Queen’s Birthday links, June 8, 2015

Asia

• China Merchants’ explosive private-banking growth sets up global expansion push – SCMP
• Finance ministers’ talks back on track – SCMP
• Androids invade Japan’s service industry – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan’s fertility rate headed for long-term decline – Nikkei Asian Review
• The key to India’s economy? Look to the heavens – Nikkei Asian Review
• Turks vote in election set to shape Erdogan’s legacy – Reuters

Europe

• The whole of Britain should be a tax haven – Telegraph…could this work for Australia too?…
• Nuclear missiles could be sited again on British soil in new ‘Cold War’ with Russia – Telegraph
• The plight of the asset-less 40-somethings who cannot get on the housing ladder – Telegraph
• Scrap the G7 and its summit – it is hopeless, divided and outdated – Guardian…its worth if China isn’t there?…
• A Defining Moment for Greek Leader – NY Times
• EU Parliament president warns Athens of dramatic consequences if talks fail – Reuters
• Greece would suffer if it left eurozone. But would Europe? – AP
• Greece’s Tsipras ‘failed’ to deliver promised plan – Juncker – BBC

Americas

• Policy decisions made without facts can only fall back on whim, bias and ideology – Vancouver Sun…foreign RE purchases generating real heat…
• June Fed hike still off the table, but get ready for autumn move – Market Watch
• White House trumpets manufacturing job gains, but industry experts aren’t impressed – Market Watch
• Souring China business climate risks U.S. investment treaty talks – Reuters
• Is King Dollar saving the economy? – CNBC

Send in the clowns

• Cheating ‘endemic’ in NSW high schools – Fairfax…and maybe other states too…
• Nurse graduates ‘locked out’ of workforce as migrants get jobs – Fairfax…why are we running immigration at 4 times the 30 year average again?….
• Abbott minister contradicts Treasury adviser on risk of housing bubble – Guardian
• Dodgy deals to come out in the wash – NZ Herald, Hickey…NZ too needs to address RE based money laundering…
• Infrastructure Audit 2015 and serious transport reform: how soon is now? – Pearls & Irritations
• Fairness, Opportunity and Security. Policy Series edited by Michael Keating and John Menadue. – Pearls & Irritations…some good reading in this series…
• Rising house prices ‘causing social harm’ as property bubble debate continues – Fairfax
• Tampon tax to cost $480 million in lost revenue over a decade – Fairfax
• Online illegal drug sales boom despite Silk Road closure: Global Drug Survey – Fairfax

Global Macro & Markets

• The sun sets on OPEC as Saudi Arabia wages economic war with Iran – Fairfax
• US president Barack Obama wants G7 leaders to stand up to Russian ‘aggression’ in Ukraine – ABC
• New banana fungus threatens world harvests – NZ Herald
• Britain to unveil plans to clean up markets hit by rigging scandals – Reuters

…and furthermore…

• Universities are the new multinational corporations – Quartz…yep…
• Spanish Tuna Fishing Melds to Japan’s Taste, Reshaping a 3,000-Year-Old Technique – NY Times
• Coal in Poland Lowering Life Spans – NY Times
• When did houses stop being homes? – Guardian
• Ubble online tool predicts likelihood of death within five years – ABC
• Dirty Dancer: Sepp Blatter’s Corrupt Fiefdom Comes Crashing Down – Der Spiegel
• A Hiatus on “Hiatus” – How global warming cranks influence legitimate science. – Slate
• Here’s the one, absolute worst thing you could do before getting married – Quartz
• Why Big Companies Have Started to Send Their Employees to College – Bloomberg
• Hackers Are Next on Government-Spyware Company’s List of Targets – Bloomberg
• How Did T. Rex Have Sex? – Slate
• Europe’s Revolving-Door Prisons Compound Growing Terror Threat – ProPublica
• New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding Spying – ProPublica