Bernard’s pick ‘n’ mix 6 @ 6:06am on Sunday, May 19

Aotearoa-NZ almost as bad as US on homelessness; Blackrock thinks high rates cause inflation; US weaponises global banking system; China bails out its housing market; What’s behind deglobalisation

TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:

1. Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia.

2. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because higher interest rates give savers more money from their savings accounts, which they then spend and pump up demand.

3. China has launched a massive bailout of its housing market, with Beijing planning to buy unsold off-the-plan apartments from developers.

4. Extremely highly valued housing markets in the ‘Five Eyes’ economies are slowing productivity growth by squelching business startups and keeping zombie businesses alive.

5. Europe is worried the United States is about to cut some of its banks out of the global financial system because of their links to Russia.

6. The deglobalisation being driven by the United States’ fears it won’t cope in a war with China if China’s subsidised over-production of manufactured exports causes a deindustrialisation which means the US can’t convert its factories to military production in war time.

My pick ‘n’ mix 6 @ 6:06am