Author Archives: Yves Smith

CalPERS General Counsel Matt Jacobs Lies to Board, and Staff Abuses Authority, to Stymie Public Input

Why general counsel Matt Jacobs’ record of misrepresentations, omissions, and slipshod advice makes him a danger to CalPERS.

Fade OPEC

Is the OPEC production cut set to be finalized at the end of November the real deal?

Battling Apple and the Giants

The larger implications of the fight between Apple and the European Competition Commission over Apple’s sweet Irish tax deal.

Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf, Head of Community Bank Hit With Multi-Million in Clawbacks: Labor Department Opens

Wells Fargo’s board acts against CEO John Stumpf right before a House hearing. Is this to blunt the interrogation or to save his hide?

Wolf Richter: “Negative Growth” of Real Wages is Normal for Much of the Workforce, and Getting Worse – New York Fed

The Fed ‘s creative euphemisms for how real wages are sinking for many won’t keep threats like Trump at bay.

Why a Banking Crisis in China Seems Unavoidable

Another alarm about the danger that China’s rapid increase in private debt poses to its banks.

The Nobel Prize in Economics: How It Took a Hard Neoliberal Turn

How the so-called Nobel Prize in economics came to validate neoclassical thinking, even as it failed in Sweden.

Links 9/27/16

Law Firm for Private Equity Fund Managers Points Out That California “Transparency” Bill AB 2833 is a Big Fail

Yet more evidence that AB 2833, a supposed private equity reform bill sponsored by California Treasurer John Chiang, was a cynical ploy.

Oil And Gas Bankruptcies Set To Double This Year

Heavily indebted oil and gas companies have managed to hold off the day of reckoning, but analysts expect bankruptcies to spike.

Rethinking Macroeconomic Theory Before the Next Crisis

Only after the US subprime financial crisis began have the macroeconomic and monetary theories of mainstream economists been questioned.

Links 9/26/16

Deutsche Bank Unlikely to Get Much of a Break From the DoJ’s $14 Billion Mortgage Fine Target

Deutsche Bank isn’t likely to have much luck in trying to get a big break on a pending Department of Justice fine.