Author Archives: Yves Smith

TaxCast: Financial Transaction Taxes, Trump Hearts Kleptocrats

The current Taxcast tours financial transaction taxes, the Swiss referendum, and dark money.

Iraq: “Is It Oil?”

Why the Iraq oil problem was not so much access, as in meeting U.S. oil needs, but that U.S. firms had been frozen out of Iraq.

2:00 PM Water Cooler 2/24/17

Chicago Meetup Friday March 24!

Announcing our first Chicago meetup!

Can Europe Be Saved from Populism?

Two economists offer recommendations on how to defend Europe from an upsurge of populism. Unfortunately, their ideas give cause for pause.

Bill Black: Kenneth Arrow’s (Ignored) Impossibility Theorem

Nobel Prize winner Kenneth Arrow’s most celebrated theorem illustrates why economics isn’t just wrong-headed but actually destructive.

How Antitrust Enforcement Can Spur Innovation: Bell Labs and the 1956 Consent Decree

A concrete example of how well-designed antitrust enforcement produced large economic benefits.

Links 2/22/17

Michael Hudson: Why Failing to Solve Personal Debt and Polarization Will Usher in a New Dark Age

Crushing personal debt loads have repeatedly produced economic and social crises. The elites ignore the warning signs at their peril.

French Presidential Contender Macron Backs Tough Stand on Brexit

Macron, who has taken a recent hit as a result of a campaign blunder, took a forceful position on Brexit in a meeting with Theresa May.

As US Attorney, Trump Labor Secretary Nominee Enabled Drug and Biotechnology Executives’ Impunity

Yet another Trump appointee who was soft on big business misconduct.

CalPERS’ Private Equity Portfolio Continues to Earn Way Too Little for the Risk

CalPERS private equity returns are not pretty, but at least the giant pension fund seems to recognize private equity’s glory years are past.

Links 2/21/17