Weekend Links 28-29 March, 2015

China

• China ramps up global manhunt for corrupt officials with operation ‘Skynet’ – SCMP
• China’s government debt-bond swap plan expected to draw investors – SCMP
• Mainland China imports less gold from Hong Kong as prices fall – SCMP
• China to let mutual funds invest in Hong Kong via connect scheme: regulator – Reuters
• U.S. questions China at WTO on banking technology restrictions – Reuters
• China Central Bank Calls for More Loans to Farms – NY Times
• Beijing’s Effort to Reduce Coal Burning Shows Results – NY Times
• China-U.S. Trade Engagement in Asia Could Be Win-Win – Caixin
• Yuan and Gold: Old Enemies Should Finally Become Friends – Caixin
• China’s government debt-bond swap plan expected to draw investors – SCMP
• China strong enough to face reform risks, experts say – SCMP
• Beijing has quietly lifted QFII’s US$1 billion investment ceiling, SAFE says – SCMP
• Chinese banks turn to Western tricks as bad debts mount – Taipei Times
• China Casts ‘Sky Net’ in New Hunt for Corrupt Fugitive Officials – Bloomberg
• Ceiling hike for foreign investors ‘very soon’ – China Daily
• Ask home developers to cut prices, save market – China Daily
• China stocks may be in serious bubble – Market Watch

Asia

• Japan’s core consumer inflation slides to zero – Market Watch
• South Korea sees gains for its infrastructure firms from joining AIIB – Reuters
• Why Japan Inc doesn’t believe in Abenomics – CNBC
• Why India’s reforms are different this time – CNBC
• Japan inflation eases for seventh month in February – CNBC
• Japan dealt another blow as core CPI falls flat – World Finance
• Ford To Triple Exports From India With New $1B Plant – IB Times…maybe we can import Falcons from India then…
• Bank of Japan Inflation Gauge Grinds to a Halt as Spending Falls – Bloomberg
• INDIAN COMPANIES SCRAMBLE TO FIND WOMEN DIRECTORS – Associated Press
• Decades of deadly conflict will spread across the Middle East – FT.com
• Inflation Rate Flattened in Japan in February – NY Times

Europe

• Who Holds Euro Assets? We Still Don’t Know – Peterson Institute
• Europe’s Easy-Money Endgame – Project-Syndicate
• Sustaining the Unsustainable Eurozone – Project-Syndicate
• Deescalating Europe’s Politics of Resentment – Project-Syndicate
• Greek crisis nears a turning point – Market Watch
• Low rates causing ‘huge problems’ for Germany – Telegraph
• Negative rates put Nordic banks under pressure – Euromoney
• French Consumers More Confident, PM Upbeat on Growth
• ECB’s Draghi says money printing already helping recovery – Reuters
• Risk-shy banks and companies keep euro zone credit on tight leash – Reuters
• Is Russia back in the game? – CNBC
• Ukraine’s Catch 22 over its oligarch class – BNE
• Living (dangerously) without a fiscal union – Bruegel
• How did the ECB save the Eurozone without spending a single euro? – Vox

United Kingdom

• Would Britain thrive outside the EU? – Telegraph
• Financial Conduct Authority Made a ‘Serious Error’ on Insurance Review, Panel Says – NY Times
• Why Bank of England employees are reading my A-level economics textbook – Guardian
• House price falls in central London start to spread out across the capital – but how far? – Telegraph
• Liquidity storm could throw UK into chaos, Bank of England warns – Telegraph
• ON THE CONTINUATION OF BRITAIN’S HOUSEBUILDING DROUGHT – Pieria
• Bank of England Warns of Risks From Greece and Market Liquidity – NY Times
• The FCA: its own worst enemy – Guardian

United States

• Economy in U.S. Expanded at 2.2% Pace in Fourth Quarter – Bloomberg
• Fed market gurus prep rate hike amid last-minute anxieties – Reuters
• Too bad wages aren’t rising as fast as home prices – CBS
• Feds looks to protect low-income borrowers – CBS
• Mortgage rates fall as Treasury yields decline – Washington Post
• In surprise show of support, filibuster-proof Senate majority backs paid sick leave – Washington Post
• The payday industry’s money-making model is coming to an end – Washington Post
• Fed officials say rate hike plan intact despite weak U.S. data – Reuters
• Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S. – NY Times…maybe we could swap notes with them on our concerns…
• Fed’s Fischer Says More Work Needed to Protect Financial System – Bloomberg
• Fed Focuses on Shadow Banking as It Gauges Financial-System Risk – Bloomberg
• US Dollar Correction: Part I – Short Side of Long
• Stuck With a House That Can’t Be Sold – The Atlantic
• The Feedback Loop That Will Make America’s Richest Cities Even Richer – The Atlantic
• Obama Lends Support To New Federal, State Regulatory Front Against Payday Loan Traps – IB Times
• No Bear Market Signal Yet From Housing – Financial Sense
• As the G.O.P. Promises to Address Inequality, Follow the Money – New Yorker
• House Rich, Land Poor – Bloomberg

Americas

• Alberta budget paints new, sobering reality of ‘dangers of relying on energy revenue’ – Financial Post…a call to Perth may make them feel a bit better…
• Argentine President Unveils Stimulus Plans From Fridges to Taxis – Bloomberg
• Canada’s Poloz Says ‘Comfortable’ With January Rate Cut – Bloomberg

Terra bubblius

• How property investing politicians have skin in the game on the negative gearing debate – Fairfax…the penny is dropping, better late than never…
• Foreign investment: Chinese investors seeking greener pastures eye Australia’s real estate market – ABC
• POWER CORRUPTS – How network companies lined their pockets and drove electricity prices through the roof – The Monthly …very good read…
• A super con – Why compulsory superannuation benefits the financial industry and the rich at the expense of everyone else – The Monthly
• Chevron seeks to exit Caltex Australia with $3.6 billion stake sale – Reuters
• Big Oil retreats further as Chevron dumps $3.5 bln Aussie business – Fortune
• Penalty rates slashed in South Australia in union deal welcomed by Coalition – Guardian
• Someone needs to go broke in the Australian iron ore industry, says analyst – Guardian
• Fortescue CEO Nev Power backs Andrew Forrest’s call for production cap; Baosteel critical – ABC
• Top polluters to set own limits virtually penalty free, according to Direct Action policy paper – ABC…it would be funny if it wasn’t so utterly pathetic…
• Gina Rinehart says other countries will supply iron ore if Australia cuts back – ABC
• Greens to question Foreign Investment Review Board over Adani coal venture – Guardian…maybe Chodley could seek approval for a coal mine…
• The rise in the standard of living is a quirk of timing, not a reflection of a buoyant economy – Guardian
• Australia needs a foreign policy – Nikkei Asian Review
• Heed Fraser’s warning on Australian media concentration – it’s getting worse. – Pearls and Irritations
• Fortescue Metals Group: worthless or worth holding on to? – Fairfax
• Gearing system showing its age – Fairfax
• Chinese diplomats run rings around Australia – Fairfax…we voted them in, we deserve this…
• Rising jobless rate means young workers lose in penalty rates deal – The Conversation
• From ‘debt disaster’ to ‘good result’: a budget message lost – The Conversation
• Chevron Seeks Over $3.6 Billion for Caltex Australia Stake – Bloomberg

Capital Markets/Investing

• Are Equities Overvalued? – Project-Syndicate…do bears shit in the woods?…
• The Taper Tantrum Revisited – Peterson Institute
• Follow the Money – Above the Market
• China’s yuan may join elite money club this year – Market Watch
• Bank regulation: ‘Basel IV’ sparks banker fury – Euromoney
• Here’s the reason the euro may have just hit a bottom – Market Watch
• Bumper European share sales carry risk of excess – Reuters
• TOWARDS A NEW GOLD STANDARD? – Pieria
• Gold Spikes To $1,200 As Dollar Tumbles, But Is The Greenback’s Rally Really Over? – Hard Assets Investor
• How to View and Value Gold in a Rising Dollar Environment – 24/7 Wall Street

Commodities

• What China’s ‘new normal’ means for commodities – Market Watch
• Saudi battle for Yemen exposes fragility of global oil supply – Telegraph
• Global grain trade hits all-time high – FT.com
• China’s iron ore mines keep digging despite losses – FT.com
• The Most Challenging Oil And Gas Projects In The World – Oilprice.com
• Who Benefits Most From Cheap Oil? – Oilprice.com
• Oil Markets Blow Yemen Crisis Out Of Proportion – Oilprice.com
• Climate Change And Food Security: Global Banana Market Is Feeling The Strain Of Hotter Weather, Longer Droughts – IB Times
• Earliest Inventory Build Since 2012 Sends NatGas Lower – Hard Assets Investor
• Saudis Signal New Oil Production Strategy – ETF.com
• Goldilocks zone for oil prices is gone for good – Reuters
• How oil is preparing for a new world order – CNBC
• Why Yemen has the power to rally oil prices – Market Watch

Global Macro

• The Fed’s ‘repression’ has cost savers $470 billion, Swiss Re argues – Market Watch…it isn’t finished yet…
• US risks epic blunder by treating China as an economic enemy – Telegraph
• Why on earth investors would want to own bonds is a mystery to me – Financial Post
• Is Jobless Growth Inevitable? – Project Syndicate
• Messed-Up Macro – Project-Syndicate
• The Real Singapore Model – Project-Syndicate
• Microeconomic origins of macroeconomic tail risks – Vox
• The financial stability risks of ultra-loose monetary policy – Bruegel
• The dollar surge – what does the surging dollar mean for economies around the world? – Bruegel
• The world is going to university – Economist
• China’s new ‘World Bank’ gains support despite warnings – CNBC
• Economics as Superstructure – RWER
• Shrewd Smiles as Online Bankers Test New Tech – Caixin
• The Elusive Quest for International Policy Cooperation – IMF Direct
• The Monetary Approach Reigns Supreme – Financial Sense

…and furthermore…

• Financial technology: Snowflake unlocks markets for intangible assets – Euromoney
• For richer or poorer: The challenges of marrying outside your class – Washington Post
• Scientists have discovered a simple way to cook rice that dramatically cuts the calories – Washington Post
• The case for not paying off your mortgage by retirement – Washington Post
• When cheap housing isn’t really a good deal – Washington Post
• People and jobs are growing farther apart – Market Watch
• The Rise of the Tech Model may soon make you Obsolete – Institutional Investor
• Retail Currency Trading: How Safe is it? – Institutional Investor
• Panama Canal sets sights on new $17 billion expansion project – Reuters
• Cinderella’s new moral: Be rich or be a pumpkin – Reuters
• THE RISE OF THE ON-DEMAND ECONOMY – Pieria
• The truth about welfare – Prospect
• Middle Class Jobs Are Still Lagging – ThirtyFiveEight
• Male CEOs Get Bonuses; Female CEOs Get Blame – ThirtyFiveEight
• How your disposable income compares to other people’s around the world – Washington Post
• Drones bounce back from collisions – BBC
• Driverless Cars Poised To Transform Automotive Industry – Oilprice.com
• America’s Socialist Sports League: The NFL – The Atlantic…and hasn’t the AFL learned from them?…
• A Brief History of the ATM – The Atlantic
• Why Raising Retirement Age Is No Cure-All for Population Problems – Caixin…it is in Australia isn’t it?…
• How China used more cement in 3 years than the U.S. did in the entire 20th Century – Washington Post
• Explainer: bond yields and what they tell us about the economy – The Conversation…will help many…