Author Archives: Yves Smith

Update on Surgery and Mother’s Hospitalization

Thanks for your concern and kind notes about my surgery and how my mother is faring. A recap of the last nearly two weeks.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb Shellacks Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains why Bitcoin is not good for much except enriching early adopters and intermediaries.

How Energy Transition Models Go Wrong

Gail Tvergberg explains why oil prices are likely to remain be lower than full costs, and how that undermines the move to cleaner energy.

The Politics of ‘Follow the Science’

How the ralllying cry of “Follow the science” is looking more and more like sloganeernig as opposed to best practice.

The Bullshit Economy: How Amazon Sidewalk Steals Your Bandwidth

How Amazon’s Sidewalk feature enhances their products at customers’ expense.

Decade Of Chaos Could Send Oil To $130 Per Barrel

Oil mavens are stymied at guessing what the commodity’s price trajectory might be.

The Pandemic Is Us (But Now Mostly Them)

The pandemic is largely to be over in the Global North, at least among the vaccinated…or so it seems.

Why the Neoliberal Drive to Privatize Everything Is Running Out of Gas

A look at the current acceptance of neoliberal policies.

The 2021 Corporate Bamboozle On World Food Systems

Mega-corporations are set to win control of global governance of food and agriculture at the UN Food Systems Summit later this year.

Food Insecurity: A Potentially Underrated Collateral Damage of the Pandemic

Increases in hunger and food insecurity under Covid are significant, yet have gone largely under the radar.

Rethinking Unemployment: From Adam Smith to Marx “Reserve Army of the Unemployed” to the Neoliberal War on Full Employment

Unemployment as a balancing act between workers ‘fearing the sack’ and employers ‘fearing the quit,” with employers usually winning out.

Links 6/4/2021