Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Articles”
Both the stock market and oil prices have been plunging. Is this “just another cycle,” or is it something much worse? I think it is something much worse. Back in January, I wrote a post called Oil and the Economy: Where are We Headed in 2015-16? In it, I said that persistent very low prices could be a sign that we are …
New research underway indicates that at least three feet of global sea level rise is near certain, NASA scientists warned Wednesday. That’s the higher range of the 1 to 3 feet level of rise the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gave in its 2013 assessment. Sea levels have already risen 3 inches on average since 1992, with some areas …
On Tuesday evening, we asked what would happen if emerging markets joined China in dumping US Treasurys. For months we’ve documented the PBoC’s liquidation of its vast stack of US paper. Back in July for instance, we noted that China had dumpeda record $143 billion in US Treasurys in three months via Belgium, leaving Goldman speechless for once. We followed all of this up this …
The most comprehensive survey to date of pollution in the US from a controversial group of pesticides has found the chemicals are widespread in streams and rivers. Though not considered a human health threat, the findings underscore the environmental ubiquity and potential for ecological harm of neonicotinoids. While neonicotinoids have been blamed for fuelling declines of bees, researchers say their …
Actions are taking place in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle on Tuesday decrying a controversial U.S. immigration program that unions and immigration advocates have dubbed “immigration reform for the 1%.” “If Congress renews the ‘$500,000 green card’ EB-5 program without any comprehensive solutions for immigration reform, they’re sending a clear message: the American Dream is for sale …
As the emerging market meltdown accelerates, plunging half of EM equity bourses into bear market territory and wreaking unspeakable havoc on currencies from LatAm to Asia-Pac, analysts and commentators alike have scrambled to find historical analogs that can serve as a guidepost when assessing the damage and, more importantly, predicting where things go from here. One historical episode that’s received …
“The media is biased,” is a complaint that media organizations receive a lot, so they tend to be fairly wary of overtly partisan reporting. However, while media organizations are loath to seem partisan, they are often deeply unaware of other deep biases they hold. One psychological bias humans suffer from is the “availability heuristic”—a tendency to generalize based on our …
He’s everywhere. Spray-tanned face and white teeth exploding through the front pages of newspapers and magazines. Implausible hair mesmerizing on Twitter and Facebook. Comments on female journalists and illegal Mexican immigrants echoing across the ether. It is likely that Donald Trump will be nothing more than an ephemeral political phenomenon, but he is still a phenomenon. Politically divisive at home, …
Nearing the last year of his presidency, Barack Obama and his foreign policy remain an enigma. At times, he seems to be the “realist,” working constructively with other nations to achieve positive solutions, as with the Iran nuclear deal and his rapprochement with Cuba. Other times, he slides into line with the neocons and liberal hawks, provoking ugly crises, such …
Amnesty International just made a decision regarding decriminalizing the sex industry and I frankly wonder if they understand anything about it. In the dialogue about this within the Amnesty International circles, the Philippines is mentioned. Here’s an excerpt of what Janice G. Raymond who is the former co-director of the “Coalition Against Trafficking in Women” had to say about this …
