Links 12 August 2013

Global Macro/Markets:

• “Is the macroeconomy self-equilibrating?” is a stupid question – Worthwhile Canadian Initiative

North America:

• In defense of the 30-year mortgage – Washington Post
• Household income in the U.S. remains well below pre-recession levels – Credit Writedowns
• Food Stamp Use Rises; Some 15% of U.S. Gets Benefits – Wall Street Journal
• Myth and Reality: The Low-Wage Job Machine – Atlanta Fed macroblog
• Shrinking US deficit update, and a new debt ceiling projection – Financial Times
• Why the mediocre U.S. July jobs report was worse than it looked – Reuters

Europe:

• The Euro: A Pre-Mortem – New York Times
• Eurozone banks need to shed €3.2tn in assets by 2018 to comply with Basel III – Financial Times
• City economists say eurozone recession is ‘over’ – The Telegraph

Asia:

• China’s consumers driving economy – The AFR
• New leader Xi Jinping opens door to reform in China –The Guardian
• China Finds Abuses Nearing $1 Billion in Affordable Housing Push – Bloomberg
• Pollution Economics – New York Times
• China to let banks sell off loans in prelude to possible bailout – Reuters
• China Factories Turn to Undocumented Labor as Local Wages Jump – Bloomberg
• Japan’s Debt Surpasses 1 Quadrillion Yen as Abe Weighs Tax Rise – Bloomberg
• Just set fire to Japan’s quadrillion debt – The Telegraph
• In China, a New City Attracts Few – Wall Street Journal

Local:

• Baby Boomers go bust – The AFR
• Neither side addressing broken tax system – The AFR
• Don’t bet the house on your retirement – The AFR
• Leaders fail to land killer blow – The AFR
• If there was a winner in the leader’s debate, it wasn’t the economy – The AFR
• Major WA gas users press for domestic allocation – The AFR
• Will we get a credible forecast – The Australian
• Borrow to build rail: Kennett – The Age
• Controversial reforms can be done – The Age

Other

• Everything you know about immigration is wrong – Washington Post
• Central banking: still a man’s world – Financial Times
• ‘Broken-Hipsters’ flood the urban environment – Wall Street Journal