This week, we interviewed Tina Vandersteel, who is GMO’s Emerging Country Debt team.before joining GMOs In 2004, she worked in fixed income research at JPMorgan Chase, developing quantitative arbitrage strategies for emerging debt and high-yield bonds. She started her career as a journalist before entering the financial industry. She spent several years abroad, starting with JPMorgan’s São Paulo office. She returned to the US to work in the emerging markets credit sector, with two of her largest clients being GMO and Long Term Capital Management. Each of them buys the same bonds using various strategies including leverage. These strategies caused the LTCM to collapse and burn while the GMO flourished. A few years later, she joined GMO to expand its capabilities in emerging market… [Read More...]

Notre Dame Cathedral rises again National Geographic (David L) Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh dies at 95 Tricycle (David L) A Rio Grande Valley woman just broke the U.S. record for most bird sightings in a year Texas Monthly (resilc) Amazing black and white photos of beautiful rock formations found in western US My Modern Met (David L) 1,100 exquisite root maps reveal the hidden world of plants Open Culture (David L) Hubble finds a black hole igniting star formation in a dwarf galaxy NASA (guest) The sheer force of Tonga’s eruption has baffled scientists, and now they’re trying to unravel what happened Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Kevin W) A large rotating ice disk forms in the Presumpscot River in southern Maine Fliboard (David L) Can… [Read More...]

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a Danish blend, take a seat by the fire, and get ready for our long weekend: • Can we really be friends with octopuses? When octopuses are social, do they reach out or just respond? Biologists now recognize that at least some octopus species appear to be more social than previously thought. Researchers have published reports of octopuses congregating on the seafloor in groups, sharing nests, using color and gestures to communicate, and forming cooperative hunting parties with fish. At the same time, divers, professional aquarists and cephalopod lovers are increasingly sharing stories of intense mutual curiosity, surprising interactions, and even what some call the friendship between humans and octopuses. (Hakai) • The true cost of Amazon’s low prices Critics… [Read More...]

The savings of millions of pensioners are at risk of inflation as they hold Isa portfolios purely in cash, according to the latest figures from HMRC. Information in a freedom of information request by former superannuation minister Sir Steve Weber, a partner at London superannuation advisers Lane Clark & ??Peacock, sheds light on the risks surging inflation poses to older savers. “These numbers show that a lot of money is rotting cash isas,” Weber said. “As inflation soars, the spending power of cash savings is being severely eroded. “ Of the nearly 6 million people aged 65 and older who hold an individual savings account (Isas), more than 3 million hold only cash. The total pot held by this age group is £300 billion, of which the cash… [Read More...]

UK inflation is expected to rise to a 30-year high when December data is released on Wednesday, as rising cost pressures are felt across the economy. Economists polled by Reuters forecast inflation to hit 5.2 percent, the highest level since the early 1990s and up from November’s 10-year high of 5.1 percent. They attributed upward price pressure to higher energy costs, strong demand for most goods and services, and continued disruptions to supply chains. While economic forecasts are more uncertain than usual during the pandemic, most experts predict inflation will peak in April, prompting expectations that the Bank of England will raise key interest rates several times this year. The December data will be the last before the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on February… [Read More...]

According to the British Chambers of Commerce, the UK government should tackle post-Brexit red tape in customs and trade processes and issue more visas to address labour shortages. The trade group, which represents tens of thousands of British businesses, has expressed concern about the disruption caused by Britain’s departure from the European Union’s single market. In an extensive report ahead of the ‘Brexit Day’ anniversary on January 31, the BCC called on the UK and EU to further simplify new customs and trade processes to ease the burden of paperwork and prevent delays. This should include an agreement on safety labelling of industrial products – with differences with the EU – and a veterinary agreement to ease trade restrictions on animal and plant products… [Read More...]

The author is a professor of finance at Peking University and a senior fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy China on Friday reported the largest monthly trade surplus in its history. It was the latest in a nearly two-year record monthly surplus of $94.5 billion, despite stagnating Chinese consumption. But while China’s soaring trade surplus seems like a fortune to balance stagnant consumption in time, it misunderstands the relationship between domestic consumption and trade. Contrary to what many assume, the country’s burgeoning trade surplus is not a sign of manufacturing prowess or evidence of a culture of frugality. Rather, it is the result of China’s enormous difficulty rebalancing its domestic economy and reining in soaring debt. This is because the… [Read More...]

You should be vaxxed and promoted. But should you get a second booster? Should we get a second booster vaccine?what science says source: Wall Street Journal post How much immunity can a booster boost? first appeared in big picture. Source link The post How much immunity can a booster boost? appeared first on JusticeNewsFlash.com. [Read More...]

China’s gross domestic product grew at its slowest pace in 18 months in the fourth quarter as the government grapples with its worst economic challenge since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product grew by 4% year-on-year, beating economists’ forecasts, but below the 6.5% growth rate for the same period in 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. The PBOC also cut key lending rates for the first time since April 2020, in a series of easing measures Recent months have coincided with a slowdown in real estate and restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Data and policy initiatives confirm severe loss of motivation China’s economy has recovered from the initial impact of the pandemic much faster than… [Read More...]

Manufacturing in Northern Ireland has made “significant” progress in adapting to new trade arrangements introduced after Brexit, according to the region’s trade body. A survey by Manufacturing NI found that less than a quarter of members were fighting the so-called Northern Ireland agreement, which governs trade in the region. Compared with six months ago, the proportion is more than 40%. The findings, due on Friday, will increase the demands placed on the EU and UK by businesses in the region resolve their differences Northern Ireland’s trade in the EU’s single commodity market creates a trade border in the Irish Sea. Manufacturing NI’s chief executive Stephen Kelly said that while the responses indicated the manufacturer was “overcoming the problem”, “more… [Read More...]

China is set to release its estimates for fourth-quarter and full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth on Monday, at a critical economic and political juncture as President Xi Jinping seeks an unprecedented third term as head of party, military and government . The Politburo of the CPC Central Committee last month stressed the importance of stabilizing the economy and financial system real estate industry. But that does not indicate an intention to abandon the policies that have led Evergrande and other large developers to default. Striking a balance between stability and fiscal discipline will test Xi’s economic team, led by Vice Premier Liu He, in the coming months. Here are five things to look out for when launching. Will the quarter-on-quarter growth rate… [Read More...]

The UK government and the EU will resume talks this week on how to resolve a long-running dispute over trade arrangements with Northern Ireland that has soured relations in the first year after Brexit. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will try to sever the elusive knot left by her predecessor Lord David Frost, who resigned late last year as did London start to retreat It has some of the strictest requirements. Truss had a more enthusiastic tone than Frost in the initial contact, and invited EU Brexit Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to meet at her elegant mansion in Chiwenning, Kent, on Thursday night, promising to make “constructive proposals” to break the impasse. But officials on both sides admit they are still far apart on the substance… [Read More...]