What We're Reading

• Life intervenes today so I'm limited on my reading time but will add a few as I can
• The bearish $2 BILLION dollar bet that spooked the market.
• Work vs. Welfare.  In some states, you're better off being on Welfare, which is tax free by the way, than working.  While to many, this is an argument to lower Welfare benefits, to me it screams that the minimum wage should be raised and tied to the cost of living.  Welfare wasn't designed to be a "living wage" but Corporations like MCD and WEN take advantage of the system; thus boosting their bottom line (yes, which we love) BUT it costs the taxpayer unnecessary millions each year.  Something has to give.
• Glenn Beck is out with a new pos video, touting that we are approaching the brink of World War III (it couldn't be more fear mongering to boost his ratings, could it?  After all, he doesn't have to be accurate to ruffle feathers.  For example he says that Russia and China are NOW trading in the Yuan in a dastardly plot (yes it's new!  No, it'

• Variant Perceptions has been warning clients to beware of small caps as liquidity is withdrawn.  Large caps should become more in favor for many reasons, including cash on their balance sheets.

• French car maker Peugot announces collaboration with IBM.  StockBuz had originally advised accumulation on the lows in IBM September 2013 in what has turned into a triple bottom. 

• AAPL's iPhone6 release expected late Summer, early Fall. Marketwatch
• 44 stocks on Morgan Stanley's radar as take over candidates
• Yellen's gaffe that wasn't. CNBC
• How airlines are boosting their bottom line amid higher fuel costs; with add-on fees.  Click on graphic right to enlarge.
• China slaps Nu Skin ($NUS) on the wrist, fining them $500k for misleading consumers.  Market was anticipating a much heavier fine and impact on EPS.  (booyah!  Kos is long)  AsiaOne
• AAPL in talks with CMCSA over streaming-tv service. WSJ
• CSCO pledges to invest $1 Billion to build out cloud infrastructure.  Better late than never I suppose.  WSJ Blog
• Beneath our cities, a tangle of decaying gas pipe.  {What to look forward to with Keystone in 50 years}  NYTimes

Looser corporate-governance standards are luring foreign companies to U.S. markets, a development causing concern among some large investors.

Overseas companies like Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have recently opted to list their shares in New York rather than in their home markets or on other international exchanges, in part because the U.S. in some respects is more lenient, people familiar with the matter say.

Unlike venues in London and Hong Kong, their main rivals in the race for global listings, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market allow corporate insiders who collectively own less than half their companies' stock to exercise control through dual-share structures and other means. In addition, many foreign companies are exempted from some of the disclosure requirements imposed on U.S. corporations.

"If you're looking to do dual-class, the U.S. is where you can do that," said Alex Cohen, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official w

• Tensions continue to rise as Russian troops grow at Ukraine's border. Bloomberg
• Latest CEO survey shows geopolitical risks along with China slowdown as chief concerns McKinsey survey results
• Foreign companies are finding it more advantageous to list in the U.S. rather than overseas markets. Here's why (WSJ signup req'd or go to Google and perform a search for the free viewing).  When's the last time you ever heard we have less regulation!  *lol*
• Snowden released documents that the NSA, in a battle for network data supremacy, spied extensively on the Chinese government and smart phone maker Huawei in what was called Operation "Shotgiant".  Ooooh baby, this won't go over well with our Foreign Relations Department.

Seriously?  You're a wholesale buyer for Walmart and this is what you come up with?  As an added perk it even includes peanuts and corn!  Wow, what a bargain not to mention a skill builder for our kids.  Truly some of the patrons WMT are, if anything, pure entertainment but now are their products are becoming as ludicrous as the 400 lb. man wearing a thong in public?  Come on now......

• Seriously what is going on here?  A 12th banker leaps to his death in another apparent suicide.  People it's just a job!  If your boss wants you to do something illegal or if you're under too much pressure, it's within your power to change things!  Change jobs or change fields completely.
• Having fun with the interactive from Bloomberg on billionaires, what they invest in, who inherited their wealth vs. self made, etc.  I just want to know how many are located in Dallas and can a old lady get a hook up?  *lol*
• Robotic firemen?  Yes, says the Navy Marshable
• Riddle me this: What caped crusader may take up the roll where Ashton Kutcher flopped?   Yes, it's Christian Bale as David Fincher's (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and my favorite Alan Sorkin's (Creator of 2012's hit The Newsroom) favorite choice as Steve Jobs in The Wrap, *if* they can just convince the much sought after actor to give the nod.

• Happy "Yellen" Day as the market hopes todays FOMC minutes will reveal Janet Yellen removing the language that a rise in interest rates will be tied to a 6.5% unemployment rate.  After all, what's better than cheap money during a slow recovery?  If she does not, watch for a spike in volatility.   Reuters
• Japanese game giant Sony has unveiled a prototype virtual-reality headset called "Project Morpheus" for the PlayStation 4 that would immerse players in the games they are playing. Having already sold 6M PS4 units, one only has to wonder: what say you MSFT? 
• Wish to get back and the butthead who scammed you?  How about 29,305 texts of Shakespeare?  A big hat tip Sadiq because this revenge is priceless. 
• Former Labor Secretary tells reader don't buy the "paid what you're worth" myth. Salon
• $C fined for short selling before and IPO was even released. Now come on, whatever happened to free markets? lol  Marketwatch
• Like Washington, San Jose raised their minimum wage just one y

• TBTF banks are not happy with a proposed financial tax endorsed by GOP lawmaker David Camp.  $GS, who was in discussions to hold a fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee, recently opted not to move forward because of concerns about Mr. Camp's bank-tax proposal.  Could this be why financials have not been participating lately?  WSJ   Considering the amount of support given by financial institutions over the years, one can only imagine the pressure being applied by lobbyists.
    In a nutshell, Camp's proposed the tax on large financial institutions in part because it would offset the lower borrowing costs they receive from a perceived government backstop.  Naysayers immediately fired back stating that such a tax would hurt consumers by making credit less available and more costly, stifle business growth, and cost jobs.  Let the fear mongering begin.
• At a surprise appearance via satellite on a recent TED Talk, Edward Snowden said just wait, the larger revelatio

• Don't tell Twitter but Women dominate social media (Infographic)
• Rent vs Buy.  Based on tax bracket, what areas are cheaper to rent? Trulia interactive Map
• Quite a few bearish engulfing charts in the major Spyder ETFs.  If you're not hedged you should be. Grid charts
• 3D Systems ($DDD) teams up with the White House and D.O.D. to provide access for the mfg. industry to the most advanced design.
• Where were you 30 years ago today when the first cell phones went on sale for the deeply discounted price of $4,000?  *lol* 

• The effects of raising the minimum wage CBO report
• Wait!  Take that CBO as the state with the highest minimum wage has created the most jobs Bloomberg
• With robotics, production lines became more streamlined but more is to come with analytics, energy efficiencies and more McKinsey
• For all the foot stomping, just "who" earns over $400k a year anyway?  MoneyNing
• Five "power weapons" the Pentagon wants to cut (I'm sure there are plenty left over) Blooomberg Video
• Google invests $50M in auction.com (just buy EBAY - I'm long!) Bloomberg

• White House report on raising minimum wage. Slideshare  64 studies show there is no discernible impact on employment (not to mention higher wages flowing into consumer spending and boosting demand)
• Notes from this weekends Merrill Lynch conference call:  Russia vs Ukraine.  What investors want to know.  Why, sanctions and what's the end game?
• Let's take a look at past Geopolitical concerns and how much markets sold off (and recovery time) BusinessInsider
• Russia has given the Ukraine a 3 a.m. deadline to surrender or "face a storm". Skynews
• The new thing from Apple.  "CarPlay" hands free phone, messaging, maps etc for your car. Coming out in Mercedes and (down the line) in other vehicles as well.  Now we know why Tim Cook was meeting with Elon Musk from Tesla

• Meanwhile Dr. Copper .............. http://screencast.com/t/ln6lJhVB

• What happened to DeMark's prediction of a crash? Mr.Top Step
• 85 people (only 85) own over 1/2 of the WORLD's wealth.  Let that sink in a minute.  Oxfam.og
• Markets won't like this tension (watch crude oil and PMs).  Russian troops encircle UK bases; urging troops to defect NYTimes
• They're not out of the woods yet.  52% of workers in France want to leave the Euro. Mish Global Economic
• Always good to see Stocktwits talking up on two stocks which are long in Kos's port $EBAY and $MELI.  Glad to have them aboard! lol
• What Americans really do with their income tax refunds TheBlaze
• Who knew.  There *is* a magical day to book and get the cheapest airfare. Huffington Post

• "There’s no way that we are not going to have massive problems in China." BloombergView
• Let the bidding begin for Elon Musk's battery gigafactory.  Bloomberg
• Possible defaults in some WMPs don’t reflect a “big problem”.  Wait, 60% of GDP is no big deal? Bloomberg
• Retailers deep discounts bring in buyers BUT weigh on margins.   IBD
• China's property boom continues to rise relentlessly. Global Property Guide
• Why Facebook bought Whatsapp (think "get the teenagers back")  Sequoia Capital
• Business investment flows continue sluggish (but the stock market doesn't seem to care)  Califa Beach Pundit
• It has never ceased to amaze me the ridiculous amounts the US government spends on it's military (20% of budget) yet when you stand back and look at things, it becomes even more ludicrous.  For example the 19 aircraft carriers we have afloat whereas China only has one and it's not even in commission yet.  BusinessInsider   More aircraft carrier numbers at Wikipedia
• After the close, CME lowers margin

http://bit.ly/9BmGSs