2 March 2019 FT — Articles to Read

2 March 2019

 

Question: What is the latest sport to have a top player suspended for doping with synthetic testosterone?

 

How income inequality affects our mental health – Pg. 8

–          …almost 25% of the US population has suffered from mental stress, while in Australia, the UK and Canada the level hovers around 20%.  In Japan and Germany, the figure is under 10% – well below the US

–          An economist might point to differing commercial incentives: the US, where private sector companies make money by selling antidepressant drugs, there are profits to be made increasing the share of people saying they suffer from “stress” or “depression”

–          …authors show the correlation between mental health and income inequality, with Japan and the US on opposite ends of the chart on both counts

–          They also show a high correlation between patterns of income inequality and problem gambling, childhood behavioural problems, and “self enhancement bias”

 

MSCI hands Chinese stocks a bigger global role – Pg. 13

–          MSCI, the leading equity index provider, took its biggest step yet to integrate China’s domestic stock markets with international capital yesterday in a move that could see an estimated $125bn flowing into the country’s equities this year

–          China’s weighting in the MSCI’s flagship emerging markets index, tracked by $1.9tn of funds, would rise to 3.3% by November from the current level of 0.71%, …

–          The move underscores how China’s government – which aggressively pushed for the increased weighting – has opened its capital markets in spite of growing political and trade tension with the US

–          Chinese stocks listed offshore in Hong Kong and the US already feature broadly in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index with a 31% weighting.  The importance of MSCI’s latest decision is that it creates a stronger link between the domestic Chinese stock market – the second largest in the world – and international capital

–          By November this year, the total weighting in the MSCI index for offshore and domestic Chinese stocks will be about 34.3% – by far the largest country weight

 

Answer: Bridge (Prof Note: I am NOT joking.)