Links 12 January, 2016

Markets Macro & Investing

• Offshore yuan borrowing rates spike – CNBC
• As China Sells Treasurys, Their Haven Status Erodes – WSJ
• Ratings Agencies Still Coming Up Short, Years After Crisis – NY Times
• Rand Faces More Manic Mondays as Japan Currency Romance Unwinds – Bloomberg…lot of manic currency action out there…

Asia

• China’s central bank fends off attack on yuan in Hong Kong – SCMP
• China Rout Threatens to Spawn India Crisis, Top Banker Says – Bloomberg
• China Said to Create New Office Coordinating Finance and Economy – Bloomberg
• Hong Kong real estate’s bull run reaches turning point – Nikkei Asian Review
• Air pollution will drive up China’s natural gas imports – Nikkei Asian Review
• China currency head urges investors not to listen to ‘talking down’ of yuan – SCMP
• China’s central bank struggles to transition to new rate system – SCMP
• When China Stumbles – NY Times, Krugman
• China Contagion Spills Over To Hong Kong Banks As HIBOR Explodes To Record High, Stocks Tumble – Zero Hedge
• Chinese property developers rush to print private Panda bonds – Business Times
• PBOC Put? Li Signals No Major Stimulus While Past Suggests a Cut – Bloomberg

Europe

• Scrap Bank of England’s powers after century of boom and bust, says think-tank – Telegraph
• UK house prices to crash as global asset prices unravel – Telegraph
• Britain abandons onshore wind just as new technology makes it cheap – Telegraph
• Britain’s biggest supermarkets to reveal falling Christmas sales – Guardian
• How the oil collapse stole Russia’s Christmas – Reuters
• Draghi’s QE Buys Some Time for Spain After Election Stalemate – Bloomberg
• Italians pay for 80 years of war and disaster every time they fill their tanks – Quartz

Americas

• U.S. jobs juggernaut not spilling over into all parts of the economy – Market Watch
• 5 reasons a 2007-style real estate meltdown is unlikely now – Market Watch
• No winning ticket sold in record Powerball drawing – CBS…a billion bucks, can Australians enter?…
• Why the decade’s second half may look much different from the first for investors — and workers – LA Times…good read…
• Why the Fed needs to prepare for the worst right now – Washington Post, Summers
• How Credit Cards Tax America – Priceonomics

Terra Incognita

• Trans-Pacific Partnership will barely benefit Australia, says World Bank report – Fairfax….both sides of Australian politics support this…..
• Push to tax profits on sale of luxury family homes rejected by Labor – Fairfax ….both sides of Australian politics support this…..
• Call to tax profits of family home sales over $2 million – Fairfax….mainstream media cottons onto what LVO has been on about for years…
• RBA likely to shrug off share slump, says Capital Economics – Fairfax…yep, but that’s because they’ll need it later…
• Exporters cheer weakening Australian currency as analysts predict further depreciation – ABC
• Job ads point to stable unemployment rate – ABC
• Deja vu for Australian economy as China woes portend another bad year – Guardian, Jericho
• Tax avoidance impoverishes us all. Fighting it requires challenging the powerful – Guardian, Wayne Swan…good points, shame he did nothing about it when Treasurer…
• Tinkler’s Coal Dream Looks Fanciful – Bloomberg
• Kiwi home ownership falls as renting grows – NZ Herald

…and furthermore…

• Jitters grow for commodity-rich nations, junk-bond issuers – Nikkei Asian Review
• If the kingdom of oil’s crown jewel really does go public, it will blow your mind – Financial Post
• Investors, fasten your seat belts — we’re entering a period of ‘irrational pessimism’ – Financial Post
• Labour market policy: Parts of the picture are missing – VoxEU
• The TPP as a set of international economic rules – VoxEU…very good read…
• Why household debt makes economies prone to crises of confidence – VoxEU…every Australian should read this…
• Scientists are testing whether freeze-dried fecal pills could treat obesity – Quartz…one way to slim down…

Vale

• David Bowie dies of cancer aged 69 – Guardian