Emerging Markets
The Center of the Universe » Blog Archive » EM currencies look more stable vs yen
BBC News – Argentina imposes $2,000 limit on purchase of US dollars
BBC News – India raises interest rates rise to stem inflation
Another Surprise From India’s Central Bank, But Probably the Last – Real Time Economics – WSJ
Brazil’s external liabilities: should we be worried? | beyondbrics
Turkey Stems Emerging-Markets Slide – WSJ.com
Internet/Technology
Why Capital New York’s $6,000 paywall will probably work : Columbia Journalism Review
Vox and Ezra Klein: testing the limits of the digital-news expansion : Columbia Journalism Review
Samsung sets new smartphone sales record in fourth quarter, widens lead over Apple: report | Reuters
Tech companies win right to disclose number of NSA requests — Tech News and Analysis
Google Is Making A Land Grab For The Internet Of Things | TechCrunch
Google’s DeepMind acquisition might be about search, not robots | The Verge
The New Hotel Key: Your Smartphone – WSJ.com
Our Addiction to Phone Subsidies Keeps the Wireless Industry Broken
Facebook Ad Clicks Set Record in Q4 2013, But Concerns Linger
NSA
Spy Agencies Tap Data Streaming From Phone Apps – NYTimes.com
An Open Letter from US Researchers in Cryptography and Information Security
Some of the biggest names in cryptography condemn NSA spying in open letter
Apple
Apple’s 51M iPhones, 26M iPads And 4.8M Macs In Q1 2014 Set A Record, But Growth Slows | TechCrunch
Apple’s Mixed Q1 2014 With $57.6B Revenue, $13.1B Profit And $14.50 EPS | TechCrunch
Apple Q1 2014: iPod sales decreased by more than half since last year | 9to5Mac
Apple Says International Took 64% Of Revenues In Q1, Led By Growth In China And Japan | TechCrunch
Apple’s China revenue hit over $8.4B in Q1, up 29% from 2013
80% of Apple Mobile Devices Now Run iOS 7
Apple Pushes Deeper Into Mobile Payments – WSJ.com
Europe
Wanted: French-speaking plumbers for tax exiles – Telegraph
BBC News – French unemployment at record high
BBC News – RBS faces £8bn in full year losses
UK economy grows 0.7pc in fourth quarter – Telegraph
Will the UK be the first to tighten? | Gavyn Davies
Santander Appoints Former FDIC Chief Sheila Bair to Board – WSJ.com
ekathimerini.com | Greek households lose 2.6 bln in disposable income in Q3 of 2013
German business confidence rises to highest level since July 2011 – FT.com
Ireland must ‘play hardball’ to get deal on bank bailouts – Independent.ie
“Irish negotiators have been told to “play hardball” by threatening to veto any European banking deal that does not include recouping the cost of our bank bailouts from the eurozone rescue fund. The risk of short-term unpopularity was worth it for the long-term economic gains of winning back €30bn to €60bn for taxpayers, Citi’s chief economist Willem Buiter (pictured) said.”
Euro Jobless Record Not Whole Story as Italians Give Up – Bloomberg
European banks have 84 billion euro capital shortfall, OECD estimates: report | Reuters
These estimates are very low.
China
China’s debt-fuelled boom is in danger of turning to bust – FT.com
“Recent studies have isolated the most reliable signal of a looming financial crisis and it is the “credit gap”, or the increase in private sector credit as a proportion of economic output over the most recent five-year period. In China, that gap has risen since 2008 by a stunning 71 percentage points, taking total debt to about 230 per cent of gross domestic product. A credit boom of this scale is not likely to end well. Looking back over the past 50 years and focusing on the most extreme credit booms – the top 0.5 per cent – turns up 33 cases, with a minimum credit gap of 42 percentage points. Of these nations, 22 suffered a credit crisis in the subsequent five years and all suffered an economic slowdown. On average, the annual economic growth rate fell from 5.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent. Not one country got away without facing either a crisis or a major economic slowdown. Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Zimbabwe and Latvia have had a gap higher than 60 points. All those binges ended in a severe credit crisis.”
Markets
Russia Backs Bitcoin Curbs as Central Bank Snubs Sberbank Plan – Bloomberg
Two Executives of Bitcoin Businesses Are Arrested – NYTimes.com
Natural Gas Futures Tumble From Four-Year High on Milder Weather – Bloomberg
North America
U.S. New Home Sales Fall in December – WSJ.com
Tom Perkins hits back at Kleiner Perkins – The Term Sheet: Fortune’s deals blogTerm Sheet
Thrill of Obama Home Visits Fades for Americans Cited at Events – Bloomberg
Arizona GOP Censures McCain for ‘Liberal’ Record | TIME.com
Greg Whiteley, Netflix’s Mitt Director, on His Unprecedented Access | TIME.com
Home Prices in 20 Cities – NYTimes.com
Fed in focus after emerging market mauling | Reuters
BoJ’s easing may not compensate for Federal Reserve’s taper – FT.com
““If low yields continue, it will have an impact on us”, says Mitsugi Sumiya, Axa Life’s chief financial officer, noting that many other Japanese insurers are already under water, paying out more on policies than they earn from the assets underlying them. “We are looking to take more credit risk in the US and Europe.””
Why are US corporate profits so high? Because wages are so low | MacroScope
Economics
It pays to consider the nature of money – FT.com
“Money is merely the token that records the credit transaction. “A priceless gem or a worthless bit of paper may equally be a token of debt, so long as the receiver knows what it stands for.””