Author Archives: Yves Smith
Greece Talks With Eurogroup Hit “Complete Breakdown”
The Greek negotiations with the Eurogroup are exemplifying the saying, “Things look the darkest before they go completely black.”
Read more...Joe Firestone: Another Danger of the TPP: It Sacrifices Monetary Sovereignity
Yet another reason to hate the TPP.
Read more...Gaius Publius: What’s Wrong with Wyden-Hatch-Ryan’s Fast Track Bill – The Specifics
Why the proposed “fast track” authorization for misnamed “trade” deals is even worse than you imagined.
Read more...The IMF’s Big Greek Mistake
Instead of demanding repayment and further austerity, the IMF should recognize its responsibility for Greece’s predicament and forgive much of the debt.
Read more...Pettifor Warns of GFC 2.0 Approach
Yves here. This is a short but important debate over how much to worry about the upcoming train wreck in emerging markets when the Fed finally gets around to tightening. Pettifor sees it as a potential global crisis event; Macrobusiness sees it as a typical emerging markets bust. The Pettifor viewpoint seems more on target. First, […]
Read more...John Helmer: The Potentate Of Prague — How the War Party in Washington is Losing Eastern Europe, Hillary Clinton Too
Why the richest man in Prague, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, is planning to sue the US government for libel.
Read more...Links 4/21/15
Greece Endgame Nears
Despite the market jitters of last Friday, which were triggered in part by the recognition that the odds of Greece reaching a deal with its creditors are far lower than had been widely assumed, Greek-related coverage has ratcheted down, even as Greece seems certain not to get any funds released in the April 24 Eurogroup meeting and is very likely to miss the end of April deadline for getting its reforms approved by the Troika and Eurogroup.
Read more...Nobel Prize Winner Robert Merton Slams Fed for “Negative Wealth Effect” Policies
Nobel Prize winner Robert Merton and Arlin Muralidhar have charged ZIRP and QE happy central banks with economic malpractice.
Read more...Who Is Saudi Arabia Really Targeting In Its Price War?
Saudi Arabia is not trying to crush U.S. shale plays. Its oil-price war is with the investment banks and the stupid money they directed to fund the plays. It is also with the zero-interest rate economic conditions that made this possible.
Read more...Bill Black: Lanny Breuer’s Defense of Not Prosecuting HSBC and its Officers
Bill Black shreds not simply Lanny Breuer’s lame justification for not prosecuting HSBC officers and employees, but also by implication, Loretta Lynch’s. And the Lynch nomination reveals the deadly confines of the two party system. Elizabeth Warren made a bold speech last week in which she called for far more fundamental bank reform. She also reaffirmed her criticism of the failure to lodge criminal charges against any major bank executives. Yet as a Senator, she can’t afford to buck the Lynch nomination, since she apparently feels it would cost her too much in terms of moving the other elements of her program forward. But isn’t this arguably the most important issue?
Read more...The Continuing Depopulation of Detroit
Detroit is getting the same treatment as Latvia and Ireland, and we are already seeing similar results in Greece, with most people who have good foreign job prospects taking a hike. But while Latvia and Ireland stabilized at much lower levels of output and have started to recover from their, Detroit, like Greece, looks like a failed state. And this is perversely seen as acceptable in America.
Read more...Technology Trauma
More misadventures with the Typhoid Mary of technology.
Read more...Mourning the Death of a Monitor
It seems silly to be attached to equipment, but I was very fond of my external monitor, which was attached to a G4 tower, then a Tibook, and then a Macbook Air. It lived to be the ripe old age of over 13 years and died right before my eyes as I hit “publish” on the DC meetup post of this evening.
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