Author Archives: Yves Smith

Michael Hudson: U.S. Economic Warfare and Likely Foreign Defenses

How the US has used its economic muscle to defend its hegemony and the rest of the world is looking to claw power back.

Links 7/20/19

Trump’s Peace Plan and the Future of Palestine

Trying to cut through the noise of Trump’s Palestine deal-making efforts.

Willing to Pay for Security: Gig Workers, Freelancers, and the Self-Employed Want Steady Jobs

Quelle surprise! Workers want a steady paycheck.

The UK’s Dubious Role in the New Tanker War With Iran

Unpacking the issues in the seizure of an Iranian tanker.

Links 7/19/19

“The Ten Brexit Questions No-One’s Giving a Straight Answer To”

A short Brexit update and some questions on the state of Labour.

Trump Was [Selectively] Right About the Dollar

Turns out Trump was not all wrong in saying the dollar was overpriced.

China: The Covert Credit Superpower

An new working paper by Sebastian Horn, Carmen Reinhart and Christoph Trebesch on China’s foreign lending has some important findings, such as that China accounts for more than 40% of the external debt of 50 developing countries. We’ve embedded the document at the end of this post. The study is an ambitious undertaking, seeking to […]

Everything’s Fine Until Suddenly it Isn’t: How a “Leveraged Loan” Blows Up

A post-mortem of a leveraged loan bust: private equity wins, too bad for everyone holding the bag.

Why Are Billionaires Like Jeff Bezos So Interested in Space?

There are good reasons to be leery of billionaires colonizing a public sector activity like space exploration.

Banks Again Hoist on Their Cost-Cutting Petard: Burgeoning Credit Card Fraud

Credit card companies are paying for their stinginess via being exposed to rapidly rising levels of fraud.

As Flood Risks Rise Across the US, It’s Time to Recognize the Limits of Levees

How levees become counterproductive as flood severity increases.