Scott Barlow
A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web
North American employment data was released at 8:30 Friday morning. Domestically, 45,000 new jobs were announced when 10,000 was expected. South of the border, 222,000 jobs were created when 178,000 was forecasted.
"Economy pumps out 45,000 jobs, unemployment rate dips to 6.5%" – The Globe and Mail
"U.S. job growth accelerates in June, but wages continue to lag" – The Globe and Mail
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If the rumours surrounding the U.S. elections weren't enough to make cybercrime the most pressing issue for national security worldwide, the alleged hacking of a U.S. nuclear power station strengthens the case,
"Hackers working for a foreign government recently breached at least a dozen U.S. power plants, including the Wolf Creek nuclear facility in Kansas, according to current and former U.S. officials, sparking concerns the attackers were searching for vulnerabilities in the electrical grid."
There are investment possibilities involved with the network security theme, as I discussed in a recent Globe Investor newsletter.
"Russians Are Suspects in Nuclear Site Hackings, Sources Say" – Bloomberg
"Diseases infect people – but cyberattacks infect x-rays and MRI machines" – Quartz
"Next WannaCry Cyber Attack Could Cost Insurers $2.5 Billion" – Bloomberg
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Crude prices were down more than two per cent ahead of the equity market open Friday,
"World's Top Oil Traders Bet American Shale Is Here to Stay" – Bloomberg
"When will the U.S. fracking spree finally slow down?" – Financial Times
"The U.S. is exporting more than one million barrels of crude oil a day for the first time ever" – Quartz
"At OPEC's Critical Moment, No Sign of Saudi 'Whatever It Takes'" – Bloomberg
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Two 'what I've learned in my career in business and finance' columns contain a wealth of useful advice. First, Morgan Housel,
"There are five sources of edge: 1) Learn faster than your competition, 2) empathize with stakeholders more than your competition, 3) communicate more effectively than your competition, 4) be willing to fail more than your competition, and 5) wait longer than your competition."
Second, from U.K.-based fund manager Toby Nangle after 20 years of experience in asset management,
"Never ever say that we live in unprecedented times. Stuff happens all the time. And the incidence of stuff is no excuse for doing a bad job for your clients; in fact it is the successful navigation of these that will add value to your clients. In my 20 years the following stand out: the Asian crisis, the Russian default, LTCM, Brazilian depeg, Dotcom boom/ bust, Argentina crisis, 9/11 and War on Terror, Brazilian electoral crisis, Worldcom/ Enron/Anderson client crisis, Gulf War, all that stuff that is generally wrapped up into the Global Financial Crisis, the European sovereign debt crisis, Commodity meltdown/deflation, Anglo-Saxon populist electoral wave. Each of these (and many others) felt like they could be fairly existential for markets on which I was professionally focused. Each was heralded as unprecedented. And each was."
"What I Believe Most" – Housel, Collaborative Fund
"20 years in" – Nangle, Principles and Interest
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Tweet of the Day: "@jessefelder Over the past 45 years commodities have not been cheaper relative to equities than they are today visualcapitalist.com/commodities-h1…" – (chart) Twitter
Diversion: The symbolic importance of soup in Game of Thrones. "A Song of Ice and Fire and Soup" – Slate
Scott Barlow