Weekend Links Dec 20-21

This will be a little slower than usual today…..

China

• China’s superlative growth looks hard to sustain – Reuters
• Chinese corporate failures pegged to rise – Nikkei Asian Review
• Xi’s Reform Gambit – Project-Syndicate
• What Bad-Loan Crisis? China Banks Jump Most Since 2009 – Bloomberg
• Russia may seek China help to deal with crisis – SCMP
• China says economy was 3.4pc bigger last year – SCMP
• Beijing may boost project spending in Russia amid rouble crisis – SCMP
• China adds the equivalent of Singapore to its 2013 economic data – Telegraph
• HKMA probe finds no proof of forex rigging – SCMP
• Thousands of government officials in China prevented from taking expensive MBA courses – SCMP
• China stakes claim in Central and Southeast Europe – BNE

Asia

• Wave of minimum wage hikes spreading across Indonesia – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan, Australia, US start new era with F-35 service agreement – Nikkei Asian Review
• Singapore developer funds expansion overseas – Nikkei Asian Review
• Myanmar, on the way to ending poverty – Nikkei Asian Review
• Abenomics gets economic diagnosis all wrong – Nikkei Asian Review

Europe

• Russia’s foreign banks have varying pain barriers – Reuters
• Russians Quit London Luxury-Homes as Only Super Rich Stay – Bloomberg
• EU leaders agree investment package to boost economy – Reuters
• The casualties of Russia’s decline – BBC
• Is Putin right? – BBC
• Running From the Ruble – Project-Syndicate, Sergei Guriev…very astute observer of contemporary Russia…
• Hollande Floats Russian Sanctions Relief in EU Split – Bloomberg
• Swiss franc hits two-year low as SNB cuts rates to negative – Reuters
• Russia Forcing SNB Hand Drains Arsenal Before ECB Move – Bloomberg
• Unscheduled Prodi visit to Putin takes Russia-EU conflict back to its roots – BNE...are the Europeans buckling?…
• The oil price is all that matters regarding Russia – BNE…100% correct, its only crude that matters…
• Russia doomed to recession – BNE…epic read…
• Ukraine is Russia in 1998 – BNE
• Renault-Nissan boss warns of ‘bloodbath’ for car sales in Russia – Telegraph
• German consumer confidence highest in eight years – Telegraph

United States

• U.S. jobless claims signal firmer labor market; other data mixed – Reuters
• Oil Crash Exposes New Risks for U.S. Shale Drillers – Bloomberg
• Exxon Mobil Shows Why U.S. Oil Output Rises as Prices Plunge – Bloomberg
• Fed’s Lacker Supports FOMC ‘Patient’ Statement on Rates – Bloomberg
• Williams Sees June as Time to Start Weighing Higher Fed Rate – Bloomberg
• Fixing the broken talent flow – Washington Post
• How malls are reinventing themselves for the e-commerce era – Washington Post …worth a read…

Americas

• Canada unveils major wireless spectrum plan – Reuters

Commodities

• Russia Expanded Gold Reserves for 8th Month Amid Ruble Rout – Bloomberg
• Why $60 a barrel oil is the new $75 – Quartz
• OPEC’s Loss of Control Creates Contagion Fears, Mitsui Says – Bloomberg
• Russia Puts Brakes on Grain Cargoes as Extra Rules Slow Exports – Bloomberg
• Qingdao scandal casts a long shadow over metal markets – Reuters
• Credit Suisse cuts 2015 gold price, bullish on zinc – Mineweb
• Gold hedging creeps back – Mineweb
• Iron ore plunges to 5-year low on falling demand from China – SCMP
• Big players dominate in 2014 mineral exploration spend – Mineweb
• Falling oil prices, new regulations spell trouble for Bakken – Platts
• Oil price fall is temporary, says Saudi minister – BBC
• Why Are Commodity Prices Falling? – Project-Syndicate
• The Oil Price Opportunity – Project-Syndicate
• The Conventional Wisdom On Oil Is Always Wrong – FiveThirtyEight
• WTO ruling on US’ countervailing duties on China may weaken trade practices: lawyers – Platts
• Wheat Climbs to Highest in Almost Seven Months on Russia Concern – Bloomberg

Capital Market

• Bankers See $1 Trillion of Investments Stranded in the Oil Fields – Bloomberg
• The Blacklist That Rules Wall Street’s Loan Market – Bloomberg
• Fed calls time on $5.7 trillion of emerging market dollar debt – Telegraph

Global Macro

• The world economy in 2015 will carry troubling echoes of the late 1990s – Economist
• Fears are growing that trade’s share of the world’s GDP has peaked. But that is far from certain – Economist
• Figuring out the proper time to sell a bear market – Platts
• Fear factor? Let’s worry about stagnation rather than catastrophe – Independent
• Banks made it easier for everyone but prospective homeowners to get a loan this year – Quartz
• Can Marijuana Black Market Compete With Legalized Industry? – IB Times
• The economics of oil have changed. Some businesses will go bust, but the market will be healthier – Economist
• Oil jumps three percent to $63 as energy firms slash investments – Reuters
• Iron Ore Shipping Rates, Prices Slump to 5-Year Low on China – Bloomberg
• The sun is setting on the emerging market miracle – Telegraph
• Why 2015 will be good for the West but bad for emerging nations – Telegraph

And Furthermore…..

• The Next Affluent Society – Pieria
• Breaking the Cycle of Deficit Fetishism – Pieria
• What The Next Generation Of Economists Is Working On – FiveThirtyEight
• Economists Aren’t As Nonpartisan As We Think – FiveThirtyEight
• Institutions, instability and inequality – Pieria
• Is Rising Inequality Helping Right Wing Politicians? – Pieria
• Is a reverse mortgage a good retirement strategy? – MarketWatch

Local

• Australian State Unveils $16 Billion Power-Asset Leasing Plan – Bloomberg
• New Zealand Economy Grows Faster Than Central Bank Forecast – Bloomberg
• Friendly fire: Is the economy a victim of the Coalition’s war on wages? – Fairfax
• Glencore buying Rio Tinto could burn hole in Hockey’s pocket – Fairfax
• MYEFO forecast not for the real world – Fairfax …Gitto is right here, so the logical conclusion is a can kick to the budget for reality in forecasts….
•  Australia needs more than dense housing arguments – The Conversation
• Royal Commission finds bad judgement, not wrongdoing by Gillard over slush fund – The Conversation
• Sinodinos quits ministry as reshuffle looms – The Conversation
• Abbott should be bold with his reshuffle – The Conversation
• MYEFO projections signal a deepening income recession – The Conversation
• Why it’s time to hike the GST and levy an inheritance tax – The Conversation
• Without revenue, Australia can only have half a budget debate – The Conversation

More to come…..