Broad Trade Agreement (W) EU’s Trade Surplus With U.S., a Bone of Contention for Trump, Hits Record (W) New Tariffs Threaten to Boost Prices of Imported Cars, Parts (W) Industries & companies Financials: Purchases With Plastic Get Costlier for Merchants—and Consumers (W) Industrials: Deere Says Trade Tensions Holding Down Sales (W) Retail: Mattel has worst day in nearly 20 years after undercutting analysts’ 2019 estimates (C) Corporate finance Nissan Enlisted Japanese Government to Fend Off Renault Merger (W) Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near (W) Offbeat Amazon Pivot Raises Scrutiny of Incentive Deals (W) Why Amazon’s New York U-Turn Is Good for America’s Tech Economy (W)

February 15 (Friday) Markets Dow Closes Lower After Disappointing Retail Sales (W) Earnings Season to Offer Next Test for Retail Stocks (W) Should stock-market investors freak out over an earnings recession? These charts say no (MW) Brief Price Gaps in Stocks May Cost Investors $2 Billion a Year (W) Debt Investors Embrace ‘Upside Down’ World After Fed Shift (W) Central banks Fed Officials Near Plan to Finish Portfolio Wind-Down (W) #FedValentines is back; roses, rates and job market slack (R) US Retail Sales Declined at Fastest Pace Since 2009 in December (W) US politics Senate passes a spending bill to prevent another government shutdown, sends it to the House (C) Trump will sign spending bill, declare a national emergency and ‘other executive action’ to build wall (C) Nancy Pelosi warns GOP that a Democratic president could declare gun violence a national emergency (C) Tax Refund Data Puts Mnuchin in Hot Seat to Explain GOP Law (B) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Amazon abandoning its plans for a New York headquarters proves ‘anything is possible’ (C) Geopolitics & trade ‘Trump Time’ Meets Reality as Trade Talks Test His Speed Demands (B) China Seeks to Woo U.S. With Promise of Big Chip Purchases (W) Ex-Coke Scientist Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets for China (W) Industries & companies FAANGs: Amazon says it will not build a headquarters in New York (C) Financials: Credit Suisse Returns to Profit but Trading Weakness Remains (W) Financials: Warren Buffett Doubles Down on Big Banks as Berkshire Trims Apple Stake (B) Industrials: GE to Scale Back Boston HQ, Return $87 Million of Incentives (W) Retail: Coca-Cola Expects Sales Growth to Slow in 2019 (W) Tech: Nvidia’s Revenue Sinks 24%, but Wall Street Feared Worse (W) Technology JPMorgan Chase Moves to Be First Big U.S. Bank With Its Own Cryptocurrency (N) Offbeat Adam Smith’s hidden hand of empathy (CS Monitor) Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices (C) How one man received a $980,000 tax refund (C)

February 14 (Thursday) Markets U.S.-China Trade Optimism Drives Stocks Higher (W) China’s Stock Traders Are Snapping Up Everything 5G (B) Trump will get the weak dollar he likes from a China trade deal but not if he goes after Europe (C) What Shutdown? Bond Market Sees No Risk as Capital Sells Debt (B) Central banks Fed Officials’ Views on the Economy Have Converged: It’s in a Good Place (B) US Worker wage gains are keeping up with inflation, and then some (C) Energy Prices Hold Down Overall U.S. Inflation (W) Goldman CEO says US economy still ‘chugging along,’ chance of recession quite small (C) Goldman Sachs Says U.S. Exposure to the Global Slump Has Intensified (B) That $22 trillion national debt number is huge, but here’s what it really means (C) U.S. Tax Revenues Fall, Deficit Widens in Wake of New Tax Law (W) Japan Japan’s Economic Rebound From Natural Disasters Fails to Impress (B) China China’s bad debt managers risk becoming bad credits themselves (R) US politics Border-Security Deal Nears a Vote (W) Geopolitics & trade Trump Says China Trade Talks Going ‘Very Well’ Ahead of Deadline (B) Industries & companies FAANGs: Apple’s big services push will reportedly kick off with a March 25 event (C) FAANGs: Apple is targeting April to launch its new video service: Netflix not included, HBO in doubt (C) FAANGs: Amazon Slashed Prices at Whole Foods; Now They’re Going Up (W) FAANGs: Google will spend $13 billion on U.S. real estate in 2019 (C) Financials: AIG Narrows Losses in Fourth Quarter (W) Financials: The Hot Trade in the Housing Market: Servicing Your Mortgage (W) Industrials: GE Power Has a $92 Billion Backlog. For the New Boss, That’s a Problem. (W) Tech: Cisco Evades Trade Fallout as Revenue, Profit Rise (W) Corporate finance Johnson & Johnson to Buy Surgical Robotics Maker Auris (W) Levi Strauss Looks Beyond Jeans With IPO (W) There’s a looming threat for the stock market and it has nothing to do with China (C) Senators should stay away from limiting stock buybacks (P) Technology & cybersecurity Amazon has ‘no limit’ on how it can store and listen to private conversations, claims Facebook’s first president (C) Driverless Car Data Shows Robots Still Need Humans (W) The great Equifax mystery: the stolen data has never been found, and experts are starting to suspect a spy scheme (C) Offbeat Richard Branson: World’s wealthiest ‘deserve heavy taxes’ if they don’t make capitalism more inclusive (C) Former Fed Vice Chairman Fischer to Join BlackRock (W)

February 13 (Wednesday) Markets Dow rallies more than 350 points on tentative deal to avoid government shutdown, trade hopes (C) Stocks Surge on U.S.-China Trade Hopes (W) Investors Are Too Busy Buying the Dip to Read Hope’s Fine Print (B) Latest Warning Sign for Markets: A Possible ‘Earnings Recession’ (N) Passive Funds Overtake Stock-Pickers in U.S. Large-Cap Market (B) Central banks Fed Chief Says U.S. Economic Expansion Has Been Uneven (W) Fed to finalize plans to end balance sheet runoff ‘at coming meetings’: Mester (R) US Job Openings Push Further into Record Territory at End of 2018 (W) Faster Broadband, More Channels Set to Weigh Down U.S. Inflation (B) Red flags emerge as Americans’ debt load hits another record (R) A record number of Americans are 90 days behind on their car payments (C) Auto Borrowing Rises as New Mortgage Loans Sag, New York Fed Says (W) Big Steel, a Tariff Winner, Steps Up Its Spending in Washington (W) Emerging More India Rate Cuts Could Be in Store as Core Inflation Eases (B) US politics Trump ‘not happy’ with border security deal to avoid government shutdown (C) Republican leaders are breaking with Trump on border wall (C) McConnell to force Senate to vote on Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal (C) GOP Launches Attacks on Democrats Over ‘Green New Deal’ (W) Bill Gates: Tax plans like Ocasio-Cortez’s are ‘extreme’ and ‘missing the picture’ (MW) Geopolitics & trade Trump says he could let China trade deal deadline slip, ‘not inclined to’ (R) China, U.S. Seek Broad Outline of a Trade Pact This Week (W) China Talks With Venezuela Opposition to Protect Investments (W) In Germany, a Cold War Deal to Host U.S. Nuclear Weapons Is Now in Question (W) Industries & companies Autos: Amazon, General Motors are in talks to invest in Tesla rival Rivian: Reuters, citing sources (C) Autos: France Pushed Nissan for a Renault Merger but Was Rebuffed (W) FAANGs: Apple Loses Ground to Huawei as China Shipments Slump 20% (W) FAANGs: Google Cloud Chief’s Plan to Catch Amazon and Microsoft: Sales Reps (W) Retail: Amazon Slashed Prices at Whole Foods. Now They’re Climbing Back Up. (W) Corporate finance One Outcome of Fewer Buybacks? A Record of Leveraged Buyouts (B) Technology Amazon wants to control your entire house after Eero acquisition (MW) Pentagon Drafts Artificial Intelligence to Fight Wildfires (W) Offbeat Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ found guilty in US trial over drug-trafficking charges (C) West Coast real estate is now so expensive that married couples are moving in with multiple roommates (MW)

February 12 (Tuesday) Markets I Transports Are Rallying but Aren’t Yet Sending ‘An All Clear’ on Economy (W) Mediocre Earnings Drive Big Stock Gains After Bad December (B) Weird Market Moves Mean No One Knows If It’s Goldilocks Or Bust (B) Markets II Vanguard cuts expected return for stock market over the next decade (C) Goldman is closing the investing thesis it’s held for the past 2 years (C) Morgan Stanley Has Bad News for Investors Comforted by Earnings (B) Bernstein: There is now a ‘strong case’ for gold over bonds, stocks (C) Hedge-fund legend Paul Tudor Jones: ‘I’m very bullish on US stocks’ (C) Central banks Europe’s Biggest Job Opening in Years: President of the ECB (W) US Krugman Sees Possible U.S. Recession With Little Fed Wiggle Room (B) As more Americans ‘age in place,’ millennials struggle to buy (C) Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink (WP) Why you shouldn’t celebrate that big tax refund (C) Europe Italian Populists Target Huge Gold Reserves and Some Cry Foul (B) China How Bad Is the China Slowdown? U.S. Companies Offer Some Answers (W) Two Large Chinese Borrowers Are Said to Miss Bond Payments (B) US politics Lawmakers Reach Agreement in Principle to Fund Border Security (W) U.S. Deficit 2019: Debt Ceiling Looms Over Shutdown Talks (B) Medicare for All Bill Puts Pressure on Democrats’ 2020 Field (W) Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar will reject corporate PAC money in 2020 bid (C) Industries & companies Autos: Morgan Stanley: Serious Tesla electric vehicle competition from Rivian (C) FAANGs: Apple (AAPL) Shares Ignore Report on Weak iPhone Demand in China (B) FAANGs: Apple VA deal: Putting patients in control of their health info (C) Financials: Morgan Stanley, in Its Biggest Deal Since Crisis, Courts Future Millionaires (W) Health Care: New Rules Could Ease Patients’ Access to Their Own Health Records (W) Media: Disney pens deal with Hulu to make 4 animated Marvel superhero series (C) Pharma: FDA Challenges Dietary Supplement Makers (W) Retail: Toys ‘R’ Us Remnant Looks to Revive Brand in U.S., U.K. (B) Geopolitics & trade Chinese Investment in Israel Raises Security Fears (W) Here’s what happens next in the Huawei case, and what it means (C) Corporate finance Paul Tudor Jones says there’s a ‘mania’ in share buybacks, worries about ‘social consequences’ (C) SoftBank Invests $940 Million in Nuro for Driverless Deliveries (W) Offbeat Have four or more babies in Hungary and you’ll pay no income tax for life, prime minister says (C) Next Up for Fukushima Clean Up: What Does Melted Fuel Feel Like? (B) Hey, Democrats, I’ve lived in a socialist country with income ‘equality’ and it was miserable (FBN)