What I'm reading these days - 2nd Week of August

Random articles I've found interesting over the last week or so, posted in each section from the oldest to the newest. Mostly for my own reminder, but if you feel like commenting, I'm always up for an interesting discussion in the comments! I've added a star system to signify the articles I found more interesting than the average interesting needed to get on the page and/or articles I very much agree with.

On the Euro Crisis:
☆☆☆☆ Wall St banks prepare for euro break-up
Watching the ECB play chess
Europe's Consumers Tighten Their Belts
Paper: The European Sovereign Debt Crisis
☆☆☆☆ Ultravox populi, vox debita
☆☆ To what degree is the ECB flying blind?
☆☆☆ Ironische Bundesbank lessons
Is the ECB Risking Insolvency? Does it Matter?
How to kill a bank, Denmark edition

Greece
Greeks Can No Longer Afford Paying Expensive Bribes
On Greece and spilt milk

Spain
The corporate deposit flight from Spain
Madrid Hints at a Possible Bailout

Italy
Economic crisis tests Italian family, Church opens doors
Debt-ridden Italy sells off its castles

Related - Other European countries
Norges Bank’s curious dilemma
Indigestion for ‘les Riches’ in a Plan for Higher Taxes
☆☆☆☆ German Exports Fell In June As Crisis Curbed Euro-Area Demand

On the US Economy:
July Employment Report: 163,000 Jobs, 8.3% Unemployment
Why Washington Accepts Mass Unemployment
The Incredible Shrinking U.S. Workforce
☆☆ Generation Squeezed
☆☆ Robert Samuelson's Generation Squeezed is Victimized by the One Percent, Not their Parents
☆☆ A Slowdown in Growth, an Increase in Income Inequality
The Innovation Nation vs. the Warfare-Welfare State
☆☆☆☆ Collision Course: Why Democrats Must Back Entitlement Reform
The troubled trade deal with South Korea
Fed Watch: US Baseline
☆ Cash is king for US multinationals
☆☆☆ David Rosenberg: The Coming Negative Export Shock
☆☆☆☆ Real Wages Much Lower Than They Were Four Decades Ago
Yes, College Is Worth It — With Some Caveats


World Economy and Economics in general:
China
☆ The New Chinese Millionaires
☆☆☆☆ For the first time since 1998 more money leaves China than enters it
Sell Swiss watches
The sound of falling Chinese USD reserves…
☆☆☆ China's answer to subprime bets: the "Golden Elephant"
Chinese banks’ Weapons of Mass Ponzi
China’s doubling-down continues, via local governments
Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas

Japan
What happened to Japan?
The Japanese tragedy, causes and consequences
☆☆☆ A survival skill in shrinking Japan: Learn English

Other
☆☆☆ Capitalism no longer exists: it's communism for the rich
The danger of repo
☆☆☆☆ Chart of the day, HFT edition
The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion?
☆ The Aussie dollar – from South Pacific peso to Southern franc
Brazil facts
Golden deposit troubles in Poland
☆☆☆☆ Why investors should avoid hedge funds
No More Growth Miracles
Inside the Surprisingly Lucrative World of Cardboard Theft
Reflections on the crisis soundtrack of our lives
☆ The biggest overproduction for any quarter since 1998
The Bankruptcy Of The World's Oldest Shipper Signals Rough Waters Ahead For The Battered Industry


Politics:
Israeli PM says time running out to stop Iran's nuclear programme
Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels
Iran's birth control policy sent birthrate tumbling
Thursday's the Day to Go All the Way for Civic Duty in Singapore
☆☆☆☆ StanChart, Iran, and a Swift allegation
China’s Political Paralysis
☆☆☆☆ "The Beijing Conference": See How China Quietly Took Over Africa
☆☆☆☆ Admitting to Bias


Miscellania:
☆☆ The Credit Illusion
Facing Hard Time? Hire a Replacement
☆☆☆ Olympic medal predictions
Top 10 Ways to Boost Your Home Wi-Fi
Roll up for the financial crisis tour
Must-Read Hansen: ‘Climate Change Is Here — And Worse Than We Thought’
☆☆ Dear Mark Zuckerberg
☆☆ Facebook’s Faustian bargain
Conscientious consumption and culture war
Chemotherapy can backfire and boost cancer growth: study
☆☆ The intelligent textbook that helps students learn
Cyborg America: inside the strange new world of basement body hackers