Weekend Links 21-22 May, 2016

Each Others Eyes, 1987, Fred Cress, National Gallery of Victoria

China

• Winning funds and influencing people: how one Chinese cadre revealed the unwritten rules of gaining Beijing’s favour – SCMP
• Land prices continue to sizzle in Shanghai – SCMP
• China’s Communist Party goes way of Qing Dynasty as debt hits limit – Telegraph, AEP
• Understanding China’s Rise: The Role of Captive Savings – Economonitor
• Why China Doesn’t Care About Privacy – Bloomberg
• What Can Be Learned From China’s Monetary Past – WSJ
• Regulators Poised to Restrict Asset Management Niche – Caixin
• Delistings on Hold as CSRC Slams a Back Door – Caixin
• Why The Latest Infrastructure Investment Drive Is Not Another Stimulus – Caixin
• China’s contradictions will catch up with it – Prospect
• China approves sweeping plan to clean up online finance industry: sources – Business Times
• More Chinese resource acquisitions on the way – Mineweb
• Chinese economy showing continued improvement in restructuring – China Times
• Quick Take: China promises to give up its debt addiction…again – CER
• China Opens Currency Markets To Foreign Commercial Banks In A Bid To Internationalize The Yuan – IB Times
• This Could Easily Become The Worst Urban Crisis In History – Seeking Alpha, Harry Dent
• Chinese officials ‘create 488m bogus social media posts a year’ – Guardian
• Chairman of another Chinese company goes missing – SCMP
• Chinese pork prices, up over 30 per cent in April, will stay high – SCMP
• Apple Case Underscores Pitfalls of Doing Business in China – NY Times

Asia

• In Japan’s Slow Economy, Rare Price Rise Prompts Surplus of Remorse – NY Times
• Thailand Inc. cozies up to the junta – Nikkei Asian Review
• Here’s why India is wooing the Middle East – CNBC
• China’s Debt Misery Finds Singapore – Bloomberg…and when it finds Australia?…
• Abenomics has over-promised and under-delivered – Reuters
• Indonesia’s Central Bank Leaves Key Rate Unchanged – Bloomberg
• Assessing Kazakhstan’s response to the economic crisis – BNE INtellinews
• Singapore domestic wholesale trade slumps in Q1 – Business Times
• OECD’s chief economist urges Japan to consider alternative rollout for sales tax hike – Japan Times

 Europe

• Germany Is Very, Very Tired – Bloomberg
• The Russian Economic Crisis: How Severe and How Long? – Economonitor
• How Europe Can Survive Without Introducing Sovereign Debt Limits – Economonitor
• Germany blocks out allies’ wails over Russian pipeline love – Politico
• Leverage a la Russe – BNE INtellinews
• Disentangling the nature of Italy’s capital flights – SoberLook
• EUROZONE’S SO-CALLED RECOVERY MASKS A DARK SECRET: MERCANTILISM – Pieria
• Despair, Layoffs In ‘Russia’s Detroit’ As Economic Downturn Batters Car Industry – IB Times
• Euro Area Exports of Goods Down in 1Q 2016 – Constantin Gurdgiev
• Eurozone Reflation – Core Issues – Seeking Alpha
• German construction boom extends into 2016, supports growth – Irish Times
• EU’s Moscovici says Greek debt relief deal ‘very close’ – RTE
• Cyclical analysis of the European economy in the spring of 2016: a new setback. Part 1 – Flassbeck-Economics
• Brazil, Croatia and Greece: does one need ‘neoliberal reforms to solve a country’s economic problems’? – Flassbeck-Economics
• The Case For Germany Leaving The Euro. #Gexit – Flassbeck-Economics…has been a plausible option since 2009…
• Brexit may be the best answer to a dying eurozone – Guardian

United Kingdom

• Bank of England may need to cut interest rates even if UK stays in EU – Guardian
• No wonder Britain isn’t saving – scandalous fees and obfuscation have destroyed our trust in money – Telegraph
• Buy-to-let to become ‘rich person’s game’ as another lender introduces harsher criteria for landlords – Telegraph
• Brexit and New Europe – Project-Syndicate
• The Economic Consequences of Brexit – Project-Syndicate
• UK housing crisis isn’t supply problem – Reuters
• The ‘Brexit’ Campaign: A Cheat Sheet – The Atlantic
• Fifteen to 20 nuclear units in US ‘at risk’ of shutdown: industry official – Platts
• ‘Brexit,’ a Feel-Good Vote That Could Sink Britain’s Economy – NY Times

 United States

• A Growth Rate Weighed Down by Inaction – NY Times
• A rise in US interest rates may come sooner than we thought – Guardian, Pratley
• Majority of Fed officials prepared to raise interest rates in June, documents show – Washington Post
• Rising gas prices are driving a surge in inflation – Washington Post
• U.S. economic data point to second-quarter GDP rebound – Reuters
• Dudley joins chorus of Fed officials seeing rate hikes soon – Reuters
• The Benefits of ‘Zoning Lite’ in Houston – Bloomberg
• Does the Fed Have Enough Time to Answer the Big ‘If’? – WSJ
• Blue billionaires on top. POLITICO’s list of Top 100 donors of disclosed money tilts leftward. – Politico
• Americans Don’t Miss Manufacturing — They Miss Unions – FiveThirtyEight
• Why hasn’t increased household formation led to increased housing construction? – Bonddad
• America’s luxury apartment boom is gentrification on steroids – Quartz
• The Number of Million-Dollar Homes in the U.S. Has Doubled in Four Years – Bloomberg
• The Fed Minutes are Noise – Value Walk
• US Earnings Recession: Four Quarters Long… but How Much Longer? – Constantin Gurdgiev

Americas

• Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis Addressed in Bipartisan Bill – NY Times
• Skyrocketing housing costs ‘clear and present danger’ to Vancouver’s economy, new report warns – Financial Post
• There has never been a country that should have been so rich but ended up this poor – Washington Post
• Syncrude promises workers paycheques, no layoffs as oilsands sits idle during fires – Financial Post
• What the world can learn from Argentina’s holdout saga – VoxEU

 Terra Specufestorus

• Medicare co-payments are fine – for those with the capacity to pay – Guardian
• Better schools will benefit the whole economy. Why can’t the Coalition see that? – Guardian, Kouk
• Myer to close Wollongong, Orange department stores, 130 jobs to go – ABC…Geelong Next?…
• Feeney falls foul of the politics of negative gearing – ABC
• McDonald’s giving workers a ‘rotten deal’, says NTEU officer – ABC
• PEFO budget numbers unchanged, Treasury stands by forecasts – ABC…PEFO & Budget numbers are bullshit…
• The real story about growth and why we don’t need to worry about bracket creep – Guardian, Jericho
• Budget update says big spending cuts, or tax rises, needed to reach surplus – Fairfax
• Tax office introduces new rules for prestige property owners – Domainfax
• Major hotel chains shortchange housekeepers tens of thousands of dollars, investigation finds – Fairfax
• Questioning the assumptions underlying the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook – The Conversation
• Labor seizes on Treasury and Finance secretaries’ warning about revenue – The Conversation
• Banking excuses wearing a bit thin – The Conversation
• Aussies Tax Foreigners Extra for Buying Homes – Bloomberg
• Templeton Sees Aussie Drop to 60s as China Spurs RBA Cut Risk – Bloomberg
• Don’t believe the budget forecasts: pre-election economic update – Fairfax, Martin
• Turnbull’s flubbed it, even if he wins – Fairfax
• Understanding how interest rates got so low – Fairfax
• Tasmania the unlikely star of Australia’s two-speed economy – Fairfax, Pascoemeter…must be doing a Tassie holiday…
• Australian labour market – continues to languish – Bill Mitchell
• Dairy giants under fire as Australian farmers get assistance – NZ Herald
• The Housing problem hits rock bottom – NZ Herald
• Is there any difference between Labor or Liberal coalition governments when it comes to economic management? – Pearls & Irritations, McMillan…very good read…
• The more we examine the Coalition’s ‘plan’ to cut corporate taxes, the more is revealed of its economic shortcomings. – Pearls & Irritations, McAuley
• Bamboo ceiling and the old boys club. Our business sector is not equiping itself for our future in Asia. – Pearls & Irritations, John Menadue
• Aussie wage growth remains at record low – Callam Pickering
• The increasing casualisation of Aussie employment – Callam Pickering
• Cutting taxes to balance the budget? You’re having a Laffer – ABC, Verrender
• Fairfax-Ipsos poll: Malcolm Turnbull’s approval slides as election campaign drags – Fairfax...6-1 going down, 6-1 going down…

Commodities

• Auto demand supports higher platinum prices – Nikkei Asian Review
• Crude tanker storage fleet off Singapore points to stubborn oil glut – Reuters
• Too costly to shut: Mine sales stumble on looming clean-ups – Reuters
• Ramping up actions, rhetoric won’t solve global steel glut – Reuters, Clyde Russell…good read…
• Hungarian treasure gains reputation among gourmands – Nikkei Asian Review
• Computing 2016/17 U.S. soybean carryout scenarios – Reuters
• Copper stocks pendulum swings back from Shanghai to London – Reuters, Andy Home
• The Iron Mountain on China’s Doorstep Tops 100 Million Tons – Bloomberg
• What the rise of electric vehicles means for lithium and PGMs – Mineweb
• The commodity that no one knows about but everybody wants to buy – Mineweb
• Australia faces competition from Malaysia, Guinea as key bauxite supplier to China – Platts
• World sugar stocks nearing ‘historically low levels’ – Agrimoney
• Canada’s canola area ‘has maxed out’, amid disease fears – Agrimoney

Capital markets

• Analysts mull the effects of possible Fed hike on yuan, China equities – SCMP
• Charts reveal a bearish trend lurking in gold futures – Market Watch
• Deutsche Bank investigates suspicious trades – Market Watch
• Widening U.S. money fund spread sets stage for $400 billion shift – Reuters
• A 50-Year U.S. Bond Makes More Sense Than Ever – Bloomberg, Ritholtz
• Bring On the Currency War – Bloomberg, Kocherlakota
• The Fed Has Something to Prove to Wall Street – Bloomberg
• The Irresistible Force That Dominates Currency Markets Is Back – Bloomberg
• Why the U.S. Dollar Will Continue to Rally – Caixin
• The impact of competitiveness amongst banks on liquidity creation: Evidence from the US – VoxEU
• The leverage ratio versus Basel II myth – VoxEU
• Low interest rates and banks’ net interest margins – VoxEU…good read…
• Sovereign bond holdings in the euro area – the impact of QE – Bruegel

 Global Macro

• G-7 finance officials set to debate stimulus Friday – Nikkei Asian Review
• Japan and the U.S. are headed for a showdown over currency manipulation – Market Watch
• Fighting the Next Global Financial Crisis – Project-Syndicate, Shiller
• Supply Side, Demand Side, or Innovation Side? – Project-Syndicate, Phelps
• What if central banks were no longer independent? – Market Watch
• Advanced Manufacturing May Change the Rules of Economic Development – Economonitor
• Shortening Distances in Economic Development: The Poor as a Digital Crowd – Economonitor
• From Record Highs to Equity Exodus amid Rising Global Risks – Economonitor
• Could a Hawkish Fed Bring Back the ‘Nightmarish Merry-Go-Round?’ – WSJ
• Zombie Banks Are Only Half Buried – Bloomberg
• Fed rate hike on the table for June – FOMC minutes review – Nordea
• The new normal that never was – VoxEU
• Lacking new ideas, G7 to agree on ‘go-your-own-way’ approach – Business Times
• The Biggest Bubbles: China vs. The U.S. – Value Walk
• G-7 finance chiefs tackle global revitalization efforts on day one of Sendai summit – Japan Times
• Limits Of Acceptable Stimulus – Seeking Alpha
• End Of Debt Supercycle Means Low Rates For Years To Come – Seeking Alpha…and that is what it has been, a debt supercycle…
• America’s central bank picks a poor time to get hawkish – Economist

…and furthermore…

• Want Cheap Rents? Build Expensive Housing, Then Wait – Bloomberg…VKC to Melbourne, come in, over…
• Payment shock: bank customers could get zapped for overspending – Guardian
• Freakish fluke that 187-carat diamond pulled from Canada’s Arctic ice was ever found – Financial Post…good read…
• Scientists have determined how we can prevent half of all cancer deaths – Washington Post
• Ukrainian hacker pleads guilty to his role in international insider trading scam – Telegraph
• What’s Wrong With Executive Compensation? – Project-Syndicate…they tend to like themselves and think they are worth a lot (and think nobody else works like they do)…
• Toward a Viable Climate Target – Project-Syndicate
• Here’s what people in their 90s really think about death – The Conversation
• Will AI spark a wave of job losses in banking? This what the experts think – CNBC
• The Way Back for Monetary Policy – Project-Syndicate
• Monopoly’s New Era – Project-Syndicate, Stiglitz
• The Circular Economy: Butterflies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Economonitor
• So Long, Fat Expat Packages. Fewer Bankers in Hong Kong Get Them Now – Bloomberg
• An Equation That Subtracts From Inequality – Bloomberg
• Exploding Lake, Blood-Laden Drones Spur Rwanda Tech Boom – Bloomberg
• Eurovision’s odd odyssey to geopolitics in spandex – BNE Intellinews, Aris
• What’s your (sur)name? Intergenerational mobility over six centuries – VoxEU
• Regulation and growth – Bruegel
• The return of yellow fever tests global public health system again – Market Watch
• The False Promise of DNA Testing – The Atlantic
• How Big Pharma Uses Charity Programs to Cover for Drug Price Hikes – Bloomberg
• Lotto Tax – Why The Lottery Is A Regressive Tax On The Nation’s Poorest – Value Walk
• The Magic of Compound Interest – Value Walk
• Climate Change: ‘Fundamentally Unstable’ East Antarctica Glacier Heading Toward A Point Of No Return – IB Times
• How to Break Your Addiction to Work – HBR
• Keynes And The Quantity Theory Of Money – Seeking Alpha
• Indians demand government action after temperatures hit 51C – Guardian…that is a tad hot…
• AI will create ‘useless class’ of human, predicts bestselling historian – Guardian

…and at the bottom of the 9^th…

• Homes: What you can buy for $75,000 – CBS… pretty much nothing in Australia…