Monday, October 14, 2024

2:00PM Water Cooler 10/14/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Democrat bedwetting; Kamala messaging disasters: Walz goes hunting, manly men, Obama and black men; Walz oppo bubbles up, not yet popped; Labor Secretary Su flies to Seattle, Boeing’s doom loop ~

Links 10/14/2024

Private Equity Pummeled by Higher Interest Rates as Portfolio Companies and Credit Funds Struggle; Use of PIK Loans Now Recalls Late 1980s LBO Crisis

More and more private equity and private credit deals are looking over-extended. How bad might things get?

Millions in US Toiling Under This Imposed Housing Crisis Need One Thing: Straight-Up Cash

The real-life stories of Americans moving through eviction court show that what most struggling families really need is simple: money.

Book Review: How Much Can Animals Really Communicate?

In “Why Animals Talk,” zoologist Arik Kershenbaum argues that knowing what animals are saying is less crucial than why.

Links 10/13/2024

De-risking Downsides

The EU starts a trade war with China. Like the “de-risking” from Russia, the US is once again poised to be the main beneficiary.  

The Cash Will Soon Flow

Robbing Africa’s riches to save the climate (and power AI).

Gas Crunch Looms as Demand Outpaces Supply Growth

Why a gas price squeeze looks likely.

Richard D. Wolff & Michael Hudson: Israel’s End-Game Under Netanyahu

Richard Wolff and Michael Hudson discuss Israel as a colonial project in an era where demonizing the natives is no longer a winning propaganda strategy.

Links 10/12/2024

2:00PM Water Cooler 10/11/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; Friday’s charts: RCP averages (good week for Trump); Covid (XEC has entered the chat); What, again, was Kamala thinking?! Boeing files unfair labor practice charge with NLRB against machinists (wowsers) ~

Economic Models Ignoring “Look Out the Window” Climate Change Effects

Supposed forecasting mavens are simply ignoring the real economy effects, like poor harvests, of climate change.

Links 10/11/2024

Norway, One of World’s Most Cashless Economies, Just Made It A Lot Easier to Pay With Cash

Recent trends and developments in Northern Europe suggest the shift away from cash and toward purely digital payment systems may have reached its upper limits — at least for now.