Seems rude to film.

China does have one powerful lever to boost consumption A permanent cut in the payroll tax could benefit workers and the world

1/6
Good Steven Barnett piece. He points out that "targeting growth rates inconsistent with productivity trends leads to distortive policies", and argues instead for a "dramatic, permanent payroll tax cut" to boost consumption.
www.ft.com/content/d078...

Taiwan’s private banks are grappling with a talent crunch in their bid to target the island’s growing pool of wealthy clients, forcing firms to boost compensation, with base salaries climbing about 40% in the past five years in some instances. Read more: bloom.bg/4crSnfU

📷️: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg

give them time, give them time...These things can't happen overnight.

Awaiting justice: The impact of Hong Kong’s national security laws Beijing’s sweeping national security law, imposed in 2020, has reshaped Hong Kong’s political landscape. With a conviction rate exceeding 90%, many people remain behind bars, and the city’s democratic...

After Jimmy Lai's 20 year jail term in Feb, Reuters delved into thousands of national security and protest related arrests by Hong Kong police between 2019-2026, in an interactive graphic: "Awaiting Justice:The impact of #HK NSL laws".
www.reuters.com/graphics/HON...
#HK w/@jessiepang.bsky.social

Personal bugbear of mine after years of watching the very good people at #HKWalls put on a fantastic annual #streetart festival in Hong Kong: news media fails to embed or refer to their map. One super fun, seasonal urban walking tour coming up this weekend... www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...

looks like several phone calls.

Trump’s China Delay Echoes Pattern of World Stage Leverage Plays President Donald Trump has long used last-minute switches on foreign travel and meetings with heads of state as he seeks to gain a diplomatic upper hand and keep foreign partners on their toes.

Trump's announcement that he's putting off his summit with Xi Jinping for "a month or so" echoes previous last minute switches regarding foreign travel and meetings with world leaders.

Trump Has Never Been a Planner, and in War That’s Deadly “The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” — All the President’s MenSenator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, took...

“The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” — All the President’s Men

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Mojtaba Khameni: How Iran Supreme Leader's Son Built a Global Property Empire Mojtaba Khamenei has amassed sprawling international investments, while economic hardship at home has sparked Iran's deadliest protests in decades.

Mojtaba Khamenei is Iran's new Supreme Leader. He's already got a global property empire worth millions.

Read our Big Take from January: bloom.bg/4llL0ea

This is exactly right.

Age verification / online ID check legislation literally forces companies to collect MORE data on children (and everyone else) not less.

We desperately need privacy, antitrust, and algorithmic justice legislation.

Not censorship bills like KOSA and expanded surveillance.

Dubai’s Bankers Stay Home as War Reshapes Ramadan Conflict in the Middle East is forcing Dubai’s expats to adjust to the reality of upheaval, and learn an unfamiliar script.

Iran’s missiles and drones forced Dubai’s bankers into their home offices and shattered the sense of safety in the blingy Gulf emirate.

AI Users Pick Claude in Its Feud With the Pentagon The AI culture war is showing up in user behavior.

The AI culture war is showing up in user behavior. After OpenAI’s Pentagon deal, ChatGPT users started switching to Anthropic’s Claude.

China’s Cheap Money Is Shaking $9.5 Trillion Global Loan Market Chinese banks, flush with low-cost funds, are reshaping parts of the global loan market, underscoring how deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy are increasingly influencing comp...

1/12
Very interesting Bloomberg article on one of my favorite topics – how, in a hyperglobalized world (i.e. one with very low transportation, communication, and financial-transaction costs), countries that control their external accounts effectively...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

It's kind of crazy that the AP now takes donations, but the far crazier thing would be if the AP went away.

Because the NYT, no matter how much money it rakes in from Wordle and Wirecutter, will never put a full-time reporter in a state capital like Pierre, South Dakota.

apnews.com/donate?targe...

NEW from ProPublica:

Guards at Trump's family detention camp are grabbing kids' writing, artwork, and crayons.

They've even taken one kid's drawing of Bratz dolls.

www.propublica.org/article/dill...

by @mckenziefunk.com and @micarosenberg.bsky.social

Ham tin

240. We will provide young people with more exchange and internship opportunities in the Mainland and overseas, including introducing a new media thematic internship programme in the Mainland and allocating an additional $60 million for implementing the HYAB Funding Scheme for International Youth Exchange continuously. 241. We will provide around 3 600 short-term internship placements in government departments and public bodies for post-secondary students, enabling young people aspiring for a public service career to gain experience.

All of the youth initiatives in Hong Kong's 2026-2027 Budget Speech:
1. Get the youth to move out
2. Encourage them to work in the civil service

Since this will likely come up in the SOTU: Yes, US stock markets are up since Trump took office (14%).
But in the rest of the world, markets are up WAY more. Cumulative market gains are more than triple ours (43%)

Russian firms have routed $8bn of trade through British island territories since invasion of Ukraine Anti-corruption group Transparency International have catalogued ‘sanctions circumvention’ channelled through ‘unaccountable jurisdictions’

Drilling kit for Russia's money-spinning oil industry, yachts linked to Medvedev and Yanukovych, an aircraft for Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

All part of $8bn trade flowing through the UK's island havens since 2022.

Hong Kong Is Near End of Budget Deficit Era But Caution Prevails For a city on the cusp of ending its longest run of budget deficits in two decades, Hong Kong isn’t brimming with confidence just yet.

For a city on the cusp of ending its longest run of budget deficits in two decades, Hong Kong isn’t brimming with confidence just yet.

Vietnam’s Karaoke Wars Are Forcing a Reckoning Over Urban Noise Strict decibel limits in Ho Chi Minh City show how rising affluence is reshaping expectations of comfort and coexistence.

“They torture you with loud noise.” Ho Chi Minh City is cracking down on karaoke as Vietnam's growing middle class demands more peace and quiet

HSBC is ready to hand some bankers little or zero bonuses, as the British bank seeks to emulate its Wall Street rivals with a more hard-edged, “eat-what-you-kill” stance. Read more: bloom.bg/4anigNc

📷: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Are Dad movies what we used to call thrillers?

Rookie Trader’s Rapid 84% Wipeout Shows Depth of China Gold Bust From hedge funds to homemakers, the leverage-loving Chinese traders behind gold’s record rally are now nursing big losses after one of the fastest market reversals in years.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Hong Kong Investor Tycoon Makes Rare Call for Democratic Reforms Value Partners Group Ltd. honorary chairman Cheah Cheng Hye made a rare public call for democratic reforms in Hong Kong at an event attended by mainland Chinese and local officials.

Cheah Cheng Hye, founder and chairman of Value Partners, one of Hong Kong's leading asset management firms, has called for the city to enact democratic reforms and consider a one-person one-vote system to elect the next chief executive

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China’s $7 Trillion Cash Pile Is Shifting Into Stocks, Gold Chinese households are scouring for higher-yielding investments as roughly $7 trillion in time deposits come due this year, a shift that could provide additional fuel for the nation’s financial market...

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Hong Kong Billionaire Puts Quarter of His Wealth in Gold For three decades, Cheah Cheng Hye was a face of value investing in Asia, building Value Partners Group Ltd. into a multi-billion dollar stock-picking powerhouse.

Hong Kong billionaire Cheah Cheng Hye was a face of value investing in Asia for three decades. Now, the former fund manager is putting a massive portion of his personal wealth into gold, and is advising others to do the same.

Vietnam's Leader Mirrors Xi's Style in Seeking Tighter Grip on Power To Lam is seeking a pair of roles going into a crucial Communist Party Congress in order to consolidate power, as his reforms draw praise from business but meet resistance within party ranks.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...