Where Things Stand Now With Inflation and the Fed
Last week was a big one. On Tuesday, we got a CPI report that came in substantially cooler than expected. Then on Wednesday, the Fed hiked 50 basis points, which was a step down from the series of 75 ...
19 Dec 202249min
Younger and Menand Explain How We Got the Modern Banking System
The US financial system today is pretty much taken as a given. We have the Federal Reserve, which sets interest rates and provides various liquidity backstops. We have regulated banks, which lend and ...
15 Dec 20221h 7min
This Is What We Know About How Tether Works
2022 has seen numerous crypto disasters, most notably FTX. Also the price of most coins has tumbled massively. One coin that's done fine is the stablecoin Tether, which is interesting, because its had...
12 Dec 202249min
What Extreme Weather Events Are Doing to Global Insurance Markets
Heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, floods... in a year of commodity shortages and supply chain disruptions, a host of extreme weather events have added stress to the system. So how do companies address ...
8 Dec 202246min
Brad DeLong on the FTX Collapse and the South Sea Bubble
We're in the aftermath of an extraordinary bubble in cryptocurrencies and the collapse of FTX is a defining chapter of the industry's turmoil. But what does history tells us about the cycle of bubbles...
5 Dec 202248min
The Covid Protests in China and Why They Happened Now
China has seen a surge in protests in cities all around the country, targeted at the country's Covid Zero policies. But nearly three years into this pandemic, why did they happen now? How does recent ...
1 Dec 202242min
This Is What Happens to Silicon Valley in a Downturn
The US economy may not be in a recession, but Silicon Valley, which had a mega-boom throughout the 2010s, is in a downturn. Tech stocks have tanked and almost every day there are new reports about ind...
28 Nov 202242min
Jim Chanos on Crypto, Tech and the Golden Age of Fraud
Earlier this year we talked to the legendary short seller Jim Chanos, during which he warned of more pain ahead for speculative areas of tech. That call proved to be prescient by a number of measures....
23 Nov 202232min
