Wall Street Banks Are Sending Warning Signals
Five big ideas that made the week interesting, and the stories behind them.
1) We Could Be Close to a Downturn
(Bloomberg) -- The rally looks like it’s about to peter out, say analysts at banks like HSBC Holdings Plc, Citigroup Inc., and Morgan Stanley. They’re looking at the relationships between stocks, bonds, and commodities—and they’re worried people may be ignoring fundamentals. “Just like they did in the run-up to the 2007 crisis, investors are pricing assets based on the risks specific to an individual security and industry, and shrugging off broader drivers,” Bloomberg’s Sid Verma and Cecile Gutscher report.
2) The New iPhone Won’t Blow You Away
Not with anything revolutionary, anyway. There’s still a lot of sizzle and improved features in the iPhone 8. The device will be more powerful, the cameras will work better, and you’ll even be able to unlock it with your face. Some of the other stuff, however, is already on rival phones: wireless (inductive) charging, an almost all-screen front, an OLED screen. “We don’t feel an impatience to be first,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg. “Our thing is to be the best and to give the user something that really makes a difference in their lives.”
3) To Track Climate Change, Listen to the Frogs
This company is like Shazam for animal sounds. Wildlife Acoustics Inc., based in Massachusetts, sells devices that record bird arias, frog croaks, whale songs and more. There are 36,000 of them out there all over the world, from North America to the North Pole, used by scientists to listen in on the environment. One lesson? Pay attention to the frog. “Its disappearance from a habitat is an early warning that the place is becoming deforested, drier, or simply hotter,” Bloomberg’s Kyle Stock reports.
4) The U.S. Navy Is Shrinking
There have been four serious U.S. naval incidents in the western Pacific this year, putting a spotlight on an overstretched branch of the American military. After the most recent collision involving the USS John S. McCain, some experts are speaking out about the increased burden the Navy is carrying, Justin Bachman reports. The Navy had 271 ships in 2015, 20 percent fewer than in 1998, and still kept 100 ships out at sea, according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. “Something’s got to give,” said Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain. Bryan McGrath, another retired Navy captain, called the force “thinly stretched.”
5) The Seeds of Your Mid-Life Crisis Start at 35
That’s when more people start hating their jobs. When you’re young, the whole world is ahead of you, and even if your job is terrible, there’s hope that it will get better. By the time you hit 35, the momentum can start to slow and things outside of work, like your family (if you have one), start to take priority. A survey of British workers showed that those over 35 were twice as likely to be unhappy at work as those under 35. The way to keep the spark alive, workwise, is to find a passion-project or put in the effort to socialize with colleagues every once in a while. At least you’ll have some fun.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net.