~ Today’s Water Cooler, featuring the Biden inaugural ~
Recent Items
Saturday, January 23, 2021
2:00PM Water Cooler 1/20/2021
Topics: Guest Post, Water Cooler
Posted by Lambert Strether at 2:00 pm | 183 Comments »
Central Bank Machinations with No Exit: ECB Leaks New Thingy, It’s Doing Yield Spread Control
Not your grandmother’s “yield curve control.” Only one thing that could force this ECB absurdity to end: a big bout of inflation.
Topics: Economic fundamentals, Europe, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Investment outlook, Regulations and regulators
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 10 Comments »
Links 1/20/2021
Topics: Guest Post, Links
Posted by Lambert Strether at 6:55 am | 178 Comments »
The CDC’s Mission Impossible
Sadly, the CDC’s new head does not look up to turning around the agency, even before getting to bizarre plans to expand its mission.
Topics: Health care, Pandemic, Politics, Regulations and regulators
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:54 am | 40 Comments »
Wikipedia: The Overlooked Monopoly
Low-quality anonymous “editors” combined with a Google tie-up turned an interesting experiment into an overlooked but destructive monopoly.
Topics: Banana republic, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Market inefficiencies, Politics, Technology and innovation
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:45 am | 65 Comments »
The American Rescue Act: Do Whatever It Takes
The economy is likely to be crippled for months and fiscal rescue on a large scale, once again, is very much necessary.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Guest Post, Health care, Income disparity, Macroeconomic policy, Pandemic, Politics, The dismal science
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:08 am | 7 Comments »
2:00PM Water Cooler 1/19/2021
By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Sadly, the state bird of Delaware, the Blue Hen, is not a distinct species. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart from 91-DIVOC. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. I feel I’m engaging in a macabre form […]
Topics: Guest Post, Water Cooler
Posted by Lambert Strether at 2:00 pm | 105 Comments »
“They Left Us Starving”: How the Fashion Industry Abandoned Its Workers
Yves here. Many associate sweatshops in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with “fast fashion,” aka the close-to-disposable frocks made by the likes of H&M. As this article explains, the use of ultra-cheap labor extends much further up the fashion food food chain. And these poorly-paid workers get thrown to the curb when orders fall off. By […]
Topics: Banana republic, Free markets and their discontents, Globalization, Guest Post, Income disparity, Pandemic, Regulations and regulators, Social policy, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 9 Comments »
Links 1/19/2021
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 198 Comments »
Perhaps It’s Time to Start Worrying About Italy Again
The causes for concern surrounding Italy are growing, even as the ECB keeps a tight lid on its bond yields, pushing its debt servicing costs lower as its debt explodes higher.
Topics: Banking industry, Economic fundamentals, Europe, Regulations and regulators
Posted by Nick Corbishley at 6:31 am | 12 Comments »
The Pain of Service Crapification
How Covid is extending the reach of crapification.
Topics: Free markets and their discontents, Pandemic, Ridiculously obvious scams, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:54 am | 81 Comments »
Will North Korea Explode After Biden Becomes President?
North Korea is in even more of an economic mess than before. Will that lead to more brinksmanship?
Topics: China, Doomsday scenarios, Globalization, Guest Post, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 4:26 am | 10 Comments »
The Class Composition of the Capitol Rioters (First Cut)
A self-funded, petite bourgeoisie riot?
Topics: Guest Post, Politics
Posted by Lambert Strether at 5:25 pm | 105 Comments »
2:00PM Water Cooler, Martin Luther King Day 2021
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Topics: Guest Post, Water Cooler
Posted by Lambert Strether at 2:00 pm | 63 Comments »
Why Martin Luther King Day Should Matter
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s true legacy.
Topics: Guest Post, Politics, Social policy, Social values
Posted by Lambert Strether at 9:55 am | 17 Comments »