Your Weekend Reading On Economics

Global/General

Saudi Arabia will sell oil cheaper to Europe and raises price for the Far East and the US! Price discrimination for an internationally traded commodity!

Negative rates stir bank mutiny in Germany and in Japan – well, not quite yet. Minds are stirring.

Some interesting charts from the latest World Bank Update on Global Economic Prospects

Check out the charts in pages 12-14 on this OECD media handout. Of course, you can check out the entire handout. Choice is yours.

The world’s emptiest airport is in Sri Lanka

America

An important article not only for the analysis of the U.S. Presidential candidates’ election prospects but also for the intrinsic merit (or, otherwise) of exit polls.

India

Nishith Desai Associates say that India’s corporate litigation landscape has been completely changed (for the better, of course) with the notification of the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

US returns 200 artefacts worth USD100mn to India. How India cares for them is the next thing to watch.

Sanjeev Sanyal says that India’s demographic dividend would last only a generation as fertility rates decline (May 26, 2016)

New York Times is persuaded to acknowledge that PM Modi’s address to the U.S. Congress marked a new moment in the relationship.

Tunku Varadarajan in WSJ on the new symphony in play

Two U.S. lawmakers introduce bill for special ties with India

Tamil Nadu allows unions in Information Technology Sector

Tamil Nadu gets its own Cricket Premier League

The seriousness of the drug problem in Punjab

Monsoon rains and India’s spirits

How British let one million Indians die in famine – 150 years ago

China

Goldman Sachs says China’s debt is even higher than estimated earlier

“Fear, tradition and personal charisma do not amount to institutional governance”. Carl Minzner is speaking of the China President, of course.

Lancôme cancels pro-independence singer’s concert in Hong Kong. HK protests. Lancôme stores closed for a day in Hong Kong. The story did not end there.

Golden age for multinational companies in China had come to an end.

China says will not be bullied over pending international court ruling on South China Sea. Is that really news?

Bonnie Glaser on China’s policy autism on display at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore

For the Nikkei Asian Review, Daniel Twining of the German Marshall Fund hints at what would make China pause in its aggressive expansion in the South China Sea.

James Crabtree (former FT correspondent in India) writes about what he heard at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

This short interview of Charlene Chu in and with Bloomberg is well worth a read

Financial Markets

James Mackintosh (formerly with FT) calls the 2% yield on the 50-year gilt in the UK totally bonkers. Have to agree.

Soros back to trading and is bearish – most have read it already but worth re-reading the last paragraph

Bloomberg has a Brexit tracker up to June 23. Today (09th June)’s score is only 24%.  It is based on financial market variables such as corporate bond spread, the exchange rate of sterling, etc. ‘Economist’ has a tracker and that shows a ‘too close to call’ race.