Dr. Ed's Blog

July 23 (Monday)

Markets
Stocks at a Standstill as Earnings Offset Tariffs (BR)
Prolonged Slump in Bond Liquidity Rattles Investors (W)
Biggest risk in bond market isn’t rising rates or Fed vs. Trump. It’s the inverted yield curve. (C)

Central banks
Trump’s Fed Smackdown Could Backfire (BR)
Is the Fed Partly to Blame for Wage Stagnation? (BR)

US politics
Democrats need a blue wave in Pennsylvania to win the House. So they’re focusing on towns like Bethlehem (C)

Trade
Mexico, Canada optimistic about NAFTA despite G20 trade tensions (R)
Trade Tensions Threaten Global Economic Growth, G-20 Cautions (B)
German industry groups warn U.S. on tariffs before Trump-Juncker meeting (R)
2.5 Billion Pounds of Meat Piles Up in U.S. as Exports Slow (W)

Geopolitics
Russian-backed air strikes hit Islamic State in southern Syria: sources (R)
Russia unveils ‘fake news’ legislation designed to police ‘inaccurate’ user comments (C)
Accused Russian agent met U.S. Treasury, Fed officials (R)
Top US commander in Korea: Material needed for North Korea to make nuclear bombs is still intact (C)

Industries & companies
Autos: Here’s why Tesla’s Model 3 may face declining demand, despite Elon Musk’s claims (C)
FANGs: The Story Behind Google’s Secret Offer to Settle EU’s Android Probe (B)
FANGs: China Targets Apple With Push Into Advanced Screens (W)

Corporate finance
Papa John’s board reportedly set to discuss ‘poison pill’ to prevent Schnattner from taking control (C)

July 21 (Saturday)

Markets
Currency War Erupts, Threatening to Ripple Across Global Markets (B)
Trade war risks becoming a dangerous currency war as China weakens yuan the most in 2 years (C)
Exclusive: Treasury’s Mnuchin says watching Chinese yuan weakness for manipulation (R)
Trump says stock market gains since election give him opportunity to wage a trade war (C)
Watch President Trump’s full interview with CNBC

Trade
Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports (R)
U.S. to Toughen Foreign-Investment Reviews Amid Trade Fight With China (W)
Trade’s Widening Battleground (W)
Trump’s Emerging Economic Policy: Picking Winners and Losers (W)

Central banks
Trump rips Fed rate hikes, but investors expect Powell to stay the course (MW)
All the Ways Trump Can (And Can’t) Influence Powell’s Fed Policy (B)

US
America Is Running Out of Family Caregivers, Just When It Needs Them Most (W)
Share of U.S. Employees Offered Health Care Through Work Rises (W)

Emerging
North Korea Economy Contracts as Sanctions Bite, South Officials Say (W)

US politics
Michael Cohen and Trump discussed buying rights to Playmate’s story in taped conversation (MW)

Geopolitics
Putin Hedges Trump Bet by Dumping Treasuries to Safeguard Assets (B)
Russia releases videos hyping its new hypersonic weapons just days after Putin and Trump meet (C)

Offbeat
Help wanted now! What full employment looks like in one Wisconsin city (CS Monitor)

July 20 (Friday)

Markets
Stock investors confront what was once unthinkable: a new world order (MW)
No End in Sight for Commodity Crash With Charts Sending Bear Signals (B)
Copper — a metal with a history of predicting economic trouble — hits 1-year low, nears bear market (C)

Central banks
Trump Blasts Powell’s Rate Hikes, Trespassing on Fed’s Independence (B)
White House: Trump is not interfering with Fed policy decisions (C)
Powell Hints at New Read on Labor Force Justifying Gradual Hikes (B)
Trucking Woes Plague Fed Districts With Drivers Hard to Find (B)

US
In the US, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, study concludes (C)

US politics
House GOP Push to Extend Tax Cuts Meets Resistance in Senate (W)
Trump workforce re-training order could create 500K new job opportunities (FO)

Geopolitics & trade
Tariff Threats Affect Fast-Growing List of Products (W)
Ross: ‘Too Early to Say’ Whether National-Security Probe Will Bring Auto Tariffs (W)
Europe Warns of Retaliation Over U.S. Auto Tariffs (W)
Trump wants Putin to visit Washington in the fall, White House says (C)
Trump: I’ll be Vladimir Putin’s ‘worst enemy’ if US-Russia relationship ‘doesn’t work out’ (C)

Industries & companies
Fintech: Wall Street Is Suddenly Bullish on Fintech Stocks (B)
Materials: Alcoa Shares Drop As Investors Worry About Tariff Impacts (W)
Pharma: Merck to Limit Drug-Price Increases, Cut Some Prices (W)
Tech: Microsoft’s Revenue Gets Lift From Cloud (W)

Corporate finance
Comcast Drops Bid for Fox Assets, Will Pursue Deal for Sky (W)
Strike three: Comcast can add Fox to list of huge acquisitions it’s failed to close (C)

Technology & cybersecurity
Robots Are Ready to Shake (and Stir) Up Bars (W)
Medical Testing Giant LabCorp Hit by Ransomware Attack (W)
Rosenstein Cites Growing Cyber Threat Against U.S. Elections (B)

July 19 (Thursday)

Markets
Stocks Mixed as Fed Chairman’s Testimony Continues (W)

Central banks & IMF
Fed Says Economic Growth Is Holding Up Even as Trade Concerns Spread (B)
Before House Panel, Powell Affirms Fed’s Plan to Raise Interest Rates Gradually (W)
Bernanke warns against wrong yield curve signal (FT)
World Economic Outlook Update, July 2018: Less Even Expansion, Rising Trade Tensions (IMF)

US
Housing Market Stumbles at the Beginning of Summer (W)
U.S. women are postponing motherhood, but not as much as those in most other developed nations (Pew)

US politics
Tax cuts 2.0: What we know so far (Fox)

Geopolitics & trade
Assailing ‘Haters,’ Trump Again Defends Remarks Alongside Putin (W)
EU Enlists Trade Rival China to Update Global Rules, Counter U.S. (W)
Canada’s Trudeau Shuffles Cabinet Over Trade Concerns (W)
Auto Industry Pushes White House to Back Off Tariffs (W)

Industries & companies
FANGs: EU’s Google Fine Threatens to Shake Mobile Industry (W)
Financials: Morgan Stanley Earnings Jump on Trading, Deal Surge (W)
Financials: American Express drops more than 3% after missing on revenue (C)
Tech: Samsung to Launch Foldable-Screen Phone Early Next Year (W)

Technology
New York-London in 3½ Hours? Supersonic Travel May Be Back (W)

July 18 (Wednesday)

YRI
As China Slows, Dividends Might Cushion the Blow (BR)
Daily Markets Overview

Markets
The Rising Dollar Is Weighing on Corporate Earnings (W)
Treasury Yield Curve Is Heading for Inversion, Fund Managers Say (B)

Central banks
Powell Says Fed Should Keep Gradually Raising Interest Rates (W)
Trade Barriers Threaten Wages and Growth, Fed’s Powell Says (B)
Powell: ‘Rising chorus of concern’ from business over tariffs (C)

US
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounded in June (W)
Without Better Training, U.S. Will Fall Short on Workers, Economists Say (W)
Wages aren’t growing when adjusted for inflation, new data finds (MW)

Geopolitics & trade
Trump Reverses Summit Remarks, Saying He Accepts Russia Meddled in Election (B)
Japan, EU Sign Trade Deal: ‘We Stand Together Against Protectionism’ (W)
Why U.S. Metals Tariffs Are Unlikely to Change Trade Patterns (W)

Industries & companies
Consumer: Johnson & Johnson’s Pharma Business Fuels Sales Growth (W)
FANGs: Amazon says US Prime Day sales ‘so far bigger than ever’ as glitch is resolved (C)
FANGs: Netflix Shares Skid as Subscriber Growth Misses Mark (W)
Financials: Goldman Names Solomon CEO, Ending 12-Year Run For Lloyd Blankfein (W)
Financials: Five things on the ‘to-do’ list for the new Goldman Sachs CEO (MW)
Health Care: UnitedHealth Raises Profit Outlook (W)
Media: Over 5 million U.S. consumers will cut the cord in 2018: survey (MW)
Retail: Amazon Foes Walmart and Microsoft Deepen Tech Partnership (W)

Offbeat
Astronomers Discover 12 New Moons Around Jupiter (W)
Chinese Hit Movie ‘Dying to Survive’ Injects Urgency in Drug-Price Push (W)

July 17 (Tuesday)

Markets
Think strong earnings will break stocks out of their range? Nope, Morgan Stanley says (MW)
CEO of world’s largest asset manager says tariff clash could knock 10% to 15% off the stock market (MW)

Central banks
Fed’s Powell Presents Lawmakers With a Charm Offensive (W)

US
Strong Retail Sales in June Boosted Growth (W)

China
China Shifts Gears to Support Economic Growth (W)

Geopolitics
Trump refuses to denounce Putin over election meddling at summit, blames ‘both countries’ (C)
Trump praises Putin’s ‘incredible’ offer for special counsel investigators to ‘come and work’ with Russia on probe (C)
‘The United States has been foolish’: Read the full transcript of Trump’s press conference with Putin (C)
‘Shameful,’ ‘disturbing,’ and an ’embarrassment’ — Congress reacts to Trump’s press conference with Putin (MW)
Theresa May Says Trump Advised Her to Sue the EU (W)
Inside Israel’s Raid to Seize Nuclear Documents in Iran (W)

Trade
U.S. Files Complaints With WTO Against Trading Partners (W)
Whirlpool Wanted Washer Tariffs. It Wasn’t Ready for a Trade Showdown. (W)

Industries & companies
FANGs: Amazon suffers glitches at the start of Prime Day (C)
FANGs: Amazon Prime Price Hike Hasn’t Dented Membership, Executive Says (B)
Financials: Bank of America Profit Up 33% (W)
Financials: It’s Getting Tougher for Big Banks to Add Mobile Users (B)
Industrials: Boeing and Airbus Land $43 Billion Worth of Airliner Orders (W)

Corporate finance
China Targets U.S. Tech Startups in Investment Loophole (W)

Offbeat
The Problem With Innovation: Big Companies Are Hogging All the Gains (W)
Startup Producing Cell-Grown Meat Raises New Funding (W)
Elon Musk Lashes Out at Cave Rescuer in Twitter Outburst (W)

July 16 (Monday)

YRI
Stage set for strong US earnings season, but after that it will get much tougher (AFR)
Daily Markets Overview

Markets
Stock-market bull is still on its feet, snorting its way past 1 obstacle after another (MW)
Sizing Up the Bond Market’s Signals (W)
Trump’s Tax Plan Has Investors Chasing Dividends Through ETFs (B)

Central banks
Fed Zeroes In on Prime-Age Labor Figure That Signals Room to Run (B)
Are investors too comfortable with the idea of a Fed ‘policy mistake’? (MW)

US
Truck Driver Shortage Is Pressuring Businesses (BR)

China
Tariff drama is a sideshow to China’s slowing growth (FT)

US politics
Facebook Gives Researchers ‘Full Access’ for Election Studies (W)

Geopolitics & trade
Trump-Putin Talks Are Set to Ease Russia’s Isolation (W)
On eve of Russia summit, Trump calls European Union ‘a foe’ (R)
How Israel, in Dark of Night, Torched Its Way to Iran’s Nuclear Secrets (N)
Tariffs Taking Toll on Business Confidence (BR)
Here’s when Americans will start feeling the pain from escalating Trump-imposed tariffs (MW)

Industries & companies
FANGs: Apple’s Next iPhone Could Spell Big Trouble for AT&T and Others (BR)
Industrials: Boeing, Airbus Strain to Deliver the New Jets They Have Promised (W)
Pharma: A Spray Form of Ambien Now Costs Over 800% More (W)

Technology & cybersecurity
Fill ’er Up, or Plug It In? Oil, Utilities Fight to Fuel Vehicles of the Future (W)
This Company Aims to Deliver DNA on Demand (W)
How Wireless Carriers Get Permission to Share Your Whereabouts (W)

Offbeat
Cyberthieves Are Gravitating to Cryptocurrency Exchanges (W)
France scores 2nd World Cup title with 4-2 win over Croatia (C)

July 14 (Saturday)

Markets
S&P 500 posts best close since February as Amazon shares rise (C)
The Investor Fever for Passive Funds Is Cooling in 2018 (W)

Commodities & currencies
Trump Considers Tapping U.S. Oil Reserve as Prices at the Pump Rise (B)
Trade War Sends Commodities to Biggest Drop in 5 Months (B)
Is Japan’s yen unravelling as a safe-haven trade? (FT)

Central banks
Fed emphasizes ‘solid’ U.S economic growth, repeats gradual approach (R)
Federal Reserve Report Defends Use of New Tools to Set Interest Rates (W)

US
Get ready for a US “wage explosion” (UK MoneyWeek)

Geopolitics & trade
Mueller Indicts 12 Russians in Hack of DNC, Clinton Team (W)
Trump faces more pressure to confront Putin after Mueller indicts Russians for election hacking (C)
Trump Fuels Anxiety in Europe Over Security (W)
U.S. lifts ban on suppliers selling to China’s ZTE (R)
Economists Are All Over the Map on Trade War’s Duration, Scope (B)

Industries & companies
Energy: Exxon, Once a ‘Perfect Machine,’ Is Running Dry (W)
Financials: Profit Gains at JPMorgan, Citigroup Reflect a World in Growth Mode (W)
Financials: Bank Shares Hit as Citi, Wells Fargo Disappoint, JPMorgan Beats (B)
Financials: Wells Fargo Breaks From the Herd on Loans, Saying It’s Time to Be Prudent (B)
Retail: Watch out, retailers. This is just how big Amazon is becoming (C)
Retail: Victoria’s Secret sales are still sagging (P)

Technology
Microsoft Urges Government to Regulate Facial-Recognition Technology (W)

Offbeat
Scientists Find Birthplace of Mysterious Ghost Particle (W)

July 13 (Friday)

Markets
Cramer argues that this rally is ‘all about China blinking’ in the trade war (C)
Just try to find a stock market year like 2018, because you won’t (C)
China’s Rising Defaults Bring More Safeguards to Yuan Bonds (B)
Emerging Market Sell-Off Is Only Going to Get Worse, Survey Says (B)

Central banks
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Says Trade Policies Complicate Outlook (W)
Fed’s Harker Says Inflation Will Determine Whether There Are Three or Four Rate Increases in 2018 (W)
Morgan Stanley expects the inverted yield curve — harbinger of recession — in 2019 (MW)

US
Inflation Is Eating Away Worker Wage Gains (W)

China
China’s Effort to Control Debt Loses Steam (W)

US politics
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he will sell all of his stocks, buying Treasurys (C)

Geopolitics & trade
Trump Commits to NATO, Pushes Allies on Defense Spending (W)
Explaining NATO’s 2% Target (W)
Trump Says He Expects to ‘Get Along’ With Putin at Summit (W)
Mnuchin Plays Down Impact of Tariffs (W)
Trump’s tariffs are unlikely to cause a recession because they are leaving the most important part of the economy alone[: demand] (C)
P&G Says Tariffs Won’t Hit Most of Its Goods Made in China, EU (B)

Industries & companies
Consumer: J&J Ordered to Pay $4.14 Billion Punitive Damages (B)
FANGs: SEC Probes Why Facebook Didn’t Warn Sooner on Privacy Lapse (W)
FANGs: Apple announces $300 million clean energy fund in China (C)
Financials: Walmart in Talks to Move Credit-Card Partnership to Capital One (W)
Tech: PC Shipments Have Strongest Quarter in Six Years (W)

Corporate finance
U.S. Appeals Ruling Allowing AT&T-Time Warner Merger (W)
Broadcom Shares Sink as Latest Deal Puzzles Wall Street (W)

Technology
All Ears: Always-On Listening Devices Could Soon Be Everywhere (W)

July 12 (Thursday)

Markets
Fresh Trade Threats Drag on U.S. Stocks (W)
China has its currency to use as a weapon in trade war with Trump (C)
Trump’s Trade War Sinks China’s Yuan Most Since 2015 Devaluation (B)
These are the 3 biggest things to worry about this earnings season (MW)
Stocks Quants Are Reeling From the Worst Run in 8 Years (B)

Central banks
Fed Could Avert an Inverted Yield Curve. But It Won’t. (B)
Stronger Economy Brings More Fed Officials on Board With Rate-Rise Plans (W)

US
U.S. producer inflation rises on strong services gains (R)
Average Gas Price Nears $3 a Gallon, Raising Worries for U.S. Economy (W)

US politics
The Supreme Court Won’t Stop Executive Overreach (W)

Geopolitics & trade
U.S.-China Trade Talks Grind to a Halt (B)
China Seeks Ways to Retaliate After U.S. Plans New Tariffs (W)
China tells the U.S. to stop hurting itself in the trade war (WP)
U.S. Promises a ‘Reckoning’ If China Doesn’t Change Trade Policy (B)
China and U.S. Impose Tariffs on Trade Flows That Don’t Exist (B)
Opinion: If Trump’s tariffs sink China, be on high alert for the U.S. to follow suit (MW)
Trump Floats Idea NATO Allies Should Double Defense Spending Target (B)

Industries & companies
Financials: Investors Look to Earnings to Snap Big-Bank Share Slump (W)

Corporate finance
Comcast Expected to Raise Sky Offer, After Fox Sweetened Bid (W)

Offbeat
How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years (FR)