Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Merkel’s Government Wobbles Over Immigrant Row as Italy Threatens Canada Trade Deal

Merkel had a bad day and things don’t seem likely to improve any time soon.

Why Are There So Many Unsheltered Homeless People in California?

Try guessing why San Francisco has encampments of homeless people….

Some Bankruptcy Judges Finding Ways to Give Desperate Student Borrowers Relief

Some bankruptcy judges recognize that the typical application of the “undue hardship” for discharging student debt is too stringent and are finding wriggle room.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/14/2018

Today’s Water Cooler: Canada and trade, Sanders at Democrat cattle call, Poor People’s Campaign, Planned Parenthood, retail sales bump, Boring Company, unemployment insurance, moderation

Wolf Richter: Riskiest Junk Bonds Completely Blow Off the Fed, Face “Sudden” Reckoning

Normally risky credits like junk bonds are the first to react when the Fed starts tightening. But we are not in normal times.

Links 6/14/18

Paul Jay on Trump’s Iran War Agenda and Liberals’ Korea Peace Panic

The Real News Network’s Paul Jay contends that Trump and his team are focused on Iran as they carry out the Project for a New American Century plan.

Backstabbing Over Cows

The trouble with cows….

Poor Peoples Campaign Protests All Over US Ignored by Media

A young anti-poverty, anti-discrimination movement, the Poor Peoples Campaign, is starting to get traction.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/13/2018

Today’s Water Cooler: Trudeau, G-7, “the wave,” mid-term results, ranked choice voting, Mueller, producer price index, debt, Tesla autopilot woes, pension funds, Grantham on capitalism, Chinese truckers, DNS

The Roots of Argentina’s Surprise Crisis

How reforms by Argentina’s President Macri helped kick off a currency crisis.

Links 6/13/18

Some Notes on North Korea

Trying to get past the groupthink on the North Korea summit.

Bill Black: Democrats Should Reject Bernanke’s ‘Wily E. Coyote’ Criticism of Trump’s Deficits

Bernanke engages in a new episode of ideologically motivated economic prognostication.

The Italian Mini-BOT Debate

More discussion of how well a proposed Italian parallel currency, the mini-BOT, might work in practice.