New Years Links, 1 January 2019

Sunset in a Subduction Zone, James Gleeson, 1986, Art Gallery of NSW

Macro & Markets

• Trump Hails ‘Big Progress’ Towards China Trade Deal – Bloomberg
• El-Erian, Like Trump, Says Fed Would Benefit From ‘Better Feel’ – Bloomberg
• Chinese and US tech giants face growing political risks – Nikkei Asian Review
• Life Is Getting Harder for Central Banks – Bloomberg
• How excessive CEO pay helped fuel the rise of Donald Trump, Brexit and an anti-capitalist movement – SCMP…just CEO pay or the Neoliberal box and dice?…
• Goldman Sachs cuts growth forecast for first half of 2019, citing need to ‘land the plane’ without a recession – CNBC
• A ‘Kodak’ moment for banks – NZ Herald

Americas

• Trump Digs In, Darkening Hopes for a Deal to End the Shutdown – NY Times
• What Eight Social Trends Told Us About America’s Economy in 2018 – Bloomberg
• The Fed Is Fighting for Control of Its Key Interest Rate – Bloomberg
• ‘Exhibit A’: How McKinsey Got Entangled in a Bribery Case – NY Times
• Facebook Data Scandals Stoke Criticism That a Privacy Watchdog Too Rarely Bites – NY Times….toothless regulators = the Neoliberal ideal…
• U.S. presses China for details on deal to resolve trade tensions – MarketWatch
• American farmers set for more pain as Pacific trade deal kicks in without the US – CNBC
• Don’t blame the Fed: The problem is America’s tenuous grip on world order – CNBC
• The Real Roots of American Rage – The Atlantic

Asia

• China’s economy slows further as manufacturing contracts for first time in two and a half years – SCMP
• Xi Jinping can dramatically reform China’s economy or maintain high growth – but he can’t do both – SCMP
• Tough South China Sea talks ahead as Vietnam seeks to curb China’s actions – CNBC
• US trade war forces businesses to rethink Chinese investments amid fears dispute will drag on into new year – SCMP
• China factory activity shrinks for first time in over two years, 2019 looks tougher – Reuters
• China allows first-ever U.S. rice imports ahead of trade talks – Reuters
• China’s new antenna is five times the size of New York City, but some fear it could be a cancer risk – SCMP
• Inside Xi Jinping’s Plan to Dominate the World – Bloomberg
• Dissatisfaction spreads in rural Pakistan over Belt & Road Initiative – Nikkei Asian Review

Europa

• Russia detains American in Moscow over suspected spying – Reuters
• A euro curse? European banking stocks’ lost decades – Reuters
• Europe’s Left Nearly Died in 2018. Here’s How It Can Rise. – Bloomberg
• Record number of Britons seeking Irish passports ahead of Brexit – Guardian
• UK finance minister reportedly accused of failing to release funding for no-deal Brexit – CNBC

Terra Specufestorus

• Can Australia learn from its tax mistakes of the past? – Guardian
• Sydney Opal Tower: crackdown on certifiers announced as three residents refuse to go – Guardian….yeah, it’s the certifiers fault…
• Credit cards and credit disappearing going into new year – Nine
• Rocky times ahead require a stable federal government – Nine
• Critics want My Health Record delayed again after recording 42 data breaches this year – Nine

…and furthermore….

• The Rise and Fall of Carlos Ghosn – NY Times
• New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out – NY Times
• Find parenting tough? Be glad you’re not American – Nine, Gitto
• The $35 billion race to cure a silent killer that affects 30 million Americans – CNBC