Perspective

WSJ – Advisers at Leading Discount Brokers Win Bonuses to Push Higher-Priced Products – Jason Zweig and Anne Tergesen 1/10

• “At Fidelity, Schwab and TD Ameritrade, employees win extra pay and other incentives to put clients in products that are more lucrative for them, and the firm.”

Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

Bloomberg View – Even Cynics Can Love Crypto – Matt Levine 1/11

• “There are no true believers in pump-and-dump; only those who get in early and profit.”

FT – A bitcoin bubble made in millennial heaven – Roula Khalaf 1/10

MarketWatch – The man who called a new bull market in 2012 says take your profits now – Howard Gold 1/11

Mauldin Economics – The Moment of Truth for the Secular Bond Bull Market Has Arrived – John Mauldin 1/10

Markets / Economy

NYT – Investors Spooked at Specter of Central Banks Halting Bond-Buying Spree – Landon Thomas Jr. 1/10

• “All told, the three central banks are sitting on $14 trillion in securities they have bought since 2009: a $4.4 trillion mix of Treasuries and mortgage securities held by the Federal Reserve; the European Central Bank’s $5 trillion in corporate and government bonds; and $4.5 trillion worth of bonds and exchange traded funds accumulated by the Bank of Japan.”
• “Moreover, the view that the United States government, in the wake of the tax cut package, will have to issue more securities to finance a larger budget deficit is giving bond investors pause.”
• “’The U.S. is about to issue a whole lot more debt in an environment where the demand for that debt is about to go down,’ said Daniel W. Drezner, a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. ‘What that means is interest rates are about to go up’.”
• “And that is bad news for bond investors.”

Real Estate

WSJ – Manhattan Rent Fell 2.7% in December to Median of $3,295 – Josh Barbanel 1/11

WSJ – Malls May Be Dying, But Bets Against Their Debt Haven’t Paid Off – Esther Fung 1/9

Energy

FT – New York sues big oil companies over climate change – Attracta Mooney and Ed Crooks 1/10

Finance

FT – Bitcoin tumbles as South Korea plans trading ban – Song Jung-a and Bryan Harris 1/10

WSJ – Bond Markets Have Picked Up the Wrong Signal From Japan – Anjani Trivedi 1/11

WSJ – Chinese Dragon Still Needs U.S. Treasurys for Its Hoard – Nathaniel Taplin 1/11

South America

WSJ – Daily Shot: Venezuela Monetary Base 1/10

WSJ – Daily Shot: Venezuelan Bolivares to USD Black Market Exchange Rate 1/10