Links 24 January 2013

Global Macro / Markets:

• Don’t believe the tech bubble hype – Fortune
• Why Bitcoin Matters – New York Times
• Global steel output hits record as confidence improves – The AFR

The Americas:

• Consumer Finance Finds Comeback From Credit Crisis With IPOs – Bloomberg
• Financial Reform Remains a Work in Progress – New York Times
• Bankrupt Detroit Doles Out Corporate Subsidies – Bloomberg
• Economic mobility hasn’t changed in a half-century in America, economists declare – Washington Post
• Why hiring is lagging behind even as U.S. factories hum – Wall Street Journal
• This 100-year-old idea could end San Francisco’s class war – Quartz
• Argentina peso plunges after central bank pulls support – Financial Times

Europe:

• Most Germans don’t buy their homes, they rent. Here’s why – Quartz
• Iceland Traps Hedge Funds in Refusal to Discuss Bank Claims – Bloomberg
• Southern Europe risks a ’lost generation:’ World Bank – CNBC

Asia:

• China Internet Outage Caused by Cyber Attack, Government Says – Bloomberg
• Yuan and rupee win as FX investors cherry-pick within Asia – Reuters
• China becomes top gold consumer in 2013 – Financial Times
• Japan’s New Dawn by Shinzo Abe – Project Syndicate
• China’s rebalancing requires more investment of the right kind – Financial Times
• In China, a replica of Manhattan loses its luster – Marketplace

Local:

• Infrastructure boss lashes-out – The AFR
• Weak economy to curtail Melbourne house price growth – The AFR
• Labor heads back concern over wages growth – The AFR
• How 2013 went sour for office towers – The AFR
• Welfare “blowout” doesn’t add up – The AFR
• Victoria’s secret plan to rescue Toyota jobs – The Age
• PM takes swipe at GFC stimulus – The Age
• What the inflation story doesn’t say – The Australian
• Abbott urges world leaders to prioritise growth – The Guardian
• The so-called welfare problem is by-and-large an ageing problem – The Guardian
• Boom, boom China just keeps on giving to Australia – Business Spectator

Other:

• Meet the Greatest Tax in the World – Slate
• Attack of the killer rentiers – Financial Times
• Your Next Job Application Could Involve a Video Game – New York Times
• A crazy explanation for what is happening to workers – The Economist
• Rethinking Global Food Security – World Economic Forum
• West’s 30-year vendetta with Iran is finally buried in Davos – The Telegraph
• Ghost ship carrying cannibal rats could be heading for Britain – The Telegraph