Perspective
- “One of Europe’s leading energy consultancies has estimated that Tesla’s electric haulage truck will require the same energy as up to 4,000 homes to recharge, calculations that raise questions over the project’s viability.”
- “The US electric carmaker unveiled a battery-powered lorry earlier this month, promising haulage drivers they could add 400 miles of charge in as little as 30 minutes using a new ‘megacharger’ to be made by the company.”
- “John Feddersen, chief executive of Aurora Energy Research, a consultancy set up in 2013 by a group of Oxford university professors, said the power required for the megacharger to fill a battery in that amount of time would be 1,600 kilowatts.”
- “That is the equivalent of providing 3,000-4,000 ‘average’ houses, he told a London conference last week, ten times as powerful as Tesla’s current network of ‘superchargers’ for its electric cars.”
- “Elon Musk touted ranges and charging times that don’t compute with the current physics and economics of batteries.”
- “Just 36% got it right.”
Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice
NYT – Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator – Nathaniel Popper 11/26
NYT – Myths of the 1 Percent: What Puts People at the Top – Jonathan Rothwell 11/17
- “Dispelling misconceptions about what’s driving income inequality in the U.S.”
WSJ – Samsung’s Tumble Sounds a Warning for Tech Stocks – Jacky Wong 11/27
- “The fall in Samsung shares Monday followed a mild analyst report – a sign of the market’s current high state of nervousness.”
Zero Hedge – Demographic Dysphoria: Swiss Village Offers Families Over $70,000 To Live There 11/25
Markets / Economy
WSJ – The Economy Is Humming, but Businesses Aren’t Borrowing – Christina Rexrode 11/26
Real Estate
NYT – How Much Income Do You Need to Buy a Home? – Michael Kolomatsky 11/23
WSJ – Wealthy Asian Buyers Scoop Up Trophy Properties in London – Olga Cotaga 11/21
- “Pressured by low yields and political issues at home, cash-rich private investors from China and Hong Kong are snapping up trophy buildings in the U.K. capital. Often prepared to spend whatever it takes, these wealthy investors are pricing institutional investors out of the market. And because they don’t need to borrow to buy, U.K. lenders are feeling the pinch.”
- “Of the £12.2 billion ($16.1 billion) spent on central London offices in the first three quarters this year, almost half came from private Chinese and Hong Kong buyers, according to real-estate consultant Knight Frank. That is a big jump from last year, when the group accounted for just less than a quarter of overall spending, and from 2015, when the figure was 7%.”
- “By borrowing money at home, Chinese and Hong Kong investors have also pushed down property lending in London. According to a report by De Montfort University, the volume of new loans in the U.K. has fallen 18% year-over-year in the first half of 2017 due to a ‘slowdown in purchasing activity of new properties requiring debt during 2017’.”
- “U.K. institutional investors such as asset managers are also dialing back. In all, they have bought £880 million of central London real estate so far this year, out of a total £15.68 billion spent by all investors, according to www.propertydata.com. Two years ago, U.K. institutions bought £2.89 billion worth of property.”
- “’London is a two-tier market right now—the Asian investors and everybody else,’ said Joe Valente, head of research and strategy of European real estate at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, adding that the firm is waiting for the prices to fall before entering the market again.”
Finance
WSJ – Daily Shot: FRED – Commercial and Industrial Loan Growth 11/27
Visual Capitalist – Visualizing the Journey to $10,000 Bitcoin – Jeff Desjardins 11/27
FT – ICO regulation inconsistent as cryptocurrency bubble fears grow – Caroline Binham 11/23
- “US scrutiny of cryptocurrency offerings could mean criminal penalties are looming.”
Africa
WSJ – Mugabe’s Reign Ushered In Zimbabwe’s Economic Decline – Matina Stevis-Gridneff 11/22
China
FT – Alibaba’s finance arm bans high-interest consumer loans – Gabriel Wildau 11/23
Japan
FT – Corporate Japan hit by severe labor shortages – Robin Harding 11/26
- “Japanese companies are scouring the country for workers and offering more attractive permanent contracts as they struggle to overcome the worst labor shortages in 40 years.”
- “Companies across a range of sectors — from construction to aged care — have warned in recent days that a lack of staff is starting to hit their business.”
- “The hiring difficulties highlight Japan’s declining population and the strength of its economy after five years of economic stimulus under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”
- “’Delays to construction projects are becoming chronic,’ said Motohiro Nagashima, president of Toli Corporation, one of Japan’s biggest makers of floor coverings.”
- “One way companies are tackling shortages is by offering more generous permanent contracts, which provide job security and pension benefits. That policy has broken a decades-long trend towards more part-time and contract work.”
- “The way companies are responding — using every means other than wage increases — suggests that shortages will not yet turn into higher inflation.”
- “Irregular work has risen relentlessly from about 19% of total employment when Japan’s bubble burst in 1990, to a peak of 37.9% in 2015.”
- “But there are now signs of stabilization, with the percentage of irregular staff falling to 37.4% in the third quarter of this year.”
Middle East
FT – Saudi elite start handing over funds in corruption crackdown – Simeon Kerr 11/24
Other Interesting Links
WSJ – The Rise and Fall of a Law-School Empire Fueled by Federal Loans – Josh Mitchell 11/24
