Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice
Economist – In investing, as in poker, following rules works best – Buttonwood 5/31
Markets / Economy
Economist – Central banks holdings of domestic government debt 5/31
- “The European Central Bank is closing a chapter on one controversial policy, government bond purchases, while extending the life of another: negative interest rates.”
- “The central bank Thursday laid out plans to wind down its giant bond-buying program by the end of this year, but said it likely would wait ‘at least through the summer of 2019’ before raising its deposit rate, now at minus 0.4%.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: Deutsche Bank – US Budget Deficit Funding and % Holdings 6/14
Real Estate
WSJ – Daily Shot: Bloomberg – World’s Most Expensive Housing Markets Relative to Salary 6/12
WSJ – Daily Shot: Mary Meeker Internet Trends 2018 – Airbnb vs Hotel ADR 5/31
Wolf Street – Toronoto’s House Price Bubble Not Fun Anymore – Wolf Richter 6/4
Energy
WSJ – Daily Shot: US Total Crude Oil Production 6/14
Finance
FT – US fundraising for ‘blank cheque’ buyout vehicles hits record – Nicole Bullock 6/13
- “Funds have been raised at a record rate in the US this year for shell companies that offer a ‘blank cheque’ to sponsors to pursue takeovers, providing further evidence of the rehabilitation of a controversial tool that waned in the wake of the financial crisis.”
- “The so-called special purpose acquisition companies, or spacs, have raised $4.5bn so far in 2018 — the largest amount for this type of fundraising in the period, according to Dealogic, which began recording the deals in 1995. That followed a brisk 2017, the second strongest year on record with nearly $10bn sold.”
- “The funds are placed in an interest-bearing account until a target is identified — and spac investors can get their money back if they do not approve of the acquisition. They are basically a bet that the sponsors can find a good company at a reasonable price.”
- “Spacs offer investors, often hedge funds, a cash proxy with the option of the acquisition. Sponsors get a 20% stake in the acquired company, if investors approve it, for a nominal amount of money.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: BlackRock – Four big trends to drive ETF growth 5/31
Cryptocurrency / ICOs
WSJ – Daily Shot: Bianco Research – Cryptocurrency Market Caps as of June 11, 2018 6/14
Environment / Science
- “’Beating plastic pollution’ was the theme of World Environment Day on June 5, but Thailand is falling behind Asian and European countries in the fight against plastic waste.”
- “The issue has been brought into focus after a dead whale was found last month to have swallowed 80 plastic bags.”
- “The whale, found in Songkhla province, served as a reminder of Thailand’s problem with plastic, and the abject failures of the government and retail industry to bring the nation’s environmental consciousness in line with the rest of the world’s.”
- “Thailand is the world’s sixth biggest contributor to ocean waste, while China is the largest. Thailand generates 1.03m tons of plastic waste per year, with over 3% of that finding its way into the ocean, Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace, told the Nikkei Asian Review.”
- “Of the country’s total waste, plastic accounts for 12% — higher than China’s at 11%. A survey by the government in 2017 found that, on average, Thais each use eight plastic bags per day, which equates to about 198bn per year.”
China
WSJ – Daily Shot: PIMCO – China’s Contribution to Global Credit Creation 6/12
WSJ – Daily Shot: Trading Economics – Hong Kong Home Ownership Rate 6/12
