Macro and Markets
- Extreme weather events linked to climate change cost thousands of lives and caused billions in damage throughout the world in 2018 | A new report has identified ten events that cost more than $1bn each, with four costing more than $7bn each – BBC
- Best and worst hedge funds in 2018 – Zero Hedge
- ‘China model’ is only the latest in a long line of touted economic models – and it won’t be the last – SCMP
- Oil Mayhem Hits China as Top Traders Are Suspended – Bloomberg
- Thank Goodness the Fed Is Thinking Globally – Bloomberg
Americas
- Glaciers in Western Canada retreating at unprecedented pace because of climate change – The Globe and Mail
- Aircraft trackers on Twitter managed to figure out Trump was flying to Iraq before he even got there – Indy100
- Iraq legislators say surprise Trump visit violated sovereignty, demand U.S. troop withdrawal – Marketwatch
- US farmers prepare for massive losses in Japan – Zero Hedge
- US investor visa programme backlog puts Chinese capital at risk – SCMP
- Drop in U.S. consumer confidence stokes fears of economic slowdown – Reuters
- U.S. Commerce Department won’t publish economic data during shutdown: WSJ – Reuters
- Trump’s Tax Cut One Year Later: What Happened? – NY Times
- Trump: Give Me a Wall or I’ll Engineer a Recession – NYMAG
- President Trump threatens to ‘close Southern Border entirely’ if Democrats don’t fund border wall – ABCNews
- President Trump on Friday threatened in a tweet to cut foreign aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, accusing the Central American countries of “doing nothing for the United States but taking our money” – The Hill
Europe/Middle East
- British business leaders’ confidence sinks as Brexit looms – IoD – Reuters
- Iraqi lawmakers demand US withdrawal after Trump visit – ABCNews
- Let down by U.S., Syrian Kurdish leaders look to Russia and Assad – Reuters
- Police struggle to stop flood of firearms into UK – The Guardian
- Corbyn: Labour bid to force general election matter of ‘when, not if’ – Reuters
- French ‘yellow vest’ protests planned for Saturday, New Year’s Eve – Yahoo
- Alarmed by a U.S. decision to leave Syria, Kurdish leaders who run much of the north are urging Russia and its ally Damascus to send forces to shield the border from the threat of a Turkish offensive. – Reuters
- Britain’s defence secretary echoes the US with ‘grave, very deep concerns’ about Huawei – SCMP
- Europe Should Woo Russia When Putin’s Gone – Bloomberg
- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday his government was in favor of halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia and it intended to take a formal position on the matter. – Reuters
Asia
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- Chinese schools are using chips in uniforms to monitor students – Abacus News
- Executives In Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Deserve 5-Year Prison Terms, Prosecutors Say – NPR
- Japan to resume commercial whaling in 2019 – CNN
- China’s leaders reaffirm loyalty to party under Xi Jinping – SCMP
- China’s private economy set for winter ‘colder and longer than expected’, warns billionaire tycoon – SCMP
- Will Huawei’s Real Leader Please Stand Up – Bloomberg
- China’s trade war-hit economy set to slow for seventh straight month in December – SCMP
- Koreas Begin Railway Project, Future Depends On Nuclear Negotiations – ValueWalk
- China’s Sinopec suspends top officials at trading arm – Reuters
- China’s central bank pledges prudent monetary policy and ‘basically stable’ yuan – SCMP
- Japan discloses footage of radar lock-on by South Korean warship | The Japan Times
- Japan Intercepts Chinese Spy Plane Over East China Sea – The Diplomat
Australia/New Zealand
- Three men evacuated from Manus Island after spate of suicide attempts – The Guardian
- Where did it all go wrong for markets – The Age
- Qld authorities scour coastline for white powder – ABC
- Huawei lashes out for unfair treatment – ABC
- Why this Gen Y finally caved in and bought a house in Sydney – ABC
- What the banking royal commission might recommend in its final report – ABC
- Australians lose more than $200 million a year by paying with cards over cash – ABC
- Terrorist stripped of citizenship – The Australian
- Job providers exploit taxpayer bonuses – The Australian
- ASX finishes Christmas week higher – AFR
- How veganism is becoming big business – AFR
Miscellaneous:
- Astronomers can now “see” dark matter by looking for the faint starlight of rogue stars that have been ripped from their host galaxies. Unlike hunting dark matter with the help of gravitational microlensing, this new technique can map the distribution of dark matter with only deep-space imaging. – Astronomy.com
- Boys can have periods too, children to be taught in latest victory for transgender campaigners – Telegraph (well, that’s retarded…)
- How Farcebook can rethink success, says Dan Ariely – ABCNews
- Inside Facebook’s Secret Rulebook for Global Political Speech – NY Times
- NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to reach icy world at edge of solar system New Year’s Day – CBC
- After an extremely successful limited release ($5.4M in 2 days), Peter Jackson’s acclaimed World War 1 documentary ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ will receive a traditional theatrical release starting January 11th, and expanding in February. – Variety (great!)
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