Yet more official hand-wringing about interest rates…when they aren’t the core economic problem.
Thursday, January 1, 2026
2:00PM Water Cooler 1/8/2020
Today’s Water Cooler: Biden, Bloomberg, Warren, Sanders, Trump, text-messaging, Iran crisis updates, California startups, unicorns, SHA1 exploit, AirBnB, Starbucks, Australian bush fires, tomatoes, abandoned farms and carbon, tomorrow’s fossils, itemizing ER bills, good news on cancer, urban renewal, Robert Johnson
Why US Hostility Towards Chinese Tech Groups Feels Like Déjà Vu
US reactions to Chinese competitive threats are an awful lot like the ones to Japan of the 1980s, but the US now has a lot less leverage.
2019 in Climate Science: A Continued Warming Trend and ‘Bleak’ Research
Not surprisingly, recent climate reasearch is downbeat.
The Real Reason the U.S. Is Interested in Iran
An Iran backgrounder that attempts to explain America’s obsession.
Student Loans, Meet Greece: Extend and Pretend Bond Maturities
Shed a crocodile tear for investors in student loans: they are sometimes discomfited by short-lived downgrades when loan maturities are pushed out.
2:00PM Water Cooler 1/7/2020
Today’s Water Cooler: Middle East and grain, Biden, Klobuchar, Sanders, Warren, impeachment, Silicon Valley donor class, Borden, Boeing, robotics, cocaine, arson and Australian wildfires, “climate gentrification,” Extinction Rebellion, hospital mergers, happiness and public goods, the mobile office
What Is Next for Venezuela?
The standoff in Venezuela has reached a worrying juncture, with negotiations falling apart, side deals emerging and regional states rolling out new sanctions on Caracas.
‘Because Insects Are Key to Our Own Survival,’ 73 Scientists Unveil Global Roadmap to Battle Bugpocalypse
Reducing planet-heating emissions and curbing use of pesticides immediately is necessary to prevent further collapse of insect populations.
In Iran Showdown, Conflict Could Explode Quickly – and Disastrously
The odds of conflict morphing into war are higher than most think.
Bloomberg Making Nice to China Pays Off; Highly Profitable Conferences Help Stoke Terminal Business
Bloomberg goes to some lengths to toady to China. And his commercial motives are much more obvious than Trump’s were with Russia.
Iraq Coverage: Yet Another Cavalcade of Stupid at the Wall Street Journal
Our famously free press in action.
2:00PM Water Cooler 1/6/2020
Today’s Water Cooler: New state polls, Biden’s electability, “Pete Butterbar,” Klobuchar, Sanders, Yang, protracted Democrat primary, AOC, McDonalds, Uber, auto manufacturing, the Rapture, tough plants, elephant footprints, ants walking backwards, “The Newsroom,” Monica Echeverría, Marie Kondo, hamster mazes
