Tuesday 31 July 2012

Secret Beach


A good walk down from Hartland Quay, but think would be great in a good swell.

+50° 59' 11.44", -4° 31' 45.74" (50.986511, -4.529373)


Thursday 26 July 2012


Robert Shiller: Bubbles Without Markets Have Been Much More Devastating
{http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-bubbles-without-financial-markets-2012-7}

The Republicans In The House Just Bought Into Ron Paul's Money Conspiracy Theory
{http://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-houseron-pauls-money-conspiracy-theory-2012-7}

‘Shocking’ Dip in Britain’s Output Reflects European Stress
PARIS — The economies of Europe continue to weaken, with Britain reporting on Wednesday that its second recession in three years had deepened and several other reports showing business conditions were deteriorating in Germany.
{http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/business/global/signs-of-deepening-downturn-multiply-in-europe.html?_r=1}

Coal Price, ore's not well
{http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/07/ores-not-well/}

Can a real central bank save Europe?
{http://blogs.reuters.com/anatole-kaletsky/2012/07/19/can-a-real-central-bank-save-europe/}

The euro has to be about to die in order for them to actually save it.
A Rapid Fall in the Euro is Needed to Save the Eurozone
{http://www.robertsinn.com/2012/07/25/a-rapid-fall-in-the-euro-is-needed-to-save-the-eurozone/}

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Wednesday the 25th of July


Market mover today
ECB’s Nowotny Sees Some Arguments For ESM Banking License
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-25/ecb-s-nowotny-sees-some-arguments-for-esm-banking-license.html

Is There Even a Panic Button in Europe?
{http://economistsview.typepad.com/timduy/2012/07/is-there-even-a-panic-button-in-europe.html}

US versus China: Who will own the future?
{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18966503}

Indonesia must not put good fortune to the test, it has always been a lucky country. But it shouldn’t take its luck for granted.
{http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4023b82-d4c5-11e1-bb88-00144feabdc0.html#axzz21byGiTny}

China economy set for soft landing, needs more reform: IMF
(Reuters) - China's economy is set for a soft landing even as global headwinds increase, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Wednesday that urged further reform and currency appreciation to rebalance growth and reduce risks. {http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/us-china-imf-idUSBRE86O06620120725}

Why I’m Leaving China
{http://chinageeks.org/2012/07/why-im-leaving-china/}

Apple Falls Short Of Analysts' Predictions Amid IPhone Slump
{http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-24/apple-falls-short-of-analysts-expectations-amid-iphone-slump.html}

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Tuesday the 24th



Eurozone analysis: Spanish bailout is now inevitable
Spain has a collapsing economy, an imploding property market, banks nursing colossal losses, and 10-year bond yields at 7.5%
{http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/23/eurozone-spanish-bailout-inevitable}

U.S. economy weakened years before the crash
We tend to think of the 2008 financial crisis as the atom bomb that smashed the American economy, and from which we have yet to recover.
But what if our economic woes started far earlier than that? The recession officially began in December 2007
{http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/23/opinion/salam-economy-woe/index.html}

Spain bans short-selling for 3 months
Spain's stock market regulator banned short-selling on all Spanish securities on Monday for three months and said it may extend the ban beyond Oct. 23.
{http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/23/spain-stocks-short-selling-idUSE8E8EU04320120723}

What’s Driving China’s Real Estate Rally? Part 1
{http://chovanec.wordpress.com/}

Bubble Standards: Why the Poor Are on the Hook for the Housing Crash
{http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/bubble-standards-why-poor-are-hook-housing-crash}

US Economy Going from Bad to Worse: Roubini
A robust and self-sustaining U.S. recovery is not on the cards, and we should now expect below trend growth for many years to come, according to Nouriel Roubini, the economist famed for his bearish views.
{http://www.cnbc.com/id/48281577}

Monday 23 July 2012

Monday 23rd July


Berlin, IMF To Refuse Fresh Aid for Greece
Greece has fallen behind with its budget cuts and is asking lenders for more time to meet the conditions of the 130 billion euro aid package. But that would require fresh help of up to 50 billion euros, SPIEGEL has learned. Neither Berlin nor the IMF are prepared to make that money available.
{http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/germany-and-imf-to-refuse-greece-further-financial-aid-reports-say-a-845860.html}

Searching for Clues to Calamity
SO far 2012 is on pace to be the hottest year on record. But does this mean that we’ve reached a threshold — a tipping point that signals a climate disaster?
{http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/opinion/the-climate-change-tipping-point.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss}

Canadians, sell you house!
{http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2012/07/mortgage-rates.html}

Friday 20 July 2012

Thursday 19 July 2012

Thursday 19th




China’s transmission mechanisms in a knot
One of the enduring arguments about China is that the government has ample firepower to sort out the country’s economic challenges. All that fiscal surplus, all those USD reserves. Firepower to burn.
{http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/18/1087211/chinas-transmission-mechanisms-in-a-knot/}

China’s Wen Warns Of Severe Job Outlook As Growth Yet To Rebound
{http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-17/china-s-wen-warns-of-severe-job-outlook-as-growth-yet-to-rebound.html}

Is HSBC the biggest rogue bank in the world?
{http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2012/07/17/what-the-hell-is-going-on-at-hsbc/}

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Wednesday 18th July

Am I a China Bear?, Chovanec
{http://chovanec.wordpress.com/}

Corn driving commodities, the drought driven rally
{http://soberlook.com/2012/07/year-to-date-commodity-returns.html}

A Declining Euro Can't Cure All Ills
{http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303754904577531032942698056.html}

Whithering China?
China has reported the worst quarterly GDP growth, 7.6%, in almost three years. This is a less vicious downslide compared with the Global Financial Crisis if measured by peak-to-trough deceleration, but nearly as bad as in the Asian Financial Crisis.
{http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2012/07/whither_china.html}

Is China’s electricity data worth any of your precious attention?
The slowing growth in China’s electricity output and consumption has been drawing a lot of attention the past few months. Production in June growth was flat, year-on-year, prompting many questions as to how Q2 GDP managed to grow at 7.6 per cent.
{http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/17/1077301/is-chinas-electricity-data-worth-any-of-your-precious-attention/}

Here's All You Need To Know About China's Fragile $2.2 Trillion Shadow Banking System
{http://www.businessinsider.com/complete-guide-to-chinas-shadow-banking-system-2012-7}

Another reason to admire Singapore

Know why nobody cares about Europe anymore?  Because we're all worried about the US now.
{http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-is-the-new-focus-of-worry-2012-7}

LOL
London 2012: an etiquette guide for Olympics visitors
How do you hire a Boris bike? Why are Brits always saying sorry? Do you look a bit like a terrorist? Find the answers in this guide for foreign visitors.
"Britons love bleak humour: that's why all the hire bikes are branded with the name of a bank currently being investigated for fixing interest rates. It's supposed to be funny."
{http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/16/etiquette-guide-visitors-london-olympics?newsfeed=true}

Monday 16 July 2012

Friday 13 July 2012

Friday The 13th

How to prevent housing bubbles
“Governments who promote particular industries … tend to distort political decision-making and tend to distort the incentives for that industry to behave.
{http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/07/how-to-prevent-housing-bubbles/}

China economic growth slows to 7.6% in second quarter
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in three years as investment slowed and demand fell in key export markets such as the US and Europe.
{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18824088}

Make your own bigmac
{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcu4Bj3xEyI}

How to Make a Rape Joke
http://jezebel.com/5925186/how-to-make-a-rape-joke

Daniel Tosh Chuckles Through Own Violent Rape
http://www.theonion.com/articles/daniel-tosh-chuckles-through-own-violent-rape,28769/

"This time it's different": China edition
http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/this-time-its-different-china-edition.html

Make your own bigmac
{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcu4Bj3xEyI}

Thursday 12 July 2012

Thursday 12th July



Pointless Pain In Spain (Krugman)
It’s no fun being Prime Minister of a debtor nation without its own currency. Unlike the US or the UK, Spain has no easy options.
{http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/pointless-pain-in-spain/}

A tale of two Chinas
There are two ways that China’s economic future is viewed today.
{http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/11/1079141/a-tale-of-two-chinas/}

There’s an economic war between the generations, and nowhere is it more apparent than in the U.K. {http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2012/07/11/the-u-k-s-war-of-the-generations/}

Deep Thoughts From Jim Chanos
Good interview here with Wall Street legend Jim Chanos. In the interview he discusses his background on Wall Street, how he got into short selling, his process for short selling, the psychology behind his approach and the asymmetries of the long and short side.
The middle portion of the interview on China is a must see.
{http://pragcap.com/deep-thoughts-from-jim-chanos}

LIBOR Scandal Explained
{http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/07/libor-scandal-explained/}

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Wednesday 11th July


The negative fear bubble
Irrational fears are prompting a run on safe assets which in themselves are leading to irrational voluntary destruction of principal via self-imposed negative rates. {http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/10/1078071/the-negative-fear-bubble/}

The last thing the world needs now is a deflationary shock from China
China is on the cusp of a deflationary vortex.
{http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100018475/china-heads-for-a-deflationary-shock/}

A Brief History of Money
Or, how we learned to stop worrying and embrace the abstraction
{http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/innovation/a-brief-history-of-money/0}

Hayek von Pinochet
It’s no secret that Friedrich von Hayek was a warm supporter of Augusto
Pinochet’s bloody regime.
{http://coreyrobin.com/2012/07/08/hayek-von-pinochet/}

The search for photos of China's past
China's photographic record begins only in the 1970s because nearly all earlier pictures were destroyed. The ones that survived are mostly outside China, and a major effort is now under way to bring them together online, says Mary Ward-Lowery.
{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18784990}

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Tuesday 10th July


China's trade surplus widens in June on slowing imports
China's trade surplus widened in June as import growth weakened, underscoring worries about both the domestic and global economy.
{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18765346}

Why Marxism is on the rise again
Capitalism is in crisis across the globe – but what on earth is the alternative? Well, what about the musings of a certain 19th-century German philosopher? Yes, Karl Marx is going mainstream – and goodness knows where it will end{http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/04/the-return-of-marxism}

Greeks Hide Tens of Billions From Tax Man
The economists’ conservatively estimate that in 2009 some €28 billion in income went unreported. Taxed at 40%, that equates to €11.2 billion — nearly a third of Greece’s budget deficit
{http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/07/09/greeks-hide-tens-of-billions-from-tax-man/}

The Corn Is Dying All Over America
All over America the corn is dying.  If drought conditions persist in the middle part of the country, wheat and soybeans will be next.  Weeks of intense heat combined with extraordinarily dry conditions have brought many U.S. corn farmers to the brink of total disaster.
{http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-corn-is-dying-all-over-america}

Summer Reading Special
It's time for summer. Here we ask some of our favourite people, from Hilary Mantel through Antony Beevor to Roy Hodgson and Lucy Worsley, what they're taking for their beach-side reading.
{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9379033/Summer-Reading-Special.html}

THE 11 BEST DATA QUOTES
Torture the data, and it will confess to anything
{http://blog.datamarket.com/2012/07/08/the-11-best-data-quotes/}

The Good Fight - Prominent scientists are in a bitter struggle over the origins of kindness. But the root of this conflict may be the most ironic part of all.
{http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/2012/07/09/the-good-fight/}

What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light? {http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/}

Monday 9 July 2012

Monday the 9th of July


Not much out there today, zzz

The Secret’s Out – Central Banks Manipulate Rates
Is it really a scandal that central bank officials tried to affect interest rates?
{http://pragcap.com/the-secrets-out-central-banks-manipulate-rates}

Why is No One Freaking Out About the LIBOR “Scandal”?
{http://pragcap.com/why-is-no-one-freaking-out-about-the-libor-scandal}

Surefire Tips and Tricks to Convince People You Have Psychic Powers
{http://io9.com/5923509/}

The 64 Biggest Investing Cliches to Sound Like a Pundit
{http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/06/28/the-64-biggest-investing-cliches-to-sound-like-a-pundit/}

89 Business Cliches That Will Get Any MBA Promoted And Make Them Totally Useless
{http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/06/19/89-business-cliches-that-will-get-any-mba-promoted-to-middle-management-and-make-them-totally-useless/}

Friday 6 July 2012

Friday the 6th


Struggling for links today.. One below a little controversial 

NEW YORK — ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson says fears about climate change, drilling, and energy dependence are overblown.
{http://www.indystar.com/article/20120627/BUSINESS/120627038/Exxon-s-CEO-Rex-Tillerson-Climate-energy-fears-overblown}

Recent Corn Rally in Context of Twenty Years of Corn Futures Prices
{http://vixandmore.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/recent-corn-rally-in-context-of-twenty.html}

FEI Announces That Cloned Horses Can Compete {http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/fei-announces-cloned-horses-can-compete}

How Radical Economics Led to U.S. Independence
{http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/how-radical-economics-led-to-u-s-independence.html}

Thursday 5 July 2012

Thursday 5th July


China’s Stocks Decline Most in Week on Property, Bank Concerns
China’s stocks fell, dragging down the benchmark index by the most in a week, on concern proposed rules for banks may curb credit growth and speculation intensified the government won’t loosen property restrictions.
{http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-04/china-s-stock-futures-fall-on-europe-economic-slowdown-concerns}



Graph ratio of SHCOMP/ HKX

Church vs beer: using Twitter to map regional differences in US culture
A team of geo-data experts from Floatingsheep.org have used geolocated Tweets to gauge differences in culture across the US.


BRIC equities at lowest valuations in seven years

As of early this week, emerging market equity exchanges were trading at their lowest valuations in relation to the global economy in seven years. For 2012, the BRIC economies are expected to produce 20% of the world’s GDP; however, the aggregate stock market capitalization is only represents 16% of gross equity investment.

Brics are priced for a meltdown: The biggest emerging markets are contributing more than ever to the global economy as their proportion of the world stock market shrinks, leaving investors with the widest valuation gap in seven years.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-02/brics-priced-for-economic-meltdown.html)

How Stockton went broke: A 15-year spending binge
(Reuters) - The man in charge of the biggest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy is clear about the root of the crisis.
{http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/03/us-stockton-bankruptcy-cause-idUSBRE8621DL20120703}

THE ORIGINS OF MISBEHAVIOUR
Why do people in positions of power behave badly? A new paper shows how experimental economics can shed light on this question

Cheap Lobster? Go to Maine
PORTLAND, Maine — A glut has driven down lobster prices in Maine — bringing cheer to lobster-loving consumers at the start of the state's tourist season but gloom among lobstermen.

Chinese corruption and looting on a vast scale: industry, government, and military
Here's a well-cited and pretty scary article describing the vast scale of corruption at the highest levels in China, and the extent to which "the success of 300m Chinese who live in western level prosperity depends on the continued exploitation and good nature of one billion people who live on an average of $5000 per annum.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Wednesday 4th July


Climate Change Skepticism
{http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2012/07/climate-change-skepticism.html}

Incredible Photos Of A Massive Chinese-Built Ghost Town In The Middle Of Angola
There's been a lot written about ghost towns in China.
Now, state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) has built a town in Angola. And it's fairly empty.
{http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-built-ghost-town-kilamba-angola-2012-7?op=1#ixzz1zeFqum00}

Scientists find new particle, probably the Higgs
Scientists at Europe's CERN research center have found a new subatomic particle that could be the Higgs boson, the basic building block of the universe.
{http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/04/us-science-higgs-idUSBRE86008K20120704}

HD pic of the particle , zoomed in a trillion trillion times


                                                   .






Tuesday 3 July 2012

Tuesday 3rd July



The China OMG moment, more on China slow down, (J Brown & Barron)
{http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/02/1067021/the-china-omg-moment/}

5 Signs of the Chinese Economic Apocalypse
Although China's outlook may still be positive by, say, European standards, the numbers show that the country's storied growth engine has slipped out of gear. Businesses are taking fewer loans
{http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/02/5_signs_of_the_chinese_economic_apocalypse}

Death of the China Cult
People in Hong Kong have a long history of mistrust of China
{http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/07/death-of-the-china-cult.html}

The Only Advanced Country Without a National Vacation Policy? It's the U.S.
{http://www.theatlantic.com/business/print/2012/07/the-worlds-worst-advanced-country-for-vacation-time-its-the-us/259317/}

America's Jaw-Dropping Shale Gas Boom Is Starting To Slow Down
{http://www.businessinsider.com/america-shale-gas-boom-slowing-down-2012-6}


Eurozone unemployment rises to record high 11.1%
{http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/02/news/economy/europe-unemployment-manufacturing/index.htm}

France faces tougher cuts despite Hollande promises
(Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande, elected in May on a promise to avoid growth-sapping austerity measures, should make tough savings and public sector job cuts to meet a European deficit target, the national audit office said on Monday.
{http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/us-france-economy-idUSBRE8610CV20120702}

UK watchdog and BoE may have missed Libor red flags
Officials from the Bank of England and Britain's financial watchdog missed several opportunities to investigate how banks set the London interbank offered rate, now the subject of a scandal that has forced the resignation of the chairman of Barclays, according to U.S. and UK government records.
{http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/uk-watchdog-idUSBRE86110E20120702}

Now Labour is dragged into bank rate scandal as leaked documents show Brown's baroness proposed scheme to drive down rates
{http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2167940/Now-Labour-dragged-bank-rate-scandal-leaked-documents-Browns-baroness-proposed-scheme-drive-rates.html#ixzz1zYBx6r9E}

Libor scandal: How I manipulated the bank borrowing rate
An anonymous insider from one of Britain's biggest lenders – aside from Barclays – explains how he and his colleagues helped manipulate the UK's bank borrowing rate. Neither the insider nor the bank can be identified for legal reasons.
{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9368430/Libor-scandal-How-I-manipulated-the-bank-borrowing-rate.html}

Crisis-Hit Cyprus Takes Europe's Helm
The island republic of Cyprus has taken over the EU's rotating presidency at a particularly inauspicious moment. Not only does it have an ongoing dispute with Turkey, but the euro-zone member has just requested a bailout. But the small country is determined to show that it can perform its EU duties with aplomb.
{http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/crisis-hit-cyprus-takes-over-eu-presidency-a-842229.html}


{Catholic Church Fears Growing Vatican Bank Scandal}
A new scandal threatens to engulf the Catholic Church and this time the focus is money. Senior Vatican officials are battling over the future of the Vatican bank. While some would like total transparency, dubious transactions from the past and present could harm the Church's image.
{http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-growing-vatican-bank-scandal-threatens-catholic-church-image-a-842140.html}

Xi Jinping Millionaire Relations Reveal Fortunes Of Elite
The man in line to be China’s next president, warned officials on a 2004 anti-graft conference call: “Rein in your spouses, children, relatives, friends and staff, and vow not to use power for personal gain.”
{http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-29/xi-jinping-millionaire-relations-reveal-fortunes-of-elite.html}

Monday 2 July 2012

Monday 2nd July


*Africa on the Rise, Another way to think of Africa: an economic dynamo
{http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/africa-on-the-rise.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss}

*Chovanec: China in serious slowdown ~ Video
{http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/07/chovanec-china-in-serious-slowdown/}

*China’s Manufacturing Growth Weakens As New Orders Drop
Chinese manufacturing indexes slipped to seven-month lows as overseas orders dropped, and South Korea cut its estimate for exports this year, underscoring risks to Asian economies from Europe’s debt crisis.
{http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-01/china-june-manufacturing-pmi-50-2-vs-economists-est-49-9.html}

*LOLCHINA (or why the world’s second biggest economy is completely ..)
{http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2012/07/01/lolchina-or-why-the-worlds-second-biggest-economy-is-completely-fed/}

*The global scam that may prove terminal for Barclays, Lloyds and RBS
{http://www.ianfraser.org/the-wages-of-sin-bankers-on-the-fiddle/}

*The (other) deleveraging: What economists need to know about the modern money creation process
{http://www.voxeu.org/article/other-deleveraging-what-economists-need-know-about-modern-money-creation-process}