Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 04 April 2015
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
Global
Asia markets end mixed; Japan shares fall as yen strengthens (CNBC) Asian markets were mixed Monday, not getting much of a boost from solid U.S. jobs data last week, while Japanese shares lost ground on the back of a stronger yen.
Panama papers leak: data shows offshore accounts of rich and famous (The Hindu) A trove of documents has exposed the secret offshore dealings of aides to Russian president Vladimir Putin, world leaders and celebrities including Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. An investigation into the documents by more than 100 media groups, described as one of the largest such probes in history, revealed the hidden offshore dealings in the assets of around 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of states. The source of the documents is reported here to be anonymous but Econintersect expects to have more details in a news article later today. The documents were from the large offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca. See also Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca data leak reveals how global elite use tax havens to protect their riches (City A.M.) and article forwarded by Rob Carter Panama Papers and Mossack Fonseca explained (abc.net.au)
Oil Speculators Bet Rally’s Over as Doubts Grow on Output Freeze (Bloomberg) Money managers lost faith in oil’s recent rally as doubts grew over whether major producers will be able to agree on an output freeze. Futures in West Texas Intermediate oil retreated last week for the first time since mid-February. Prices had surged from a low of almost 13 years on a proposal by Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar to cap oil output and reduce a global surplus. They’ll meet with other countries in Doha on April 17. See also next article.
Oil could soon see $50 – here’s why: RBC analyst (CNBC) See also previous article.
U.S.
In a revealing interview, Trump predicts a ‘massive recession’ but intends to eliminate the national debt in 8 years (The Washington Post) Bob Woodward and Robert Costa discuss their long interview with Donald Trump. See also Trump’s prediction of ‘massive recession’ puzzles economists (Reuters)
I Understand the World Much Better than Obama (The Washington Post)
EU
Yanis Varoufakis: ‘Europe is too important to be left to its clueless rulers’ (The Telegraph) YK has contributed to GEI. Mick Brown has written an article profiling former Greek finance minister, game theorist, university professor and political activist Yanis Varoufakis.
UK
Sterling fears mount as Britain nears vote on EU (Financial Times) The cost of buying protection against a plunge in the value of sterling after the EU referendum has soared to levels higher than those seen during the 2008 financial crisis, as fears of Brexit mount in financial markets. With opinion polls narrowing, the UK government is also joining the clamor for insurance against Britain leaving the EU, telling banks they must more than double the size of their bids for buying government debt in an effort to prevent a failure in gilt auctions.
Libor scandal round 3: It’s crunch time for the UK’s fraud squad as it heads to court for the third UK Libor trial (City A.M.) This could mark the end of attempts to prosecute banksters for Libor rigging. The Serious Fraud Office is gearing up for a crunch trial today as it heads to court in the latest instalment of the Libor rigging saga. The under-pressure fraud squad’s war on financial misconduct will continue at Southwark Crown Court, with the trial of five former Barclays bankers accused of US-dollar pegged Libor rigging. The SFO will be closely scrutinized as, out of 13 individuals charged with offenses related to Libor rigging since 2012, only one has been found guilty – former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes. Its decision last month to drop an investigation into Forex manipulation because of a lack of evidence and the recent acquittal of businessmen James Sutherland and Jack Flader for an alleged boiler room scam has raised further questions. And in January, six former brokers were acquitted of accusations that they had conspired with Hayes to manipulate Libor.
Greece
WikiLeaks Controversy Strengthens Case for Greek Debt Forgiveness (Mohamed El-Eran, Bloomberg)
The release this weekend by WikiLeaks of the purported transcript of discussions among International Monetary Fund officials about the best way to compel Greece’s creditors to accept debt restructuring led to much finger pointing and seeming indignation.
Yet the economic case for forgiving that country’s debt is straightforward: Without relief within a comprehensive reform program, Greece will struggle to grow, unemployment will remain high, and the turmoil will continue to periodically challenge the functioning of the euro zone.
Turkey
The Latest: 1st ship deporting migrants reaches Turkey (Associated Press) The first vessel transporting migrants from Greece has docked in Turkey, putting into practice a European Union plan to stem migration to Europe. At dawn on the Greek island of Lesbos, an initial group of migrants were escorted onto two small ferries by officers from the EU border protection agency, Frontex. The first vessel, the Nazli Jale, reached the port of Dikili accompanied by the Turkish coast guard.
India
Kolkata flyover collapse: Experts question slapping of murder charge (The Hindu) Four officials of IVRCL have been charged with murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with the collapse last week of the elevated highway in Kolkata which killed 27 and injured many more. Legal experts have questioned the decision of the Kolkata police to slap murder charge on the four officials.
Japan
Death by overwork on rise among Japan’s vulnerable workers (The Hindu) Japan is witnessing a record number of compensation claims related to death from overwork, or ‘karoshi’, a phenomenon previously associated with the long-suffering “salary man” that is increasingly afflicting young and female employees. Labour demand, with 1.28 jobs per applicant, is the highest since 1991, which should help Prime Minister Shinzo Abe draw more people into the workforce to counter the effect of a shrinking population, but lax enforcement of labor laws means some businesses are simply squeezing more out of employees, sometimes with tragic consequences. Claims for compensation for ‘karoshi’ rose to a record high of 1,456 in the year to end-March 2015.
Australia
Discovery, settlement or invasion? The power of language in Australia’s historical narrative (The Conversation) The debate continues. The University of New South Wales recently found itself in a firestorm for reportedly encouraging students to use the terms “invasion”, “occupation” or “colonisation” when discussing Captain Cook, who had hitherto often been described as “discovering” Australia in the 18th century, as part of the history of British “settlement”. This author suggests the university is correct.
