10/08/2021
Today

The U.S. Has Never Defaulted, Except for 4 Times When It Did

Alex Pollock, Hill

To paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan, you are entitled to your own opinion about the debt ceiling, but not to your own facts about the history of U.S. government defaults.

How Biden Can End Debt-Ceiling Sabotage Once and for All

Mike Lofgren, NYT

The 14th Amendment offers a way out.

Demand for U.S. Debt Is Extraordinarily Broad

Market Minder, Fisher Investments

Demand for US Treasury Bonds is broad-based.

With Money, We Need a Common Discipline

Jacques de Larosiere, The New York Sun

What was Bretton Woods? A fixed exchange rate system? Yes. A gold exchange standard? Yes. More importantly, though, the agreement struck in 1944 was a macro-economic cooperative framework to promote international stability. The great merit of Bretton

Supply Chain Havoc Gets Worse, Just As We Hit Holidays

Rebecca Heilweil, Vox

The most popular holiday gifts might not arrive in time for the holidays, even if you order now.

Why Unemployment Rate Does Not Offer Guidance Now

Reuven Brenner, RCM

The Labor Department's official unemployment rate—the most well-known gauge of the labor market's health—counts as unemployed only those who aren't working but are actively seeking a job. Yet there is very little that we can infer from the jobless rate about the health of the economy. The unavoidable conclusion is that the only reason investors follow the calculation is because both Washington's politicians and the Federal Reserve are expected to react to it. This is the arithmetic: Say the population is 200; Number of Employed, 92; Unemployed 8. So Labor Force participation is 50% and...

How Long Will $1 Million Last In Retirement?

Paul Katzeff, Investor's Business Daily

You've built a $1 million retirement nest egg, so your retirement planning has paid off. But how long will $1 million last in retirement?

Facebook Is Weakening. And Congress Can Tell That It Is

Hayes Brown, MSNBC

Her testimony to the Senate gives next steps for regulation of Facebook and Instagram.

Parasitic Washington Rent-Seekers Attacking Facebook

Thomas Lambert, Cato

For the major digital platforms, a perfect storm is brewing. Policymakers across the ideological spectrum maintain that these Big Tech platforms — especially those operated by Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple — have grown too large and powerful.

As Virus Spreads, U.S. CEOs Losing Confidence In Econ.

Paul La Monica, CNN

US business leaders are still upbeat about the economic recovery. But they're not as confident as they were just a few months ago, and they blame the Delta variant and a super tight labor market for the drop in sentiment.

The U.S. Economy Remains As Frozen As Ever

Jeffrey Snider, RealClearMarkets

It would be remembered as Snowmageddon. On February 5 and 6, 2010, the DC beltway area was blanketed with almost 18 inches of the freezing white stuff, the fourth-worst blizzard to strike the area since anyone had been keeping track. At Dulles, it would end up being the snowiest, that airport recording an impressive 32.4 inches. Needless to say, much of the federal government came to a screeching halt. The government, at least, would quickly recover.

Book Excerpt: How To Win a Game of Chicken w/Carl Icahn

Michael Dell, Forbes

In an exclusive excerpt from his new memoir, Play Nice But Win, the billionaire founder of Dell Computers recalls a 2013 showdown with the infamous corporate raider to thwart a takeover.

We Have No Theory of Inflation

Duncan Weldon, Value Added

Inflation is the biggest debate in macro. The models don't work.

Dividends by the Numbers in September 2021

Ironman, Political Calculations

September 2021 closed out a strong quarter for dividend paying stocks in the U.S. stock market.

Look Past The 1970s For Economic Parallels

Neil Shearing, Capital Economics

Fuel shortages, tax increases and a whiff of stagflation have prompted comparisons between the economic situation today and that of the 1970s. But for the UK at least, the similarities with the period immediately following the Second World War are arguably more striking.

Crypto's Huge Gains, and Huge Losses

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Charles Schwab

Cryptocurrency can yield big gains, but equally big losses.

MMT Is A Political Manifesto

Drumetz Françoise & Pfister Christian, Banque de France

In the last few years in the U.S. and especially since the publication of Stephanie Kelton's book, The Deficit Myth (Kelton, 2020) in Europe, the so-called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has been gaining prominence in the media and the public. This paper exposes the main proposals of MMT in the light of their doctrinal sources, also confronting them with economic facts and with other currents of economic thought.

What To Do If You're Worried About Inflation

Robin Powell, TEBI

Like many other investors, you may be worried about inflation, but the best strategy is probably to stay invested and focus on your long-term goals.

The Cost of Lockdowns

Brian Wesbury & Robert Stein, First Trust Advisors

The COVID Inflation Scare

Daniel Gros, Project Syndicate

Central banks become concerned, and usually start tightening policy, when higher inflation fuels higher inflation expectations among consumers. Current trends suggest that US policymakers have more to worry about than their European counterparts.

Want The Best Stocks? Pick The Happiest Companies

Alicia McElhaney, II

New research shows that keeping employees happy not only helps the employees, it helps the company, too.

33 Undervalued Stocks for the Fourth Quarter

Susan Dziubinski, Morningstar

Here are our analysts' top ideas in each sector for the coming quarter.

Why Banks Don't Want Your Money Right Now

Dion Rabouin, Vox

Everyone's saving money, but no one is earning much interest.

Yet Another Covid Victim: Capitalism

Farah Nayeri, New York Times

Two economic experts from two different nations agree that the pandemic has altered the world's economy and brought capitalism and its power into question.

Have the 00s Set Us Up For Future Growth?

Ted Lamade, Collaborative Fund

Recessions plant the seeds for future economic growth.

Facebook Will Not Fix Itself

Roger McNamee, Time

Tech giants behave as unelected governments. Do we have the courage to stop them?

Central Banks' Next Big Test Is Coming

Willem H. Buiter, Project Syndicate

Across the advanced economies, central banks have rightly prioritized maintaining financial stability and supporting the real economy over fighting inflation with interest-rate hikes. But with financial fragility rife and public and private leverage at all-time highs, their next big test is coming.

The Ship That Became a Bomb

Ed Caesar, The New Yorker

Stranded in Yemen's war zone, a decaying supertanker has more than a million barrels of oil aboard. If—or when—it explodes or sinks, thousands may die.

My Favorite NFTs Are Shares Of Businesses

Joshua Brown, The Reformed Broker

Here is a replica of one of my favorite NFTs.

Politicians Can't Fix a Supply Chain Crisis They Created

J.D. Tuccille, Reason

Governments may not be able to make an economy, but they've proven they can break it.

Self-Driving Cars: The 21st-Century Trolley Problem

Rani Molla, Vox

Autonomous tech could lead to deaths at the hands of robots. But is continuing to let humans drive even worse?

Will Uncle Sam Force Big Tech to Break Up?

Fisher Investments Editorial Staff, Fisher Investments

Shattering the Debt Ceiling Myth

Fisher Investments Editorial Staff, Fisher Investments

How 'Big Funeral' Made the Afterlife So Expensive

Eleanor Cummins, Wired

It's time to reevaluate the cost of death care—and its environmental impact.

Why I Like the Debt Ceiling

David Merkel, The Aleph Blog

I like anything that hinders the US Government from borrowing more.

Been There, Done That: Reagan's Semiconductor Trade War

Eric Boehm, Reason

What Reagan's tariffs in the '80s can teach us about today's foreign-made semiconductors

Nature Shows How This All Works

Morgan Housel, Collaborative Fund

Extremes lead to extremes

The Bitcoin Fountainhead

Daron Acemoglu, Project Syndicate

While it is clear that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, it remains to be seen what economic role they will – or should – play. In the case of Bitcoin, the technology's success lies entirely in what it promises, rather than in what it can actually deliver.

An Unhealthy Obsession with Money

Ben Carlson, A Wealth Of Common Sense

Money most certainly does not buy happiness.

When Environmental Regs Backfire

Mike Lee & David Schweikert, City Journal

A runaway environmental-review process bogs down improvement projects, stifling innovation and impeding clean-energy development.
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