Author Archives: Yves Smith

Why Saudi Arabia May Be Forced To Start Another Oil Price War

Poor oil price prospects may lead to another race to the bottom.

EU Wins WTO Ruling on Boeing Subsidies, Following WTO Ruling for the US on Airbus Subsidies. Tariff War On?

WTO rulings on tit-for-tat aircraft manufacturer disputes look likely to produce dueling tariffs at least in the near term.

Why Has Mayoral Candidate Scott Stringer Invested New York City Pensions in Private Equity Firms Like Blackstone?

The New York City pension system provides more proof that investing in private equity hurts performance.

What Did Billionaire Leon Black of Apollo Get for >$50 Million in Fees to Jeffrey Epstein?

The more we learn about Leon Black’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the less there is to like.

What Should Europe Expect from American Trade Policy After the Election?

Biden promises to go back to an old normal. But how realistic is that on the trade front?

Citi’s Recidivist Rule-Breaking and Incompetence Shows Persistence of Too Big/Complex to Fail Problem

Citi’s latest run-in with regulators shows why comparing big banks “too big/complex to fail” problems to those of Big Tech is all wet.

Michael Klare: How the US Plays Nuclear Chicken with Russia and China

eeping tabs on US nuclear provocations of Russia and China.

Links 10/10/2020

Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities

How voters in retirement facilities are being disenfranchised.

Rana Foroohar and Mark Blyth: How Deep Will the Depression Get?

Rana Roroohar and Mark Blyth discuss the elections, tech, China, and Covid v. recovery with Paul Jay.

‘A Definite and Sustained Increase’: Europe Leads Record Single-Day Worldwide Covid-19 Infection Surge

Europe reported nearly 100,000 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday—more than in the U.S., India, and Brazil, the world’s Covid-19 case leaders

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost Says She’s Not in Charge and Lies to the Board About Receiving a Warning from the Fair Political Practices Commission

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost doesn’t even bother to lie well.

New York City Seeks to Shortchange Teachers on $900 Million of Back Pay

Another sign of increasing budget problems in New York City.

Burning Injustice: Why the California Wildfires Are a Class Crisis

The rich paid for protection from wildfires while the poor burned. A harbinger of the class divide in coming climate disasters?