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Saturday, December 21

21st Dec - Weekly Links #4180


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EUROPE
Giugliano: Bailing Out Bankers Is All the Rage Again
BB
First Germany’s NordLB, then Italy’s Banca Popolare di Bari. Taxpayers are still very much on the hook for the failures of the finance system.

Can European carmakers accelerate electric transition? FT
New EU emissions standards are designed to wean consumers off larger, petrol-fuelled cars

EU Makes Deeper Economic Ties With China a PriorityWSJ
European Council President Charles Michel said he would lobby the bloc’s national leaders early in the new year on a more unified approach to Beijing, and wouldn’t allow U.S. to dictate policy.

ING’s Eurozone Quarterly: Is this recovery for real?ING
There are gradually more signs that the Eurozone economy is bottoming out after that slowdown that started in January 2018. That's the main theme for our Eurozone Quarterly. From Germany to Greece, France to Finland, we give our assessment of what's really going on right now in the region... and what we think is going to happen next

What Qualifies as a Green Investment? EU Sets RulesWSJ
The European Union outlined the world’s first comprehensive green-financing rules, seeking to regulate claims made by the finance industry in the burgeoning area of environmentally sustainable investment products.
 
Here comes European protectionism Politico
The next five years of EU policy will be about defending the bloc’s interests.

What Macron plans for EuropePolitico
The French president’s EU adviser outlines what Paris wants from Brussels.

Never mind the strikes, here’s the French pension reformPolitico
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe unveils plan to revamp the system, and the unions aren’t happy.

French Protesters Turn Up Pressure on Macron Over PensionsWSJ
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in nationwide protests against the French government’s planned pension overhaul, deepening the standoff between President Emmanuel Macron and the country’s powerful unions.


UNITED STATES
Feldman: A Brief Guide to the Weird Constitutional Rules on ImpeachmentBB
The Senate pretty much gets to invent its own procedure.

U.S. Prefers Mass Hysteria to Sound Policy on Vaping BB
Saving the lives of millions of smokers isn’t a priority. Protecting kids from nicotine seems to matter more.

Goldman Sachs in Talks to Admit Guilt, Pay $2 Billion Fine to Settle 1MDB ProbeWSJ
Wall Street bank could install monitor as part of deal with Justice Department


CENTRAL BANKING
El-Erian: Sweden Says Enough Is Enough on Negative RatesBB
The Riksbank parts with its peers because of concerns about collateral damage and unintended consequences.

Giugliano: Sweden's Hike Holds a Lesson for the ECBBB
Misguided anxiety about subzero rates has led to unnecessary tightening. Other banks should take heed.

China’s Central Bank and the Fed Look More AlikeBB
The big economies are on the same monetary page, and independence doesn’t account for everything. 

Gallo: Central Banks Want New Powers, But at What Cost? BB
Linking monetary policies with governments’ fiscal policies is likely to have negative consequences. 

Fiscal activism in the euro area and in other advanced economies: new evidenceECB
On average, discretionary fiscal policy did not deliver economic stabilisation: during good economic times (positive output gaps) it has been on average pro-cyclical both in the euro area and in the other regions

A tale of two decades:  the ECB’s monetary policy at 20ECB

Market reaction to the two-tier system ECB

The ECB after the crisis: Existing synergies among monetary policy, macroprudential policies, and banking supervisionvoxeu
In 2012, European leaders decided to establish a pan-European supervisory authority at the ECB, and in November 2014 direct banking supervision and an important role in financial stability were added to the monetary policy responsibilities of the central bank. This column examines what this has meant for the organisational structure of the ECB, asking why the decision was made, what the working arrangements of this enlarged ECB are, and what the similarities and synergies among these three functions are.

Central banking in challenging timesBIS
The essay focuses on the threefold challenge central banks have been facing post-crisis - economic, intellectual and institutional. It pays special attention to central bank independence.

Despite the Fed’s efforts, the repo market risks more turbulence The Economist
A challenge awaits the central bank on December 31st


OTHER

The ceasefire in the trade war between America and China is fragileThe Economist
New American tariffs have been cancelled in a “phase one” trade deal

Book Recommendations to Turn the Page From 2019 to 2020BB
Bloomberg Opinion writers on what they’re reading to make sense of the year past and look forward to a new decade.

Macau's a Safe Bet — to Remain a Gambling HubBB
Who needs another meal ticket when you’ve already got a monopoly on running casinos in China?

Macau: lessons for Hong Kong from Beijing’s ‘good student’FT
There is growing anger over inequality in the former Portuguese colony, so why are the people not protesting?