Weekend Links May 23-24, 2015

China

• A cautionary tale from the muddy waters of Chinese business – FT.com
• Weak Chinese Demand Is Pummeling Mining Stocks Everywhere, Except in China – Bloomberg
• China pushing ‘build now, pay later’ model to emerging world – Bruegel
• Development Finance with Chinese Characteristics? – Project-Syndicate
• The Irresistible Rise of the Renminbi – Project-Syndicate
• China getting worried about U.S.-led Pacific trade deal – Market Watch
• More projects approved to underpin growth – Global Times
• Chinese cabinet unveils ‘Made in China 2025’ master plan – Market Watch
• Chinese investments in U.S. businesses are accelerating – LA Times
• China’s Factory Activity Shrinks for 3rd Month – NY Times
• Xi Jinping: A 21st-century Mao? – Prospect
• China’s new infrastructure bank may prove a regional boon if Beijing can put politics aside – CER
• China’s sex toy industry finds new vigor online – CER
• ‘Made in China 2025’ plan unveiled – China Daily
• China to spend US$193 billion on boosting internet speeds in push for service-led economy – SCMP
• Will China go for a gold standard? The jury is out! – Mineweb
• China’s shift to consumer-led growth drives jump in gasoline demand – Reuters
• What multiple should we give China’s GDP growth? – Michael Pettis

Asia

• Asia’s new millionaires make investments a family affair – World Finance
• Indonesian Equities On Support – Short Side of Long
• Abe announces $110 billion in aid for ‘high-quality’ infrastructure in Asia – Japan Times
• BOJ refrains from boosting stimulus after growth picks up – Japan Times
• ABC’s of the AIIB – Marc to Market
• Japan Still Beating China on One Score: World’s Top Creditor – Bloomberg
• Japan’s Central Bank Slightly More Optimistic on Economy – NY Times
• BOJ keeps massive monetary stimulus intact – CNBC
• India won’t introduce retroactive taxes – Nikkei Asian Review
• Kuroda strikes positive note on economy – Nikkei Asian Review
• AIIB doubles funds to $100 billion – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan approves nuclear waste scheme – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan’s graduate hiring rate reaches near record high – World Finance

Europe

• Schaeuble Said to Cite Option of Greek Parallel Currency – Bloomberg
• Draghi Urges Reforms as ECB Trapped in Unconventional Policy – Bloomberg…trapped is the word…
• How the Swissie’s Strength Is Biting – WSJ
• ECB to Stop Giving Journalists Advance Copies of Speeches – WSJ
• Russia Buys More Dollars to Replenish Currency Reserves – WSJ
• Is Germany Finally Finding Exports a Bitter Pill? – WSJ
• Deflation in Greece: a hideous loose-loose situation – RWER
• Defiant Greeks force Europe to negotiating table as time-bomb ticks – Telegraph
• Of hamsters and vultures – Eurozine
• Giving Greece a chance– Bruegel
• The ECB’s bond purchase programmes and the limits of national risk-sharing – Vox
• How politics will seal the fate of Greece – FT.com
• German Business Confidence Declines as Risks Cloud Outlook – Bloomberg
• Renzi is still dodging big Italian pension fight – Reuters
• Monte Paschi signs underwriting agreement with banks for cash call – Reuters
• Greece sees reforms deal with lenders in next 10 days – Reuters
• Draghi: Growth is ‘too low everywhere’ in Europe – CNBC
• Greece’s new currency would be ‘rubbish’: Citi’s Buiter – CNBC
• Greek deal remains elusive after late night leaders’ summit – Telegraph
• Grand bargain emerging on Europe as Germany adjusts to Cameron victory – Telegraph
• Eurozone Economy Continues to Grow Modestly, Survey Finds – NY Times
• A Finance Minister Fit for a Greek Tragedy? – NY Times
• Russians confronted by the ultimate test of loyalties – CNBC
• Russia threatens to ban Google and Facebook if they withhold blogger data – Irish Independent

United Kingdom

• Bank of England Official Says Oil Price Fall May Have Bigger Effect Than Forecast – WSJ
• European leaders want the UK to stay, but are best friends forever? – Bruegel
• The Economic Consequences of Mr. Osborne – Project-Syndicate
• No Pain, No Gain for Britain? – Project-Syndicate
• Britain: Europe’s most unpredictable country – Prospect, Kaletsky
• Housing crisis will halve number of young homeowners in five years – Guardian
• UK taxpayers hurt more by EU split than HSBC exit – Reuters
• London Real Estate, Beyond Insane – Bloomberg

United States

• Core U.S. Consumer Prices Rose in April by Most in Two Years – Bloomberg
• Panel moves to weaken Dodd-Frank – LA Times
• American Innovation Lies on Weak Foundation – NY Times
• Why the Good Jobs Numbers Are Misleading – WSJ
• America’s rent crisis shows no sign of letting up – Market Watch
• Meet Generation Subprime – US News
• Chicago is not on the road to becoming the next Detroit: Schwab asset manager – Market Watch
• New York City rip-off: The $30 hot dog – Market Watch
• As GOP-Led Panel Marks Up Financial Bill, Big Banks Play Defense – WSJ
• How a Bank Will Use ‘Big Data’ To Study the U.S. Economy – WSJ
• In America, inequality begins in the womb – PBS
• Obama’s trade bill narrowly clears a key Senate hurdle – AP
• Austin, Texas, Is Blowing Away Every Other Big City in Population Growth – Slate
• Fivefold surge in Americans on Chinese firms’ payrolls, US study shows – SCMP
• America’s Self-Inflicted Wounds – Atlantic
• Wall Street Flouts Fed Standards to Fund High-Risk Loans – Bloomberg
• The Unemployment Rate Dropped for Foreign-Born Workers in 2014 – WSJ
• US Patients Turn To Online Pharmacies For Cheap Meds, But Drug Companies Say The Sites Endanger Consumers – IB Times
• S. Workers Brought the ‘Great Reset’ on Themselves – Bloomberg…their fault and not bankers, right?…
• How cities are starting to turn back decades of creeping urban blight – Washington Post
• This Chart Shows How Oil Is Losing Its Total Grip on American Transportation – Slate
• The most important positive data of the year – Bonddad

Americas

• Stephen Poloz may have to drop rates to zero, ex-Bank of Canada adviser warns – Financial Post
• Vancouver housing prices will drive out high-demand occupations: report – Financial Post…couldn’t happen in Australia, could it?…
• Exodus of millennials threatens Metro Vancouver economy, but they simply can’t afford to keep living there – National Post …couldn’t happen in Australia, could it?…
• Jailed Central Bank Chief Signals Widening Crisis for Guatemala – Bloomberg…they put a central banker in the slammer?…
• Brazil’s Economic Struggles Deepen as March Data Disappoint – Bloomberg

Maaaaaaayte

• Close look at tax avoidance laws shows they lack teeth – The Conversation…aren’t they designed that way?…
• Straya Inc. – The Idiot Tax…good read from the Idiot…
• Miners dismiss claims of ‘shock and ore’ lobbying operation as fiction – Fairfax
• Michael Keating. Fixing the Budget Part 1 & Part 2 – Pearls & Irritations
• Michael Keating. Improving Productivity. – Pearls & Irritations
• Vision or mirage? Bill Shorten’s budget reply is pie in the sky – The Monthly…yep, vapid nothingness from a party that no longer aspires to serve up better…
• RIP Budget 2015: The budget is as good as gone already – just what the government wanted – The Monthly
• Forrest takes a black eye, but vows to punch on – Fairfax
• Income splitting: a policy to keep mothers at home and not in work – Guardian, Jericho
• Australia’s banks have 10% loans in risky fossil fuels, says investment adviser – Guardian
• Vale expansion puts Australia’s global mining market share at risk, Roy Hill head warns – ABC
• OECD urges higher taxes on wealthy to address growing income gap – ABC
• Iron ore inquiry would have done more harm than good, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says – ABC
• How good is the TPP? Look to China for an answer – ABC
• Fruit processor SPC opens $100m redevelopment, credited with saving Goulburn Valley manufacturer – ABC
• ‘Sad day’ for Cadbury as the chocolate giant sheds 80 jobs from Claremont factory – ABC
• Modern budgets are exercises in spin – and this year was no exception – ABC, Kohler

Capital Markets

• Credit derivatives deserve a revival but only if financiers grow up – FT.com, Gillian Tett…interesting read…
• Banks Will Keep Doing FX Stuff That Got Them in Trouble – Bloomberg…yep they will…
• ‘If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying’ – how forex has changed – The Conversation
• Where Does the Euro Go From Here? – WSJ
• Many Reasons To Still Favor The Dollar – ETF.com
• Government bond sell-off fuels liquidity fears – Euromoney
• Everyone likes negative interest rates now – World Finance
• Debate Over Currency Cheating Intensifies in Trade Talks – NY Times
• Here comes the great bond liquidity drought – Euromoney
• Foreign exchange: a can of worms – Euromoney
• Regulation: Banks brace for Basel interest-rate risk push – Euromoney
• What to Make of the Topsy-Turvy Bond Market – NY Times
• Tallying Up the Cost of Short Interest Expenses – Morningstar
• Anatomy of an FX Manipulation – Bloomberg
• Divergent Impulses Spur Dollar’s Come Back – Marc to Market

Commodities

• Kingdom built on oil foresees fossil fuel phase-out this century – FT.com
• How do you lose 100 million barrels of oil? – Reuters, John Kemp
• Oil’s Whodunit Moment Coming With Millions of Barrels to Vanish – Bloomberg
• OPEC Refuses to Yield in Battle for Oil-Market Share – Bloomberg
• Iron ore miners should leave the market if they can’t compete – The Conversation
• Iron ore inquiry off but row continues – The Conversation
• Hong Kong’s bold, but uncertain pitch for China commodity trade – Reuters, Clyde Russell
• Chinese GMO law could further delay approval of new crops: industry – Reuters
• S. drivers yield ‘swing’ oil demand crown to Saudis – Reuters
• Global platinum demand up, supply down – Mineweb
• Iron ore price on the move downwards – Mineweb

Global Macro, Investing & Economics

• Risks not reflected in bank fine reaction – FT.com
• Sovereign wealth funds risk inflating global property bubble – SCMP
• A Backdoor Way to End the Fed– Bloomberg
• Investor Opinions Have Become Extremely Uniform, and That’s Not Good – Financial Sense
• A World of Underinvestment – Project-Syndicate
• Are The IMF and the EU at Loggerheads Over Greece? – Economonitor
• Service trade and productivity – Vox
• Sovereign ratings’ response to fundamentals during upgrade and downgrade periods – Vox
• Mind the gap (and its revision)! – Bruegel
• Is the economy stationary? – Bruegel
• Mastering metrics: Teaching econometrics – Vox
• Trade in value added indicators: what they are, what they aren’t, and where they’re headed – Vox
• Secular stagnation: The history of a heretical economic idea – Vox
• ‘Graying’ U.S., Germany and Italy Expect Social Security Cuts. But Who Is Saving? – WSJ
• Trade and Trust – NY Times, Krugman
• Now the Bank of England needs to deliver QE for the people – Guardian
• Exports – the primary driver of economic turnaround – Irish times
• Local content requirements reduce world trade, says OECD – SCMP
• Talking about the National Accounts: Statistics and the Democratic Conversation – Manchester University (pdf) …interesting read…
• The Idolatry of Interest Rates Part I: Chasing Will-o’-the-Wisp – GMO (pdf)
• Banking excuses wearing thin as fines top US$200 billion – The Conversation
• Big Business Is Getting Bigger – FiveThirtyEight
• Credibility trumps optimism when it comes to growth forecasts – The Conversation
• Banks Are Now Pleading Guilty to Crimes. So Why Aren’t They Being Punished Like Criminals? – Slate

…And furthermore…

• Bank FX Fine Scorecard (Follow Along at Home!) – Bloomberg
• What’s Wrong With ‘Mathiness’ in Economics? – Bloomberg
• Inspiring Economic Growth – Project-Syndicate
• Why Children Are Abandoning Baseball – WSJ
• Primer: Par And Zero Coupon Yield Curves – Bond Economics
• Why ETFs Are Slowly Killing Hedge Funds – ETF.com
• Patchwork Oversight Allows Dubious Charities to Operate – NY Times
• A Tech Boom Aimed at the Few, Instead of the World – NY Times
• How Much Foreign Stock and Bond Exposure Do You Need? – Morningstar
• How a 19th Century Shipwreck Could Give Canada Control of the Arctic – Bloomberg
• Some like it hot: how coffee perks up sex life – Telegraph
• Prostate cancer breakthrough as scientists crack genetic code behind nine in 10 tumours – Telegraph
• Why I have no sympathy for whingeing savers – Telegraph
• Seven rules that firms must follow when they are engulfed in scandal – Telegraph
• Video: What every new Wal-Mart employee hears about why unions are terrible – Washington Post
• This is the future of meat – Washington Post
• An incredible image shows how powerful countries are buying up much of the world’s land – Washington Post
• How Uber-type jobs are driving inequality, and what to do about it – Washington Post
• A massive bird flu outbreak could make eggs, and just about anything made with them, a lot more expensive – Washington Post
• People have no idea what inequality actually looks like – Washington Post
• PayPal Owes $25 Million for Tricking Customers Into Using Its Online Credit Service – Slate
• The Soviet Military Secret That Could Become Alaska’s Most Valuable Crop – Slate
• How Suburban Are Big American Cities? – FiveThirtyEight
• Globalisation: A woman’s best friend? Not quite so – Vox
• Green skills – Vox
• “Tragedy” and responsibility in the Mediterranean – Eurozine
• Tokyo bookdealer uncovers letter to the womanizing boozehound who turned the tide of the Second World War – National Post
• The Very Model of a Modern Mineral Dealer – Priceonomics
• The uses and abuses of GDP – Reuters, Edward Hadas
• That’s billion, with a bee: Measuring the massive cost of hive collapse – Reuters
• Wealthy nations overlook the dangers of climate change – The Conversation
• Is Depression a Symptom of Parkinson’s Disease? – Atlantic
• The Seedy, Profitable World of Scam Charities – Atlantic
• The Agony of Medical Bills – Atlantic
• Is Rooftop Solar Finally Good Enough to Disrupt the Grid? – HBR
• A fully automated mine is not as far-fetched as it once was – Mineweb
• Uber is One Step Closer to Picking You Up in a Self-driving Car – Time
• In richer countries, rising inequality stunts economic growth – CBS
• ‘Miracle material’ seeks commercial uses – Nikkei Asian Review
• Legal Marijuana Cultivation Is Driving A Technology ‘Revolution’ In Industrial Agriculture – IB Times
• There’s a simple way to make sure bankers don’t rig the markets again – Guardian
• De Beers to sell historic Kimberley Mine – World Finance