New Years Links, 1 January 2018

The artist’s fairy floss sold on the merry-go-round of life (sucker dealer): sucker dealer and the righteous anus, 1991, Dale Frank, National Gallery of Victoria

China

• China Offers Tax Incentives to Persuade U.S. Companies to Stay – NY Times
• China puts US$15,000 annual personal cap on overseas bank card withdrawals – SCMP
• China asks itself a tough question: Can it accept slower growth? – CNBC
• Chinese Economy in 2018 and Beyond – Economonitor
• China won’t cut its debts or fix its industries — but that’s OK, says Pimco’s Asia guru – CNBC
• Can China tame the ‘grey rhinos’ and ‘black swans’ in 2018? – SCMP
• China’s Communist party raises army of nationalist trolls – FT.com
• China vows to press on with curbs on local government debt – SCMP
• 13 Firms Fined for Skirting Lending Rules in Guangfa Bank Scandal – Caixin
• Chinese startup launches app to outsource alcohol consumption to surrogate drinkers – SCMP…job opportunities for Australians?…
• Beijing warns of ‘grim’ bond default risks as it orders local government checks – SCMP
• China’s central bank tightens security in US$5.5 trillion QR code payment services – SCMP

Asia

• OIL, BRIBES, POLITICIANS: WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘CLEAN’ SINGAPORE? – SCMP
• The other side of the economy: If the economy is looking so good, why does it feel so bad? – Business Times
• Dozens Arrested in Iran’s Second City After Protests Over Prices – Bloomberg
• 2018 to see growing China-Japan economic rivalry in Asia – Nikkei Asian Review
• Iran Cuts Off Internet Amid Mass Protests, Calls For “Armed Uprising” – Zero Hedge

Europe

• Opportunities and risks for the European economy in 2018 – Nikkei Asian Review
• Jailing of Ulyukaev is a bad signal for real reform – BNE Intellinews…just one oligarch disposing of another in VVP’s Russia…
• Europe’s banks brace for a huge overhaul that throws open the doors to their data – CNBC
• Why Much Is at Stake in Italy’s March 4 Elections – Bloomberg
• The weaponisation of tedium is Putin’s new strategy – BNE Intellinews
• Investors into Russia should brace for a turbulent 2018 – BNE Intellinews
• ‘Passport sales’ by EU countries test bloc’s openness – Nikkei Asian Review
• Germany – a most dangerous and ridiculous nation – Bill Mitchell
• Eurozone economy picks up pace of borrowing in November – RTE
• Putin power: will he try to stay in office beyond 2024? – Irish Times…a question we will see again and again for the next 6 years
• What the Pint of Guinness Index tells us – Irish Times

United Kingdom

• UK millennials to inherit more than their parents, says think-tank – FT.com
• Heard of “Rules of origin”? They could severely restrict Britain’s trade post-Brexit – Prospect
• UK to sink to the bottom of OECD wage growth index in 2018 – Guardian
• UK’s poorest to fare worst in age of automation, thinktank warns – Guardian
• The real Brexit challenges facing the UK in 2018 – FT.com

United States

• The U.S. has one of the stingiest minimum wage policies of any wealthy nation – Washington Post
• Why U.S. companies’ offshore cash won’t rush back home – CBS
• The Upside to America’s Gadget Infatuation – Bloomberg
• Legal Weed Isn’t The Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be – FiveThirtyEight
• US retail’s turbulent relationship with private equity – FT.com
• What Makes the U.S. Retirement System a Bad Example – Bloomberg
• America’s Worst Graveyard Shift Is Grinding Up Workers – Bloomberg
• South Florida’s Real Estate Reckoning Could Be Closer Than You Think – Bloomberg
• U.S.. Consumer Confidence Falls in December From 17-Year High – Bloomberg
• Addiction Inc. Marketing wizards and urine-testing millionaires: Inside the lucrative business of America’s opioid crisis. – NY Times
• Why firms in America’s US$8bn marijuana industry can’t keep a bank account open – SCMP
• When Will America’s Wars have their Harvey Weinstein Moment? – Pearls and Irritations, Bacevich
• Homeowners Lining Up to Pay Early Taxes Is a Sign of Blue-State Pain to Come – Slate
• The Dark Bounty of Texas Oil – New Yorker
• Head Of National Counterterrorism Center: Easy Access To Weapons Makes America More Dangerous – Zero Hedge…huh?…
• America and the Great Abdication – The Atlantic
• The Places That May Never Recover From the Recession – The Atlantic

Americas

• Brazil is facing a pivotal election next year—here’s why investors are buckling up now – CNBC
• Federal consumer agency delays report on Canadian banks’ sales practices – CBC
• Housing market psychology fragile as new mortgage rules loom in 2018 – BNN
• Canadians are piling on debt, but still call debt reduction their top financial priority – Financial Post
• Argentina is set on becoming a lithium superpower, but there’s one big problem – Financial Post
• Why the elephant in the room is monetary policy not fiscal stimulus – Financial Post

Terra Incognita

• Trade deal with Indonesia ‘very close’ despite setbacks, Steven Ciobo says – ABC…lets break out the petroleum jelly, shall we?…
• Government spend on management consultants balloons as giant accountancy firms cash in – ABC…the parasites feeding off the Commonwealth and State public services is a national disgrace…
• Australian air force put on alert after Russian long-range bombers headed south – Guardian
• WA Liberal Party accepted $120,000 in donations from Chinese business figures – West Australian
• How your social media account could help you get a loan – Domainfax…and our MB postings?…
• Either man invents time travel or CBA is up to its old tricks – Michael West…how does one switch from Investment to Owner Occupied for 3 properties in just one call?…
• Donate, win government work, dodge tax: how Goldman, JP Morgan and RBS do it – Michael West
• Game of Mates: How favours bleed the nation – Pearls and Irritations, Cameron Murray
• Good debt, bad debt: Poor infrastructure choices, no reform – and Lee Kuan Yew – Pearls and Irritations, Fraser
• Bad data collection means we don’t know how much the middle class is being squeezed by the wealthy – Pearls and Irritations, Sheil, Stilwell
• House prices are not necessarily correlated with changes in supply and demand – Pearls and Irritations, Frankel
• Think twice before buying a high-rise apartment, homeowners warned – New Daily
• Precarious living just ain’t what it used to be – New Daily
• A missing PM 50 years ago still affects Australian-Chinese relations today – Nikkei Asian Review
• Nation of Debt: Half a trillion dollars and still rising – NZ Herald
• Urban sprawl and the land that keeps on giving – NZ Herald

Commodities

• Chinese buying drives surge in US crude exports – Nikkei Asian Review
• American reams: why a ‘paperless world’ still hasn’t happened – Guardian
• Platinum price outlook is rosy, says industry group highlighting China as demand driver – SCMP
• Half of U.S. soy exports to China would fall afoul of new rules – Reuters
• China’s November coal imports from Australia slip on port congestion: customs – Reuters
• The Lithium Bull Market Is Going Into Overdrive – Value Walk
• Can electric cars and an expanding global economy power the next commodity supercycle? – Financial Post

Capital Markets

• DCM bankers battle the rise of the machines – Euromoney
• Watch 10-year Treasury yields for signs of danger in 2018 – FT.com
• The Bond Market’s Great Elastic Band Act – Bloomberg…worth paying attention to…
• How Trump’s Tax Overhaul Could Hit Big Foreign Banks – Bloomberg
• Plunge in volatility index stokes fears over crash – Telegraph
• US bankers’ bonuses to dwarf those in Europe – Telegraph
• The Dreaded “Flattening Yield Curve” Meets QE Unwind – Wolf Street...some great charts on UST curves…

Global Macro

• Fed could surprise markets with more interest rate hikes than expected – CNBC
• Central banks: will the gift keep on giving? – Euromoney
• Chinese cities’ GDP swell by 2035 but can’t beat NY, Tokyo, London – Nikkei Asian Review
• China sends chills through South Pacific politics – Nikkei Asian Review
• WTF is wrong with rich people? – Salon
• The Great Trade War That Didn’t Happen in 2017 – Bloomberg
• Chinese Consumers Now Rule the World. Get Used to It – Bloomberg
• Monopolies May Be Worse for Workers Than for Consumers – Bloomberg, Smith
• Keynes or Keynesian isn’t a dirty word – Domainfax, Gitto…quite right, Keynes was a genius…
• Credit cannot expand faster than fundamentals forever – Value Walk
• You Can’t Regulate Away Crony Capitalism – Value Walk

…and furthermore…

• Trump aide told Australian diplomat Russia had dirt on Clinton – report – Guardian…would Alexander spin some bull for an audience?…
• Kenichi Yamamoto, Father of Mazda’s Rotary Engine, Is Dead at 95 – NY Times
• Nepal bans blind people and double amputees from climbing Everest – Guardian
• 4 steps to conquering your fear of math – MarketWatch
• What needs to happen before electric cars take over the world – Domainfax
• Is this the future? Dutch plan vast windfarm island in North Sea – Guardian…just imagine what could be generated off Southern Australia…
• Healthier fry-ups on table as scientific breakthrough cuts cancer risk from bacon – Telegraph
• Facebook hoping Messenger Kids will draw future users, and their data – ABC
• How Alzheimer’s emerged from the shadows – FT.com
• How office snooping boosts the bottom line – FT.com
• How a melting Arctic changes everything, Part III: The economic Arctic – Bloomberg…good read…
• Boeing unveils a drone capable of landing on an aircraft carrier, as Navy competition heats up – Washington Post…we know where this goes – drones the size of mosquitoes capable of carrying explosives…
• The Economists Who Stole Christmas – Project-Syndicate, Varoufakis
• What Mainstream Economists Get Wrong About Secular Stagnation – INET
• The Hidden-In-Plain-Sight Mechanism Of The Super-Wealthy: Money-Laundering 2.0 – Zero Hedge

Acrylic fur with barbed wire, 1968, Ti Parks, National Gallery of Victoria