Global Macro / Markets / Investing:
- Germany just guaranteed unemployed citizens around $330 per month indefinitely. The policy looks a lot like basic income. – Business Insider
- U.S. Fed buys $825 million of mortgage bonds, sells none. – Reuters
- Why Is Inflation Low Globally? -FRSB
- Forget Stock Market Forecasts. They’re Less Than Worthless. – New York Times
- Oil nears $68, highest since September, on trade hopes, OPEC – Reuters
- Why Do Basic Economic Laws Not Apply to China? – WSJ
- Model beats Wall Street analysts in forecasting business financials Using limited data, this automated system predicts a company’s quarterly sales. – MIT (reminds of something….)
Americas:
- Fox News Panel Agree Pelosi Has ‘Every Right’ to Hold Trump Articles of Impeachment From Senate – Newsweek
- Bernie Sanders Explains Why Low Unemployment Doesn’t Mean Americans Are Better Off – Huffpost
- Trump blames Trudeau for being cut from Home Alone 2 in Canada – Washington Examiner (although done in 2014)
Europe:
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- Russian Artist Faces Six Years in Prison For Sharing Art Featuring Pro-LGBTQ Messages on Social Media – Advocate
- Russia’s warm winter has deprived Moscow of snow, caused plants to bloom and roused bears out of hibernation – WashPo
- Russian authorities raid Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Moscow office – Reuters
- Shoppers to ‘spend £200 million less’ at Boxing Day sales due to environmental concerns – Standard
- Poll: 64% of Ukrainians stand for accession to EU – Union
- Russia can complete Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany by itself, Kremlin says after Swiss contractor Allseas pulled out of the project citing US sanctions. – DW
Asia/Middle East:
- Policeman who showed journalist’s personal data to thousands condemned – SCMP
- ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas’: Hong Kong Protesters Continue Marching – Globalnews
- Han Chinese flee Xinjiang’s 2nd largest city after 3 years of harsh social controls – Taiwannews
- Japan to send warship, aircraft to Middle East to protect vessels. Japan, a US ally, is launching its own operation rather than join a US-led mission to protect shipping in Gulf region. – Al Jazeera
- Magnitude 5 quake strikes near Iran nuclear plant – APNews
- Babies born in Japan to drop below 900,000 in 2019 for first time – Japantimes
Trans-Tasman:
- Melbourne academic jailed in Iran, accused of spying, goes on hunger strike – SBS
- Australia’s environment minister says up to 30% of koalas killed in NSW mid-north coast fires – The Guardian
- Australia fires: Crews brace for dangerous heatwaveCrews are bracing for another dangerous period as calls grow for volunteer firefighters to be paid. – BBC
- NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott heads off on European holiday as bushfire crisis continues – ABC
- Coalition minister breaks ranks with government to call for volunteer firefighters to be paid | Australia news – The Guardian
- PM’s office refuses to release drought reports Barnaby Joyce says he sent via text – The Guardian
- Adelaide’s New Year’s Eve fireworks to go ahead despite calls for them to be cancelled during bushfire – ABC
- Defence strategists lament ship sale – The Australian (paywall)
- Up not down: Why housing market forecasters got it badly wrong in 2019 – AFR
- Invest now to beat climate change, says departing BHP CEO – AFR
…and furthermore…
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- Tesla patents new chemistry for better, longer-lasting and cheaper batteries, just as the year ends. The new battery tested is a Li-Ion battery cell with a next-generation “single crystal” NMC cathode and a new advanced electrolyte, useful for both electric vehicles and grid-storage. – Electrek
- Plastic eating bacteria are being genetically engineered to recycle plastic waste into higher value plastics, helping deal with the plastic crisis by making trash a valuable commodity. – Leapsmag
- We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid – More carbon emissions come from lost electricity than the chemical industry. Reducing wastage in the power sector, focusing specifically on the grid, can be a critical lever in lowering national emissions. – ArsTechnica
- Sweden launches inquiry on how to ban sales of new gasoline and diesel cars and phase-out fossil fuels – Greencarcongress
- SpaceX poised to accelerate launch cadence with series of Starlink missions – Spaceflightnow (this is likely the death knell of the NBN…watch this space…)
- Ten years in space: Remembering a decade of achievements in the final frontier – Digitaltrends