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Global Macro/Markets
- Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha ends 2018 with 14.6 pct gain -source – Reuters
- Double Whammy: High-Fee Mutual Funds Do Worse – Wall Street Journal
- Economic worries hang over U.S.-China talks – Politico
- Krugman on optimal taxes – The Grumpy Economist
- World unprepared for slowdown, says IMF’s Lipton – Financial Times
Americas
- As shutdown drags on, Trump officials make new offer, seek novel ways to cope with its impacts – Washington Post
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says “no question” Trump is a racist in 60 Minutes interview – CBS News
- How Fair Is American Society? – Yale (land of the free, home of the brave* (subject to terms and conditions))
- Fox’s Chris Wallace Repeatedly Nails Sarah Sanders on Bogus Border Terror Threat Claims – Mediaite
- The fading of the US multinational lobby – Financial Times
- Venezuela’s assembly rejects legitimacy of Maduro second term and calls for military to ‘restore democracy’ – Rawstory
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Europe/Middle East
- White House national security adviser John Bolton added a new condition on Sunday to the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, saying Turkey must agree to protect the United States’ Kurdish allies. – Reuters
- Saudi woman ‘trapped at Bangkok airport trying to flee family’ – BBC
- Brexit ’in danger’ unless MPs back deal – PM – BBC
- Labour faces ‘mass challenge’ over Brexit policy – The Guardian
- More Britons want to remain a member of the European Union than leave, according to a survey published on Sunday which also showed voters want to make the final decision themselves. – Reuters
- Yellow Vests Protests: French government spokesman evacuated from his office after protesters used a construction vehicle to break through the door into the government compound – BBC
- UK housing market is a ‘goldmine’ for wealthy foreign buyers – The global super-rich have taken advantage of the Brexit-induced decline in the value of sterling to buy up three times as many £10m-plus luxury homes as before the referendum vote. – The Guardian
Asia/Sub-continent
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- Former NYT editor claims publisher drafted letter “with input from the Chinese embassy all but apologizing” to China for tough story to “appease the Chinese government because the NYT’s operation in China was at stake” – FastCompany
- How China’s worsening economic woes are shattering the dreams of its top graduate students – South China Morning Post
- China approves $125bn of rail projects in fiscal stimulus – Financial Times
- China passes law to make Islam ‘compatible with socialism’; New decree seeks to ‘guide Islam’, as crackdown against Muslims and Islamic symbols continues – Aljazeera (they spelled communism wrong)
- Earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes Indonesia: USGS – Reuters
Australia/New Zealand
- Australians are being urged to avoid so-called “sunscreen pills” that claim to offer protection from UV rays, with experts warning they are no substitute for actual creams. – ABC (or don’t go outside during summer, which will finish around late April this year)
- Bushfire in Tasmanian wilderness threatens half-billion-dollar plantation – ABC
- Australian government rejects Senator Anning’s call for Muslim, Sudanese migration ban – SBS
- Emergency warning system compromised as hackers send text and email messages to thousands – News.com.au (here I was, just about to buy one of those mobile phoney thingies…)
- Senate crossbench gave renewables $23bn boost by thwarting Abbott’s plan | Environment – The Guardian
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Other
- Steven Pinker: Why Our World Is Getting Better – 52-insights.com
- Why 2018 Was the Best Year in Human History! – New York Times
- Your house is holding you back — seriously – thebehavioralscientist.com
- Toll on Science and Research Mounts as Government Shutdown Continues – New York Times (but…but…the wall/fence/thing!!!)