Category Archive: 5) Global Macro

Why I’m Hopeful

Readers often ask me to post something hopeful, and I understand why: doom-and-gloom gets tiresome. Human beings need hope just as they need oxygen, and the destruction of the Status Quo via over-reach and internal contradictions doesn't leave much to be happy about.

Read More »

Ungovernable Nation, Ungovernable Economy

Wealth distribution since 1917
Yesterday I described the conditions that render the U.S. ungovernable. Here is a chart of why the U.S. economy will also be ungovernable. Longtime readers are acquainted with the S-curve model of expansion, maturity, stagnation and decline.

Read More »

What Triggers Collapse?

A variety of forces will disrupt or obsolete existing modes of production and the social order. Though no one can foretell the future, it is self-evident that the status quo—dependent as it is on cheap oil and fast-expanding debt—is unsustainable. So what will trigger the collapse of the status quo, and what lies beyond when the current arrangements break down?  Can we predict how-when-where with any accuracy? All prediction is based on...

Read More »

Will Tax Cuts and More Federal Borrowing/Spending Fix What’s Broken?

Charles Hugh Smith combines the best graphs on the declining wage share of GDP in this post. He answers the question if the tax cuts and more federal borrowing and spending can solve what is broken in the U.S. economy.

Read More »

When Did Our Elites Become Self-Serving Parasites?

When did our financial and political elites become self-serving parasites? Some will answer that elites have always been self-serving parasites; as tempting as it may be to offer a blanket denunciation of elites, this overlooks the eras in which elites rose to meet existential crises.

Read More »

The World in 2017 Top 10 countdown

What will be the top ten stand out moments of 2017? Our countdown of the upcoming year’s major stories. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/ Check out The Economist’s full video catalogue: http://econ.st/20IehQk Like The Economist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/ Follow The Economist on Twitter: …

Read More »

Fake News, Mass Hysteria and Induced Insanity

We've heard a lot about "fake news" from those whose master narratives are threatened by alternative sources and analyses. We've heard less about the master narratives being threatened.

Read More »

India’s Rapid Progression Toward a Police State

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced on 8th November 2016 that Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 (~$15) banknotes would no longer be legal tender. Linked are Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V, which provide updates on the demonetization saga and how Modi is acting as a catalyst to hasten the rapid degradation of India and what remains of its institutions.

Read More »

The fall of Islamic State | The Economist

The biggest, boldest attempt by a jihadist regime to defy the whole world order will be smashed in 2017. Islamic State is set to be driven out of its last remaining territories in Iraq and Syria—but its defeat won’t spell the end for terrorism. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 What …

Read More »

A Tale of Two Housing Markets: Hot and Not So Hot

If we had to guess which areas will likely experience the smallest declines in prices and recover the soonest, which markets would you bet on?

Read More »

Could Marine Le Pen be the next President of France? | The Economist

Populist movements are on the rise all over Europe—one reason why the French presidential election in 2017 may be a nail-biter. We predict that it will be one of the top three moments of the year ahead. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of …

Read More »

Grab-Bag of Resolutions for 2017

Here's a grab-bag of resolutions with something for just about every persuasion. I resolve to never utter or write the word "Trump" in 2017. (Good luck with that...)

Read More »

Power grab at China’s National Congress | The Economist

In China, the Communist Party’s 19th National Congress in October 2017 determines who will rule the world’s rising superpower for the next five years. Amid bitter political infighting, the changes will be sweeping. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 It only happens once every five years. It’s the biggest event in …

Read More »

Crisis of Meaning = Crisis of Work

Allow me to connect two apparently unconnected dots. Dot #1: The last sugar plantation in Hawaii is closing down, ending more than a century of plantation life in the 50th state.

Read More »

When Assets (Such as Real Estate) Become Liabilities

It will be the middle class that accepted the notion that "real estate is the foundation of family wealth" that will be stripmined by higher taxes on immobile assets such as real estate.

Read More »

The automated delivery race to send drones and robots to you | The Economist

The automated delivery race is set to grab the public’s attention in 2017. Drones in our skies and robots on our pavements will be tested to meet ever-increasing consumer demands. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 It’s been a dream of futurists for years but 2017 will see the automated delivery …

Read More »

Emerging Market Preview for the Week Ahead

EM gained some limited traction as last week ended. However, renewed concerns about China could limit this bounce as President Xi signaled the possibility that growth could fall below the government’s 6.5% target.

Read More »

The Washington Post: Useful-Idiot Shills for a Failed, Frantic Status Quo That Has Lost Control of the Narrative

Don't you think it fair and reasonable that anyone accusing me of being a shill for Russian propaganda ought to read my ten books in their entirety and identify the sections that support their slanderous accusation?

Read More »

The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160 percent Since 2001

In our household, we measure inflation with the Burrito Index: How much has the cost of a regular burrito at our favorite taco truck gone up? Since we keep detailed records of expenses (a necessity if you’re a self-employed free-lance writer).

Read More »

Emerging Markets: What has Changed

China President Xi raised the possibility of sub-6.5% growth. Fitch moved the outlook on Indonesia’s BBB- rating from stable to positive. The Philippine central bank raised its 2017 inflation forecasts for 2017 and 2018.

Read More »