From my city's Jewish Week newspaper, I learn that Orthodox men have a statistically significant lower rate of heart attacks than Orthodox women or other Jews, both in Israel and the USA. It turns out that they benefit from phylacteries, with which they wrap their left arms (or right arm if they are a lefty) with leather straps and a copy of the Shema, the Jewish declaration of faith, in a little leather box. This practice, which doesn't apply to women and is not much observed by non-Orthodox, apparently stresses the blood vessels during the half hour or so during which it is worn, and lowers heart failure risks. The Biblical statement of the Shema calls for its words to be “bound upon thy hands and between thine eyes” but no one ever thought it would help their health. Only the hand version works, not the one around their forehead.

When we lived in Paris, when we went to the Pletzel (rue des Rosiers) with our kids, our son was always asked if he had “laid tefillim” that day, and when he admitted he hadn't, the Lubovitcher team helped him do it, but didn't hold us up for a half hour by requiring him to say all the prayers.

I expect some Israeli high-tech healthcare firm will soon cash in on this discovery with secular straps of course.

I wrote yesterday about how well my US startup Eyepoint Pharma was doing, as it tripled YTD, which topped my portfolio gains. The company has won FDA approval for a device to deliver a drug against uveitis that is implanted in the patient's eye in a doctor's office. I would rather wear phylacteries myself. But one of my pre-subscribers turned out to also be an EYPT owner.

Another non-Global holding I write about sometimes, Earthstone Energy, a bonus share, is up 1.75% on its planned buy of Sabalo's Midland Basin assets for $950 mn. Most stocks are falling as a selloff which began in Hong Kong moved westward

More from Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.

Banks and Insurance

*We are now proud owners of Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banking Corp, CYBG, which bought our Virgin Money stock. E-trade collected a $38 reorganization fee which was a bit steep for giving me a stock trading at $1.2125 per share. E-trade reversed the charge but you should ask your broker to do the same.

*Banco Santander is under investigation for aiding in tax evasion in Germany which took down the share. SAN management said if there were help inside the bank it was a rogue employee. It also may allow a stock dividend for shareholders, something I tend to avoid.

*Hong Kong appreciates AIA whose stock rose 0.7% in a down market. AAIGF sells insurance all over Asia. Most financials there are in the red.

Food & Energy

*Greencore is up GBX120 on renewed optimism over its sale of its US ready meals business to Hearthside for over $1 bn. Firstly funding for the deal was confirmed by lawyers Ropes & Grey LLP and then Kepler Securities reiterated its buy rating for GNCGY.

*Royal Dutch Shell gained because of the decision by fellow dual-listing company Unilever to stop trying to end its British listing. Big sales would have to take place among fund managers if the 
Anglo-Dutch gang become solely Dutch. RDS was upped to outperform by Royal Bank of Canada and its target price upped 10% to GBX 3200.

*BP Plc started the Thunder Horse project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico 4 months early and 15% under budget. 

Drugs

*We are not proud owners of Japan's Takeda which has won Japanese permission to buy out our former Irish stock, Shire. We sold because of uncertainty.

*Novartis is buying Endocyte for $2.1 bn to boost its radioligands options for delivering treatment prostate and eventually other cancers. ECYT makes lutetium-PSMA617 which binds to the cancer for diagnosis and (they hope) a cure. NVS is paying a 50% premium. NVS is also investing $60 mn in an Israeli IPO on Nasdaq for Gamida Cell valuing it at $1275 mn.

*BiolineRX, BLRX, crashed down 17% on the Gamida cell news. It takes more than one drug cell immunotherapy to battle cancer. BLRX may offer generic phylacteries to generate more sales.

*GlaxoSmithKline sub ViiV is seeking FDA approval of its NDA for a two drug HIV treatment combining dolutegravire and lamivudine.

*Teva rose nearly 3% in a down market today but then lost most of this. It was recovering from the loss of US sales because its migraine drug did not get onto the formulary of Express Scripts. It was recently rated a conviction buy by Goldman Sachs.

Mining & Materials

*Orocobre fell a huge 5.9% after it updated on its Cauchari site which is being developed by its 33.5% owned Advantage Lithium partner. OROCF called the result of the latest drill tests excellent but the Oz or Canadian market disagreed.

*CRH plc fell 4.1% today in London. The Irish firm has its primary listing in the UK and sells cement and aggregates.

*Antofagasta fell 3.6%. It is a Chilean copper miner with a primary listing in the UK, ANFGF.

*BAE Systems, a big seller to Saudi Arabia, continues to fall, down another 3.73%+ today. Its York, Pennsylvania tank factory is reportedly too small to meet US and Japanese combat vehicle needs. It has to add welding and machining capacity as well as hiring more workers.

Tech & Tel

*A mixed view of BCE, which was upped to buy from hold by Desjardins brokerage in Canada, but whose target price was cut to C$59.50 from 60.75. It has just launched Canada's first virtual network platform for business in the cloud. Given my problems with internet, I would love to sign up but I am not in Canada. The stock is up 0.7% so I am not the only one tempted. BCE is also in jv for auto connectivity with Ford Motors, which is less attractive to me.

*Renishaw plc, maker of metrology systems, lost 2% today. RNSHF is narrowly traded.