What we’re reading (1/6)
“Stress Test Looms For Financial System In 2021” (Financial Times). “Be warned. The global financial system in 2021 will face a gigantic stress test. This follows from one of the more important lessons that emerged from the coronavirus-induced market turmoil in March last year — a lesson that is worth revisiting. The so-called dash for cash was in part a reflection of how the big banks’ balance sheets had failed, since the 2008 financial crash, to keep pace with the growth in the stock of US Treasury securities that was spurred by the post-crisis surge in federal deficits.”
“Oil Soars Near $50 After OPEC And Russia Agree To Roll Over Production Cuts” (CNN Business). “A group of major oil producers have agreed to keep production broadly steady in February and March as the pandemic forces some economies back into lockdown and governments struggle to distribute vaccines. Russia and Kazakhstan will produce more oil over the coming months under the deal. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it would voluntarily cut its production by 1 million barrels per day from January's levels.”
“China Hands Death Sentence To Former Asset-Management Head” (Wall Street Journal). “China sentenced the former chairman of one of the country’s biggest state-owned asset-management companies to death on bribery and corruption charges, a striking signal in Beijing’s campaign to rein in financial risk-taking. Lai Xiaomin, chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co. from 2012 to 2018 when he was fired for graft, was accused by a local Chinese court in the northern city of Tianjin of taking bribes totaling a record high of more than 1.79 billion yuan, equivalent to $277 million.”
“Apple Adds New Section About Antitrust Risk To Its Annual Proxy Statement” (CNBC). “Apple’s board of directors regularly discusses antitrust risks, the company said on Tuesday in an annual filing. The language, which is new in this year’s proxy statement, highlights how regulatory pressure and antitrust issues have become a significant risk for Apple as policymakers increasingly scrutinize big technology companies.”
“The Lab-Leak Hypothesis” (New York Magazine). “There is no direct evidence for these zoonotic possibilities, just as there is no direct evidence for an experimental mishap — no written confession, no incriminating notebook, no official accident report. Certainty craves detail, and detail requires an investigation. It has been a full year, 80 million people have been infected, and, surprisingly, no public investigation has taken place. We still know very little about the origins of this disease.”
