Weekend links March 21-22, 2015

China

• ‘Confessions’ of a corrupt official on the run: China’s veiled warning to other fugitives – SCMP
• More wealthy Chinese set to flood US investor visa scheme: think tank report – SCMP
• China remarriages surge in divorce tax loophole – Fin24.com
• Is China’s growth slower than the 7% consensus? – Sober Look
• Chinese finance minister rules out central bank help in local government debt-for-bond swap – SCMP
• Chinese prosecutors charge Zhou Yongkang’s close allies – SCMP
• Will Slow and Steady Win China’s Economy Race? – Caixin
• OECD warns of downside risks for mainland China economic growth – SCMP
• China’s real estate slump worsens – World Finance
• Record Fall In Property Prices Brings More Bad News For China’s Slumping Real Estate Market – IB Times
• Why Chinese investment is soaring in Europe – EU Observer
• China’s prudent monetary policy to continue – China Daily
• ‘Huge amounts’ of beef going to China despite ban:US official – China Daily
• Big data used in China’s new equity investment tools – Want China Times
• 2000 airports to be built in Chinese counties by 2030 – Want China Times
• Focus on economic policy at two sessions – Want China Times
• China’s Farmers Have Been Left Behind – Bloomberg

Asia

• Japan’s Recovery Is Complicated by a Decline in Household Savings – NY Times
• Asia’s Almighty Middle Class – Project-Syndicate
• Japan’s Accounting Problem – Project-Syndicate, Turner
• Tokyo showing signs of openness to signing on – Nikkei Asian Review
• The effort to stabilise the financial system in Japan: an outline and the characteristics of the programme for financial revival – Bruegel
• Shock for Chinese backers as billion-dollar Sri Lanka project runs into political mess – SCMP
• Why Japan’s factories, jobs aren’t coming back despite the weak yen – Japan Times
• OECD upgrades Japan’s growth outlook for 2015, 2016 – Japan Times
• India property hangover leads to gimmicks – Fin24.com
• Russia’s Putin calls for regional currency union – Reuters
• Ex-Soviet states battle challenge of low oil prices – Reuters
• Japan Needs a Bigger Land Grab – Bloomberg
• A Deal India’s Farmers Can’t Refuse – Bloomberg
• Modi’s Coal Conundrum – Bloomberg…where does QLD fit?…

Europe

• ECB weighs curbs on Greek banks’ government debt purchases – FT.com
• Ruble Tops Global Currency Rally as Tax Respite Offsets Oil Drop – Bloomberg
• Empty Greek Coffers Bring ‘Accident’ Threat Closer – Bloomberg
• Is Finland’s Slump A Glimpse Into Europe’s Future? – Bull Market
• Swiss caught in the wake of massive FX currents – Reuters, Hadas
• What Greek Officials are Missing: The Link between Sovereignty and Solvency – Marc to Market
• Profound changes needed to make the Eurozone work – Irish Independent
• Europe: The perennial LNG sponge – Platts
• Dijsselbloem: Greece might need capital controls – EU Observer
• EU proposes new tax transparency rules – EU Observer
• Europe squeezes more reforms from Greece as Merkel steps into bail-out talks – Telegraph
• The whys and hows of a single market for Europe – Bruegel…very good …
• Negative rates put Nordic banks under pressure – Euromoney
• ECB Makes Life Tough For Its Neighbors – WSJ
• When Will The ECB Start To Taper? – EconoMonitor
• Russia Rebounds, Despite Sanctions – Bloomberg…that it does…
• Ukraine’s Oligarchs Are at War (Again) – Bloomberg…these ugly people will always make VVP look good….

United Kingdom

• Britain can only walk tall if productivity is reignited – FT.com
• What Margaret Thatcher really thought about Brexit – CapX
• Tories to take 1m out of higher tax rate after general election, George Osborne suggests – Telegraph
• Mapped: Where England’s best schools are pushing up house prices – Telegraph
• Transparency and the effectiveness of monetary policy after the Warsh Review at the Bank of England – Vox
• Operation Tabernula: The story of the biggest insider trading investigation in UK history – Telegraph
• Bank of England must be prepared to cut rates further, says chief economist – Telegraph
• Renting your way to poverty: welcome to the future of housing – Telegraph
• Can Osborne get off the rollercoaster? – BBC, Peston…probably not is the answer….
• Britain’s budget surpluses and economic policy gaps – Guardian
• Will UK banks leave London as bank levy rises? – CNBC
• Treasury to announce tax evasion clampdown – BBC
• For the sake of growth and our young people, build more houses – New Statesman

United States

• China’s capital flight lands on New York doorsteps – Reuters
• Public Pension Cuts Exempt Police and Firefighters – NY Times
• The Bonds That Can Cure America’s Ills – Bloomberg
• FOMC Decision – Short Side of Long
• Deeds, not Words? Or, Say Less and Mean More– Aleph Blog
• The unmistakable legacy of the plantation – RWER
• Slow Growth for US Interest Rates – Project-Syndicate
• The Fed Versus Price Stability – Project-Syndicate
• Fed’s biggest risk is quick rate hike: Evans – Market Watch
• Is 2% core inflation the Fed’s target, or a ceiling? – Bonddad
• As Fed weighs a rate hike, U.S. economy is looking a bit paler – Chicago Tribune
• Attention, Borrowers: The Fed Just Put You On Notice – FiveThirtyEight
• The Double-Edged Sword of a Strong Dollar – Financial Sense
• Fannie, Freddie Could Need Another Bailout As Risks Rise: Watchdog – IB Times
• NLRB Election Rule: House Votes To Block Pro-Union ‘Ambush Election’ Regulation – IB Times
• Market Mistakes Balanced Fed for Dovish Fed – Marc to Market
• US current account deficit largest since 2012 – Irish Times
• Wages Haven’t Been This Crucial to U.S. Economy in Half Century – Bloomberg
• The Fed Needs Some Guidance – Bloomberg

Americas

• Vancouver mayor urges overhaul of B.C. rental legislation – Vancouver Sun
• Let’s talk about Generation Screwed – Vancouver Sun
• No immediate action from Ottawa to cool Canada’s housing market, says Stephen Harper – Financial post

Oceania

• Norfolk Islanders plot Australia revolt amid financial crisis – FT.com
• The ‘metadata’ Bill – Pearls and Irritations
• Six ways Australia’s education system is failing our kids. – Pearls and Irritations
• Playing dumb: Maybe Abbott government ministers know exactly what they’re doing – The Monthly…I often think to myself that they couldn’t be as stupid as the things they’ve done…
• Productivity Commission childcare plan could cost low earners $8,000 – report – Guardian
• Pod housing for under $100,000 – NZ Herald
• The miracle economy of the southern hemisphere is not Australia – Quartz
• ASIC chief Greg Medcraft highlights ‘mischief’ and ‘abuse’ in reporting of misconduct– Fairfax
• Leighton to change name to CIMIC in wake of corruption allegations – Fairfax
• NAB’s dream-destroying ‘Death Star’ that is Clydesdale Bank – Fairfax…ugly…
• Developers odds-on to win at planning tribunal – Fairfax
• Workers in visa row forced to sleep in office, union claims – Fairfax…affordable housing?…
• Tony Abbott’s unique despair – Fairfax…if it is not Tony Abbott, his cabinet might help…
• Glenn Stevens says RBA discussing rate cuts even though benefits are dubious – ABC…but why?…
• Banking regulator APRA says individual banks targeted in crackdown on investor loans – ABC…oh really?…
• Friendless fiscal policy about to get invited to the economic party – Fairfax
• New Zealand puts free trade pact at forefront of Japan visit – Nikkei Asian Review

Capital Markets

• How Scary Is the Bond Market? – Project-Syndicate, Shiller
• How Far Will the Euro Fall? – Project-Syndicate
• Expect ‘Trench Warfare’ Among Investment Banks — Report – WSJ
• Bank regulation: ‘Basel IV’ sparks banker fury – Euromoney
• European corporates seize hybrid bond opportunity – Euromoney
• Regulatory capital: Banks spread the search for tier-2 buyers – Euromoney
• The dollar’s meteoric rise may be just about over – Market Watch
• Ignore Interest-Rate Noise – ETF.com
• Successive interest rate cuts fuel slide – Nikkei Asian Review…good look at Asia currencies…
• Feeling green: Debt-ridden emerging markets are heading for a nasty dollar hangover – Economist
• A framework for banking structural reform – Vox
• The Fed Loses Patience… Sort Of – The Capital Spectator
• One Surprising Way To Play Rising US Rates – ETF.com
• FED UP – Pieria…excellent…
• NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, THERE IS LITTLE TO BE SAID FOR INVESTING IN AN IPO – Pieria…you can say that again…
• Janet Yellen Isn’t Going to Raise Interest Rates Until She’s Good and Ready – NY Times
• What to know about high-speed trading before the next market disaster strikes – CapX
• One Huge Table That Shows the Winners and Losers of Global Financial Markets – Bloomberg

Commodities

• The Way Gold Prices Are Set is Changing Forever – Bloomberg
• Watch Four Years of Oil Drilling Collapse in Seconds – Bloomberg
• Commodity price boom over, volume boom gathers pace – Reuters, Clyde Russell
• China slowdown pushes coal, iron ore to fresh lows – Reuters
• London Metal Exchange urged to act swiftly over ‘broken’ aluminium market – Guardian
• Dismal outlook for LNG in S Korea’s power market as coal, nuclear gain favor: KPX – Platts
• Perth Mint platinum coin sales surge – Mineweb
• Iron ore gloom chills Fortescue bond sale – Mineweb
• Will rare earth metals make you rich? – Mineweb
• South African gold mining’s fall from grace – Mineweb
• Why Goldman is wrong about commodity prices – Mineweb
• Silver may bottom this year, with meaningful gains next – Mineweb
• Commodity Crash Points To A Bottom – Short Side of Long
• China’s grain stockpiling distorts market – Nikkei Asian Review

Global Macro

• The Trans-Pacific partnership: it might be about trade, but it’s far from free. – Pearls and Irritations
• Fed urges lawmakers to toughen rules on Wall St. and commodities – Reuters
• STRESS TESTING SOCIETY – Pieria
• What’s Wrong With Finance – Motley Fool
• Labour and finance in the aftermath of the Great Recession – Vox
• Against the tide: The fragmentation of Europe – Euromoney
• Nearly two-thirds of the world’s patent applications come from three countries – Quartz
• Scenes From the Shadowy World of Swiss Banking – Bloomberg
• Estimating the impact of robots on productivity and employment – Vox
• OPEC’s decline will be Canada’s gain as the organization’s influence wanes – Financial Post
• Here’s the Next Biggest Threat to Global Crude Oil Prices – Bloomberg
• Beijing cuts US bond holdings, rethinks forex reserve usage – Want China Times
• Russia’s ‘Go East’ policy shakes up Asia – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan, Australia Signal Approval Of China-Based AIIB – IB Times
• Why Asia Should Welcome the Taper – Bloomberg
• The long road towards the European single market – Bruegel
• When will interest rates rise? The way things are going, maybe never – Telegraph
• Chinese investors rival French in buying up Bordeaux vineyards – SCMP
• Charlie Munger: Academic Economics — Strengths and Weaknesses, after Considering Interdisciplinary Needs – FarnhamStreet

…and furthermore…

• Frequent flyers in health and the way we remunerate doctors – Pearls and Irritations
• Who Invented the Computer Virus? – Priceonomics
• The Economics of Busking – Priceonomics
• The Most Obnoxious And Overused Startup Jargon – Forbes
• Pottery-makers may embrace 3-D printing to hone their designs – Japan Times
• Laughing All the Way to the Crash – Atlantic
• Bait and Switch: The Fraud Crisis in the Seafood Industry – Atlantic…some dodgy fish passes muster here too…
• In your irises: The new rise of biometric banking – BBC
• Tesla makes it ‘impossible’ for drivers to intentionally run out of range – Fortune
• Indian parents are scaling walls to help their kids cheat because economics – Quartz
• Reinventing Performance Management – HBR …how many organisations completely fuck this up?…
• 12 Best Online Courses for Learning Practical Business Skills – Time
• Should we publicly shame delinquent taxpayers? – Vox
• Rich kids use the Internet to get ahead, and poor kids use it ‘mindlessly’ – Market Watch
• The log-on degree: College in America is ruinously expensive. Some digital cures are emerging – Economist
• How The Atlantic Uses Twitter to Drive Traffic to Content – Medium.com
• Gambling On Sports? You Betcha! – Medium.com…it is ‘investing’ for a lot of people….
• Elon Musk Says Self-Driving Tesla Cars Will Be in the U.S. by Summer – NY Times
• Financing Education for All – Project-Syndicate
• Sea Power Can Eclipse Solar – Bloomberg
• Scientists Have Created ‘DNA Scissors’ That Can Alter Your Genes, but Should They Use Them? – Bloomberg

….Its a business Jim, but not as we know it……..

• Moscow Strip Club Offers Discount for Pensioners – Moscow Times