Weekend Links 13-14 June 2015

Asia

• x-Security Boss Zhou Yongkang Jailed for Life by Tianjin Court – Caixin
• Uber nears 1m trips every day in China – FT $
• Idle Home Builders Hold China’s Economy Back – NYT
• Southeast Asia’s economic surge lures Bangladeshis to sea – FT
• Curious world of North Korea’s exports – from badger furs to ‘strength pills’ – Guardian
• In China, Senior Citizens Take Stock Picking Classes – Signs of Bull Market Over-Drive – Value Walk
• What’s the chance China will collapse under its debts? About 15 per cent. – SCMP
• Weakness in China investment will add to calls for Beijing action – SCMP

Europe

• IMF quits Greek talks; EU tells Tsipras to stop gambling – Reuters
• IMF quits Greece talks amid ‘air of unreality’ as deal unravels – FT $
• Giving Greece a chance – Bruegel
• Ukraine’s government seizes Firtash’s assets – BNE
• Europe’s Selfishness Is Bigger Threat Than Putin – Bloomberg
• Greece: After a deal, work on a solution – CER
• UPDATE 1-Despite IMF walkout, Greece hopes for deal on June 18 – Reuters
• Spain’s “beautiful deleveraging” shows euro area’s limitations – FT $
• Why Iceland can now remove capital controls – Vox
• Draghi: ECB Didn’t Give Privileged Information to Fund Managers – Wall Street Journal
• Osborne’s bank profit claim challenged– FT $
• Is the UK’s austerity myth about to crumble? – Business for Scotland
• EU Readies for Default as Tsipras Drives Greek Finances to Brink – Bloomie
• Greece Can’t Plan a Barbecue, Let Alone a Currency, Nielsen Says – Bloomie
• Merkel urges Greece and creditors to keep pushing for deal – Reuters
• Fearful ECB starts countdown on Greek funding lifeline – Reuters
• Greek stocks suffer further pummelling – FT$
• Credit market disequilibrium in Greece (2003-2011) – EU
• Industrial production up by 0.1% in both euro area and EU28 – EU
• Strauss-Kahn acquitted of pimping – BBC

United States

• he Foreign-Bribery Case Exposing the Freebies Doled Out by American Law Firms – Bloomberg
• U.S. household net worth increases to $84.9 trillion – Reuters
• Washington accuses Russia of ‘outright lies’ on Ukraine – Hurriyet
• Razor-edge U.S. Congress vote to decide fate of Obama Pacific trade pact – Reuters
• Moment of truth arrives for Obama trade deal – Politico

Americas

• Argentina’s “Me-Toos” Make Sure No Vultures Left Behind – Counterpunch
• Toronto’s Epic Condo Bubble Suddenly Turns into Condo Glut – Wolf Richter

Bozo Joe and Lobotomy Tones Land

• What price will the RBA pay for full and frank advice? – Pascoemeter
• Revealed: How the UN told Abbott government to back off on Gillian Triggs – FairFax
• Five-month-old baby born in Australia transferred to Nauru detention centre, Greens say – ABC
• Mother Mel’s lesson to Joe – FairFax
• BBY may have misused client funds – FairFax
• Six reasons rising house prices are bad for business – Business Day
• Bill Shorten to front union royal commission – AFR $
• Tony Abbott’s complaint about Rottnest wind turbine is the island’s first ever – Canberra Times

Commodities

• Saudi Arabia ready to raise oil output further to meet demand – Reuters
• Global oil demand slowed to a crawl in 2014 – Reuters, Kemp
• U.S. should ditch ‘outdated’ oil export ban – Reuters

Global Macro

• Should we aim for budget surpluses? – Mainly Macro
• Efficiency wages, monopsony and labor demand – Angry Bear
• Goldman Gets Serious About High-Speed Trading – Bloomie
• World of zero interest rates seems to have run its course – SCMP

…and furthermore…

• Mathiness in economics – Bruegel
• WHAT IS CODE? – Bloomberg
• Bigger than Blatter – The Economist
• Report: Hack of government employee records discovered by product demo – Ars Technica
• Twitter’s CEO is stepping down. Here’s why the company’s in trouble. – Vox
• Rupert Murdoch preparing to step down as CEO from 21st Century Fox – CNBC
• Nordic Zombie Arguments – Demos
• How Do Companies Quietly Raise Prices? They Do This – WSJ
• Secret Cinema’s Empire Strikes Back review: An epic galactic voyage – Movies Review – Digital Spy

… and a picture to horrify you and your children ( born or otherwise )