Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

Gerald Epstein dissects the Trump Administration happy talk about the state of the economy.

Today’s Water Cooler: WTO, Cory Booker, Trump and the midterms, the austerity box, inflation, detention and demurrage, scooter users in the ER, McDonald’s workers, Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis, the new iPhones

A gun “study” falls apart when given a cursory examination.

The WSJ reported Monday that state AGs, who include many Republicans, are poised to step up enforcement against big tech. Interesting times may lie ahead.

The New York Times condescends to people in poverty.

Hay has become a scarce resource in Australia, and not for the best reasons.

Today’s Water Cooler: China trade, EU talks, the left and foreign policy, Raimondo, spook candidates, elections and money, electronic voting, small business optimism, blockchai bezzle, deep fake videos, gender equality, war on cash, meth makes a comeback

Thomas Frank on what’s the matter with America.

A data dive shows that the student loan business is at least as bad as you think it is.

How the misapplication of an early study on opioid addiction risk help pave the way for overly-casual prescription of these drugs.

Big oil seeks yet another handout.

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Readers, Naked Capitalism’s holiday week is over. I hope your Labor Day weekend, and the week following, was as pleasant as mine! So many threads over the past week, I’m not sure I picked them all up…. –lambert Trade “One of the electronics world’s bedrock supply chains is getting caught […]

Surveys indicate that consumers are souring on the ubiquitous use of plastic packaging– at least in the UK. Yet these shifts alone won’t be sufficient to address the problem. Governments must up their regulatory game, and global action is necessary.