Christmas Day Links 2013

Merry Christmas to the Macro Business community. We’ve had a cracking year and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our readers, so a huge Christmas thank you to all of you. From the Macro Associates Team to all our supporters, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and we look forward to an even bigger and stronger year in 2014.

Now some links…

Global/Macro

• Bits and Barbarism – Krugman
• There is no umbilical cord between government deficits and bond issuance – Billy Blog
• Wolf Richter: Financial Engineering Wildest Since The 2007 Bubble – Naked Cap
• Beware the New Normal – NYT
• Democracy, Redistribution and Inequality – NBER
• Capitalism: In search of balance – FT
• The bear case for gold – Focus on Funds

Australia & New Zealand

• The Kouk predicts 2014 – Market Economics
• Transurban completes Tunnel debt buy – SkyNews
• New South Wales buyers propping up Brisbane’s housing market – Courier Mail
• Retailers get Christmas cheer from spendthrift consumers – ABC , I’m sure we get told this every year, I think I’ll wait for the actual data.
• Premier Campbell Newman caves in on Clive Palmer’s rail project – TheOZ , sorry missed this one yesterday.
• Aussies snap up our homes – NZ Herald, The shoe is on the other foot now ?
• Holden people: life beyond the factory – Guardian
• Sydney auction fever yet to fade – AFR

Europe

• Vince Cable: interest rates may have to rise to combat housing boom – Guardian
• Glimmers of hope for Greek future – BBC
• Norway’s oil fund faces key strategy decisions – FT
• Italy PM Letta pledges reform pact in January – Reuters
• Merkel Hits Wall With Europe Fix – WSJ
• Storm wreaks havoc in Britain, France ahead of Christmas – Reuters
• What could go very right in Europe. – The Reformed Broker

Asia

• China move calms credit concerns – BBC , all true. But as my favourite man at UBS tweeted yesterday “today relief in China mkts big drop in money rates but becoming a serial problem. bigger issue is taming credit genie while trying to reform”
• Chinese Rate Crunch Exposes Cracks – WSJ , and WSJ
• China to aim for 7.5 percent growth in 2014 as exports recover – Reuters
• Saudi Arabia unveils record budget – SkyNews
• Investors Shift Back Into China on Optimism About Structural Changes – WSJ
• Japan’s record budget spending highlights balancing act– Reuters
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Extends Six-Year High on U.S. Data – Bloomberg
• China’s Space Diplomacy – The Diplomat
• The Pyongyang Purge – Project Syndicate
• Kim Jong-un: North Korean leader ‘was very drunk’ when ordering executions – The Independent UK
• Surge in cancer among young in Fukushima, but experts divided on cause – South China Morning Post
• Indonesia encouraging foreign investment – SkyNews

Americas

• U.S. mortgage applications fall as refinance hits five-year low – Reuters
• PBS Drops a Bombshell on the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday Party – Wall street on parade
• Holiday sales down for 3rd week – AP
• US government sees Pacific trade pact talks taking time – Reuters
• Expiration of unemployment benefits threatens US recovery, adviser warns – Guardian
• Obamacare Sign-Up Extended as Record 1 Million Use Site – Bloomberg

Other/Interesting

• Google’s Schaft Robot Dominates Pentagon Contest – WSJ
• Under Pressure, White House Pulls Egypt Ambassador Pick – Foreign Policy
• The world’s newest country is already on the brink of civil war. Here’s how it happened. – WaPo
• Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission’s accomplished – WaPo
• Snowden will help Germany investigate NSA spying if granted asylum – report – RT
• Who’s In Charge Here: The Surprising Science of Self Control – Forbes