Category Archive: 5) Global Macro

The Upside of a Crushing Recession

Unbeknownst to those trembling in fear of a crushing recession, the crushing recession they fear is the only curative for a fatally distorted system which has lost touch with reality. Everyone looking at the inevitability of recession with alarm is forgetting the many upsides of recession, especially one that crushes all attempts to reverse it with the usual tricks.

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Jeff Snider Just Emailed Me About The Repo Market (Here’s What He Said)

Check out the Rebel Capitalist Live event June 24th - 26th!!

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War in Ukraine: whose side is China on? | The Economist

China won’t endorse Russia’s war in Ukraine, but it also won’t condemn it. Whose side is China really on? Our expert discusses China’s stance on the conflict 00:00 - China’s response to the war 00:58 - Did Putin warn Xi about the invasion? 01:47 - Whose side is China on? 02:56 - Why might China want war? 03:50 - What does Russia’s invasion mean for Taiwan? 05:20 - Could China help Russia win? 06:28 - What will China do if the invasion escalates?...

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So Much Fragile *Cannot* Be Random Deflationary Coincidences

At first glance, or first exposure to this, there doesn’t seem to be any reason why all these so many pieces could be related. Outwardly, from the mainstream perspective, anyway, you’d think them random, and even if somehow correlated they’re supposed to be in the opposite way from what’s happened.

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If You Want to Build Back Better, Reshore Our Entire Supply Chain

It is entirely accurate to say that the U.S. is addicted to waste and distant sources of essentials. The downside of dependency is in the air. The U.S. has allowed itself to become dependent on other nations for essentials, a policy that I view as an insanity fueled by greed. The problem with dependency is the cost can't be calculated until it's too late. Restoring independence is a massive, costly undertaking, but if you wait until the cost of...

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Malala: what Ukraine’s invasion means for girls’ education | The Economist

This year’s International Women’s Day is marked by thousands fleeing war in Ukraine. The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, meets Malala Yousafzai to discuss what world leaders can do to protect girls’ education in times of conflict. 00:00 - Who is Malala? 00:30 - Becoming a refugee 01:11 - The impact of conflict on civilians 02:51 - The gender gap in digital education 03:41 - Promoting girls’ education in Afghanistan 05:21 - How...

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Weekly Market Pulse: Oil Shock

Crude oil prices rose over 25% last week and as I sit down to write this evening the overnight futures are up another 8% to around $125. Almost every other commodity on the planet rose in prices last week too, as did the dollar. Those two factors – rising dollar and rising commodity prices – mean the likelihood of recession in the coming year has risen significantly in just the last week.

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War in Ukraine: how far will Putin go? | The Economist

Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is devastating the country and its people. How far will he go? Our experts discuss the threat of escalation, from the use of nuclear weapons to attacks beyond Ukraine. 00:00 - How far will Putin go? 00:32 - A war of escalation 01:34 - Nuclear weapons are on the table 02:44 - NATO vs Russia 04:10 - NATO is bound together by article 5 05:32 - What is going on in Putin’s head? 06:42 - What could the West offer...

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Houston, We Have An Oil (and inventory) Problem

If only, like in the aftermath of the Apollo 13 explosion, we could just radio Houston to get started in figuring out just the way out of our fix. Mission Control would certainly buzz all the right people with the right stuff, summoning the best engineers and scientists from their quiet divans to the frenzied and dangerous work ahead.

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For The Fed, None Of These Details Will Matter

Most people have the impression that these various payroll and employment reports just go into the raw data and count up the number of payrolls and how many Americans are employed. Perhaps the BLS taps the IRS database as fellow feds, or ADP as a private company in the same data business of employment just tallies how many payrolls it processes as the largest provider of back-office labor services.That’s just not how it works, though. In fact,...

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War in Ukraine: are sanctions working? | The Economist

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted an unprecedented response from the West: economic warfare. Our experts, Patrick Foulis and Matthew Valencia, weigh in on whether sanctions will be enough to stop further aggression from Russia. 00:00 - The West’s economic warfare 00:38 - Sanctions on Russia: explained 01:57 - The impact of sanctions 03:53 - How has Russia responded? 05:46 - Can sanctions help stop Putin? Read all our coverage on the war...

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War in Ukraine: An unfolding refugee crisis | The Economist

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is driving its people to the country’s western borders. So far the majority have headed to Poland, which is opening its arms to the newcomers. 00:00 - Ukranians are fleeing to Poland 00:42 - Poland welcomes Ukrainian refugees 01:30 - Ukraine and Poland’s shared history 03:04 - This could be just the beginning of Ukraine’s exodus 03:50 - This is not Europe’s first refugee crisis Read all our coverage on the war...

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War in Ukraine: Kyiv fights back | The Economist

As Russian troops advance towards Kyiv, Ukrainian forces are preparing to fight back. Our correspondent reports with the latest from Kyiv. 00:00 - Kyiv prepares to fight back 00:42 - Tank traps and Molotov cocktail factories 01:42 - Exodus from Kyiv 02:39 - Life in the city 03:20 - Morale remains high in Kyiv 03:50 - Zelensky: an inspiring wartime leader 04:34 - Social media inspiring the citizens 05:35 - What will happen next? Read all our...

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SWIFT Isn’t The ‘Nuclear Option’ For Russia, Because Russia can sell the dollars elsewhere and NOT via Swift

As everyone “knows”, the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency which can only leave the US government in control of it. Participation is both required and at the pleasure of American authorities. If you don’t accept their terms, you risk the death penalty: exile from the privilege of the US dollar’s essential business.From what little most people know about that essential business, it seems like it has something to do with that thing called...

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Briefing Even More Inventory

Retail sales stumbled in December, contributing some to the explosion in inventory across the US supply chain – but not all. Inventories were going to spike even if sales had been better. In fact, retail inventories rose at such a record pace beyond anything seen before, had sales been far improved the monthly increase in inventories still would’ve unlike anything in the data series.

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Could Putin really start a nuclear war? | The Economist

After invading Ukraine nearly a week ago, Putin has now ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be on high alert. Shashank Joshi, The Economist’s defence editor, answers questions on whether the war in Ukraine could escalate into a nuclear conflict. 00:00 - Putin has raised the stakes 00:40 - Is Putin threatening nuclear force? 01:23 - What does Putin hope to achieve? 02:07 - How has the West responded so far? 03:11 - Are Putin’s threats posturing or...

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Geopolitics and Degrowth

The Geopolitics of Degrowth holds that real power flows not from waste, centralization and coercion but from decentralization, relocalization and the free flow of value. Conventional geopolitics is all about more: more military power, more sanctions, more coercion, more influence. The Geopolitics of Degrowth is all about the the power of less: wasting less, consuming less, needing less from other nations, reducing dependence on rivals,...

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War in Ukraine: what will happen next? | The Economist

Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to be Europe's most intense conflict since the second world war. What might happen next? And what will this war mean for the world? Our experts answer your questions. Read our coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://econ.st/3pcnVPl Sign up to our daily newsletter to keep up to date with the latest developments: https://econ.st/3sezh7h What’s happening in Kyiv? Watch our correspondent’s take:...

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Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation

Let's call this financial system what it really is: the MetaPerverse, a conjured world of self-serving cons. We live in a peculiar juncture of history in which truth has been banished as a threat to the maximization of private gain, i.e. the hyper-pursuit of self-interest. Evidence that supports a causal chain has been replaced by cherry-picked data that supports a self-serving narrative: both the evidence and narrative are manufactured to serve...

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War in Ukraine: what’s happening in Kyiv? | The Economist

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine. What’s happening now and how will the war unfold? The Economist’s correspondent, Richard Ensor, reports from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Read our coverage of the Ukraine crisis here: https://econ.st/3pcnVPl Sign up to our daily newsletter to keep up to date with the latest developments: https://econ.st/3sezh7h Will war in Ukraine lead to a wider cyber-conflict?...

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