Another busy week with news mostly dominated by Apple release and continued tensions about trade and talks between US and China. It has now been 10 years since the Lehman Brothers crash and start of the financial crises. Investors are more and more concerned about the economy and more importantly the ability to continue to push for new highs. Earnings are around the corner, and participants are wondering if all this uncertainty about trade has had any effect on companies’ earnings. Furthermore, midterm elections are less than 2 months away and with primaries being done this week, focus will move over to the general elections and the potential of change in both houses and subsequently effect on President Trump and the markets.
Economy, Trade & Fed
How to Avoid Tariffs from Signalee
In Depth: Is China on Verge of Private Equity Implosion? By Caixin
China Woos U.S. Companies Again, Curbs Trade Threats via WSJ
U.S. Proposing New Round of Trade Talks With China via WSJ
U.S. producer prices post first drop in one-and-a-half years from Yahoo Finance
Per-Person Restaurant Visits Drop in U.S via Bloomberg
Markets / Companies
Longer Muni Bonds Offer Tempting Yields from Barron’s
LendingTree is the secret success story of fintech by Techcrunch
THE “BIG BOND SHORT” ILLUSION from The Macro Tourist
Most Bonds don’t Trade via Ft Alphaville
Seven reasons Big Tobacco is likely to make a move on the marijuana industry by MarketWatch
Apple Launches Bigger, Pricier iPhones via WSJ
Amazon’s Antitrust Antagonist Has a Breakthrough Idea from NYTimes
Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy? By NewYorker
LinkedIn sucks from Techcrunch
Crypto
Breaking the blockchain: Major projects shelved as hype fades via FN Financial News
New York regulator approves Winklevoss, Paxos dollar-linked tokens via Reuters
Olaf Carlson-Wee Rode the Bitcoin Boom to Silicon Valley Riches. Can He Survive the Crash? By WSJ
Research / Interesting Reads
The Secret Drug Pricing System Middlemen Use to Rake in Millions via Bloomberg
Peter Thiel on Trump, Gawker, and Leaving Silicon Valley (Full Interview) via Youtube
Why the Traditional Way of Measuring ‘Value’ Stocks May Be History by WSJ
California’s Illegal Weed Industry Is Doing Better Than Ever via VICE
Making Private Public from The Irrelevant Investor
Why can’t Apple keep a secret anymore? Via FastCompany
Does Apple still care about Beats? From TheVerge
(IRR)ATIONAL AGGREGATION by AllAboutAlpha
Lessons from Lehman Brothers from Market Fox
Brain study shows why mindfulness eases pain via Medical News Today
The Win-Win Fallacy by the Atlantic
Cape Town Is an Omen from the The Atlantic
Seventeen Years After the Enron Scandal, Jeff Skilling Returns by TexasMonthly