News: 2014-04-07

Charles Keating, financier and moralist, 1923-2014 – FT.com

“Ultimately he was undone for mis-selling hundreds of millions of dollars of junk bonds to small savers and pensioners. Thousands lost their savings. One of Lincoln’s marketing mottos was: “Always remember, the weak, meek and ignorant are always good sales targets.” Hundreds of other S&L executives were convicted. But Keating stood out. The contrast with 2008, which has yielded no high-profile convictions, is stark.
Keating was unrepentant to the end. If the government had simply left him alone, he said, his investors “would all be rich”.”

Meet the Americans Who Put Together the Coup in Kiev

Bilge Erten and José Antonio Ocampo show why domestic macroprudential regulations cannot replace capital-account management. – Project Syndicate

“In lieu of capital-flow restrictions, Turkey’s monetary authorities began to cut overnight borrowing rates in November 2010, in order to reduce the profitability of the carry trade (purchases of foreign-currency assets to take advantage of a higher interest rate). The hope was that longer-term capital flows would finance the widening current-account deficit, which exceeded 8% of GDP at the time, mitigating the risk of a sudden stop in external financing. While many market observers applauded Turkey’s central bank for its bold, unorthodox policy mix, the International Monetary Fund criticized the Turkish authorities for increasing inflation expectations and fueling further credit growth. But the IMF did not explicitly recommend that Turkey employ capital-account regulations, despite the mounting evidence from its own staff that the introduction of such rules was working in many emerging markets’ favor.”

Ukraine, a Fascist Coup? » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

As usual, links do not equal endorsements. But I think this link is interesting enough that you should read it.

Schneier on Security: Mass Surveillance by Eavesdropping on Web Cookies

“If two web pages embed the same tracker which emits a unique pseudonymous identifier, then the adversary can link visits to those pages from the same user (browser instance) even if the user’s IP address varies. Using simulated browsing profiles, we cluster network traffic by transitively linking shared unique cookies and estimate that for typical users over 90% of web sites with embedded trackers are located in a single connected component. “

The future for real interest rates | Gavyn Davies

“Why has the surge in public debt not resulted in a large rise in real borrowing costs for the government, and for the wider economy? And what does this tell us about the future of the risk free real rate in the global economy?”

The Aleph Blog » Blog Archive » Reaching For Yield

Yatseniuk blames Russia for unrest in east Ukraine – FT.com

“Ukraine on Monday scrambled to reassert authority over three of the largest cities in the Russian-speaking east of the country, and accused Moscow of backing thousands of pro-Russian separatists who have seized government buildings there.”

The eurozone could do with a dose of QE, but don’t hold your breath – Telegraph

Retailers push into crowded mobile payment market | Reuters

Uproar Over Eich May Hurt Mozilla’s Web Goals – WSJ.com

Pro-Russian Activists Seize Buildings in Ukrainian Cities – Bloomberg

Temp Jobs Surge as Firms Contain Expenses – WSJ.com

Viktor Orban re-elected in Hungarian landslide – FT.com

German industrial production grows – Independent.ie

Quebec Voters Poised to Oust Separatist Government – Bloomberg

ekathimerini.com | Stournaras says Greece in ‘no rush’ to return to bond markets

Comment: Greece’s misguided bond return | Capital City | IFRe

Apple vs. Android: Developers see a socioeconomic divide.

Earl Grey, the tea that could tackle heart disease | Mail Online