Links 13 March 2013

Global Macro/Markets:

• Gold is the worst investment of 2013 – Quartz
• Fiscal austerity is bad – there are no qualifications – Bill Mitchell

North America:

• America’s fiscal drag – Economonitor
• Paul Ryan: The GOP Plan to Balance the Budget by 2023 – Wall Street Journal
• Prosecuting Big Banks Not Always the Best Choice – New York Times
• Can the Fed Burst the Next Bubble Before It’s Too Late? – The Fiscal Times
• We’re Betting Big on Residential Real Estate: Blackstone CEO – CNBC

Europe:

• The great Portugese hollowing out – Economonitor
• UK Funding For Lending to be put on steroids – Financial Times 
• We saved the banks but risk losing a generation – Reuters
• Rehn hits back at critics of EU austerity policies – Reuters
• Britain’s perilous austerity bunker – Financial Times
• Greece Faces 150,000 Job-Cut Hurdle to Aid Payment: Euro Credit – Bloomberg
• On the Brink in Italy – New York Times

Asia:

• Japan discovers ‘ice’ gas – The Telegraph
• China’s new match-making markets – New York Times
• China housing bubble will pop in second half of 2013 – Reuters
• Chinese Stocks Plunge on Plan to Tax Home Sales – New York Times

Local:

• Gillard takes aim at Libs in 457 Visa row – The Australian
• Overseas student costs skyrocket – The Australian
• Life under Tony Abbott – don’t panic – The Age
• CBD retail landlords left reeling from tax rises – The Age
• Coal seam gas the latest NIMBY – The AFR
• Burke reforms over coal seam gas on wrong track – The AFR
• Bond traders peel back their expectations over rate cuts – The AFR
• Back to the future with Mark Latham – Matt Cowgill

Other:

• Crude Sachsism: The Four Big Flaws in Progressive Attacks on Keynesianism – Next New Deal
• Labour markets: The “quasi-structural” unemployment issue – The Economist