August, 2018

• 5 August

  The downward mobility among young Americans

  

  It’s an axiom among many Americans that each future generation will live better than its predecessor. New technologies, greater efficiencies and a can-do spirit will reward us with higher living standards. There might be periodic stumbles, but the long-term trajectory is up. And the people most guaranteed to enjoy this bountiful future are the children of today’s upper-middle class. They ...

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• 5 August

  Abolish cash to end Japan’s deflation

  

  Monetary medicine in Japan is keeping the economy alive, but with nasty side effects. The search for a new cure should begin with a simple question: What if the Bank of Japan were to throw out its money-printing presses? Instead of pushing more yen into an economy that has already absorbed a threefold increase in cheap central-bank funds in five ...

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• 5 August

  Tesla tries to turn the page, but drama persists

  Tesla Inc’s past few months have produced even more drama than usual: CEO Elon Musk’s refusal to answer “dry” analyst questions; his Trumpian media tirade and #Pravduh thingy; Kanye; an alleged saboteur (or wannabe whistleblower). The company’s quarterly results almost feel like a commercial break. Earnings came in short of expectations. This is not a number that, in isolation, means ...

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• 5 August

  BOE Brexit groupthink risks a rate-rise reversal

  First, the good news: Traders don’t anticipate that Bank of England’s interest-rate increase heralds the start of a series of hikes. Now, the bad: If Brexit sees Britain leaving the European Union without a deal, the UK central bank may have to swiftly reverse course, scaring the horses more than if it had left well enough alone. The Monetary Policy ...

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• 5 August

  Google is courting too much trouble in China

  

  Google has some explaining to do. Recently, The Intercept outlined the company’s discussions to possibly resume its internet search service in China, followed by another news report that said Google is also developing a potential digital news app for the country. It has been nearly a decade since Google scaled back operations in the country because cyberattacks on company’s computer ...

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• 5 August

  India’s banking crisis is really a power crisis

  

  India’s government seems intent on abandoning good ideas for dealing with the country’s banking crisis and encouraging bad ones. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, given that the bureaucrats don’t yet seem to have grappled with the real nature of the problem. The latest terrible proposal for dealing with the bad loans weighing down India’s state-owned banks, which control more than ...

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• 5 August

  How economics went from philosophy to science

  

  Big changes have been happening in the economics profession, but many people still don’t seem to realise this. Maybe it’s the steady drumbeat of think pieces reiterating the same outdated critiques. Or maybe there’s a lingering collective memory of the time when the public face of economics was strongly libertarian. Or perhaps think tanks and pundits have publicised a caricature ...

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• 5 August

  Credit Agricole’s financings boost investment bank, retail

  

  Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA’s investment bank and retail business are both benefiting from the thirst for credit. Financing revenue jumped 17 percent in the second quarter after the bank provided advice and arranged debt financing on large deals including Altran Technologies SA’s takeover of Aricent Inc., helping the investment bank beat estimates. The bank’s French LCL retail business also did ...

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• 5 August

  AIG tumbles as underwriting slump, ‘charge’ hurt profit

  

  Bloomberg American International Group Inc. fell 2.7 percent after second-quarter earnings came in below estimates as a restructuring expense hurt results. Profit in the period fell from a year earlier as private equity and hedge fund performance weakened, the New York-based insurer said in a statement. Net investment income, which declined 12 percent to $3.1 billion, is on target for ...

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• 5 August

  Wells Fargo discloses tax-credit probe

  

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. disclosed another round of lapses and potential scandals in a quarterly report, saying it faces a US inquiry into its purchase of low-income housing credits and conceding it may have unnecessarily foreclosed on about 400 homeowners. Government agencies are examining how Wells Fargo negotiated and purchased “certain federal low-income housing tax credits in connection with ...

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