Futures down a bit. No need for shades although in my neck of the woods the sun will be shining. Crude up 1.7%, Gold down slightly, but the big news is that Bitcoin is down over 3% and has dipped below the all-important $10,000 mark for no apparent reason. What now? Starting off with positive Tesla News- The Model 3 was just awarded “top safety pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Model S had previously fallen short of earning top marks from IIHS, and the Model X was never tested by the nonprofit group. Not to rain on the Tesla parade, but Subaru now has nine models, the most of any brand, that earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award from IIHS. Looks like Tesla has work to do. $TSLA, Tesla, Inc. / H1 India announces a ban on the production, import and distribution electronic cigarettes. The ban will be issued through an executive order and is reported to include up to a three-year jail term for offenders. Yikes. Wonder if NY Governor Cuomo is aware of the penalty in India for offending the e-cigarette ban? "Amazon PayCode," which lets shoppers buy something online, then show up at one of 15,000 Western Union locations in person to pay in cash, will be rolling out in the U.S. in coming weeks. The company also unveiled "Amazon Cash," which will allow users to load cash into their Amazon balance in person, so they can make online purchases later. Got it. I think I will keep the "Amazon Cash" news from my beautiful wife for a bit. Just a thought. $AMZN, Amazon.com, Inc. / H1 Tracy Britt Cool, one of Warren Buffett ’s key lieutenants in recent years, is leaving Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to create a mini Berkshire of her own. “I want to build a long-term platform and a long-term vehicle to acquire and build businesses,” Ms. Britt Cool said in an interview. “There are companies that I think there’s a lot of value in helping them get to the next level, but they’re too small for Berkshire.” All the best to Ms. Britt Cool. Should be interesting to see how this does. Steve Dowling, the head of Apple's public relations department, will be leaving this week, marking the third top executive to leave the tech giant this year. Retail boss Angela Ahrendts announced her departure in February, while Apple's legendary design boss Jony Ive resigned in June. Not sure where these top executives are going, but does this signal trouble at Apple?Notes via user dcv.