Author Archives: Yves Smith

Gerald Friedman: How the Dogmatic Despair of Mainstream Economists Brought You Donald Trump

Mainstream economists to ordinary citizens: Drop dead. Or more accurately: Sorry, nothing more can be done for you. There is No Alternative.

CalPERS Invests in Toll Road Even Though Those Deals Consistently Lose Money

CalPERS ventures into the looting of local populations via investing into a famous toll road-gone-bad deal that has been restructured.

Links 5/18/16

Germany and IMF in Staredown Over Greek Debt Relief

The IMF and Germany have staked out irreconcilable positions on Greece. Who will blink first?

Cameron Murray: Confused Thinking About Real Interest Rates Leads to Mistaken Belief that Lower Interest Rates Boost Investment

Muddied thinking about real interest rates has done real harm. It leads policymakers to lower interest rates to boost investment, when they do more to raise asset prices and fuel speculation.

Hall of Shame: HUD Finally Forces Private Equity Buyers of Distressed Mortgages to Give Real Modifications After Years of Complaints Now That HUD Chief is on Clinton VP List

HUD finally acts on a festering problem, apparently to improve the odds of HUD chief Julian Castro getting a plum Clinton Administration post.

Bill Black: Mankiw’s Mythical Ten Commandments of Theoclassical Economics

Examining Maniw’s core myths, um, principles, and how they are dangerously misleading.

Links 5/17/16

After Distancing Herself From Bill Clinton’s Economic Policies, Hillary Wants Him as Mr. Economic Fix It

Like the Bourbons, the Clintons appear to have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

Hedge Funds Want a Pony, Um, Permanent Capital, as More Investors Exit

Hedge funds are trying to sell a (sort of) new idea, that of permanent capital. But why on earth would anyone in their right mind buy it?

Hedge Fund Comeuppance: Firms Hunker Down, Start to Cut Fees as Investors Wise Up and Withdraw Money

Years late, investors are finally waking up to the fact that hedge funds overpromise, overcharge, and underdeliver.

Democratic Establishment’s Thuggish Power Grab at Nevada Convention

The Democratic party establishment shows its true colors in Nevada.

Links 5/14/16

Wolf Richter: Which US Companies Stockpile the Most Profit “Overseas?” But Where the Heck is the Money?

ebunking the mythology of overseas “profit”.