Links 19 August 2020

Global Macro / Markets / Investing:

• Oil prices rise on reports China to boost imports of U.S. crude – Market Watch
• Inflation Is Actually a Lot Higher Than You Think – Bloomberg
• As Russia and China Form a New ‘Financial Alliance’, is the Dollar Headed for a Crash? – Sputnik News
• Stock market looks like hapless Wile-e-coyote running off the edge of a cliff – MarketWatch
• The Covid-19 recession feels mild compared with the 1980s – so far – The Guardian

Americas:

• The Recession Is About to Slam Cities. Not Just the Blue-State Ones – NY Times
• Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall – Fox Business
• Universal Medicare Is the Best Fix for America’s Health Care – Bloomberg
• Mortgage delinquencies surge more than 8% to a 9-year high as the coronavirus pandemic hits a corner of the housing market – Business Insider
• A flood of job losses looms as airline industry struggles in pandemic – CNBC
• $300 unemployment boost after 3 weeks will be updated weekly – CNBC
• California Legislators Propose 0.4% Wealth Tax, Plus 16.8% Income Tax Rate – Forbes
• Congress exits with no deal, leaving economists flabbergasted – The Hill
• The recession is over for the rich, but the working class is far from recovered – Washington Post

Europe:

• China’s Rail Shipments To Europe Set Records As Demand Surges For Chinese Goods Amid Coronavirus – The Street
• Recession: Dutch economy shows worst ever contraction – NL Times
• German police carry out large-scale raids on criminal gangs in Berlin and Brandenburg – DW
• Norway Arrests Citizen Suspected of Spying for Russia – NY Times
• Belarus leader Lukashenko says new elections to be held following constitutional referendum – CBC
• Greenland’s Melting Ice Sheet Has ‘Passed The Point of No Return’, Scientists Say – Science Alert
• Germany mistakenly neglects to tell 949 travelers they have coronavirus – NBC

Asia:

• Samsung likely to move part of smartphone production to India – Economic Times
• Japan suffers worst GDP fall on record, but it fared better than others – CNN
• Southeast Asia underperformance to reverse – Asia Times
• Xi Jinping says Marxist political economy the bedrock for nation’s growth – SCMP
• What Does the China-Iran Deal Mean for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor? – The Diplomat

Trans-Tasman:

• When homes earn more than jobs: How we lost control of Australian house prices and how to get it back – ABC
• Firm advised by Christopher Pyne wins federal government grants worth almost $7m – The Guardian
• Compromised war crimes investigation is a stain on Australia’s honour – The Age
• Australian universities call on government to reduce proposed fee increases and increase number of places – The Guardian
• Barnaby’s Boondoggle: documents reveal $80m price for ‘Watergate’ licences was nearly twice valuation – Michael West
• Robodebt official challenged by mothers of two young men who took their own lives – The Guardian
• Victoria’s coronavirus crisis traced back to seven returned travellers, hotel quarantine inquiry told – ABC
• Australians charged ‘substantially’ more for country’s gas than buyers overseas – The Guardian
• Taskforce launched after Inq’s investigation into alleged neglect in the disability sector – Crikey
• 200 jobs lost as G-Star Raw comes crashing down – ABC
• Housing industry forecasts ‘bloodbath’ ahead as Labor criticises Coalition’s homebuilder scheme – The Guardian
• Wilson Security accused of Victorian hotel quarantine contract ‘cover up’ – ABC
• Victoria Covid-19: Almost all cases linked to quarantine hotels – BBC
• ‘I will never come to Australia again’: new research reveals the suffering of temporary migrants during the COVID-19 crisis – The Conversation
• Security guards working in Victoria’s hotel quarantine told they didn’t need PPE, inquiry hears – SBS
• One Covid-19 case found NOT linked to cluster – Interest.co.nz