Author Archives: Yves Smith

The EU Is Facing Gigantic Questions About Its Future That Are Hidden in Obscure Bank Policy Decisions

The ECB again rides in to try to paper over fundamental problems with the EU’s structure and to offset is austerity bias by restarting QE. But the EU needs more government spending. Will it take another crisis to get there?

Read more...

JJ Jelincic: CalPERS’ Plan to Create 2 New Private Equity Companies, Give Away Billions With No Control Makes No Sense….Except to Make Fund Managers Rich

CalPERS still can’t justify its new private equity business model, and has even retreated to calling it just a concept, yet it wants the board to sign a blank check at next week’s meeting.

Read more...

The Doomsday Economics of ‘Proof-of-Work’ in Cryptocurrencies

Why inherent problems with cryptocurrency liquidity are already leading to consideration of other methods for validating blockchain updates. They are likely to prove unsatisfactory and therefore call for verification by a trusted institution….defeating the rationale for cryptocurrencies.

Read more...