Weekend reading: 5-6 August 2017

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• From barter to blockchain: A history of money – Tech Crunch
• Apple Now Owns $51.5 Billion In Treasurys, More Than Mexico, Turkey Or Norway – Zero Hedge
• Global Inflation Hits Lowest Level Since 2009 – WSJ
• The Geography of Innovation – City Lab
• Shell Oil CEO stunner: ‘My next car will be electric’ – Think Progress
• Saudi Oil Minister Met With Top Commodity Hedge Funds – Bloomberg
• Central Bank Control over Interest Rates – Mercatus
• IMF Faces Internal Resistance Amid Push to Uncover State Corruption – WSJ
• Hedge fund legends are losing assets and underperforming the market significantly this year – CNBC
• Complex short Vix products draw fire as vol plumbs lows – Risk.net
• Bitcoin to Take Over Civilization – The Street

Americas:

• America’s imminent productivity boom – The Week
• Mueller’s job would be protected by bipartisan Senate bill – CBS
• Bipartisan bills unveiled to protect Mueller – Politico
• Under Trump’s new immigration rule, his own grandfather likely wouldn’t have gotten in – Washington Post
• Fannie, Freddie Signal Possible Payment Delay as Debt Ceiling Looms – WSJ
• It’s Not Good To See So Many Generals In The White House – The Federalist
• After trying to build self-driving tractors for more than 20 years, John Deere has learned a hard truth about autonomy – Quartz
• Trump is losing, and the weakest among us will pay the price – VOX
• What Republicans Could Do About Trump – The Atlantic
• Trump’s plan to slash post-crisis Wall Street rules puts America at risk – Business Insider
• Banks Are Steering Clear of the Legal Pot Businesses – Bloomberg
• Venezuela voting machines ‘were tampered with’ – The Times

Europe:

• Carney warns Brexit uncertainty is building – BBC
• ’It’s hard to remember how fraught it was’: Mark Carney on the credit crunch – The Guardian
• European regulators have written the salesman’s obituary – FT
• A second Brexit referendum? It’s looking more likely by the day – The Guardian
• We could end the buy-to-leave scandal – The Guardian
• Czechs Deliver Europe’s First Rate Hike as Inflation Returns – Bloomberg
• Russia Warns of Worsening U.S. Ties, Criticizes Trump ‘Weakness’ – Apple.news
• Germany to Take on Tesla With Gigafactory Rival – Bloomberg

Asia:

• Let’s Face It: North Korean Nuclear Weapons Can Hit the U.S. – NY Times
• Report: South Korea Developing New Pop Group Capable Of Reaching U.S. – The Onion
• U.S. businesses fear Trump mishandling of China IP, trade probe – Reuters
• China’s Internet Censors Play a Tougher Game of Cat and Mouse – NY Times
• Japan monthly wages suffer sharpest fall in 2 years – FT
• China-India border spat casts shadow ahead of BRICS summit – Reuters

Trans-Tasman:

• Australia’s Biggest Grain Exporter Trials Blockchain Tracking System – Coin Desk
• Ten years on, voters say Labor’s $52bn stimulus saved Australia from recession – The Guardian
• Australia’s Prime Minister Slowly Realizes Trump Is a Complete Idiot – NY Mag
• Malcolm Turnbull contradicts his public claims on US refugee deal in leaked Donald Trump transcript – Canberra Times
• Marriage on the rocks in divided Liberal Party – ABC
• Sydney terror raids: Plane bomb plot ‘completely disrupted’, police say – ABC
• The six charts that prove why workers are feeling the pinch – The SMH
• ‘They should be gone’: Police, government plan to dismantle Martin Place camp – The SMH
• Australia needs decisiveness from Malcolm Turnbull on same-sex marriage, not the indecision of his predecessor – ABC
• World has already used nature’s budget for year, and Australia is worst offender – Renew Economy
• Australia Slams the Brakes on Property Investment – Bloomberg
• What will happen to property investors when the economy rolls over? Just look west, it isn’t pretty – ABC
• ‘It’s not how trade works’: NZ Government says ‘Buy Queensland’ policy crazy – ABC
  Do Auckland land bankers even exist? – Interest.co.nz

Other:

• The hackers behind the WannaCry ransomware attack have finally cashed out – Quartz
• WannaCry ’hero’ arrested for creating other malware – CNN Money