Links for July 18 2016

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Cramer frequently refers to the Standard & Poor's proprietary short-range oscillator to take the pulse of the market. Typically the short-range oscillator stays within five points of zero, which is neutral. When it goes over five, Cramer becomes nervous. On Tuesday night, the oscillator hit 10. It indicated a level of danger to Cramer, that stocks are severely overbought. "When it goes over 10, I get downright fearful because when the market looks so great, like it has lately, you tend to be the least prepared for a big decline," Cramer said.

Cramer's warning: How the market's hot streak will end

No, no. I wasn't in debt. I think it's a bit far to say it was a crisis point, but you know, basically I was just sick of being a consumer. I was sick of being on a treadmill earning money to spend money on things that I don't need. We are consumers. Advertising is a huge part of our lives. You can't step out of the door without people trying to sell something to you. Personally, I'm fed up with being sold to. I'm fed up with just being a consumer because I don't think it made me happy.

How to live in London on £35 per week - Business Insider

In theory, “pay for performance” — linking executive pay to a company’s stock price — aligns the interests of executives and shareholders. It’s supposed to ensure that executives are not tempted to enrich themselves at the expense of shareholders, who are too numerous and far-flung to influence a company’s behavior. In practice, it hasn’t quite worked that way. Instead, beginning around the 1970s and becoming increasingly common since the leverage-buyout era of the ’80s, the defining characteristic of pay for performance has been an explosion in chief executive pay that exceeds the value that any human being who isn’t Midas could reasonably be credited with producing. In 2015, the median pay package for chief executives at 200 large United States companies was almost $20 million per year, nearly 400 times the pay of a typical worker.

How Excessive Executive Pay Hurts Shareholders - The New York Times

The study, by Wintergreen Advisers, a money management firm, looked at two hits that shareholders absorb from executive stock awards. The first hit is well known. When a company issues shares under an executive-pay agreement, the increase in the number of shares outstanding dilutes the value of existing shareholders’ stakes. The second blow, involving share buybacks, is less obvious. Buybacks, in which management reduces the number of publicly held shares by repurchasing the company’s stock, are often pitched as a way to boost a company’s earnings per share. But the study points out that buybacks are aimed not necessarily at benefiting shareholders, but rather at offsetting the dilution that results from awarding stock to executives.

How Excessive Executive Pay Hurts Shareholders - The New York Times

Etsuro Honda, who has emerged as a matchmaker for Abe in corralling foreign economic experts to offer policy guidance, said that during an hour-long discussion with Bernanke in April the former Federal Reserve chief warned there was a risk Japan at any time could return to deflation. He noted that helicopter money -- in which the government issues non-marketable perpetual bonds with no maturity date and the Bank of Japan directly buys them -- could work as the strongest tool to overcome deflation, according to Honda. Bernanke noted it was an option, he said.

Bernanke Floated Japan Perpetual Debt Idea to Abe Aide Honda - Bloomberg

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If you go back 200 years," said Thomas Thygesen, head of cross asset strategy at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, in Stockholm, "you'll find all the big banking crises, all the waves of companies that go belly-up because they have too much debt, they don't happen when the interest rate is high, they happen when they cannot go any lower.

Tail-Risk Hedges Sought in Another Dimension - Bloomberg

"The problem is that we have entered into such massive monetary policies … the environment both at the corporate level and at the government level is unable to digest a small (interest rate) increase of 25 basis points," he said. "So how do we get out of this problem without causing further problems because now … we are only going to see the zombification of economies," Lacalle added.

Why raising interest rates by just 25 basis points may cause ‘zombification’

In Britain, McDonald’s fries have four ingredients: potatoes, vegetable oil, dextrose, and salt. In the U.S., McDonald’s fries have a whopping 19 ingredients—including sodium acid pyrophosphate, which keeps the fries’ color from getting dull. This is strange since you’d think that all we really expect of French fries is for them to at least vaguely mimic the color of a potato.

Food coloring in fast food - Business Insider

Many major food companies in the U.S. use artificial food dyes in America—while selling naturally colored or dye-free versions in Europe. Chemicals like Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, and Blue No. 1 make American food look better. These additives are the culinary equivalents of lipstick and mascara, and they are often made from the same pigments. Making food pretty has become the status quo in the U.S., but it’s not doing us any good: Not only does it trick us into thinking some foods are healthier than they are, but the dyes themselves may be harmful. So why do we use keep using these dyes when so many other countries manage without them?

Food coloring in fast food - Business Insider

IF Microsoft has its way, the vast membership of LinkedIn, the business networking site with more than 433 million members, will be instantly available to you while you use Microsoft products like Outlook or Skype. How many of LinkedIn’s members do you want to consult while also using Excel or typing away in Word? Microsoft is betting it’s a lot; this is part of its rationale for its $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, announced on Monday.

Why LinkedIn Will Make You Hate Microsoft Word - The New York Times

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The long road back from the Great Recession began in mid-2009 and July marks the 84th month of recovery. By next February the expansion is likely to move into third place. The expansion can break an all-time record of 120 months if the economy continues to chug along until June 2019 — three years from now.

Current U.S. economic recovery may end up as longest ever - MarketWatch

According to the Macquarie consumer equities team, recent trends have highlighted that not only is the American consumer looking strong, but there are good reasons to think the outlook will only improve. The Macquarie team said in a note Tuesday that macro data continued to show "that the global economy's $13 trillion gorilla, the US consumer, is getting even stronger." In fact, the team says, the rising income of American consumers has caused American consumers to grow their spending at a historic rate, no matter how you measure it. "Aggregate spending is rising by ~$500 billion per year and data for 2Q has been robust," the note said.

$13 trillion US consumer getting bigger - Business Insider  

Does your commute take too long on congested, crumbling roads? Do you find domestic travel to be miserable? Do you hate paying more for goods because our freight system can't move things around smoothly? Or perhaps worse, are you tired of watching news reports of floods engulfing our great cities? America's infrastructure touches greater than $16 trillion in goods and services every year. But decades of neglect have put America's future at risk. In this special report, Business Insider's Andrew Stern travels by plane, train, and automobile to talk to civil engineers, freight companies, public-policy experts, and authors. The question: How did we become the United States of Disrepair? And can we fix it?

How America's crumbling infrastructure is harming its economy and future - Business Insider  

But Loomis’s story marks an important point in a quieter debate over the role of fairness and technology in policing. Before his sentence, the judge in the case received an automatically generated risk score that determined Loomis was likely to commit violent crimes in the future. Risk scores, generated by algorithms, are an increasingly common factor in sentencing. Computers crunch data—arrests, type of crime committed, and demographic information—and a risk rating is generated. The idea is to create a guide that’s less likely to be subject to unconscious biases, the mood of a judge, or other human shortcomings.

This Guy Trains Computers to Find Future Criminals  

I was trying to tell the story of two Zeenats. One became ashes, and the other disappeared into thin air. As I covered the stories of Zeenat Rafique from Lahore, who was burnt to death by her own mother in the name of honour, and Zeenat Shahzadi, a young journalist, who was allegedly abducted by security forces for doing her job - it became clear to me what women are up against in Pakistani society. As I tried to tell the story, I found myself in danger of becoming one. Suddenly I was the target of systematic trolling on Twitter and Facebook. The attacks were not critiquing my story. They felt raw and personal. It started off with the usual words of abuse for women - "bitch" and "whore". Then someone posted my phone number with the implicit advice to "teach me a lesson".

The threats and abuse outspoken Pakistani women receive - BBC News  

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For most people, getting a $3.6 million bonus would be a day to celebrate and high five a bunch of people. For Sam Polk, it made him mad. Why? Because it wasn't enough. "I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted," Polk wrote in a 2014 New York Times op-ed that went viral.

Why this Wall Street trader got mad about a $3.6 million bonus—and quit—commentary

The Russell-2000 has gained considerable ground since the post-Brexit low but is underperforming the S&P 500 on a long-term basis, trading near the .786 retracement of the eight-month decline into 2016 while the blue chip index posts a series of all-time highs. The small cap index has spent the last seven sessions building a tight rectangle pattern at the rally high, with good odds it will break out after Thursday’s ECB decision.

Russell-2000 Set to Outperform Blue Chips (IWM, FIVN) | Investopedia

The dissonance between gloomy rhetoric and recent performance is greatest on the economy. America’s recovery is now the fourth-longest on record, the stockmarket is at an all-time high, unemployment is below 5% and real median wages are at last starting to rise. There are genuine problems, particularly high inequality and the plight of low-skilled workers left behind by globalisation. But these have festered for years. They cannot explain the sudden fury in American politics.

The dividing of America | The Economist

If you were looking to have fun with some friends 50 years ago, you might have gone to a bowling alley. Maybe you would have hung out at a diner or gone to the movies. These were all activities that involved spending a certain amount of money in the local economy. That created opportunities for adults in your town to start and run small businesses. It also meant that a teenager who wanted to find a summer job could find one waiting tables or taking tickets at the movie theater... But the Pokémon Go economy also has some real downsides. One has to do with regional inequality. Nintendo and its partners are rumored to be earning more than $1 million per day from Pokémon Go. That money is flowing away from small and medium cities and toward big technology companies concentrated in big cities.

Pokémon Go is everything that is wrong with late capitalism - Vox

And obviously Pokémon Go isn’t the only example of this. Amazon is doing something similar in the retail industry, diverting business away from local retailers and sucking cash into its corporate headquarters in Seattle. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Vox Media are drawing ad dollars that previously went to local newspapers and television stations.

Pokémon Go is everything that is wrong with late capitalism - Vox

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We all love the convenience the sharing economy offers. Thanks to companies like Uber and Airbnb, you can go to a new city, get a trusted driver to give you a ride to a house you're renting for a reasonable price. But what is the effect on labor and the over-all economy? Henwood says Uber is taking advantage of the desperation of the country's working class and Uber drivers don't make much money. Airbnb is helping to raise rents for locals in urban neighborhoods. Bercovici says these companies are fulfilling a need--the existing taxi system was exploitative in itself and inefficient, while Airbnb has usurped a hotel industry that was too expensive for many people to afford.

Serious Business: Is the Sharing Economy Good for Business? | Inc.com

Alcohol causes seven forms of cancer, and people consuming even low to moderate amounts are at risk, according to new analysis. Health experts endorsed the findings and said they showed that ministers should initiate more education campaigns in order to tackle widespread public ignorance about how closely alcohol and cancer are connected. The study sparked renewed calls for regular drinkers to be encouraged to take alcohol-free days, and for alcohol packaging to carry warning labels.

Alcohol is a direct cause of seven ​​forms of cancer, finds study | Society | The Guardian

A recent study funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada found that men lifting lighter than standard weights saw similar results in muscle growth as men lifting heavier weights.

Lighter weights may be as effective as heavy ones - Business Insider

In his 2015 book “The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens,” author Gabriel Zucman of the University of California-Berkeley estimates just how much money is being shifted around the world for purposes such as sheltering money from the tax authorities. He calculates that 55 percent of the $650 billion of foreign profits earned by U.S. companies in 2013 were booked in just six low-tax countries: The Netherlands, Bermuda, Luxembourg, Ireland, Singapore, and Switzerland. For U.S. companies, this comes out to about 18 percent of all U.S. corporate profits “earned” in tax havens, and results in lost tax revenue of about $130 billion a year. Kim Clausing of Reed College calculated similarly—about $100 billion a year in lost tax revenue.

Ireland’s spectacular economic growth reveals a stark truth about corporate tax avoidance - Equitable Growth

Best of all, Duolingo is available for free because it has a unique business model. As you progress through a course, you can start practicing your skills by translating documents. These documents are uploaded by companies and people who pay Duolingo for the translation. You get free instruction, companies get an affordable translation service and Duolingo makes enough money to keep innovating. You can check out the Duolingo app for free from the iOS App Store.

Duolingo brings its language-learning app to the iPad

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Turkey’s politics has always functioned like a pendulum: it swings from mosque to barracks, and back again. When it sways too near the mosque, soldiers step in and try to take it to the barracks. And when the pressure for secularism from the barracks becomes too great, the power of the mosques grows. And educated democrats, sitting in between these extremes, are always the ones to take a beating.

This is the biggest witch-hunt in Turkey’s history | Can Dündar | Opinion | The Guardian

In her book, Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud (Simon & Schuster; $26), Greenwood peels the lid off a cottage industry devoted to helping people vanish. She tracks down Frank Ahearn, a foulmouthed New Yorker who claims to have helped more than 50 people disappear, charging them about $30,000 apiece. She swills Coronas with Steve Rambam, a cynical investigator who chases death fakers in the Philippines, where you can rent a corpse and hire locals to stage a mock funeral as evidence of your untimely expiration. She travels to England to meet John Darwin, who faked a canoeing accident in 2002 and collected more than £280,000 (about $371,000 today) in insurance benefits; and to Los Angeles, where she visits a woman who goes by the name Pearl Jr. who’s convinced that Michael Jackson faked his death and is now living secretly among us, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.

A Look at the Weird, Wild World of Death Fraud - Bloomberg

India is taking it slow when it comes to growth, and it’s paying off. According to a new report from Nomura, India is the "biggest turnaround story" in emerging markets. Unlike the "typical emerging markets boom-bust cycle," India has been focusing on long-term, gradual GDP growth. It’s a slower method, but it’s more sustainable — and it’s working.

The ‘biggest turnaround story’ in emerging markets - Business Insider

IBM has given its investors a sign that Big Blue may finally be turning things around.  Revenue increased for the first time in a key unit -- cognitive solutions, including its Watson artificial intelligence platform -- that the company has been touting as crucial to future growth. The results may signal that Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty is making good on her promise to shift IBM’s software and services offerings to match customers’ increasing appetite for cloud-based solutions. It’s been an uphill battle. Overall, sales have declined for 17 quarters in a row, while margins have also narrowed.

IBM Investors Cheer First Signs of Success for Big Blue Strategy - Bloomberg

Tour de France leader Chris Froome and his Sky team are among the most tech-savvy people in pro cycling. An example is Froome's use of non-round chainrings. Froome's rings are not branded — probably to avoid conflict with his team's sponsorship by Shimano, which supplies Team Sky with components and wheels — but they are made and patented by Osymetric. French mechanical engineer Jean-Louis Talo invented them. Osymetric USA claims the chainrings "let you achieve 7-10% more power" and that the "patented bi-cam design allows you to take advantage of the strongest part of your pedal stroke, giving you 7-10% more wattage without doing any more work." Froome has been riding these rings for a few years, so he must believe they give him an edge.

Froome's weird Tour de France chainrings - Business Insider

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India is taking it slow when it comes to growth, and it’s paying off. According to a new report from Nomura, India is the "biggest turnaround story" in emerging markets. Unlike the "typical emerging markets boom-bust cycle," India has been focusing on long-term, gradual GDP growth. It’s a slower method, but it’s more sustainable — and it’s working.

The ‘biggest turnaround story’ in emerging markets - Business Insider

The story about India's growing economy, with one of the four pillar strategy being energy, makes me wonder if IOC's assets wouldn't be of interest to the India Oil Company.  After all, what's in a name?

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In order to protect your portfolio, Cramer recommended covering the following five specific areas: 1. Gold 2. A dividend-paying stock with a high yield 3. Growth stocks 4. Speculative stocks 5. Stocks from a healthy geography "Cover all five bases, and you'll have a portfolio that can win in any market," Cramer said. Now, before you run out and buy stocks in all of Cramer's categories, there are a few essential tools needed to manage your own money. First, recognize the value of humility. Besides greed, nothing can cost an investor more than arrogance.

Jim Cramer's No. 1 rule for protecting your portfolio

Why shouldn't people support him? Everyone tends to forget that Erdogan's rule tripled the Turkish economy in size in the last 10 years. Turkish people now enjoy a very affordable universal health care system, education in public universities is free, and there has been a 30% increase in the minimum wage in 2016. The government also invested in huge infrastructure projects such as high-speed railways, highways, airports and dams. His government conducted substantial reforms to accelerate European Union accession negotiations, including bringing the right of individual application to Turkish Constitutional Court, a new measure to prevent the closure of political parties and a new criminal law to prevent violence against women, along with new incentives for female employment. His reforms focused on providing more rights and freedoms for Kurdish, Christian and Jewish minorities in the country.

The West should embrace Turkey's democratic resistance - CNN.com

One of the big takeaways from Wells' analysis is just how far from being accurate polls have become. That has worrying consequences for those of us who like political stability. When elections are predictable, it helps society — investors, job seekers, employers and retirees — plan for the future. The EU Referendum caused the pound and the FTSE 100 to both immediately collapse because no one was expecting Leave to win.  Wells suggests all this is happening because more voters are appearing at the ballot box who are not detected by opinion polls.

Pollsters know why they were wrong about Brexit - Business Insider

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is calling for urgent action by world leaders to tackle slowing growth. The call came as the think tank cut its global economic forecasts for 2016. Last year, it forecast 2016 growth of 3.3%. It now says that will be just 3%. It said trade, investment and wage growth were all too weak, adding that cutting interest rates and other monetary policy fixes were not sufficient to reflate growth.

OECD: Urgent action needed to boost flagging global growth - BBC News

Robin, which goes on sale Thursday for $399, contains 32 gigabytes of built-in storage and 100 gigabytes of extra cloud-based storage. That’s all put to use with Nextbit-built software that sits atop the Marshmallow version of Android, paying attention to how often you do things like open certain apps and view photos; then it does its best to archive the things you use least on a faraway server in order to free up space on the handset itself.

Nextbit Robin Review: A Smartphone Aims to Solve Storage Woes