Author Archives: Yves Smith

Links 3/14/18

Waiting for the Chinese Bear Stearns

Why the Chinese shadow banking system is a possible source of systemic risk: a outstanding worry that has not gotten any better.

Best Buy’s Bait and Switch Returns Policy Reveals Yet More Creepy Consumer Monitoring

Creepy algos implement what sure looks like consumer fraud at Best Buy.

Thousands of Students Protest Gun Violence

Yves here. We’ve generally relegated the political fight over guns to Links, but we thought we’d make an exception, since this post provides some on-the-ground observations. However, notice that the author mentions in passing that he was briefly in jail for protesting the Vietnam War. As readers well know, one of the big impediments to […]

LEAKED: Trump Threatens to Launch Trade War v. Rattled China Over IP Theft

Trump’s trade threats against China make steel and aluminum tariffs look like a game.

Hiding from the Tax Man, International Wealthy Style

Tax avoidance is an ever-evolving game. Some fresh information on which countries are willing to offer a helping hand to the rich.

Links 3/13/18

A Battered Doctor, A Slain Patient And A Family’s Quest For Answers

A case study in how a patient was a threat to a doctor….and how the reverse has too often become true.

Gaius Publius: The Racial Dimension of Student Debt

Why student debt hits blacks particularly hard.

Cryptocurrencies as Prosecution Futures: Judge Rules Manipulators Can Go to Jail

The Wild West of cryptocurrencies just got a little less fun.

Brexit: EU Tightens the Noose

Has the fatal Brexit standoff arrived, or will someone blink?

Announcing Minneapolis Meetup for March 31

If you live in the Twin Cities area, be sure to swing by a March meetup!

Links 3/10/18

Putin, Trump, and the Nuclear Danger

Some critical background on why Putin decided to invest heavily in technologies that could counter or circumvent US threats.