Author Archives: Yves Smith

Will Clean Energy Kickstart A New Resource War?

Why the transition to green energy is likely to be geopolitically destabilizing .

The Bullshit Economy Part 2: Payday Loans 2.0, aka Early Paycheck Apps

Payday loans suck. Giving them a new name does not make them suck less.

Cabin Fever: Americans (of Means) Keen to Travel. How Many Will Play it Safe?

The travel genie is about to leave the bottle.

Links 3/20/2021

New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools, Based on Outdated, Cherry-Picked, and Misinterpreted Data, Put Students, Teachers, and Communities at Risk

Pushing to reopen schools based on outdated science is poorly timed in face of coronavirus resurgence.

How Employers Punish Workers for Forming Unions

How employers play dirty tricks even after unions are voted in. The PRO Act, up for a Senate vote, would stop the worst practices.

We May Be Living in a Moment of Misplaced Optimism

The current bout of optimism looks too close to giddy for my comfort. And yours?

Scoring the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan and Earlier Covid Relief Programs

How to do a better job of getting relief to those who need it.

Another Blow to Tax Evasion and Money Laundering: UK Targets Art Market After US Goes After Anonymous Shell Companies

The US and UK are making life a bit harder for tax cheats.

Stock Market Leverage Spikes in Historic Manner: Another WTF Chart of a Zoo that Has Gone Nuts

In an investment environment where nothing matters anymore – until old fasioned worries like leverage suddenly do.

CalPERS Laughingstock: Marcie Frost, Who Previously Pursued Non-Existent Dual Bachelors/Masters Degree, Designates Herself Law School Grad and Bar Member; Investment Committee Chair Theresa Taylor Admits Not Knowing What SPACs Are

CalPERS’ leadership has such an advanced case of Dunning Kruger effect that they can’t recognize when they are making fools of themselves.

CalPERS Board Member Theresa Taylor Outs that a Staff Member Has Committed Fraud; When Will Giant Pension Come Clean?

Yet more misconduct at CalPERS.

Patent System Often Stifles the Innovation It Was Designed to Encourage

Why the US patent regime is broken and what could be done to fix it.

The Free Press versus Facebook and Google

Are Facebook and Google the new ‘public square’? Or are they publishers swiping content from others?

The Full Case Against Ultra Low and Negative Interest Rates

Why unprecedentedly low and negative nterest rates will probably not stimulate demand and may even threaten financial stability.