China
There are several major systemic headwinds facing the Chinese economy in the years ahead but the property bust and HOME PRICE DECLINE is the biggest reason consumer confidence has been shattered and why growth will continue to stagnate for years to come. Prices are still falling and will likely continue
Economy
Return Advantage of Stocks over Bonds Has Shrunk to Lowest in 15 Years But US Endowments' Equity Beta Likely Highest Ever A review of the asset allocation history of the largest American endowments shows that the amount of equity risk currently being taken is at the highest level in
Big Tech
Gee, it kinda sorta seems like Lina Khan has gotten under the skin of the WSJ Editorial Board. What is it about young female Democrats enforcing anti-trust laws for the first time in decades that seems to really IRRITATE them. The gist of all of their rants is, "
China
I don't usually pay much attention to quarterly GDP releases but China's Q3 report is interesting for two reasons. One, it’s completely consistent with an economy that hasn’t meaningfully rebalanced away from a heavy reliance on government-directed investment spending, despite years of talk
Corporate Crimes
The nauseating saga of the Boeing 737 Max two deadly crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 is a perfect example of how American corporations are barely regulated and even when their products cause hundreds of deaths, there is essentially zero punishment. There are thousands of young Black men in
Economy
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been busy tilting at windmills. Egged on by the caveman caucus of the GOP, Abbott has been blaming wind power and green energy generally for the February blackout that made the Lone Star State the Freezing My Ass Off State. The Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg
Big Tech
Below are excerpts from another great Matt Stoller piece, this one about how $2,000/hour Big Law attorneys help their clients, corporations and private equity funds, get illegal mergers approved by a formerly toothless FTC. Now, with Lina Khan at the helm of the FTC, sleazy fat cat lawyers,
Criminal Justice
By a 9-0 margin, the Supreme Court Inflicts Mortal Wounds to the NCAA Yesterday, the Supreme Court, by a gob-smacking 9-0 margin, ruled that the NCAA’s limits on education-related expense reimbursements to “student-athletes” violates anti-trust law. The justices ruled that the NCAA is
Economy
Wow, talk about getting your knickers in a twist. Joe Biden's plan to tax capital gains as ordinary income for people making over $1 million a year really hurt the feelings of some on Wall Street. The general theme seems to be, "ungrateful peasants, you just don&
Economy
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times calls out the "experts" who say now is not the right time for the US to leave Afghanistan. My opinion is that this is the right strategic decision for the US and is a no-brainer political win for Biden. Ignore
China
An angry exchange of words with China was most undiplomatic but entirely necessary. There's been much hand-wringing by US establishment foreign policy commentators about the unseemly public spat between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang Jiechi, his counterpart from China, at the first high level
COVID-19
In the Spring of 2020, when US air travel came to an abrupt halt, airline CEOs launched a big lie campaign of Trumpian dimensions. They falsely equated “saving employee jobs” with “saving shareholders”.