“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Research:
Rainfall shocks increase rates of democratic change Bruckner and Ciccone (2010b) and Burke and Leigh (2010)
There are about 500,000 centenarians worldwide
Quite the RSS reader ~ rssvoyage – desktop software is going away
Graphs on how people split their time between phone, tablet, computer, television ~ Google
U.S.
“I try to forget that Apple once ripped off Xerox. Damn. I just remembered.” ~ @EmanuelDerman
Morgan Stanley’s Reinhart says discussion is over “open ended” money printing, tied to some benchmark ~ @themoneygame
World:
Global Trade, one of the bright spots for the world, contracted the most in quite some time in July ~ twitter
TOPIX-17 FOODS ETF chart ~ Bloomberg – sideways ~ could see the price of volatility rise in either direction
Goldman Sachs says “perverse incentives” and “perpetuation of fiscal balances” are the ‘chronic’ consequences Of ECB Bond Buying ~ GS via Zerohedge
Europe’s imbalances are correcting. ~ FT Alphaville
Trade Balance is improving for Greece, Spain, and Italy. Additionally, wage imbalances between Germany and Periphery are narrowing, shows chart
From 2000-2008, Greece’s unit labor costs rose 33.7 per cent, as money supply expanded by 101.5 per cent ~ FT – Labor costs barely budged in Germany as union rights were paired back.
“Germany Is Cornered,” says Mark Grant, who sees a new German leader rising to power ~ Zerohedge
German exports to China were 206% higher in 2011 than 2005 ~ WSJ
China:
Copper Demand in China Seen Growing at Slowest Pace in 15 Years ~ BloombergNews
“Large scale deep water rigs are our mobile national territory and a strategic weapon” ~ CNOOC chairman Wang Yilin
CNOOC is attempting to purchase Canada’s Nexen for $15.6b giving CNOOC a “national territory and strategic weapon” in the Gulf of Mexico
Ignore China’s pre-election posturing, says @LizEconomy
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