Weekend Reading: 23-24 December 2017

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs to Setup Cryptocurrency Trading Desk – Coin Telegraph
• Goldman Sachs to set up cryptocurrency trading desk: Bloomberg – Reuters
• What Makes a Job Vulnerable to AI Automation? – VICE
• Who Will Bear the Brunt of Automation? – The Atlantic
• Now You Can Literally Get Fucked by the Price of Bitcoin – VICE
• Bitcoin and the Value of Financial Freedom – Bloomberg
• Global disasters in 2017 cost $306 billion—nearly double the cost of 2016 – Quartz
• Trump’s stock market growth vs. past presidents – Axios
• Oil Holds Gains Near Two-Week High After U.S. Stockpiles Tumble – Bloomberg
• Bitcoin Billionaires May Have Found a Way to Cash Out – Bloomberg
• The World Economy in 2018 – Project-Syndicate, Boskin
• The Last Basel Round? – Project-Syndicate, Davies
• Is Another Debt Crisis On the Way? – Project-Syndicate, Derviş…isn’t it always?…
• Emerging Markets Don’t Control Their Own Destiny – Bloomberg

Americas:

• Most Americans Say Trump’s Election Has Led to Worse Race Relations in the U.S. – Pew Research
• What it was really like to be in Miami during the crazy cocaine boom – PBS
• The new tax plan is the worst Christmas present for the middle class – Medium
• How Tax Cuts Affect Revenue – WSJ
• Dozens of lawmakers stand to reap a tax windfall due to a GOP loophole – CNBC
• Workers Won’t Profit From Corporate Tax Windfall – Bloomberg
• U.S. life expectancy fell in 2016 as opioid overdoses surged: CDC – Reuters
• CDC releases grim new opioid overdose figures: ‘We’re talking about more than an exponential increase’ – Washington Post
• Trump’s Singular Accomplishment – The Reformed Broker
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now allowed to hold $3B capital reserve – Housing Wire
• Companies that tie announcements to tax bill earn goodwill with Trump – Washington Post
• American land barons: 100 wealthy families now own nearly as much land as that of New England – Washington Post
• Arrest of Chinese-Canadian businessman sought in fraud and money-laundering case – Financial Post
• Senate passes stopgap spending bill, allowing Congress to avert partial government shutdown– Washington Post
• Republicans warn Trump of 2018 bloodbath – Politico
• 2017: The Year Pot Policy Stood Still as Opioids Ravaged the Nation – RollingStone
• It’s Trump’s economy now – Politico
• U.S.-based equity funds post $22 billion of outflows, largest withdrawals in 2017 – Reuters
• U.S. launches effort to reduce reliance on imports or critical minerals – Reuters
• Individualism and opposition to redistribution in the US: The cultural legacy of the frontier – VoxEU
• JPMorgan: Tax Cut Not Too Impressive – ValueWalk
• The True Lesson of the Tax Bill: This Country Is for Rich People – Slate

Europe:

• Catalan Regional Election Results – Bloomberg
• Exiting the EU Committee – Parliament UK
• U.K.’s Secret Brexit Studies Reveal That Airbus Makes Planes – Bloomberg
• What Does Mario Draghi Want for Christmas? A Blockchain Expert – Bloomberg
• Banks Are Worried Tech Systems Could Crash After Introduction of New EU Rules – Bloomberg
• Hinkley Point: the ‘dreadful deal’ behind the world’s most expensive power plant – Guardian…classic read – almost Australian level incompetence…
• British passports will return to ‘iconic’ blue cover after Brexit, it is confirmed – Telegraph…that will make the Poms happy…
• Russia is stuck in the middle income trap – BNE Intellinews, Aris
• Russia opens up the icy Northeast Sea Route transport route to Asia – BNE Intellinews
• Italy’s Five Star Movement Is Reckless on the Euro – Bloomberg
• Euro under pressure after separatists in Spain’s Catalonia in majority – MarketWatch
• Optimistic UK business confidence indicators predict smooth Brexit – Bruegel

Asia:

• China won’t arrest two fentanyl kingpins wanted by U.S. – VICE
• North Korean Soldiers Chase Defecting Comrade Across DMZ – WSJ
• US takes India back to WTO in solar power dispute – Reuters
• Tech Titans Wage War in China’s Next Internet Revolution – WSJ
• Didi Chuxing, a Chinese Rival to Uber, Raises $4 Billion – NY Times
• The global backlash against China is growing – Washington Post
• North Korea Is Suspect in Hack of Seoul Bitcoin Exchange – Bloomberg
• Jakarta Is Sinking So Fast, It Could End Up Underwater – NY Times
• How China’s “sharp power” is muting criticism abroad; And stealthily trying to shape public opinion in its favour – The Economist
• China Shrugs Off Debt Worries as Xi Takes Firmer Economic Grip– NY Times
• Japan’s real wages drop for 5th straight month in October– Nikkei Asian Review
• Amid rising global migration, Asians get cold shoulder from US– Nikkei Asian Review
• China has India surrounded in their new Great Game – Nikkei Asian Review
• Chinese money risks undermining Southeast Asian governance – Nikkei Asian Review
• Why Xi Jinping is taking a longer view on the economy – SCMP
• With record debt maturing next year, Chinese developers set to tap offshore bond market – SCMP
• China’s winter misery brings LNG traders the gift of volatility – SCMP
• China’s Creditor Imperialism – Project-Syndicate, Chellaney
• Chinese officials point fingers as gasification crisis worsens – Reuters
• Market reforms give anticorruption reforms more traction: Evidence from China – VoxEU

Trans-Tasman:

• Tesla big battery outsmarts lumbering coal units after Loy Yang trips – Renew Economy
• ‘That’s a record’: Elon Musk’s Tesla battery in South Australia responded in just 140 milliseconds after a coal-fired power plant failed – Business Insider
• ‘Australia’s slave trade’: The growing drive to uncover secret history of Australian South Sea Islanders – ABC
• ‘I’m not going to put up with it any more’: Morrison vows to defend Christianity in 2018 – The SMH
• Australia will wind back military operations in Iraq by ending its contribution to coalition air strikes targeting Islamic State – ABC
• Gambling report inaction shows government cowed by pokie industry – The SMH
• Nearly half of Australia isn’t keen on self-driving cars – Business Insider
• Elderly drivers: Grieving family calls for greater political courage to deal with ‘growing deadly problem’ – ABC
• Charge tax shark Exxon with contempt of Parliament – Michael West
• Egg farmers accused of colluding with NSW Government to sabotage moves to outlaw battery hens – ABC
• ACCC rejects fears US net neutrality decision will hit Australian internet users – SBS
• Govt-run KiwiSaver scheme unlikely to get go-ahead – Interest.co.nz
• Australian wages stall, as immigration soars – ABC…any truth to the rumours the ABC has already been hauled over the coals for running this headline?…
• Beijing Jingneng seeks clean energy growth from Australia and Beijing Olympics – SCMP…not all Chinese investment in Australia is dubious…
• Building and buyouts: full cost of Snowy Hydro expansion could hit nearly $12 billion – Domainfax
• Dangers in Scott Morrison’s corporate tax argument – Domainfax…mainly the gag reflex while thinking about it…
• Trump tax cuts: Scott Morrison warns business will abandon Australia while we are at the beach – Domainfax…not if it is reliant on gouging Australians, ripping off Australian taxpayers, or extracting Australian resources – does Australia have any other kind of business?
• Trumpism Down Under – Project-Syndicate, Patten…thought provoking read…

…and furthermore…

• Let’s not become slaves to algorithms – SCMP
• Markets cannot afford to view politics and political risk through rose-tinted glasses – SCMP
• Russian hackers targeted more than 200 journalists globally – AP…Russia certainly does, but almost all other major nations do too…
• Evidence from peer review that women are held to higher standards – VoxEU
• Critical functions and public interest in banking services: Need for clarification? – Bruegel
• Economists Lose Credibility When They’re Too Certain – Bloomberg, Smith…all market analysts do when they don’t question themselves…
• The Bananapocalypse Is Nigh – Bloomberg
• Workers Won’t Profit From Corporate Tax Windfall – Bloomberg
• Russia Announces Plans To Launch Luxury Hotel On The ISS – ValueWalk
• What We Don’t Know About Sexual Harassment – Bloomberg…what we do know is that it happens in a lot more workplaces than get reported…

Video

Mark Blyth – Why People Vote for Those Who Work Against Their Best Interests