Scott Barlow
A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.
The Inside the Market blog published a useful but largely (in my opinion) innocuous post by Gordon Pape yesterday entitled "An NDP win would bring massive financial uncertainty." The real story, however, was the froth at the mouth belligerence in the comment section below Mr. Pape's post.
I am well aware, few better, that equanimity is not a hallmark of comment sections but the reaction still startled me. Canadians seem truly angry ahead of the upcoming election, moreso than I can remember seeing.
Readers will no doubt interpret things I write as partisan in the coming weeks, but, for the record, I'll state that I'm highly ambivalent about the election. I care deeply about my country but see roughly equal, if different, down sides for every candidate. I'll take what comes and deal with it.
I'm not looking to change anyone's vote, but point out the essay "The Wrong Lessons of Iraq." It's eight years old and the references are dated, but I still think it's the best piece written on the toxicity of partisanship in all developed countries. "Splitting" is bad.
"An NDP win would bring massive financial uncertainty" – Pape, Inside the Market
"The Wrong Lessons of Iraq" – Last Psychiatrist
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Chinese authorities orchestrated a two-per-cent drop in the value of their currency overnight but there is less here than meets the eye in my opinion, despite the media histrionics. The currency move is not huge, particularly in comparison with the Brazilian real or the loonie in recent months. FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska wrote,
"it isn't a forced devaluation. This is all about keeping the IMF, which apparently isn't too convinced the yuan currently classifies as "freely usable", sweet so that China can finally enter the SDR club and settle international trade bills with its own currency (a very neat ability on the international market)."
"This one time, at band camp, the PBOC did this thing" – Kaminska, FT Alphaville
"China Rattles Markets With Yuan Devaluation" – Bloomberg
"Six Thoughts About the Yuan Devaluation" – Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
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The other big news is Googly. The web search behemoth announced a restructuring after the close Monday that amounted to, in the words of the Washington Post, creating "the General Electric of the Digital Age." The news was a huge surprise to the market, but investors pushed the stock higher in after hours trading.
The change amounts to splitting off the core business of search and online advertising. The remainder of the firm, to be called Alphabet, is essentially a giant, filthy rich holding company for Google's non-core operations including auto manufacturing and medical technology.
" Google forms a new holding company, 'Alphabet'" – Washington Post
"Here Are Alphabet's Most Notable Businesses Besides Google" – Bloomberg
"Everyone is very confused about Google's new parent company, Alphabet" – Mashable
"Google to Reorganize in Move to Keep Its Lead as an Innovator" – New York Times Dealbook
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The song remains the same in the oil patch as a report on OPEC crude production solidifies concerns about a global glut in supply. Importantly, U.S. refiners are set to shut down operations in a matter of weeks for maintenance and to re-tool for winter production. This will decrease demand for spot oil and will likely cause further weakness in the commodity price.
"OPEC Supply Reaches 3-Year High as Iran Pumps Most Since '12" – Bloomberg
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Tweet of the Day: "@EpicureanDeal Wow. El Niño is already restricting ship drafts at the Panama Canal: wsj.com/articles/el-ni… "
Diversion: "The best villains from movie history" – Sploid
Scott Barlow