Beware of the bond buying, the end of Mad Men, premium potty training

Beware the success of quantitative easing. Mario Draghi warned that policy makers should not allow aggressive monetary policy to blind them to the risks of financial instability. Central banks around the world have faced criticism that their response to the financial crisis has stoked asset-price bubbles and increased inequality.

The comments came as Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis lashed out against Draghi, saying the ECB chief's soul was "filled with fear" at the thought of giving Greece a break on its debts because of the reaction from hardliners in Germany. (FT, NYT)

In the news

UK terror arrests at post-9/11 peak Suspected terrorists are being arrested across Britain at a rate of almost one a day, as police step up their response to the threat of radicalised jihadis returning from the Middle East. Scotland Yard estimates that roughly half of the 700 people who have travelled to Syria to fight with Isis have returned to the UK. (FT)

It's not the Avon lady Shares in the world's largest door-to-door cosmetics group surged 20 per cent and then fell back after an $8.2bn "bid" from an unknown private equity group that proved to be a hoax. The fake bid has people wondering whether a mundane piece of market plumbing used to file documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission might be rather easy to fool. (FT)

US offers Gulf allies help Barack Obama offered members of the Gulf Co-operation Council military assistance to deal with potential missile attacks and cyber threats from Iran but didn't go so far as to give the security guarantees that some of the were looking for. (FT)

Pimco retreats from equities The bond house is abandoning its attempt to become a big player in equities, the latest setback for the California-based asset manager that has been struggling with outflows since the departure of co-founder Bill Gross. It has been debating how much it should spend on equities for years after receiving a disappointing response from clients.(FT)

It's a big day for

Xinjiang residents The 3m residents of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, an ethnically diverse part of China's Xinjiang province, have been asked to turn their passports in to the police by today or have their documents cancelled. Chinese authorities are trying to combat a surge in ethnic violence by imposing restrictions on who is allowed to leave and enter the country via the border territory. (NYT)

Shale Baker Hughes reveals its latest rig count, which tallies US and Canadian drilling activity, amid Saudi claims that the kingdom's squeeze is crippling some shale producers. However, Continental Resources chief Harold Hamm says shale is far from finished. (FT)

Food for thought

A sci-fi experiment in democracy Eve Online and the sci-fi world within the game have survived for longer than a decade while other virtual worlds have dwindled and died. Its narrative appeal lies in the storyline, which is written and steered by the actions of its players. There is no way of completing the game. (Guardian)

The mistake that could trigger Brexit As in any war, in the fight over EU membership, the UK's Europhiles must choose the ground on which the battle is fought, writes Philip Stephens. "A referendum that turns on the worth of a reform deal hands the choice of terrain to the sceptics". (FT)

Mad Men says goodbye On Sunday, after seven seasons and 92 episodes, Don Draper and the rest of Sterling Cooper & Partners will sign off. How will it end? Creator Matthew Weiner won't say, but perhaps the first episode predicted the finale. (NYT, NYMag)

Obama's bait and switch Ta-Nehisi Coates argues that the president focuses on immorality in the black community over the failings of a "congenitally racist country", while possible policy solutions remain "colour-blind". "Asserting the moral faults of black people tends to gain votes. Asserting the moral faults of their government, not so much." (The Atlantic)

Premium potty training The 1 per cent hire consultants to steer their kids into the nursery that will act as a "stepping stone" to Oxbridge, and tutors teach them French while they're still in nappies. Says one consultant of tutoring under-fives: "It's completely crazy. It's a waste of money. The skills a [two-year-old needs] are speaking, putting on their shoes and coat." (FT)

Brazil's oily mess The multibillion-dollar bribery scandal engulfing Petrobras has thrown into crisis one of Latin America's longest-serving ruling parties. Along with a growing recession, it threatens to reshape the political future of the continent's most important economy. (FT)

Louis CK goes to Russia The comedian recounts his impromptu trip to Russia in 1994, meant to lift his 26-year-old spirits. It didn't quite work out that way, though it did show him "how bad life gets, and that when it's this bad, it's still...funny". (Slate)

Video of the day

China's IPO market The only way for China's listings market seems to be up, but James Mackintosh wonders how long it can last. (FT)

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