09-01-2016, 10:47 PM
Dow Chemical shares are showing clear signs of tinkering, according to an analysis by a Yale University professor. The shares come within cents of an important threshold–$53.72–pretty often. But they’ve closed above that level so rarely that there’s less than a one-in-a-thousand chance that it’s happening randomly, according to the analysis. If the stock closes above $53.72 enough times, Dow has the option to buy back $3 billion worth of preferred shares from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. But as the Journal noted in a front-page story last week, people familiar with the matter say that executives at Dow believe someone is selling its stock short — or betting that its price will fall — to keep it from rising above $53.72.
Dow Chemical’s 1-in-1000 Stock Action Works in Warren Buffett’s Favor - MoneyBeat - WSJ
Speculative bets that the Dow will run higher from here are at a record high. And this should give anyone worried about the stock market reason to, well, worry even more. In a note to clients out Wednesday, David Rosenberg at Gluskin Sheff noted that speculative long contracts — or bets that stocks are going higher — on the Dow at the Chicago Board of Trade recently hit a record of 38,382. Combine this with long bets on the S&P 500 rising to the highest level in three years and you have a recipe for concerns about the market echoed most forcefully by market legend Jeremy Grantham earlier this year: a blow-off top.
Speculative long bets on the Dow spike - Business Insider
U.S. tax law gives the Obama administration power to double tax rates for European companies should it choose to dramatically escalate a dispute with the European Union over Apple's tax bill. Experts said the administration was unlikely to take such a drastic measure, and even if it did, courts might strike down that action because of treaties.
U.S. tax code may allow dramatic retaliation in EU Apple case | Reuters
By the time I’m 66 years old, roads will be filled with autonomous cars, I’ll have a holographic avatar for a personal assistant and my grandkids will be traveling the world while never leaving the classroom, thanks to the magic of augmented reality. Oh, and assuming I carry my fashion-forward sensibilities into old age, you might see me wearing smart clothes that can change color, regulate my temperature, and charge my gadgets. All of that within just two decades. At least that’s what this interactive graphic courtesy of RS Components tells me when I input my age.
Here are the technology advances you’ll probably see in your lifetime - MarketWatch
You know the drill -- those annoying recorded calls saying you’ve won a free cruise or a reduction in your mortgage payment. You curse the automated voice, hang up and add the number to your blocked caller list. But they keep on coming. In July, there were 2.42 billion robocalls in the U.S., almost triple from a year earlier, according to the YouMail Robocall Index, which tracks mostly mobile-phone users. They are the No. 1 consumer complaint received by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, topping 200,000 a year. Many of the calls are tied to criminal activity as they attempt to extract personal information to steal identities and money.
The New Weapons in the Fight Against 2.4 Billion Robocalls - Bloomberg