Perspective

Visual Capitalist: Overflow Data - The U.S. States With the Most Million Dollar Homes - Jeff Desjardins 12/14

Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

Economist - The choice that could save South Africa, or wreck it - Leaders 12/9

NYT - Trump's Lies vs. Obama's - David Leonhardt, Ian Prasad Philbrick, and Stuart A. Thompson 12/14

Markets / Economy

WSJ - Nearly 5 Million Americans in Default on Student Loans - Josh Mitchell 12/13

• "The number of Americans severely behind on payments on federal student loans reached roughly 4.6 million in the third quarter, a doubling from four years ago, despite a historically long stretch of U.S. job creation and steady economic growth."
• "The total number of defaulted borrowers represents about 22% of the Americans who were required to be paying down their federal student loans as of Sept. 30. That figure has increased from 17% four years earlier."
• "The money they owe is becoming a bigger share of total outstanding student debt in repayment. Defaulted student loans totaled $84 billion at the end of the quarter, or 13% of the roughly $631 billion that borrowers were required to be paying down."
• "The government’s student-loan portfolio now totals $1.37 trillion."

Energy

WSJ - Daily Shot: US Total Crude Oil Production 12/13

• "One of the trends spooking oil traders is what appears to be an acceleration in US crude oil production."

Environment / Science

Economist - A nasty-tasting shellfish could be just the job for cleaning rivers - 12/7

China

FT - China lenders lobby to soften shadow bank rules - Gabriel Wildau and Yizhen Jia 12/13