Dr. Ed's Blog

Jun 07 (Wednesday)

Markets
Momentum Stocks Just Had Their Best Winning Streak in Nearly 25 Years (B)
Hedge funds are loading up on bets against small-cap stocks (BI)
U.S. 10-Year Yield Falls to New 2017 Low (W)
Bank shares hit as Treasury yield curve flattens (FT)

Currencies
The Dollar’s ‘Stupidly Strong’ Link With Bonds Means Deeper Losses (B)
Investor doubts about Trump agenda weigh on dollar (FT)
China Ready to Buy More Treasuries as Yuan Stabilizes (B)
Pound’s Message to Investors: Wake Up and Smell the Election (W)
Mexico’s Peso Returns to Pre-Election Levels (B)

Central banks
Is the World Overdoing Low Interest Rates? (B)
Inconvenient Facts for the Fed (W)
Steven Mnuchin faces a big decision on quantitative tightening (FT)
ECB and tapering: challenge that will not go away (FT)

Global
The World’s $100 Trillion Question: Why Is Inflation So Low? (B)
World Bank: Global Economic Prospects: A Fragile Recovery, June 2017

US
U.S. Job Openings Hit Record High in April, Topping 6 Million (B)
U.S. CEO Sentiment at Three-Year High Is Good Omen for Economy (B)
Americans Are Pouring Money Into Their Homes Like It’s the 1990s (B)
‘Psychologically scarred’ millennials are killing dozens of industries — and it’s their parents’ fault (BI)
6 reasons why more millennials aren’t buying homes (BI)

China
How China’s Biggest Bank Became Wall Street’s Go-To Shadow Lender (B)

Japan
Japan Embodies a Global Mystery: Where Are the Pay Raises? (W)

Emerging
Brazilian President’s Fate Rests With Top Electoral Court (W)
South Africa plunges into unexpected recession (FT)

US politics
Private Funding Is Key Challenge of Trump Infrastructure Plan (W)
Corporate CEOs Say Urgent Tax Overhaul Would Boost Hiring and Investment (W)
Apple CEO Says Repatriation Tax Should Be Mandatory Levy (B)
Senate Health-Bill Talks to Center on Medicaid Fight (W)
Comey Will Share Details of Trump Conversations in Testimony (B)
Why `Obstruction of Justice’ Is Echoing in D.C.: QuickTake Q&A (B)

Geopolitics, terrorism & trade
Trump Sides With Saudis, Gulf States in Dispute With Qatar (W)
World’s Biggest Container Line Says It Can’t Send Cargo to Qatar (B)
Mexico to Maintain Sugar Exports to U.S. (W)
Assault on ISIS’s Syria Stronghold Begins (W)

Industries & companies
Autos: GM shareholders reject activist’s stock-split campaign (FT)
Energy: Long Promised, the Global Market for Natural Gas Has Finally Arrived (W)
Financials: A primer on Dodd-Frank’s Orderly Liquidation Authority (Brookings)
Health Care: Anthem to Exit Ohio Exchange, Leave 18 Counties With No ACA Plan (W)
Retail: Amazon Fights Wal-Mart for Low-Income Shoppers (W)
Retail: J. Crew May Never Be the Same Again (B)

Offbeat
HomePod First Look: Hey Siri, What Took You So Long? (W)

Jun 06 (Tuesday)

Markets
Bulls and Bears Are Both Winning as Markets Take Strange Turn (B)
JPMorgan Has a Surprisingly Simple Theory for Low Volatility (B)
Battle for ETF Crumbs Escalates as Passive War Gets Aggressive (B)
Japan gets a second look from foreign investors as Nikkei tops 20,000 mark (B)

Commodities
The Hard-to-Believe Steel Shortage That’s Unfolding in China (B)
Automated trading of commodity futures accelerating (FT)
The Rise and Fall of a Commodities Giant in Asia (B)

Central banks
Fed weighs benign impact of rate rises on markets (FT)

US
U.S. Nonmanufacturing Activity Growth Slowed in May (W)
U.S. Productivity Flat in First Quarter (W)
New Houses Get Smaller as First-Time Buyers Move Into the Market (W)
Other Times Unemployment Has Been This Low, It Didn’t End Well (W)
Why Aren’t American Teenagers Working Anymore? (B)
[Tourists] Not Coming to America (W)

Europe
Southern Europe’s Most Troubled Lenders Stumble Toward Solutions (W)
As China Eyes Trade Growth, Europe Moves to Calm Wary Industries (B)

China
China’s $17 Trillion Debt Mountain Isn’t as Scary as It Looks (B)

Emerging
Qatar’s Big Spenders Are Vulnerable to Palace Politics (B)

US politics
Trump Won’t Invoke Executive Privilege to Block Comey Testimony (B)
President Trump to Launch Push for Infrastructure Investment (W)
GOP Leaders to Present Senate Republicans With Proposals to Shape Health-Care Bill (W)
Donald Trump Announces Proposal to Privatize Air-Traffic Control (W)
Trump, in Tweets, Expresses Frustration Over Revised Travel Ban (W)
Use of H1B Visas Fell Before Donald Trump’s Critiques of Program (W)

Industries & companies
Autos: General Motors Chief Faces Showdown Over Hedge-Fund Investor’s Stock Push (W)
Pharma: Pfizer raises US prices of 91 drugs by 20% in 2017 (FT)
Retail: J.Crew Says Mickey Drexler to Step Aside as CEO (W)
Tech: Alphabet Shares Follow in Amazon’s Footsteps and Top $1,000 (B)
Tech: Apple Unveils HomePod Speaker, Taking on Amazon and Google (B)
Tech: Apple joins augmented reality fray with new app platform (FT)

Geopolitics & terrorism
The $1bn hostage deal that enraged Qatar’s Gulf rivals (FT)
Top U.S. Diplomat Urges China to Act on North Korea (W)
London Bridge attacker was well-known member of extremist network (FT)

Corporate finance
Japan Notches $18 Billion of Soured Deals Amid Record M&A Boom (B)
Buyout Firms Eye Gusher of Cash from Aramco IPO (W)

Technology
Virtual Reality Finally Catches On—With Businesses (W)
A Hardware Update for the Human Brain (W)
Silicon Valley Has Explaining to Do on Robo Cars, Chao Says (B)

Offbeat
Why Remote Work Can’t Be Stopped (W)
Harvard Rescinds Admission Offer to Students Over Offensive Messages (W)

Jun 05 (Monday)

Markets
Inside the Market’s Magical Mystery Rally (BR)
A Comeback for Cyclicals? (BR)

Central banks
Fresh doubt raised over Fed rate rise (FT)
ECB’s Path to Unwinding Easy Monetary Policies Proves Thorny (W)

Global
World Bank says trade, manufacturing to boost 2017 global growth (R)

US
The Surprising Threat to the American Economy: Consumer Spending (BR)

Europe
Terror Dominates U.K. Election After Short-Lived Campaign Truce (B)

China
More Chinese Companies Turn to Shadow Banking (W)

US politics
Top Democrat Sees ‘Smoke’ but No ‘Smoking Gun’ Showing Collusion (W)
How G.O.P. Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science (N)

Geopolitics & terrorism
London Terror Attack Before Vote Leaves 7 Dead, Many Hurt (B)
U.K. Calls for Getting Tougher on Terror (W)
Iran’s leader lashes out at Trump, Saudis for anti-Tehran alliance (R)
North Korea says rejects new sanctions, to continue nuclear program (R)
Putin: ‘I didn’t even really talk’ to Michael Flynn (BI)

Industries & companies
Amazon: How Amazon’s Alexa Will Make You Buy More Stuff (BR)
Health Care: The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left on Health Care (N)
Health Care: The Velvet Rope Economy: The Doctor Is In. Co-Pay? $40,000. (N)
Pharma: States are taking on high drug prices, and it could start hitting drugmaker profits (BI)
Retail: More than 5,000 stores are shutting down — here’s the full list (BI)
Tech: The Winners: Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon.com (BR)
Tech: AI Opens New Doors for Chip Makers, Investors (BR)
Tech: Alphabet arm Waymo tests self-driving trucks (FT)

Offbeat
The Fiduciary Rule Goes Live at Long Last (BR)
Self-driving cars could be terrible for traffic — here’s why (BI)

Jun 03 (Saturday)

Markets
Stocks Rise to Records, Treasuries Surge Amid Jobs: Markets Wrap (B)
US, UK and German equities at record levels (FT)
Tech stocks flash warnings but no need for alarm (FT)
Wall Street’s biggest bear thinks the market’s hottest stocks will keep soaring (BI)
Frustration deepens for value investors (FT)
How to Invest in the U.S. Without Even Trying (W) | Study: Investing in Companies with No Foreign Sales (CFA)

Commodities & currencies
Wall Street Has More Bad News for OPEC: 2018 Doesn’t Look Great (B)
Oil in the $50s Is New Reality for CEOs Gathering in Russia (B)
As Emerging-Market Currencies Soar, Central Banks Stay on Sideline (W)

Funds
Vanguard Actually Is Good at What It Does (B)
Meet the People’s Quant, a Former Marine Who Champions Value Investing (W)

Central banks
Fed Looks More to Jobs Than Inflation in Weighing Rate Rise (W)
Gary Cohn Says He Isn’t Interested in Fed Chair Job (B)

US
Jobless Rate Hits Lowest in 16 Years; Hiring Pace Slows (W)
U.S. Jobs Weakness May Be Temporary, But Loss of Momentum Isn’t (B)
U.S. Trade Gap Widened 5% in April (W)
Wider U.S. Trade Gap May Signal Drag on Second-Quarter Growth (B)
Atlanta Fed GDPNow in Q2 is 3.4% June 2, down from 4.0% on June 1

China
Crippling China Delivery Dispute Is All About the Data (W)
China Steps Up Scrutiny of Offshore Bank Card Deals (W)
Billionaire Anbang boss barred from leaving China (FT)

US politics
Republican Tax-Cut Dreams on Hold as Lawmakers Grow Frustrated With Trump (B)
Trump Is Reviewing Whether to Block Comey’s Testimony (B)
GOP Senators Weigh Taxing Employer-Health Plans (W)
Impeach Trump? Democrats Need to Chill (B)

Paris Climate Accord
What Did Trump Just Do? The Paris Climate Withdrawal Explained (B)
With U.S. Firms Freed of Paris Accord, Rivals Fear Uneven Field (W)
Paris accord’s backers move to isolate Trump (FT)
EU, China Summit Ends With No Climate Statement (W)
China Is a Highly Suspect Leader on Climate Change (W)
Obama slams Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, says the US is ‘rejecting the future’ (BI)
Musk Cuts White House Ties After Trump Exits Climate Accord (W)
Disney CEO Bob Iger quits Trump’s advisory council after US withdraws from Paris climate deal (BI)
Lloyd Blankfein tweeted for the first time to lament Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement (BI)

Geopolitics & terrorism
US faces struggle to ease Asian fears of retreat (FT)
Australia Calls on Asian Countries to Uphold Rules-Based Order (W)
Syria war yields cottage industry for anti-Isis spies (FT)

Industries & companies
Airlines: Delta Poised to Regain Power Over Airfares After Two-Year Slump (B)
Financials: Goldman’s Venezuela Bond Trade Wasn’t Reviewed by Top Executives (W)
Health Care: A major health insurer wants to limit emergency-room coverage to life-or-death incidents only (BI)
Media: Netflix Shows Are All Worldwide Hits — Until They’re Not (B)
Pharma: Pfizer raises US prices of 91 drugs by 20% in 2017 (FT)
Retail: Retail keeps bleeding jobs (BI)

Corporate finance
How US paint maker PPG lost its $29.5 billion battle for Dulux (BI)
Blue Apron has filed to go public — and it lost almost as much last quarter as it did all last year (BI)

Technology
Alphabet arm Waymo tests self-driving trucks (FT)
Apple ready to talk up Siri at developers conference (FT)

Offbeat
Hiding Money From the IRS Overseas? Be Very Afraid (W)
CFA Says Record 189,000 Candidates Signed Up for Saturday Exams (B)

Jun 02 (Friday)

Markets
Global stocks hit records on welter of data (FT)
U.S. Stocks Rise as Oil Prices Rally (W)
The champions of the Trump trade are on life support (BI)
Tech Bubble Talk Is a Dot-Com Flashback (B)
US bank stocks head towards bear market territory (FT)
Returns Soar as Emerging Markets Turn Less Volatile (W)

Credit
S&P, Moody’s Downgrade Illinois to Near Junk, Lowest Ever for a U.S. State (B)
The Incredible Shrinking Junk-Bond Market (B)
Pimco hit by plunge in teetering Spanish bank’s bonds (FT)

Oil
Oil Reverses Gains as Rising Output Outweighs Stockpile Declines (B)
Americans Are Doing Everything They Can to Drain Oil Inventories (B)
Now There’s Another Source of Oil That’s Starting to Get Cheap (B)
Trump Administration Explores More Drilling in Alaska (W)

Central banks
Fed officials keep patting themselves on the back for a huge policy shift (BI)
Bullard: A Case for Shrinking the Fed’s Balance Sheet (FRB-SL)

US
U.S. Manufacturing Activity Advances in May (W)
U.S. Jobless Claims Rose to 248,000 Last Week (W)
ADP Reports 253,000 Rise in Private Payrolls in May (W)
Americans’ Comfort Rises on Strongest View of Finances in Decade (B)
One Sign That Long-Missing Wage Acceleration Could Be Emerging (W)
Debt pile-up in US car market sparks subprime fear (FT)

Europe
London’s Brexit Apocalypse Is Nowhere in Sight (B)
Soros Says Brexit May Last 5 Years and Cause ‘Immense Damage’ (B)
The EU has agreed a recapitalisation plan for the world’s oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BI)
Rescue of Italian lender will not end banking woes (FT)

China
Yuan Makes Biggest Leap in Five Months (W)
Here Are the Theories Why China May Be Supercharging the Yuan (B)
Anbang, After a Flood of Western Deals, Has Been Benched by China (W)
China’s Propaganda Elevates Xi to Socialist ‘Thinker-in-Chief’ (W)
China’s cyber security law and its chilling effects (FT)

Emerging
Brazil GDP Rises in First Quarter After Two-Year Recession (W)

US politics
Bernstein: How Trump’s Chaotic Presidency Threatens the Economy (B)
Former FBI Director Comey to Testify Publicly June 8 (W)
Little-Known Law Is Key to Flynn, Manafort Probes (W)
Hillary Clinton: Russia Got Help From Americans in Election Meddling (W)
Obamacare Is Stabilizing in Pennsylvania, Unless GOP Disrupts It (B)

Paris Climate Accord
Trump Is Withdrawing U.S. From Climate Deal (W)
Trump Paris rejection widens rift with Germany (FT)
Despite Paris Accord Exit, Companies Expect Little Change (W)
Economic Damage From Paris Withdrawal May Emerge in Trade Wars (B)
Trump’s Exit From Paris Climate Accord Won’t Revive Coal Jobs (B)

Geopolitics
U.S. Adds Fresh Sanctions on North Korea Over Weapons Program (B)
Executives take quiet turn away from globalisation (FT)

Industries & companies
Autos: As GM Adjusts to Changing Auto Market, Its Sales Slide Behind Ford’s (W)
Financials: Morgan Stanley CEO Sees Trading Drop Similar to JPMorgan, Bank of America (B)
Financials: HSBC is getting into ‘robo-advice’ (BI)
Media: Google to Prepare Publishers for Chrome Ad Blocker (W)
Restaurants: Fast to Fancy, Restaurants Want to Bring You Lunch (W)
Restaurants: America’s Fast-Casual Dining Boom Is Over (B)
Retail: U.S. consumers will spend $632 billion online by 2020 (BI)
Retail: Wal-Mart Asks Employees to Deliver Packages on Their Way Home (B)
Tech: The Factors Driving Apple’s Valuation, in 14 Charts (W)
Tech: BlackBerry Jumps After Citron Research Cites ‘Game Changer’ Tech (B)

Offbeat
Scientists Detect Two Merged Black Holes (W)
Rush to College Might Be a Mistake (W)
Millennials are still spooked by the 2008 financial crisis (BI)
U.S. Homes Are Finally Shrinking (B)

Jun 01 (Thursday)

Markets
Stocks Slide but Remain on Track for Monthly Gains (W)
Markets Need a 30% Stock Drop or 50% Higher U.S. Yields. Or Not. (B)
Emerging Stocks Face New Era as MSCI Ponders $9 Trillion Markets (B)
Why Investors Are Running Away From the Fastest-Growing G-7 Economy [Canada] (B)
Pimco to Investors: Stop Relaxing! Use Rallies to Accumulate Cash (B)
The hidden dangers of passive investing (FT)
SOC GEN: A failure of Trump’s tax cuts is the biggest ‘black swan’ risk in global markets (BI)

Commodities & currencies
Oil report card for OPEC and non-OPEC nations (BI)
China Teaches Yuan Bears Tough Lesson as Currency Surges Anew (B)
China’s Yuan Surges Offshore, With an Apparent Boost From Beijing (W)

Central banks
The Federal Reserve’s conundrum: stubbornly low inflation (FT)
A New Way to Control Inflation, From San Francisco Fed President (B)
Pressure to cut QE eases as eurozone inflation falls below target (FT)

US
Fed Survey Shows Modest Growth With Tight Labor and Tame Prices (B)
Wage Growth Isn’t So Sluggish After All (B)
The U.S. Has Forgotten How to Do Infrastructure (B)

Europe
Eurozone Inflation Rate Falls Sharply Despite Drop in Jobless Rate (W)
A Decade After the Crisis, Ireland’s Easy Sell (B)
Portugal, From Europe’s Periphery, Emerges as Bond Market Star (W)

China
The early indications suggest China’s economy performed well in May (BI)

Industries & companies
Energy: Exxon investors defy board on climate reporting (FT)
Energy: Solar Stocks Fall on Reports That U.S. May Exit Paris Agreement (B)
Financials: JPMorgan, BofA Trading Revenue on Pace to Drop at Least 10% (B)
Financials: Fed fines Deutsche Bank for anti-money laundering failures (BI)
Health Care: Outcome Health Raising $600 Million to Digitize the Doctor’s Office (W)
Media: Welcome to the Messy Future of TV and Communications (B)
Pharma: Ohio Sues Five Drug Firms, Saying They Fueled Opioid Crisis (W)
Retail: Michael Kors earnings Q4 2017 (BI)
Tech: Meeker sees US-Asian rivalry driving internet’s next chapter (FT)
Tech: Mary Meeker 2017 internet trends presentation (BI)
Tech: Qualcomm’s Car-Chip Target Should Let Shareholders Steer (B)
Tech: Alphabet Driverless Ambitions Looked Stalled. Then It Sued Uber (B)
Telecom: Owner of T-Mobile US thinks the M&A market ‘looks good’ under Trump (BI)

Geopolitics & terrorism
U.S. Tests Missile-Defense System Amid North Korea Tensions (W)
Trump Leans Toward Unwinding Climate Commitment (W)
EU and China strengthen climate ties to counter US retreat (FT)
Mike Flynn’s Pro-Turkey Work: An Unfinished Documentary to Boost Country’s Image (W)
Russia lifts most sanctions imposed on Turkey after downing of jet (FT)
Wilbur Ross and the sugar barons: How a Mexican trade deal got sticky (FT)
At Least 80 Killed in Blast Near Embassies in Afghan Capital (W)

Offbeat
NASA Wants to Fly Into the Sun (B)
Top to Bottom: Pay for 500 CEOs (W)

May 31 (Wednesday)

Markets
U.S. Stocks Pull Back as Energy Shares Decline (W)
Trump Trade Is Dead; Long Live the Trump Trade, Says Citigroup (B)
Investors Go All-In on Tech Giants (B)
Larry Fink Says Europe Has Brighter Economic Outlook Than U.S. (B)
Skepticism Mounts on Junk Bonds (W)

Oil
Once Costly Deep-Sea Oil Turns Cheap, to OPEC’s Dismay (B)
The Oil Play That Could Flood the Natural-Gas Market (W)

Central banks
Fed Likely to Raise Rates in June, Spell Out Asset-Sale Plan (W)
Fed’s Brainard Says Soft Inflation May Warrant Rate Rethink (B) | Speech
Injunction Request Aims to Stop German Role in ECB’s Bond Buying (W)

US
U.S. Consumer Spending Rose 0.4% in April (W)
U.S. Consumer Confidence Eases on Economic, Jobs Expectations (B)
Another Warning Sign Flashes for Subprime Auto Loans (B)
A Comeback in Coal Country (W)
More Women Join Workforce, but Will Trend Continue? (W)

Europe
Eurozone Business Optimism Wanes Despite French Rally (W)

China
Fitting Into Beijing’s New World Order (W)
Southeast Asia Finds China Love as Xi Pushes ‘One Belt, One Road’ Dream (B)

US politics
Trump Wants Senate Rules Changed to Speed Up Health-Care, Tax Legislation (W)
GOP Bid to Rewrite Tax Code Stalls Over How to Offset Cuts (W)
Health Groups Split Over Helping GOP Overhaul Bill (W)

Geopolitics & terrorism
Macron, Putin Hold Tense First Meeting (W)
Missile Defense Test Succeeds Amid North Korea Threat, U.S. Says (B)
Trump’s European Misadventure (B)
World Bank helps Trump on US infrastructure plans (FT)

Cybersecurity
Suspected North Korean Hackers Try New Tactic (W)
China’s cyber security law rattles multinationals (FT)

Industries & companies
Autos: Daimler Vows to Buy More American Parts for Alabama Plant (W)
Energy: Plans to Close Three Mile Island Highlight Struggles of Nuclear Power (W)
Financials: The $50 Billion Question: What Makes a Bank Big? (W)
Financials: Goldman Sachs Under Fire After Buying Venezuela Bonds (W)
Retail: Kicking the Tires on the Rundown Retail Sector (W)
Tech: Amazon ascent to $1,000 highlights tech stock surge (FT)
Tech: Uber Fires Executive at Center of Driverless Car Legal Fight (B)

Offbeat
Cohen’s Hedge-Fund Comeback Shoots for Record Target: $20 Billion (W)
Going Out for Lunch Is a Dying Tradition (W)

May 30 (Tuesday)

Central banks
Draghi says ECB stimulus still needed despite better growth (R)

US
Credit Scores Hit Record Highs as Recession Wounds Heal (W)
US banks pull back from $1.2tn car loans market (FT)

Europe
May says she’s willing to leave the EU without a deal as Corbyn is accused of supporting the IRA (BI)
Paris touts Macron victory to woo banks from London (FT)
Italian banks sink on early election worries (R)

China
Rating the China Contagion Risk (B)
Is China’s economy turning Japanese? (FT)

Emerging
A Quick Guide to How Brazil’s New Political Crisis May Play Out (B)

US politics
Obamacare hasn’t collapsed, but Trump and the GOP might just let it (BI)
GOP’s Tax Plans Collide With the Status Quo (W)

Geopolitics & terrorism
Defense Secretary James Mattis on what keeps him up at night: ‘Nothing. I keep other people awake’ (BI)
Germany unleashes on Trump: He has ‘weakened’ the West (BI)
Merkel Says U.S. Ties Shouldn’t Deter Europe From Own Path (B)
‘Atlanticist’ Merkel rams home frustration with Trump after summits (R)
Macron Offers Putin Improved Ties, Critcizes Kremlin ‘Propaganda’ (B)
Kim supervised North Korean missile launch (R)
North Korean Tests Add Urgency for U.S. to Fix Defense Flaws (N)
The anti-terror ad going viral in the Middle East (NN)

Technology
Innovation Won’t Overcome Stagnation (B)

Offbeat
Police: Tiger Woods Arrested in Florida for DUI (B)

May 29 (Monday)

Markets
There’s Something Manic About This Market (BR)
It’s Time for Investors to Pounce on Banks (BR)
Be Wary of Hedge Fund ETFs (BR)
Bitcoin and Tech Stocks: A 21st Century Tulipmania? (BR)
Why investors aren’t giving up on bitcoins (NYP)
Bullish on Emerging Markets, Bearish on U.S. (BR)
U.S. Companies’ Rising Stash of Cash (BR)

Emerging
China April industrial profits up 14 percent but slowing pace stokes economy worries (R)
Brazil’s Car Wash Scandal Reveals a Country Soaked in Corruption (B)

US politics
Trump Lashes Out at Media After Ducking Press Questions on Trip (B)
Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy – sources (R)
Homeland security secretary Kelly: ‘I don’t see any big issue’ in Kushner-Russia back-channel (BI)
Trump just wrapped up his first trip abroad — here’s where past presidents traveled in their first year (BI)
Trump’s Deficit-Cutting Plan Isn’t Realistic (BR)

Geopolitics & terrorism
U.S. Shifts Strategy in War on ISIS (W)
Mattis Says U.S. Plans to ‘Take Apart’ Islamic State Caliphate (B)
Merkel Signals New Era for Europe as Trump Smashes Consensus (B)
Europe can no longer fully rely on allies: Merkel (R)
Trump adviser says US is fully behind Nato (FT)
North Korea fires Scud-class ballistic missile, Japan protests (R)
Japan will take steps with U.S. to deter North Korea: PM Abe (R)
U.S. might ban laptops on all flights into and out of the country (R)
Britain says some of Manchester bomber’s network potentially still at large (R)

Companies & industries
Autos: Ford Races Toward an Exciting Future (BR)
Autos: How Robo Cars Will Impact Everything Else (BR)
Financials: Why Banks Haven’t Been Burned by Retail’s Meltdown (W)
Materials: International Paper: 25% Upside and a Nice Yield (BR)
Tech: Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices (B)

Offbeat
Universal basic income would fail to cut poverty, says OECD (FT)
Summer Beach Reading for Investors (BR)

May 27 (Saturday)

Markets
S&P 500 inches up to fresh record close (FT)
YRI Press: Wall Street moves past latest Dow ‘panic attack’ (USA)
As rates rise, investors scramble to lock in gains (P&I)
European stocks coming back into favor (P&I)
Wall Street to CEOs: The Future Is Now (W)

Commodities & currencies
Saudi Arabia and Russia stuck in unlikely oil alliance (FT)

Funds
Investors pouring billions into the hottest part of the stock market (BI)
Harvard’s Hausmann Asks JPMorgan to Cut Venezuela From Index (B)
How to Be Your Own Quant (W)

Central banks
Central banks risk messy ‘market melt-up’ (FT)

US
U.S. GDP Growth Revised Up to 1.2% Rate in First Quarter (W)
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Signals Gains in Spending Remain Likely (B)
Soft US economic data dampens hopes of a rebound (FT)
‘Secular Stagnation’ Even Truer Today, Larry Summers Says (W)
Rural America Is the New ‘Inner City’ (W)
Summary of Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions for 2016 (Census)

Emerging
Brazil Outlook Lowered to Negative by Moody’s on Temer Probe (B)

US politics
FBI Scrutiny of Kushner Brings Russia Probe Into the White House (B)
Trump Pushing Big White House Changes as Russia Crisis Grows (W)
Hillary Clinton Calls Trump Budget Cruel in Wellesley Commencement Speech (W)
Restructuring Pro Prepares His Toughest Turnaround Yet: The Democratic Party (W)

Industries & companies
Amazon: Amazon Opens Grocery Pickup Kiosks to Rival Wal-Mart (B)
Tech: How Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft make money (BI)

Geopolitics & terrorism
Trump Faces Tensions at G-7 Summit (W)
Six to One Against Trump on Climate in ‘Honest’ Exchange at G-7 (B)
Exxon chief urges Trump to back climate agreement (FT)
Beijing Protests U.S. Patrol in South China Sea (W)
Gunmen in Egypt Attack Bus Carrying Coptic Christians, Prompting Airstrikes on Libya (W)
Police make 10th arrest in search for Manchester bomber’s associates (FT)

Technology
Apple Is Working on a Dedicated Chip to Power AI on Devices (B)
Pretty Soon Electric Cars Will Cost Less Than Gasoline (B)

Offbeat
Talent Battle: Hedge Funds vs. Silicon Valley (W)
Sean Hannity Loses Some Advertisers After Advancing Conspiracy Theory (W)
Does Facebook Make Us Unhappy and Unhealthy? (W)
Your Data Is Way More Exposed Than You Realize (W)