BETWEEN THE HEDGES: Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

Yuan Nears Strongest Level Since 2015 Devaluation. The onshore yuan rose 0.3 percent to 6.2620 per dollar as of 5:10 p.m. local time, its third day of gains. The currency is at its strongest since Aug. 11, 2015. Wednesday’s increase came after the People’s Bank of China set the daily reference rate 75 pips weaker than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey, the biggest discrepancy in four months. A Bloomberg replica of the CFETS RMB Index climbed above 97 for the first time.

European Stocks Rise, Ending Worst Seven-Day Selloff Since 2016. The Stoxx 600 Index rose 2 percent at the close, the biggest jump in nine months. All industry groups ended the session in the green, as financial services stocks led the advance with a 3.4 percent gain. Stocks in France and Germany rallied at least 1.6 percent, while the euro slid for the second time this week.

Goldman’s Schwartz Says Investors See Buying Opportunity After Stock Rout. (video)

Bitcoin May Evolve Into What Everyone Fears, Mathematicians Say. (video) Prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may never stabilize, and digital tokens risk simply ending up being the equivalent of Ponzi schemes. Using mathematical modeling and experimental economics, two University of Pittsburgh researchers tried to determine Bitcoin’s value, and concluded that it’s "an asset which has no value by traditional measures" and may be in a bubble. Its price is largely driven by the opinion of fringe buyers, often holding erroneous views. As these fringe buyers run for cover, worried that their investment is not as secure as they thought, the price plummets.

Bitcoin on Credit? For 20 Percent of Owners, That's a Yes. (video) Nearly 20 percent of people who own cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin went into debt to buy it, or bought it on margin. That’s the finding of a survey of more than 3,000 people conducted in mid-January by CoinDesk, a New York-based provider of price data, information and news about digital tokens.

Wall Street Journal:

How YouTube Drives People to the Internet’s Darkest Corners. Google’s(GOOG) video site often recommends divisive or misleading material, despite recent changes designed to fix the problem.

Vice Just Had a Big Revenue Miss, and Investors Are Getting Antsy. Setback is largely due to the struggling Viceland cable-TV channel.

MarketWatch.com:

Fox News:

Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies headed to zero: Goldman(GS). (video) “Most, if not all, of today's digital coins will find a final resting place at zero,” Steve Strongin, the firm’s global head of investment research, said in a report published Feb. 5.

Senate leaders announce budget agreement, hike in Pentagon spending. (video)

CNBC:

Investor Cooperman: 'Crazy' securities are destroying the best capital market in the world. (video)

Billionaire investor Cooperman says US crude can hit $70, names energy stock picks.

US will be a net energy exporter by 2022, four years sooner than expected: Dept of Energy.

Cooperman: United Continental(UAL) shares to ‘double’ in the next 2 to 3 years.

Microsoft(MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella: The technology industry can't shrug off possible job losses from A.I.

Zero Hedge:

FBI 'Lovers' New Texts Expose Obama Complicity: He "Wants To Know Everything We're Doing". New text messages between FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page have now been made public, and, as The Duran's Alex Christoforou notes, the big reveal is that then-POTUS Barack Obama appears to be in the loop, on the whole ‘destroy Trump’ insurance plan hatched by upper management at the FBI.