Links 7 May 2018

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• Robo-Buffett no longer such a ridiculous notion – Reuters’
• A Small College’s Endowment Manager Beat Harvard With Index Funds – Bloomberg
• Tesla’s Numbers Are Even More Dramatic Than its CEO – WSJ
• Rulers of the world: read Karl Marx! – The Economist
• The Real Villain Behind Our New Gilded Age: Monopoly Power – NY Times
• Bermuda Officials Geeked Out With Blockchain Fans From Davos – Bloomberg
• Saudis Move to Push Oil Prices Higher, in Break From Past Policy – WSJ
• Tesla Doesn’t Burn Fuel, It Burns Cash – Bloomberg
• Does the VIX Need Fixing? Sure Looks That Way – Bloomberg
• Economists focus too little on what people really care about – The Economist
• As Warren Buffett’s Empire Expands, Many Jobs Disappear – Bloomberg
• Germany’s Electric Cars Are Coming for Elon Musk and Tesla – Bloomberg

Americas:

• Revealed: Trump team hired spy firm for ‘dirty ops’ on Iran arms deal – The Guardian
• At His Ranch, John McCain Shares Memories and Regrets With Friends – NY Times
• As the ‘King of Debt,’ Trump borrowed to build his empire. Then he began spending hundreds of millions in cash. – Washington Post
• U.S. Probes Cohen Over Cash He Built Up During Campaign – WSJ
• Trump Turns to Outsiders, Not White House Staff, for Key Advice – WSJ
• America is more diverse than ever — but still segregated – Washington Post
• U.S. Farmers Are Already Suffering From Lost Chinese Orders for Corn, Soybeans and Pork – WSJ
• A Fast-Food Problem: Where Have All the Teenagers Gone? – NY Times
• California is now the world’s fifth-largest economy, surpassing United Kingdom – LA Times
• As Trump’s tariffs bite, small U.S. manufacturers begin to tap the… – Reuters
• The Real Reason Ford Is Phasing Out Its Sedans – WSJ
• Robin Hanson Might Be America’s Creepiest Economist – Slate
• Is the Great Recession Still Holding Down Wages? (Wonkish) – NY Times
• Argentina raises interest rates to 40% – BBC
• Argentina stuns markets as it pushes interest rates to 40% – FT

Europe:

• Greek Banks’ Clean Bill of Health Frees Bailout Funds – Bloomberg
• Anger in the UK and France over Trump’s NRA speech – Reuters
• Brexit plan drawn up for border checks between NI and rest of UK – The Guardian
• Britain ’will not be able to leave customs union until 2023’, ministers told – The Telegraph
• British banking leverage remains ‘dangerously high’ – FT

Asia:

• The Chinese model for economic innovation – Sound Cloud
• A U.S. warrior goes to China – Washington Post
• U.S. Car Buyers to Japan: We Don’t Want Your Sedans Anymore – WSJ
• Tencent drives China artificial intelligence push – FT
• U.S. Wants $200 Billion Cut in China Trade Imbalance by End of 2020 – WSJ
• U.S.-China Trade Talks End With Key Differences Still Unresolved – Bloomberg
• China, U.S. reach some deals in trade row but differences still… – Reuters

Trans-Tasman:

• The Tragedy of Australia’s NBN – Medium
• Country mobile phone and internet bandwidth forces residents online in the middle of the night – ABC
• Stop the war on workers – CPA
• Budget 2018: Australia to pay for new high-speed internet cable for PNG and Solomons using aid funds – ABC
• Malaysia busts syndicate smuggling Sri Lankans to Australia and New Zealand – Channel News Asia
• Government ‘butt-squad’ to chase billions in criminal tobacco fraud – WA Today
• ‘A race to the bottom’: how Australia imported its asylum seeker policies from the US – The Guardian
• Gonski 2.0: teaching creativity and critical thinking through the curriculum is already happening – The Conversation
• Tax cuts for the wealthy in the pipeline – The SMH
• Waste crisis: Australia isn’t recycling, we’re ‘just collecting’ – Canberra Times
• Why private schools make everyone nastier – The SMH
• Young Aussies to bear burden of budget repair task – The SMH
• Musk says Tesla’s next big battery will be eight times bigger – Renew Economy
• Why is Kevin Rudd using Chinese social media to criticise Malcolm Turnbull in Mandarin? – ABC
• Pension age hike will force thousands of elderly Australians on to Newstart – The Guardian
• Lithium refinery to be built south of Perth – ABC
• Regulators turn the temperature up on NZ banks – Interest.co.nz
• Rental yields rising as house prices fall in many locations – Interest.co.nz

Other:

• South Africa: How Cape Town beat the drought – FT