Author Archives: Yves Smith

Financialization and its Discontents

Untangling the credit versus money focus in the critiques of financialization.

Brexit Realism: Maybe Voters Were Not Dumb

By David Miles, Imperial College Business School. Originally published as a chapter in the VoxEU ebook, Brexit Beckons: Thinking ahead by leading economists, available to download free of charge To some, the Brexit referendum was a failure by economists to persuade UK voters that leaving the EU would entail major economic costs. This column argues […]

Reminder: NYC Meetup This Friday, August 5!

If you’ll be in or near NYC this Friday, please drop by our meetup.

European Bank Shares Fall Out of Bed as Monte dei Paschi Rescue Fails to Reassure

Investors in European bank shares are in a bit of a panic, and for good reason.

Links 8/2/16

A New Low: The New York Times’ Children’s Bedtime Story of Private Equity

The New York Times wraps up a feeble yet costly series on private equity with a cringe-maknig slide show.

5 Ways Corporate Power Increases Inequality

How corporate power squeezes the middle class.

John Helmer: The Collapse of Russian Real Estate Investment – Will Children and Chinese Tourists Save the Mall?

Why the plunge in Russian commercial real estate prices reveals the large role of money laundering.

The Politically Expedient German Scheme for Eurozone Sovereign Debt Bail-Ins

Yet another half-baked European bail-in plan.

Dwight Eisenhower to Enter Presidential Race

Will Eisenhower rescue the 2016 Presidential campaign?

Links 8/1/16

Strengthening Russo-Turkish Alliance Stokes US-Russian Cold War

John Helmer describes why an upcoming meeting between Erdogan and Putin could represent a significant geopolitical shift.

Dumb Money Watch: ZIRP-Starved Insurers Beefing Up in Lending as Banks Exit the Pool

Insurers are going long risk at one of the worst possible junctures.

Scotland Disses Theresa May by Reviving Anti-Inequality Law She Loathes

Another min-joust between the UK and Scotland, this on an innovative anti-inequality stipulation.

Did Germany Just Blink?

Germany just cut Spain and Portugal some budgetary slack. What’s driving this unexpected outbreak of reasonableness?