New Years Eve Links 2015

Global Macro / Markets / Investment:

• PIMCO is much better off with rockstar Bill Gross – Bloomberg
• Warren Buffett faces worse year on stock market – FT (time to buy BH stock then?)
• The 4 geopolitical risks facing the global economy in 2016 – Martin Feldstein
• Have central banks lost their control on inflation – Bruegel
• Oil investors see a second year of misery as futures/equities plunges – Bloomberg
• Global growth in 2016 will be disappointing, says IMFs Lagarde – Reuters (you don’t say…)

Americas:

• Brazils finances worsen in November – FT (this is Australia’s potential future)
• Doom and gloom continues for Brazil – The Economist (the Olympic curse strikes again!)
• The “Drug Douche” Martin Shkreli’s company files for bankruptcy – BI (in the end, arseholes like this guy do lose…)
• Marc Faber says US going into recession, buy Treasuries – Bloomberg
• Oil-producing states to lose ratings, blowout in deficits – Bloomberg
• Puerto Rico to default on some of its debts, blames hedge funds – Business Insider

Europe:

• Ukraine accuses Russia of hacking power companies – Security Week
• What is Europe’s true immigration capacity? Bruegel
• Spain’s business leaders warn on political deadlock – FT (locked)
• Storm Frank continues to be disruptive in the UK – Guardian (but PM Cameron is less than Frank about insurance against such disasters…)
• Risks to Europe that economists fail to see – FT (locked)

Asia/Middle East:

• ASEAN to launch trade bloc to integrate SE Asian markets – IB Times
• Middle East still rocking from World War pacts made a century ago – Guardian (yep, most countries are indeed jumbled up nothings, held together by terror and the promise of cheap oil)
• China to halt new coal mine openings for at least three years to combat air pollution – Bloomberg (its game over coal barons, game over!)

Local:

• The turning point for the future of coal is here– Ian Verrender, ABC (go read it again!)
• WA records one of its hottest years on record – ABC News (ho ho ho, merry dustmess WA)
• Origin energy covered up compliance failures and spills, sacks whistleblower – The OZ Business (What? It wasn’t the unions?! Remarkable that this is being reported at the rentier HQ)
• Melbourne still the world’s most liveable city? The Economist (sorry Melbournians – I don’t get this. Your weather sucks and outside of the CBD and your roads suck as well. The CBD is fantastic, I must admit – but that’s all there is to recommend….maybe I’m missing something?)
• Calls for failed PM Tony Abbott to return to cabinet – The Age (maybe to make some cabinets in his retirement? why won’t he just fade away? Surely the righteous right conservative nutters don’t have someone else they can promote?)

Other:

• North American box office biggest ever for 2015 – Bloomberg (damn those pesky “illegal” pirate downloads, ruining the industry!)
• Germany has opened its first autobahn for bicycles – Quartz (can I put a tiny motor on my bicycle Herr Polizei?)
• Forget the misnamed-Hoverboard, here are some really interesting vehicle technology developments to watch in 2016 – Gizmag
• Elon Musk is stepping on toes in space race, says Russia – Bloomberg (then get out of the f#cken way, Comrade)
• As China ramps up with even more rockets next year – Globaltimes
• Taiwanese animators give us a hilarious preview of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Rerun of Empire Strikes Back