Author Archives: Yves Smith

Blake, R.I.P.

Links 1/17/16

Money and Banking – Part 2

How the Fed balance sheet works and why what we, the public, consider to be money is a debt of the Federal Reserve.

How Corporations and Politicians Lie With Numbers — and How Not to Be Fooled

Some of the most commonly-used “lying with figures” tricks and how to learn to recognize them.

Peter Van Buren: Why the US Should Withdraw From the Middle East

Why it is time for the US to stand down in the Middle East and let local actors take control.

How to Improve Your Standing in the Financial Economics Club

Who has stature versus informal influence in financial economics?

The Heavy Price of Economic Policy Failures

Why economic failures argue for the need for more democratic control over policy, or at least the ability to cut the power of institutions that get it wrong.

Links 1/15/16

Gaius Publius: Wall Street Reviews What Sanders Plans for Wall Street

An overview of the Sanders Big Finance reform proposal, and some of the ways it has been caricatured or flat-out misrepresented

The Deeper, Uglier Side of TPP

A good, high level discussion of the dangers of the investor state dispute settlement process in the TPP and the TTIP.

Academics in Turkey Who Stand Up for Human Rights Threatened With Jail, Even Death

Authoritarianism in Erdogan’s Turkey is taking an even uglier turn.

Eurozone Delays and Half Measures

Are the eurozone’s continuing woes the result of its incomplete construction or because of policy errors in responding to the crisis?

Links 1/14/16

Why is CalPERS Understating Its Cost of Investing in Private Equity by Roughly $1.6 Billion, Meaning 80%?

CalPERS keeps putting its hand in the buzzsaw by presenting misleading or outright false information about private equity fees and costs.