Links 27 August 2018

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• Global market structures and the high price of protectionism – BIS
• Are Superstar Firms and Amazon Effects Reshaping the Economy? – NY Times
• ’Amazon effect’ could have impact on inflation dynamics: paper – Reuters
• `Amazon Effect’ May Make Central Bank Job Harder: Jackson Hole – Bloomberg
• Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Remain a Public Company – NY Times
• Tesla CEO Musk drops pursuit of $72 billion take-private deal – Reuters
• Musk Ends Bid to Take Tesla Private, Cites Investor Concern – Bloomberg
• Beware Rich People Who Say They Want to Change the World – NY Times
• My Affair With the Intellectual Dark Web – Medium
• GDP as a measure of economic well-being – Brookings
• Global liquidity is drying up – FT
• Ending the fiscal-monetary tug-o-war – New Economics
• At Hedge Funds, Where Are the Women? – WSJ
• It Was Meant to Be the Better Bitcoin. It’s Down Nearly 90% – WSJ
• It’s Getting Harder to Pump Up Prices in Cryptocurrency Markets – Bloomberg

Americas:

• Bad blood between McCain and Trump lingers, even as the Arizona Republican nears the end – Washington Post
• John McCain, War Hero, Senator, Presidential Contender, Dies at 81 – NY Times
• David Foster Wallace on John McCain: ‘The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys and the Shrub’ – Rolling Stone
• Democrats Vote To Strip Power From Superdelegates – Buzz Feed
• Beto O’Rourke says “nothing more American” than to stand up or take a knee for your rights – CBS
• The New Socialists – NY Times
• ‘He can’t get rid of any of this’: Trump’s wall of secrecy erodes amid growing legal challenges – Washington Post
• Judge Strikes Down Key Parts of Trump’s Orders Easing the Firing of Federal Workers – NY Times
• Frank Rich: The Endgame for Trump Comes Into View – NY Mag
• Immunity for Trump CFO Is a Potential Game-Changer – Bloomberg
• Fed Staff Paper Warns Officials Not to Ignore Low Unemployment – Bloomberg
• Seventy percent of Americans support ’Medicare for all’ in new poll – The Hill
• Venezuela’s 95% Devaluation Adds to Turmoil After Drone Attack – Bloomberg
• A Shrinking Slice of the American Economic Pie – Bloomberg
• Thousands of Amazon workers receive food stamps. Now Bernie Sanders wants Amazon to pay up. – Washington Post

Europe:

• WTO warns on disruption to UK of no-deal Brexit – FT
• Kremlin Sources Go Quiet, Leaving C.I.A. in the Dark About Putin’s Plans for Midterms – NY Times
• Wiretaps Show French Crackdown on Insider Trading – Bloomberg
• Russian Trolls Used Vaccine Debate to Sow Discord, Study Finds – NY Times
• Italy’s Populists Turn to Trump and China – Bloomberg

Asia:

• The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter – NY Times
• Who Thinks China’s Growth Is Slowing? – PIIE
• China’s re-education camps for a million Muslims – Sup China
• One quote from Chinese giant Alibaba shows how Trump’s trade war could backfire – Business Insider
• China’s central bank gives itself more leeway on setting exchange rate – FT

Trans-Tasman:

• Julie Bishop quits – The SMH
• Former coal industry boss is Scott Morrison’s chief of staff – Renew Economy
• Treasurer or PM, Scott Morrison has the same problem: wages – The Guardian
• Bruce Guthrie: Hello Rupert, goodbye Malcolm – Michael West
• Australia’s top public servant has denied he ordered the phones and emails to be cut off for 13 ministers who switched allegiance from Malcolm Turnbull to Peter Dutton this week – The Guardian
• Queensland LNP MPs urged to reject abortion laws – Brisbane Times
• Leadership instability might feel modern — it’s actually a return to our roots – ABC
• Melbourne African community comes together after vigilante Facebook posts – ABC
• The battle for the soul of the Liberal Party – The SMH
• Lee Lin Chin’s Very Serious Push To Become PM Now Has Greens Support – Pedestrian TV
• Man rescued after boat strikes whale and sinks off Queensland’s Fraser Island – ABC
• Tony Abbott faces calls to quit after Liberal leadership carnage – The Guardian
• Scott Morrison did not stop the boats – Joh Menadue
• Lawyers recommend NAB and CBA face criminal charges over treatment of super customers – ABC
• Scott Morrison invites Donald Trump to Australia – The SMH
• Liberal Party’s civil war isn’t over — it’s part of a global battle – ABC
• Sydney prices still need to fall by about 60 per cent to be affordable: report – News.com.au
• Turnbull’s exit a big threat to Liberal’s election fundraising – The SMH
• Melbourne’s clearance rate lowest since 2012 – Real Estate.com
• Peter Dutton and the other losers will be lucky to avoid seeing their careers turn to ashes – Canberra Times
• Housing slowly becoming more affordable in most parts of NZ – Interest.co.nz