Author Archives: Yves Smith

Florence is the Worst Flood in East Coast History. Here’s How Locals Describe It.

Eyewitness accounts of Florence and its aftermath.

Chevron Arbitration Ruling Against Ecuador ‘Completely Off Base’

A secret corporate arbitration panel in the Hague ruled that Ecuadorean courts’ $9.5 billion judgement against Chevron for environmental damages is illegal and should not be enforced. An expert argues that the decision is a travesty.

Links 9/18/18

Michael Hudson: The Lehman 10th Anniversary Spin as a Teachable Moment

Why you should take conventional wisdom about the Lehman collapse and the crisis with a fistful of salt.

J.D. Alt: Paying for Hurricanes

A reminder that the budgetary “paying for things” framing is a way to deny resources to citizens.

Gaius Publius: Brett Kavanaugh’s #MeToo Moment — Questions Raised As His Accuser Comes Forward

The Kavanaugh row gets messier.

CalPERS’ PR Strategy on CEO Marcie Frost’s Resume Lies Backfiring

How CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost’s media mavens are only digging a deeper hole in the scandal over her misrepresentations before and after her hiring.

Why Central Banks Should Not Be Inflation Nutters

Central banks need to stop fighting the last war.

Links 9/15/18

Double Whammy: Implicit Subsidies and the Great Financial Crisis

Follow the subsidies, and you will understand why we had the crisis and why not enough has been done to prevent a recurrence.

Jumping the Abyss: Marriner S. Eccles and the New Deal, 1933-1940

An in-depth look at Marriner Eccles’ ideas and policies, and how well they have withstood the test of time.

Victorian Central Banks and the Myth of Independence

Central banks have not always been independent, inflation targeting bodies, and to treat them as such is to obscure their complex histories and alternative institutional constellations.

Brexit: Circling the Drain?

Has anything changed on the Brexit front?