Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, pandemics: (1) New swing state polling, Hillary Clinton on the ignorance of youth, Trump will love jail, potential nasal spray, and you’ll never guess from whom. ~

Experts describe how requiring U.S. seniors to work in their old age often threatens their health and well-being.

At a time when the dominant narrative around cash is that its demise is all but inevitable, as well as broadly desirable, the 2024 payment report by Sweden’s Riksbank may offer a cautionary tale. 

How the fall of the USSR reshaped thinking in the discipline of geopolitics.

There is perilous little that is novel in modern finance. Our offshore, as in tax havens, have analogues in the ancient world.

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, pandemics , Antisemitism Awareness Act, Trump’s Bragg trial, the perfect cheese sauce ~

How trade liberalization cut Africa’s modest production capacities, industry and food security.

A hard look at the use of the notion of populism in recent political discourse, starting with the curious lack of self-professed populists.

A discussion of how the rich got to be that way and why their justifications for their advantaged status don’t stand up to much scrutiny.

More evidence on cancer clusters in the Corn Belt, and the difficulty of rallying official interest and help.

The architecture of Bragg’s case, and the state of play of its various elements.

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Open Thread ~

This column examines why consumer sentiment in the US remained depressed in 2023 despite low unemployment and falling inflation, and finds that increasing borrowing costs can explain much of this gap.