Category Archive: 5) Global Macro
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How Do We Create Value When Knowledge Is Almost Free?
Credentials are increasingly in over-supply; problem-solving skills are scarce. How do we create value in an economy that is increasingly dependent on knowledge? The answer is complicated by the reality that knowledge is increasingly digital and "unownable" and therefore almost free. Financialization as a substitute for creating value has run its course.
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Emerging Markets: What has Changed
Philippine President Duterte will reportedly ask central bank. Governor Tetangco to stay on for a third term. South Africa’s government has proposed a national minimum wage. Fitch moved the outlook on South Africa’s BBB- from stable to negative. Turkey’s central bank surprised markets with a 50 bp hike in its benchmark repo rate to 8.0%. Political risk in Brazil is rising as President Temer’s top aide was implicated in an influence peddling...
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Could volcanoes counter climate change? | The Economist
Three years ago today, Mount Sinabung, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, unleashed volcanic ash up to 16,400 feet. It has erupted again on multiple occasions since. The searing gases released by volcanoes like Sinabung can have one surprising impact on the planet Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Global warming …
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Healthcare: Inflation Hidden in Plain Sight
Charles Hugh Smith shows how health care costs are exploding in the United States and how this will lead sooner or later to inflation.
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Sykes-Picot: Carving up the Middle East | The Economist
In 1915 British diplomat Mark Sykes described for The Economist the battle underway in the Middle East. A few months later he carved up control of the region with his French counterpart Francois George Picot. The impact of the secret agreement they reached is still being felt today Click here to subscribe to The Economist …
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Philip Hammond’s plan to help JAMs to stimulate Britain’s economy
Philip Hammond, Britain’s chancellor, makes his first autumn statement today on the government’s tax and spending priorities. Our word of the day considers the target of his plans to stimulate the economy: the citizens who are “just about managing”, otherwise known as JAMs. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: …
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Why Reshore Manufacturing? It’s the Only Way to Avoid Defective Pirated Parts
If you want to lose your brand, your pricing power and your customers, by all means, rely on a global supply chain filled with defective parts that cannot possibly be detected. Reshoring the entire supply chain so it can be trusted is the low-cost solution once you add up the total lifecycle costs of a hopelessly counterfeit global supply chain.
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Bloodhound’s attempt to break the world land speed record | The Economist
An attempt will be made to drive faster than the speed of sound—at 800mph—and break the world land speed record. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 In October 2017 the eyes of the world will be on the Kalahari Desert. At South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, the Bloodhound Supersonic team will attempt …
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The Age of Disintegration: Political Disunity and Elites At War
Historian Michael Grant identified profound political disunity in the ruling elite as a key cause of the dissolution of the Roman Empire. Grant described this dynamic in his excellent account The Fall of the Roman Empire. The chapter titles of the book illuminate the complex causes of profound political disunity in the ruling elite: The Gulfs Between the Classes: a.k.a. soaring income/wealth inequality: check.
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Emerging Markets: Week Ahead Preview
EM FX ended the week on a soft note, as higher US rates continue to take a toll. EM policymakers are getting more concerned about currency weakness, with Brazil, Malaysia, Korea, India, and Indonesia all taking action to help support their currencies. If the EM sell-off continues as we expect, more EM central banks are likely to act to slow the moves.
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Emerging Markets: What has Changed
Malaysia appears to have enacted a subtle change in FX policy. Turkey cut foreign currency reserve requirements in an effort to increase the supply of foreign exchange. Brazil’s central bank suspended the sale of reverse currency swaps and started selling new regular swaps (equivalent to selling USD). Colombia reached a new peace agreement with FARC rebels. Mexico's central bank hiked cash rates by 50 bp.
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The Great Con: Political Correctness Has Marginalized the Working Class
So when the protected class of well-paid institutional "progressives" speak darkly of "reversing 40 years of social progress," what they're really saying is we're terrified that the bottom 95% might be waking up to our Great Con of identity politics and political correctness. To understand the Great Con of political correctness, we must first grasp the decline of the working class (self-described as "the middle class"), i.e. those who must sell...
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Are Emerging Markets Still “A Thing”?
Last week I jumped on a call with an old friend Thomas Hugger who I hadn't spoken with in months. I recorded the call for your enjoyment but first a quick bit of background to Thomas. Thomas is a Swiss fund manager living and working in Asian frontier markets such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, which is a bit like taking a Rolls Royce through the Gobi desert if you think about it.
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You’ll Only Understand Trump and Brexit If You Understand the Failure of Globalization
You can only understand the victory of Donald Trump and Brexit once you understand the failure of globalization… Trump made rejection of globalization a centerpiece of his campaign. In his July 21st acceptance speech as the Republican nominee, he said: Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.
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Rising Immigration but no Jobs
The list of pundits jostling for air time to add their two cents to discussions of hot-button issues such as immigration is endless. The airwaves and social media are overflowing with people wanting to comment on hot-button social issues, but when it comes to the the one truly critical dynamic that will shape the future--everyone's strangely silent.
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Which country takes in the most refugees? | The Economist
There are more refugees fleeing their homelands in search of safety and jobs than ever before. But where do they end up? Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the working week. For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/ Check out The Economist’s full …
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Europe’s migrant crisis part three | making landfall in the EU | The Economist
Médecins Sans Frontières’ ‘Dignity 1’ rescues stranded and distressed migrants from Europe’s worst migration route—the central Mediterranean. Emma Hogan, our Europe correspondent, was on board in October with more than four hundred migrants as it returned to dry land Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every …
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The Source of Trump’s Success: The Bigger and Bigger Wage Gap
There are many sources of rage: injustice, the destruction of truth, powerlessness. But if we had to identify the one key source of non-elite rage that cuts across all age, ethnicity, gender and regional boundaries, it is this: The Ruling Elite is protected from the destructive consequences of its predatory dominance.
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Europe’s migrant crisis part two | Endless rescues on the Mediterranean | The Economist
Search and rescue boat ‘Dignity 1’ patrols the deadliest migration route in the Mediterranean. On the busiest day of this mission, more than four hundred migrants were pulled from the sea on the ‘Dignity 1’ alone Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the …
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Europe’s migrant crisis part one | on a rescue boat in the Mediterranean | The Economist
Médecins Sans Frontières’ search and rescue boat patrols the central Mediterranean to help migrants who get into distress at sea trying to cross to Europe. Emma Hogan, our Europe correspondent, spent five days on board Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the working …
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