Links 6 February 2018

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• Bitcoin has a huge scaling problem—Lightning could be the solution – Ars Technica
• Yellen Says Prices `High’ for Stocks, Commercial Real Estate – Bloomberg
• Larry Summers: Jerome Powell’s challenge at the Fed – Washington Post
• At Tesla’s Factory, Building The Car Of The Future Has Painful And Permanent Consequences – BuzzFeed
• As Stock-Market Rout Spreads, Investors Fear Markets Falling in Lockstep – WSJ
• “Factor investing” gains popularity – The Economist
• Bitcoin’s Crashing? That Won’t Stop Arbitrage Traders From Raking in Millions – WSJ
• Democracy continues its disturbing retreat – The Economist
• Bond Market’s Debt-Ceiling Alarm Bell Is Ringing Loud and Clear – Bloomberg
• We’ve reached peak smartphone. What are Apple and Samsung going to do now? – Washington Post
• Bitcoin Ban Expands Across Credit Cards as JPMorgan, BofA Recoil – Bloomberg
• Bitcoin biggest bubble in history, says economist who predicted 2008 crash – The Guardian
• The global top 1 percent earned twice as much as the bottom 50 percent in recent years – VOX
• Roubini Says Bitcoin Is the ‘Biggest Bubble in Human History’ – Bloomberg

Americas:

• Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo – Washington Post
• Jared Kushner’s property empire had to thrive under Trump, right? Wrong – The Guardian
• Healthcare is a huge industry – no wonder Amazon is muscling in – The Guardian
• The U.S. government is set to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year, an 84 percent jump from last year – The Washington Post
• Rent Controls, a Bane of Landlords, Are Gaining Support as Costs Soar – WSJ
• Yellen disappointed not to get a second term as Fed chair – AP

Europe:

• No 10 rules out customs union with EU – The Guardian
• EU and UK seek speedy Brexit deal on defence and security – FT
• Brexiteers plot to install ‘dream team’ at No 10: Boris Johnson, Michael Gove – The Times
• Bond Market Says, ‘What Europe Crisis?’ – WSJ
• When Brexit fails to deliver it won’t be the fault of the Tory right. Oh no – The Guardian
• Tories are lying to the voters and themselves over Brexit – The Times
• Europe’s new data protection rules export privacy standards worldwide – Politico

Asia:

• Companies Everywhere Copied Japanese Manufacturing. Now the Model Is Cracking – WSJ
• China Launches Probe Over U.S. Sorghum Imports – WSJ
• Everything must go: Chinese investors sell off their foreign RE holdings – The Real Deal
• The Tech Giants Growing Behind China’s Great Firewall – Visual Capitalist
• India Turns Against Bitcoin But Embraces Blockchain – Bloomberg

Trans-Tasman:

• The minister the money and the mine. How a rotten deal was hatched – The SMH
• Whoever wins the argument over wages growth will likely win the next election – The Guardian
• Gas giant bills threat: price hikes of up to $430 predicted – The SMH
• ‘Unforgeable’ Australian bank notes under attack from counterfeiters – The SMH
• Bunnings’ UK woes deepen with $1 billion writedown – The SMH
• How Australia helped trap the world’s most wanted money launderer. – ABC
• Dutton’s dark victory – The Monthly
• Next election will offer voters more genuine, wider choice – The Age
• Hospitals are risky places – but some are better than others – The Conversation
• The Murray Darling Basin Plan is not delivering – there’s no more time to waste – The Conversation
• Million-dollar vice-chancellor salaries – ABC
• Government will force Labor MPs to High Court ‘if necessary’ over dual citizenship: Pyne – SBS
• Coalition warned welfare overhaul could worsen homelessness – The Guardian
• Barfoot & Thompson had worst January sales since 2011 – Interest.co.nz

Other:

• Amazon files patents for wristbands that track workers – NY Post