Sunday Macro, June 29

Saturday 28 June 2014

Sunday Macro – Issues du jour…..

China

Beijing to back United States over new Fatca law against tax evasion (SCMP) ..of course that would be a reciprocal basis for the US telling China who has what in the US system too wouldn’t it? Coming soon to a country near Australia?….
Property tycoon Zeng Wei jailed for offering millions as bribe to former ICBC banker (SCMP)
World Bank warns Asia to be alert against risks from US rate rises (SCMP)
Guess the only country that spends more on export finance than the US (Quartz)
Problems even China’s $4 trillion can’t solve (Quartz)
Can China Fix Its Financial System Without Derailing Its Economy? (MoneyBeat WSJ)
China’s Anticorruption Campaign Unseats a Powerful Party Chief in Guangzhou (NY Times)
Audit in China Tells of Corruption and Waste in State Agencies (Epoch Times)

LNG/Iron Ore

Exclusive: Loophole for condensate exports may apply to other U.S. crudes – sources (Reuters)
Time for the LNG market to separate myths from reality (SCMP)
Low Prices, Lack of Financing Mean Tough Times for Iron Ore Traders (Caixin)

The Pool de la Muerte

Barclays enlists outside help in dark pools probe (Reuters)
Dark Days for the Man Who Would Save Barclays, as Equities Franchise ‘Tainted’ (Bloomberg)
David Johnsen, Exec Who Runs Barclays’ LX Dark Pool, Was Once Fired By Goldman Sachs (IB Times)
Barclays dark pool fine ‘could top Libor’ (Telegraph) …given that Libor was central to the global credit pricing mechanisms some thought about what pools are out there and what they actually do may be in order – take some mint leaves, and prepare for lots of confusing and specious commentary in the financial press…
Dark pool spotlight falls on Tradebot (FT.com)

Gaucho debt

Ruling Risks New Argentine Default as Monday Deadline Approaches (Bloomberg)
Argentina accuses U.S. judge of abusing power in debt case (Reuters)

United States

Yellen Spending Mix Lacks Ingredient of Higher Pay: Economy (Bloomberg)
Fastest-Growing Metro Area in U.S. Has No Crime or Kids (Bloomberg)
The word “natural” helps sell $40 billion worth of food in the U.S. every year—and the label means nothing (Washington Post)

Real Estate

Jon Cunliffe: UK property obsession threatens to push up household debt pile (Telegraph)
Investors Who Bought Foreclosed Homes in Bulk Look to Sell (NY Times)
Why Vancouver housing is unaffordable and what to do about it (Vancouver Sun) …points the finger largely at migration…

Russia

Russians love Vladimir Putin and are convinced the foreign media are lying to them about Ukraine (Quartz) ….one thing I know for sure is that the international media in general, and the English language media in particular, simply don’t get why Putin is so popular, and are not really allowed to look at the implications of this….

The Lucky Country

Thousands to lose Disability Support Pension under changes flagged by government (Fairfax)
We can rebuild it: the plan to transform toothless tiger ASIC (Fairfax)
No Royal Commission; but banks not too big to be held to account (The Conversation)

The Macro Risk