Links 18 February 2014

Global Macro / Markets:

• Bitcoin hits $220 after 60% price crash – Business Insider
• Soros doubles a bearish bet on the S&P 500, to the tune of $1.3 billion – Market Watch
• Why Humans Are Hard-Wired To Create Asset Bubbles – Zero Hedge

The Americas:

• America risks becoming a Downton Abbey economy – Financial Times
• One Nation Under Guard – New York Times
• The Tame Truth About the Wolves of Wall Street – New York Times
• Millennials Feel Trapped in a Cycle of Internships With Little Pay and No Job Offers – New York Times
• To Russia with love: Obama’s big energy lever – Financial Times
• The Demise of U.S. Economic Growth – NBER
• Household Debt Service Ratio at lowest level in 30+ years – Calculated Risk
• How Credit-Card Debt Can Help the Poor – New York Times
• Brazil housing bubble fears as economy teeters – Financial Times

Europe:

• ECB Governing Council member slams Germany over bank’s bond-buying program – Wall Street Journal
• Renzi will not revive Italy with reforms alone – Financial Times
• Scottish independence is economic nonsense – The Telegraph
• A Test Europe’s Banks Mustn’t Fail – New York Times
• Portugal the surprise hero of eurozone growth as exports and tourism prosper – Financial Times
• At last, Britain is taking errors in EU accounts seriously – The Telegraph

Asia:

• Will China shake the world again? – BBC
• Power, steel, cement suggest China’s economy not so buoyant – Reuters
• Gold price signals China credit bubble bursting as investors seek safety – The Telegraph

Local:

• Qantas debt deal seen as inevitable – The AFR
• Removal of sale act would remove shackles – The AFR
• Hero Qantas needn’t call Australia home – The Australian
• An FTA deal that Adam Smith would have liked – The AFR
• Liberal senator pushes for health cuts – The AFR
• Business’s infrastructure drive – The Australian
• Audit Inquiry turns to health and welfare – The Australian
• Another WA miner in trouble – The Australian
• Do foreign companies pay their way? – The Age
• What lies ahead for unemployment is worrying – The Guardian
• Down-payment on an ambitious trade agenda – Business Spectator
• The Financial Inquiry’s competing agenda – Business Spectator
• Australia’s unemployment will soon be higher than America’s – Business Spectator
• Tanking motor sales hint at stalling economy – Business Spectator

Other:

• Economists face hard times – Washington Post