Ultimately, it was hoped, abandoning the peseta/lira/etc for the euro would promote integration with the wealthy northern core and convergence to higher living standards. (As it turns out, convergence was much more successful among the central and eastern European countries that didn’t join the euro.) The risk of the strategy was that Spain/Italy/etc, by losing monetary sovereignty, would be vulnerable to the kinds of crises that had afflicted many poorer countries in the 1980s and 1990s. Euro area countries that grew accustomed to net inflows of capital would have to rely on debt restructuring and wage cuts if the financial account ever reversed.

If you like the euro, why not just call for a global gold standard? | FT Alphaville

Exchange rates affect the economy through a financial channel, as well as the trade channel. The financial channel works in the opposite direction to the trade channel. In emerging market economies especially, a weakening of the domestic currency against the dollar saps both cross-border bank lending and investment. Such effects flow through the dense interconnections of dollar lending in the global financial system. In devising policy for financial stability, a tight focus on underlying causes (excess leverage and funding risk) rather than on the symptoms (capital flows) stands a better chance of being more effective in addressing the vulnerabilities as they emerge.

Accounting for global liquidity: reloading the matrix

Scott Galloway is a marketing professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and the founder of business intelligence firm L2. Galloway appears on this week's episode of The Bottom Line with Henry Blodget and explains how Amazon could eliminate the existence of brands with voice technology. The following is a transcript of the video: So I think the biggest thing in technology in 2017 is voice. I think Amazon has effectively conspired with voice and technology and half a billion consumers to kill brands. When you go into a store, you see the packaging, you see the endcaps, you might see pricing go up and down. All of these things that big brands ranging from Unilever and Procter & Gamble to Kraft and Heinz have spent billions of dollars and generations building.

SCOTT GALLOWAY on the biggest thing in tech in 2017: Amazon could eliminate the existence of brands with voice - Business Insider

The chart illustrates that with every postwar expansion, as the economy grew, the bottom 90% of households received a smaller and smaller share of that growth. Even though their share was falling, the majority of families still captured the majority of the income growth until the 70s. Starting in the 80s, the trend reverses sharply: as the economy recovers from recessions, the lion’s share of income growth goes to the wealthiest 10% of families. Notably, the entire 2001-2007 recovery produced almost no income growth for the bottom 90% of households and, in the first years of recovery since the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, their incomes kept falling during the expansion, delivering all benefits from growth to the wealthiest 10%. A similar trend is observed when one considers the bottom 99% and top 1% percent of households (for details, as well as complete business cycle data, see here).

Inequality Update: Who Gains When Income Grows? - New Economic PerspectivesNew Economic Perspectives

The attack that injured one Borussia Dortmund player and led to a Champions League game being postponed earlier in April looks to have been an attempt to manipulate the stock market. The German police on Friday arrested a man on suspicion of planting the explosives that injured Spanish defender Marc Bartra on April 11, accusing the man of attempted murder, inflicting serious bodily harm, and causing an explosion. The suspect, a 28-year-old man identified by prosecutors as Sergei V, had reportedly bought options on Borussia Dortmund's stock worth roughly €78,000 (£65,000; $83,600).

Borussia Dortmund bus attack was share scam gone wrong - Business Insider

WHAT a difference a year makes. When America’s big banks reported first-quarter earnings for 2016, the mood was glum. The Federal Reserve was proving tardier than hoped in raising interest rates, which held down lending margins. Jitters about the world economy meant rotten results for investment-banking units, in what is usually their best season of the year. Regulators added to the misery: last April the Fed rejected the “living wills”—plans for liquidating lenders that get into trouble—of five of the six largest banks.

Happy returns: America’s big banks have an encouraging first quarter | The Economist

Amazon's stock price has soared 43.7% over the last year to more than $900, and several Wall Street analysts think it could go to $1,000. Credit Suisse equity research analyst Stephen Ju is the latest to call for a big move in Amazon's share price. In a note circulated to clients on Monday, Ju reiterated his "Outperform" rating on Amazon and raised his price target to $1,050 from $900. Amazon has been investing heavily in fulfillment and data centers, and Ju thinks some of those investments will start to pay off this quarter, improving margins for the retail behemoth. Those investments will also help balance out what profit Amazon loses by offering so much free shipping to customers. Credit Suisse notes Amazon's "push to invest should serve as positive demand indicators across its consumer and enterprise-facing businesses."

CREDIT SUISSE: Here's why Amazon's stock is going to soar (AMZN) | 04/17/17 | Markets Insider

But before deciphering what these developments might lead to in the future, markets could benefit from understanding what populism actually is and how previous examples of populist movements have played out. In an interview with Business Insider Global Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget on the "The Bottom Line," Business Insider's new weekly business news show, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio discussed his study of the populist phenomenon throughout history and the similarities he found across different iterations. You can watch the full interview here.

Ray Dalio on populism - Business Insider

Whereas investment weakness in advanced economies reflects mainly sluggish output growth, investment weakness in EMDEs is associated with a larger number of factors. Weak output growth can account for three-quarters, on average, for slowdowns in investment growth among advanced economies during 2011-15, it accounted for a small share of the investment growth slowdown in the average EMDE

The persistent headache of sluggish investment | VOX, CEPR’s Policy Portal

The report is based on an annual survey of 1,000 people in more than 150 countries that simply asks them to rank, on a scale of zero to 10, whether they are living their best life. Researchers then use six measures to try to understand the results: gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, support from relatives or friends, charitable giving, freedom to make life choices, and perceived levels of government and corporate corruption.

World Happiness Report 2017 Rankings Released - Bloomberg

There’s also a question mark over trade, which depressed GDP gains during most of the past three years due to a gradually widening deficit. While global growth is picking up, the strong dollar is more than offsetting that improvement, so net exports may be a “negative generally,” according to PNC’s Faucher. On the policy side, signals are mixed: Trump has recently softened his tone and didn’t act on his threats to name China a currency manipulator or scrap Nafta, but on Monday he slapped tariffs of up to 24 percent on Canadian softwood lumber and has recently blasted Canada’s system of protectionist dairy quotas.

Beyond Weak First Quarter, Trump's Growth Goal Getting Tougher - Bloomberg

Stock repurchases are showing cracks. And that could be bad news for investors, BAML says. A deceleration in the pace of U.S. corporate stock repurchases is a worrisome sign, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In a note to clients last week, strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the percentage of companies buying back shares peaked in 2015 at nearly 70%. Such peaks historically precede market tops, the analysts warned. Meanwhile, the amount spent on buybacks has been steadily declining, though S&P 500 SPX, +0.61%  companies are still spending more than $100 billion every quarter.

A slowdown in stock buybacks may be a bad omen - MarketWatch

“The industrial market is doing really nicely,” said Tore Svanberg, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. “It’s the largest end market for the analog industry.” Second-quarter profit will be 89 cents to $1.01 a share, the Dallas-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Revenue will be $3.4 billion to $3.7 billion. Analysts on average projected profit of 90 cents a share on sales of $3.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company said its profit forecast includes a $30 million “discrete” tax benefit.

Texas Instruments Sees Chip Sales Growth in Auto, Industrial - Bloomberg

After years of losses, plant closings and job cuts, some of the world’s biggest steelmakers are ready to spend more money on their businesses. Combined capital expenditure planned this year by top producer ArcelorMittal, South Korea’s Posco and Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel PJSC will be up 29 percent to $6.7 billion in 2017, the first increase since 2014, according to estimates by the companies. Increases also are planned by some American and European companies, including U.S. Steel Corp. and Thyssenkrupp AG. Investments will mostly be targeted at expansions in key markets and new technologies.

Betting Worst Is Over, Steelmakers Spending Again After Big Cuts - Bloomberg

The report is based on an annual survey of 1,000 people in more than 150 countries that simply asks them to rank, on a scale of zero to 10, whether they are living their best life. Researchers then use six measures to try to understand the results: gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, support from relatives or friends, charitable giving, freedom to make life choices, and perceived levels of government and corporate corruption.

World Happiness Report 2017 Rankings Released - Bloomberg

American stocks are up nicely year to date — the S&P 500 has gained nearly 7 percent in 2017. But markets abroad are leaving U.S. equities in the dust, and some strategists say the outperformance could accelerate. The iShares MSCI EAFE exchange-traded fund, which tracks 962 large- and mid-cap stocks in developed markets in Europe, Australia and Asia (and excludes North America) is up nearly 11 percent year to date.

What ‘Trump rally’? U.S. stocks are actually huge laggards this year

UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and a host of other naysayers have cautioned against excessive optimism as investors have piled into stocks, bonds and currencies in developing nations. They say traders are ignoring the risks of political turmoil, trade protectionism and subdued prices for the commodity exports the countries depend on. But for all the talk of doom and gloom, the rally continues unabated. Equities and currencies in the developing world are heading for the best annual start in at least a decade and their dollar- and euro-denominated bonds are flirting with a record.

Why Emerging Markets Have Become an Unlikely Haven From Global Risk - Bloomberg

But binge viewing TV has become popular for a good reason: Despite its negative reputation, television has never been better. We are in the midst of a golden age of television, with a variety of shows that provide a steady diet of novel premises, long-running, elaborate plots and morally complicated characters. Far from dulling the intellect, these shows create more suspense, interest and opportunities for critical engagement. According to journalist and media theorist Steven Johnson, watching these shows may even make you smarter. He argues that because television narratives have become increasingly complex, they require viewers to follow more storyline threads and juggle more characters and their relationships. All of this makes the audience more cognitively sophisticated.

Binge-watching Netflix shows can actually be good for you - Business Insider

Super-agers and people gifted with extra-flexible white matter are rare, but some research suggests there are things the average person can do to stay keen with age as well. These include getting regular exercise, maintaining strong bonds with friends or family, quitting or not starting smoking, and learning new things or being intellectually challenged. So if you've been meaning to meet up with some old friends or have been putting off joining that yoga studio, there's no time like the present.

Why some people's brains stay sharp into old age - Business Insider

While the service is certainly catching the attention of our French readers, it’s worth paying attention to Molotov in general. Molotov lets you watch live TV, go back to the beginning of a show and catch up on past episodes a few days after they first aired in a single, unified interface. It combines live TV with catch-up services, a cloud DVR and a powerful search feature. You don’t have to download multiple apps as nearly everything is available in Molotov. And more importantly, you can start watching on a device and finish on another as everything stays in sync between your devices.

TV streaming app Molotov now has 1 million users | TechCrunch

Equities have renewed their rally -- and so have bonds, and that is creating much alarm among some investors. Whereas the former suggests the stage is set for solid growth, the latter and the accompanying narrowing of the yield curve raises red flags about the health of the economy. I am not sure there is much of a puzzle here. This dichotomy is fairly typical of a monetary tightening cycle and can exist for a long time. How long? Until the Federal Reserve finally snuffs out the expansion with excessively tight monetary policy.

Yes, the Stock and Bond Markets Can Both Be Right - Bloomberg View

In his 35 years in the business, Guy Hands has earned a reputation as the “king of British private equity” and a London “star financier.” Since starting out in 1982 as a bond trader at Goldman Sachs, he’s risen to become one of Europe’s most prominent bankers, amassing a string of high-profile private-equity deals and an impressive personal fortune... This is the most difficult investing environment that I have seen in my lifetime as an investor. I started in 1982 — it’s more difficult than at any time since 1982. And it’s because we don’t have that trajectory anymore. The world had an established view about how politics was done, how economics was done, and that disappeared last year, because of Brexit, because of Trump.

Private-equity titan Guy Hands on investing in a time of Trump: ‘The most difficult environment I have ever seen’ - MarketWatch

Robots are likely to replace 50 percent of all jobs, according to Kai-Fu Lee, founder of venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures and a top voice on tech in China. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the wave of the future, the influential technologist told CNBC, calling it the "singular thing that will be larger than all of human tech revolutions added together, including electricity, [the] industrial revolution, internet, mobile internet — because AI is pervasive."

Kai-Fu Lee: Robots will replace half of all jobs

Security at this year’s Champions League final will be aided by facial recognition technology. Police will be able to match soccer fans’ faces against a database of known offenders in real-time, according to a contract worth 170,000 pounds ($210,000) posted on the U.K. government’s website.

Champions League Final Police to Scan Soccer Fans' Faces - Bloomberg

Consuming a can a day of low- or no-sugar soft drink is associated with a much higher risk of having a stroke or developing dementia, researchers claim. Their findings have prompted renewed questions about whether drinks flavoured with artificial sweeteners can increase the risk of serious illness, as heavily sugared drinks have already been shown to do. “Drinking at least one artificially sweetened beverage daily was associated with almost three times the risk of developing stroke or dementia compared to those who drank artificially sweetened beverages less than once a week,” according to the American researchers who carried out a study published in Stroke, the journal of the American Heart Association.

Stroke and dementia risk linked to low-sugar drinks, study finds | Life and style | The Guardian