Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 06 June 2016
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 mixed, with Japan stocks falling as dollar weakens, pushing up yen (CNBC) Asian markets traded mixed Monday, with Japan shares paring some early losses, as a disappointing May jobs report in the U.S. on Friday weakened the dollar and bolstered regional currencies, including the yen.
McKinsey’s secret $5bn fund in spotlight (Financial Times) McKinsey, one of the world’s most influential consulting firms, has built up a secretive $5bn internal investment arm that manages the fortunes of its past and present partners, raising questions over possible conflicts of interest.
We’re (not) running out of water – a better way to measure water scarcity (The Conversation) There is no shortage of fresh water on our planet. But that doesn’t mean there cannot be localized shortages.
U.S.
Clinton wins Puerto Rico (The Hill) Polls closed at 3 p.m. and after several hours of counting, Clinton had 64% of the vote to Sanders’s 35%. CNN’s delegate tracker had Clinton 29 delegates away from 2,383 needed to secure the nomination, with about 22% of votes from Puerto Rico tallied. See also from Saturday: Clinton wins Virgin Islands caucuses.
Fed’s Mester Sees Gradual Rate Boosts Despite Weak Jobs Data (Bloomberg) The Federal Reserve should raise interest rates gradually despite weak jobs data, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said, a day after the U.S. payrolls report erased the argument for a move in June. U.S. economic growth is picking up, inflation is moving toward target and the country is at full employment, Mester told reporters in Stockholm on Saturday.
Mr. Rogers’ Nonsensehood (Monetary Sovereignty) Elizabeth Harris has some fund marking up an Op Ed by Brian Rogers in The Baltimore Sun. Click on title to read. The original untouched: What about the national debt?
In the Adirondacks, Zika Virus is not the Only Mosquito Risk (Adirondacks, Facebook) Hat tip to Doug O’Dell.
EU
Greener in Europe? Four reasons the EU can’t be trusted on the environment (The Conversation) The four reasons:
Underwhelming commitment to cutting greenhouse gases;
Emphasis on use of biofuels which are not actually green;
Support for the automotive industry further tarnishes the EU’s green credentials;
TTIP trades protection for economic growth.
UK
Stressed out Brits want robots and virtual assistants to pick up the slack (City A.M.) A survey of nearly 5,000 workers found they were not as worried about losing their job to a robot as they were wanting more automation to make their jobs move quicker and be more efficient:
Making appointments and getting a smart coffee machine to order refills are just some of the tasks which people said they were willing to give up to technology, according to a global survey of nearly 5,000 consumers by advertising agency JWT.
More than three quarters said they agreed that technology put them more in control and nearly a quarter already do use the technology by letting a virtual assistant or automated machine book flights for them.
EU referendum: the positive case for voting Remain (The Conversation) A lot of this article is a discussion of how the EU should be improved. As far as why to vote stay, this is about it:
Elsewhere I have argued that the economic costs to the UK of leaving the EU would be very significant over both the medium and long run. What makes the Leave side’s argument so weak is that it has not articulated a coherent and realistic vision of what life outside the EU would mean for the UK.
But we should also recognise the important and positive role the EU and its predecessor institutions have played in enhancing peace and prosperity for the UK and the whole continent in the last 60 years or so.
India
India’s Jaitley, bank chiefs to discuss nonperforming assets (The Hindu) In the nine months from the end of March 2015 to the end of the year, the ratio of gross nonperforming assets at India’s public sector banks grew from 5.43% to 7.3%. India’s black economy is shrinking, partly because of a crackdown that has driven capital costs higher, but it still constitutes about 20% of the overall economy, according to a study by Ambit Capital Research. The black economy grew the most in the 1970s and 1980s, the study says, but even today it exceeds Argentina or Thailand’s entire economy.
India’s black economy pegged at 20% of GDP (Business Standard) A new study says India’s ‘black economy’ has been contracting gradually over the years, but still remains bigger than the overall economic size of countries like Thailand and Argentina at 20% of the nation’s GDP..
Climate change, Pacific cooperation top agenda with Modi: U.S (The Hindu) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a one-on-one meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday and will address a joint session of the U.S Congress on Wednesday.
China
How big did you say China’s debt pile is? (Macro Business) Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that shadow lending in China increases the actual amount of debt in the economy by more than 12% above previous estimate and up to 18% above the official numbers.
Philippines
Moody’s sees little letup in Philippine manufacturing growth (Business World) Factory output likely sustained growth in April though at a slightly slower pace, Moody’s Analytics said on Friday, driven by robust domestic activity during the election season which is seen to support a strong full-year performance. The unit of the debt watcher expects growth in manufacturing output at 7% for the month, a slight dip from the 7.8% expansion logged in March and picking up from the 1.8% climb seen a year ago. If realized, such a pace would mark the 10th straight month of manufacturing growth.
Philippine government will put growth before revenue, incoming finance chief says (The Business Times) Carlos Dominguez, who is set to become finance secretary in the Philippines, said the incoming government of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is willing to initially lose revenue through income-tax cuts to help boost economic growth and reduce poverty. Dominguez said:
“We won’t look at erosion of revenue as simply erosion of revenue but really, investment in the future and encouraging more business activity.”
Australia
NSW weather: Sydney homes evacuated as king tide combines with east coast low (abc.net.au) Ever dream of a seaside home?
