Competition is critical to an economy’s vitality. Without it, free markets cease to be free. Is this now happening?
Are Free Markets Still Free?
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Economics
Why We Need an Unwavering Commitment to QE
It is premature and unwise to scale back policy support in the United States. What is at risk is not only financial market stability, but
Pandemic, Insolvency and Inflation?
A pandemic, a solvency crisis and inflation may seem a strange combination. But 2020 has been a strange year in more ways than one – 2021
Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021
At the end of this most calamitous year, it is possible to envision a brighter 2021. Here are the forces and events likely to shape the days
The US Economy Needs a Booster Shot
Heading into the holiday season, the United States is confronting a spike in COVID-19 infections and renewed restrictions on commerce. Unless
Making Sense of Sky-High Stock Prices
Many have been puzzled that the world’s stock markets haven’t collapsed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn
A Tale of Two Economies
As financial markets celebrate the coming vaccine-led boom, the confluence of epidemiological and political aftershocks has pushed us back
The Siren Song of Austerity
Among the many lessons of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath in the United States is that there is no good reason to start worrying
The Spirit of ESG
For ESG investing to succeed, it needs recognition of its normative underpinnings and approaches that incorporate human, not algorithmic,
Could Inflation Be The Next Big Thing?
We live in a world of the improbable. Black swans, fat tails, Brexit and Donald Trump remind us that the improbable is possible, sometimes
Who’s Afraid of Rules-Based Monetary Policy?
In addition to introducing a massive policy response to the COVID-19 crisis, the US Federal Reserve this year has announced a fundamental
A Billion Here, A Billion There
The United States comprises 4% of the world’s population but consumes over 16% of its energy. It is high time for the United States to once
The Public’s Business
By promoting behavioral norms that balance market and society, “stakeholder capitalism” is supposed to enable private firms to
Economics’ Mental Virus
Considering the economy as machine, the market as automaton, and humans as robots is an ontological mistake, and a very expensive one at that.
The Stock-Market Disconnect
The best explanation for why stock markets remain so bullish despite a massive recession is that major publicly traded companies have not
Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity
Shifting human behaviors to more sustainable outcomes can be informed by the targets we set for ourselves. Quality, not quantity, is the promise
Don’t Write Off the US Dollar Just Yet
The recent weakening of the US dollar can be explained by near-term market forces rather than any epochal shift.
Fasten Your Seatbelts
Flagging growth, depressed earnings, the risk of rising Covid-19 infection rates and unprecedented US election risk are forces that not even
Taxes and the Markets
Rather than obsess over tax rates, investors should consider more broadly how economic, policy and political factors will shape the market
Head Fake
The S&P 500 is down more than 7% in September, the Dow Jones 6% and the Nasdaq Composite more than 10%, into correction territory.
The Economic Case for Biden
US President Donald Trump has seeded the investment environment with uncertainty, trashed America’s trade relationships, blown up the
The Times, They Are a-Changin’
Bob Dylan’s lyrics resonate today against a backdrop of social and political unrest unlikely any time seen since he penned them. And even
The Cruelest Month
September, and October, will probably contain a few nasty surprises. Get ready.
A K-Shaped Recovery is a Disaster
The stock market is soaring while small businesses are dying. It can’t go on this way. A K-shaped recovery is a disaster, and would undermine