Markets
Is there room for more than one international currency? | vox
“there is room for more than one international currency as means of payment even for a good as homogenous as oil. They suggest that network increasing returns are not as strong as sometimes supposed, that first-mover advantage is not everything, and that incumbency is no guarantee of continued dominance. They, therefore, suggest that a shift from the current dollar-based system to a multipolar system is not impossible.”
North America
Low-Wage Workers Finding It’s Easier to Fall Into Poverty, and Harder to Get Out – NYTimes.com
People Think We’re in a Recession. Don’t Blame Them. – NYTimes.com
How America’s low-wage workers are struggling to join the class middle
That Old-Time Whistle – NYTimes.com
On the Wrong Side of Globalization – NYTimes.com
Controversy has erupted, and justifiably so. Based on the leaks — and the history of arrangements in past trade pacts — it is easy to infer the shape of the whole TPP, and it doesn’t look good. There is a real risk that it will benefit the wealthiest sliver of the American and global elite at the expense of everyone else. The fact that such a plan is under consideration at all is testament to how deeply inequality reverberates through our economic policies.
ARM Loans—a Vestige of the Housing Bubble—Are Making a Comeback – WSJ.com
Profit From the Next Spending Wave – Barrons.com
Bargain retail lifts U.S. shopping centers as big names stumble
Europe
The EU Has Voted in Favour of a Single Universal Mobile Charger
House prices at new record of £256,000 in ‘spring rush’ – Telegraph
Vodafone buys Spain’s Ono in £6bn deal – Telegraph
Spaanse staatsschuld piekt op 93,9 procent – De Standaard
Spanish government debt is 93.9% of gdp.
Dívida pública atinge recorde de 128,7% do PIB em 2013
Portugal’s government debt to gdp was 128.7% at the end of the year 2013.
Irish Bonds Gain for Ninth Week as 10-Year Yield Drops to Record
Ukraine
“As stated by all 28 EU Heads of State or Government on 6 March 2014, the European Union considers the holding of the referendum on the future status of the territory of Ukraine as contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and international law. The referendum is illegal and illegitimate and its outcome will not be recognised.”
The Pathetic Lives of Putin’s American Dupes — Daily Intelligencer
“Rosie Gray has a deeply reported piece on the cadre of young American journalists. Their motives appear to be a mix of careerism, naïveté, and utter incuriousity. The modal career arc of an American RT reporter appears to be an ambitious but not terribly bright 20-something aspiring journalist who, faced with the alternative of grim local-news reportage, leaps at the chance to make two or three times the pay while covering world affairs, sort of.”
Crimea Vote Won’t End Reliance on Ukraine for Power, Water – WSJ.com
Western European Banks Vulnerable to Ukrainian Sovereign Debt Crisis
U.S. rejects Crimea referendum, warns Russia of imminent sanctions | Reuters
Christopher Clark on Parallels Between 1914 and the Ukraine Crisis – SPIEGEL ONLINE
Why China is right on the future of Ukraine – Telegraph
Ukraine Says Russia Forces Push Beyond Crimea Before Vote – Bloomberg
Russian companies withdraw billions from west, say Moscow bankers – FT.com
Russia Wields $160 Billion Stick in Crimea Sanctions Standoff
BBC News – Deadly clashes in east Ukraine ahead of Crimea vote
Emerging Markets
Allarme tsunami in Cile, suonano le sirene a Iquique – Repubblica Tv – la Repubblica.it
There have been scores of earthquakes in the pacific over the past few weeks including this 7.0 one off the coast of Chile. There was a tsunami warning that one hears in this video.
China’s trade with Latin America set to outpace EU within two years | South China Morning Post
PBOC Pulls the Trigger on Yuan Band Widening – China Real Time Report – WSJ
What If the Yuan Was Really Flexible? – Real Time Economics – WSJ
Technology
Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto Denies He Invented Bitcoin In Verified Letter Via Lawyer | TechCrunch
Julia takes us along her journey of trying to stay off the grid, and for me the most fascinating parts are her “data audit” (Chapter 6), where she tries to figure out what data about her is out there and who has it, and the attempts she makes to clean the web of her data and generally speaking “opt out”, which starts in Chapter 7 but extends beyond that when she makes the decision to get off of gmail and LinkedIn. Spoiler alert: her attempts do not succeed.
Emotions Vented on Facebook Are Contagious, Study Finds – WSJ.com
Alibaba Confirms It Will Begin I.P.O. Process in U.S. – NYTimes.com
Court rules that Pandora won’t pay higher royalties to songwriters
New NSA Slides Reveal Tailored Access Run Amok | Electronic Frontier Foundation
History
Submerged: the Jewish woman who hid from Nazis in Berlin | World news | The Observer
How We Built the Ghettos – The Daily Beast