Author Archives: Yves Smith

Fake Unicorns: Study Finds Average 49% Valuation Overstatement; Over Half Lose “Unicorn” Status When Corrected

Investors beware! A large scale study found that every unicorn it looked at was overvalued, on average to a significant degree.

Why Tax Cuts for the Rich Solve Nothing

An update on Republican tax cut plans, and why they are economic chicanery.

What the US “Health Care Reform” Debate Did Not Address

A sobering compendium of the factors responsible for the rot in the US health care system.

Links 8/2/17

Study: Only Wealthiest and Best Educated Benefit from Mediterranean Diet

A large-scale, well designed study on the Mediterranean diet showed unexpectedly that social status matters, big time.

Original Shareholder Value Article – Milton Friedman to GM: Build Clunky Cars

Yet another reason to doubt the supposed wisdom of the “shareholder value” theory of corporate governance.

Renegotiating NAFTA: The Role of Global Supply Chains

Unfortunately, redoing NAFTA in a way that benefits US workers is not a trivial task.

The Two Capitalisms: Electric Batteries as a Case Study in US Magical Thinking vs. Chinese Vertical Integration

Electric vehicle batteries illustrate how the Chinese use control of raw materials and end markets to built vertically integrated industries.

The US Antitrust Counter-Revolution

In case you doubted it, diminished antitrust enforcement, a rise in monopolies, and increased inequality are related developments.

How “Shareholder Value” is Killing Innovation

The prevailing “shareholder value” ideology enriches value extractors, not value creators.

Private Equity Firms Sued Over Retailer Bankruptcies

Private equity is getting more critical coverage and legal pushback, as it wrecks yet more companies.

How “Use of Machinery” Promotes Inequality and Social Upheaval

A prescient take from the 1840s on “machinery” versus labor and communities.

Link 7/29/17