EconVue Spotlight

posted by Lyric Hughes Hale on July 17, 2017 - 7:14am

This week we feature a new panel on the state of corporate governance in Asia inspired by the recent inclusion of Chinese A-Shares in the MSCI. The general conclusion of our three EconVue panelists, Stanford fellow Marsha Vande Berg, Karim Pakravan in Chicago, and Nicholas Benes in Tokyo, is that foreign shareholders can play a useful, if currently limited role in creating market transparency. Registered users are welcome to post comments.

Their conclusions are based upon a wide variety of viewpoints, research, and experiences, as you can see by clicking on their biographies. One of our goals at EconVue has been to bring together a select group of experts from around the world to engage in thoughtful long-form discussions of economic news. 

Other stories of note include an analysis of China's Financial Work Conference on a new website  at the University of Chicago, Macro Polo, an illuminating history of the China- North Korea relationship, and an interview by Devin Stewart with Fordham's rising star Raymond Kuo. It is the most thought-provoking interview about Asian and global geopolitics I have read in a long time. 

EconVue expert Collin Canright’s Fintech newsletter is listed below, which now includes a national calendar of Fintech events and a list of the seven things to watch for in over-hyped fintech startups. Next week we will have a special focus on Iran, the second largest economy in the Middle East. 

STORIES IN OUR SPOTLIGHT

Conversation with Raymond Kuo: Can Trump be a Bismarck in Asia?
Devin Stewart 6/22/2017 Carnegie Council

Terrific interview if you're looking for a wider lens on global politics, especially Asia.

Major Decisions Afoot at China's Upcoming Financial Work Conference
Houze Song 7/12/2017 Macro Polo

Speculation is that this conference, held every five years, could result in a super regulator of China's financial sector. A concern overall is that weaknesses exist not just in terms of debt, but that assets are overvalued. Insurance companies assets for example grew 60% between 2014-16.

Why Won't China Help with North Korea? Remember 1956
Sergey Radchenko 7/9/2017 China File

Excellent historical background.

Mapped: How Climate Change Affects Extreme Weather Around the World
Carbon Brief  7/6/2017

Caused by technology, only technology, not politics or pacts or agreements, can ever solve the challenge of climate change. And by the way, every signatory to the Paris Agreement has a different agreement, called an NCD (Nationally Determined Contribution) and none are compulsory.

Japanese Retail Giant Accepts Bitcoin Nationwide after Successful Trial
Samburaj Das 7/11/2017 Cryptocoins News  

Japanese electronics retailer Bic Camera will enable bitcoin payments across all stores in the country this month. The trial proved to be beyond successful. 

Bitcoin Crashes as Chain-Split Risks Increase
Andrew Quentson 7/16/2017 Cryptocoins News

August 1st is a big deal in the world of cryptocurrency. Here's why.

Record Decline in Teenagers Learning to Drive, Figures Show
Katie Morley 7/10/2017 The Telegraph

An entirely new Generation X could be negative for the auto industry. Not to be confused with Millennials, they are extremely value and security conscious, and their reasons for delaying learning to drive are mostly economic. This article is about the decline in the UK (30%) but the same trend is occurring in the US. Why Many Teens Don't Want to Get a Driver's License

Risky Mortgages, Shadow Bankers Threaten Vancouver Housing Market's Stability
Sam Cooper 6/17/2017 Vancouver Sun

The Bank of Canada warns of two key risks in Canada's housing market. The first is that property prices and household debt have reached such extremes in Vancouver and Toronto, that "just about anything" could trigger a correction. 

First Object Teleported from Earth to Orbit
MIT Technology Review 7/12/2017 

The view from 1.6 million feet: researchers in China have teleported a photon from the ground to a satellite orbiting more than 500 kilometers above. 

ECONVUE RESEARCH

Unintended Consequences: China's Inclusion in MSCI (DISCUSSION PANEL)

China's A-Share market has now been included in the MSCI Emerging Market Index. What does this mean for the corporate governance in China? Join our experts to discuss this in detail

Data Round-Up: Real Consumption Likely Grew +2.8% in 17Q2; Core Inflation Picking Up Some
Michael Lewis (Subscriber content) 

After its lull this spring, core inflation is turning up, gradually. The FOMC continues to believe that inflation will rise to target (and FMI continues to think it will happen sooner than Yellen expects -- by around year-end, in fact).

Forming a More Perfect Health System: Senate Republicans Confront Their Policy Demons
David Johnson

Constructive health reform does not require more money. It does require redistributing healthcare resourses away from acute and specialty care and into preventative health, chronic disease management and behavioral health services. It also demands greater transparency, lower administrative costs and balanced regulatory oversight. 

Fintech Rising: What FinTech Means
Collin Canright

I look at FinTech more broadly as the application of internet, mobile, and data-analysis technologies in financial services, which I divide into the following market segments: payments, lending, wealth management, capital markets, insurance. I also include new technologies designed to make banking and regulation more efficient, as I described in an earlier article, What Is FinTech?