Investors Haven’t Been This Bearish Since 2008 Financial Crisis (Bloomberg)
A new Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of money managers shows cash levels have soared in the biggest jump since 2011 and equity allocation saw second-largest drop on record.

Economic Indicator Watch:
-New York Fed Factory Gauge Drops by Record to Two-Year Low (Bloomberg)
-U.S. Homebuilder Sentiment Unexpectedly Posts First Drop in 2019 (Bloomberg)

UK Politics Update: Tories Vote to Winnow Candidates to Replace Theresa May (Bloomberg)
Conservative members of Parliament vote Tuesday in the second of a series of ballots to whittle down the candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May. Boris Johnson is the clear favorite to win, and has picked up the support of prominent Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom.

2020 Watch: Trump Should Be Shoo-in for 2020 But Low Approval Holds Him Back (Bloomberg)
Sustained economic growth and low unemployment have failed to boost Trump’s low approval rating above 46% in the Gallup job approval poll. No president re-elected since 1952 while under 48% approval which was the last reading for George W. Bush before his 2004 re-election.

Tech Today: Facebook Unveils Cryptocurrency, Aims to One Day Rival the U.S. Dollar (Bloomberg)
Facebook unveiled plans for a new cryptocurrency that the social-media giant hopes will one day trade on a global scale much like the U.S. dollar. Called Libra, the new currency will launch as soon as next year and be what’s known as a stablecoin — a digital currency that’s supported by established government-backed currencies and securities. The goal is to avoid massive fluctuations in value so Libra can be used for everyday transactions in a way that more volatile cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, haven’t been.

Financial News: U.K.’s Philip Hammond Hails Start of London-Shanghai Stock Connect (Bloomberg)

Quant Fever: Amateur Quants Are Suddenly Everywhere in China (Bloomberg)

The Most Powerful Women in New York 2019 (Crain’s New York Business)
Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris appears on the 2019 list which cites Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $767 million spent in 2019 to initiate or support efforts in 510 cities and more than 129 countries in education, arts, culture, the environment, public health and government innovation. Crain’s also cites Mike Bloomberg pledging the largest philanthropic gift ever to an institution of higher education: $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University to underwrite financial aid for students.

Climate of Hope: Solar, Wind, Batteries To Attract $10 Trillion by 2050 (BloombergNEF New Energy Outlook 2019)
Deep declines in technology costs of wind, solar and battery power will result in a grid nearly half-powered by the two fast-growing renewable energy sources by 2050, according to the latest projections from BloombergNEF (BNEF). In its New Energy Outlook 2019, BNEF sees these technologies ensuring that – at least until 2030 – the power sector contributes its share toward keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.

TV Section: Lena Dunham to Return to HBO With Finance Drama ‘Industry’ (Bloomberg)

In Memoriam.

Fashion Icon and Artist Gloria Vanderbilt Dies at 95 (CNN)
Watch her son Anderson Cooper’s extraordinary obituary here.

Best of late night.

On a semi-truck crash in Montana carrying 40,000 pounds of bees:

“News sources were quick to reassure us that ‘No humans were injured in the crash.’ As usual, the mainstream media’s biased reporting only covers humans. If you want information on bee casualties you have to check the C-BEE-S Evening News.”
–Stephen Colbert

On President Trump’s typo in a tweet Thursday about his recent meeting with the “Prince of Whales” in the UK:

“Unless Trump secretly met with Free Willy, that’s not how you spell prince of Wales.”
— Trevor Noah

“Which means the president may be in contact with Aquaman for all we know.”
— Jimmy Kimmel

On President Trump’s 2020 campaign kickoff rally in Orlando, Florida Tuesday:

“It turns out Trump’s approval rating in Orlando is only 29%. And most of that is from SeaWorld where he had that important meeting with the Prince of Whales.”
— Stephen Colbert