Author Archives: Yves Smith

US Geopolitics: Believing Impossible Things

On the global stage, US can only barely keep up the pretense that it is not losing its mind.

U.S. Shale Production Is Set For A Rapid Decline

Much tighter shale markets look baked in by year end. That would produce a lot of knock-on effects.

Links 5/20/2023

Are US Prescription Drug Prices 10 Times Those of Other Nations? Only Sometimes

Misleading fact checking as a way to denigrate figures who regularly challenge the mainstream, here Bernie Sanders.

Could a Far-Right vs Centre-Left Showdown Be the Future of British Politics?

Amid global pressures, a centrist Labour government could face a far-right opposition, with no true reformists in sight

Senators Ramp Up 14th Amendment Pressure on Biden to Counter GOP Debt Ceiling Brinksmanship

Although the GOP created the debt ceiling, Democrats are culpable for neither challenging its Constitutionality nor using the platinum coin.

‘Adversarial Actors, Home and Abroad’

Which non-foreign adversarial types do elites have in mind when they promote domestic censorship and news blockades?

‘Market Fundamentalism’ Is an Obstacle to Progress

Why market cheerleaders are bad for you.

CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Musicco and Son in NBA Playoffs Courtside Seats Next to Billionaire Warriors Owner and Kleiner Perking Partner Joe Lacob. What Gives?

Another case of a CalPERS executive, here Chief Investment Officer Nicole Musicco, making clear they think they are above California law

China and the Revenge of the Sanctioned

How US ham-handed use of force and misreadings of key players’ interests, allowed China to suddenly take a leadershp role in the Middle East

Is The U.S. Preparing To Punish OPEC?

Has the US still not worked out that there are some parties it can’t push around, and OPEC might be one of them?

Sitrep on Relocation Plans

My plans to leave Mountain Brook, Alabama are about to come to fruition.

US Efforts To Turn Farm Animal Poop into Biofuel Spark Concerns

Manure biofuel seems to be taking off despite red flags such as explosions and environmental damage.

Links 5/17/2023