Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

Bloomberg View – After Comey, Justice Must Be Served – Michael Bloomberg 5/10

• “Congress needs to get serious about holding the president accountable.”

NYT – The Princeling in the West Wing – Jill Abramson 5/10

Economist – Schumpeter: Harvard Business School risks going from great to good – A confidential memorandum of warning to its senior faculty 5/4

Markets / Economy

Economist – The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data 5/6

Real Estate

WSJ – Labor Shortage Squeezes Builders – Peter Grant 5/6

• “Construction labor costs are rising an average of 4% to 5% annually, outpacing inflation, according to Anirban Basu, chief economist of the Associated Builders and Contractors. ‘The situation is going to get worse,’ he said.”
• “Overall, the association said the industry needs 500,000 more workers. The trade group estimates 600,000 additional workers would be needed for the $1 trillion in infrastructure building and improvement for which President Donald Trump has said he would seek funding.”

Health / Medicine

Economist – Fatal attraction: The link between pollution and heart disease 5/4

• “An experiment suggests pollutants build up in arterial plaques.”

Britain

FT – Cash is king in homes market but leaves many unable to buy – Chris Giles 5/9

China

WSJ – Rich, Young Chinese Are Buying Overseas Properties on Their Smartphones – Dominique Fong 5/9

• “Millennials acquire real estate in other countries as hedge against a weakening currency, homes for their own children when they study abroad.”

NYT – A Chinese Giant Is on a Global Buying Spree. Who’s Behind It? – David Barboza 5/9

• “According to corporate filings, state-backed banks have given HNA a $60 billion line of credit, a level of lending usually reserved for state-owned enterprises charged with carrying out the government’s policies.”
• Seriously? We’ll if you’re going to give me money to place, I’ll place it.
• For reference, “when the company was founded in 1993, China had just begun experimenting with private ownership, opening new economic zones and allowing companies to sell shares to the public. The Hainan provincial government asked Mr. Chen, a former pilot with the People’s Liberation Army, to help develop a regional carrier, one that would be partly owned by the state and partly owned by private investors.”
• It has since become a private company and part of the HNA Group.
• “In 1993, the company had just $17 million in revenue. Today, it has about $90 billion in annual revenue, most coming from companies acquired outside China.”
• “HNA, of late, has embraced the government’s push to ‘go global’ and invest overseas, focusing on shipping, hotels, logistics and retail, amassing a $145 billion portfolio. Over the past three years, it has spent more than $30 billion, according to Dealogic.”

Russia

Economist – A new kind of revolution: Russians rebel against plans to tear down their homes 5/4

• “Earlier this year Moscow city authorities unveiled plans to demolish as many as 8,000 buildings and move up to 1.6m residents from ageing low-rise apartment blocks known as khrushchevki. The ambitious urban makeover could touch some 25m square meters of housing, cost at least 3.5 trillion roubles ($61bn), and run for more than 20 years. The plan is the brainchild of Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, and comes with the blessing of President Vladimir Putin. For some residents, it means a chance to ditch dilapidated housing. Others fear being thrown out of their homes, and are furious at the prospect.”