Mike Norman Economics

Experts are evenly split on whether the coming decade will see a reduction in false and misleading narratives online. Those forecasting improvement place their hopes in technological fixes and in societal solutions. Others think the dark side of human nature is aided more than stifled by technology. It's folly to think that the Internet is responsible for fake news as a new phenomenon as a social influence. It's been around for a long time in various forms. The Platonic dialogue, The...

Must really suck to be a Democrat...? | Trump’s top economist offers solution to unemployment: More government jobs https://t.co/0LLfyD1qDl via @politico— James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) November 1, 2017

Many of Stigler’s views on monopoly and antitrust were consistent through the decades. Even after his concerns of monopoly began to recede, he continued to believe that monopolies and oligopolies were still prevalent in the American economy and that they “should be a source of serious concern for public policy.”... ProMarket — The blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessStigler on Monopolies: “Competition is a Tough Weed, Not a Delicate Flower”Douglas...

Getting some perspective that the US media is not only not providing but is also constructing a narrative based on inference and insinuation rather than evidence.Consortium NewsSorting Out the Russia Mess Robert Parry See also Making stuff up. Wall Street On ParadeRussia Probe: New York Times Writes Its Own IndictmentPam Martens and Russ Martens Also Russia’s criminal prosecution authorities have expressed their appreciation for the indictments published in Washington on Monday...

Most of the recent economic news from developed economies has been good. European growth, in particular, seems to have accelerated. Nothing I see in the economic data causes me worry. So I am cautiously optimistic that this upturn will last at least through 2018. So let me go through the data, my outlook and my concerns.... Credit Writedowns The global economy is hitting its stride right nowEdward Harrison

At the opening ceremony, Mr Putin said: "An unequivocal and clear assessment of the repression will help to prevent it being repeated." "This terrible past must not be erased from our national memory and cannot be justified by anything." BBC NewsWall of Grief: Putin opens first Soviet victims memorialSee also Yesterday (30 October), Vladimir Putin attended the unveiling of the ‘Wall of Grief’, a monument erected in Moscow to the victims of communist repression. This is the third major such...

Ha ha. What former finance minister Alexey Kudrin thinks is a bug is actually a feature.Sanctions will result in Russia having to rely one its power as a sovereign currency issuer, which it should have been using from day one. According to ex-minister, the country will be forced to widen the use of the national currency in payments. "This sanctions story creates huge risks for transactions in more stable currencies. This will trigger the use of the ruble even if it turns out more...

Coinhive harnesses the resources of 500 million people with no questions asked. Ars TechnicaA surge of sites and apps are exhausting your CPU to mine cryptocurrency Dan Goodin | Security Editor at Ars Technica

The New McCarthyite program of demonizing anyone and anything associated with Russia continues apace. A Soros-funded think tank called European Values has put out a screed (no exaggeration, read the hyperventilating tone of the “report”) which has as its major aim chilling the participation of guest speakers on RT, per its title, The Kremlin’s Platform for ‘Useful Idiots’ in the West. This self-styled think tank posted a list of people who had appeared on RT on a series of its shows since...

What, then, is US policy in the Middle East—under Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton (and even earlier)? When all the rhetoric has been stripped away, we can identity quite clear, precise, and fairly consistent major strategic policy positions. First, Washington accedes to almost anything that Israel wants. This is an untouchable posture, a third rail, beyond any debate or discussion lest we anger the powerful Zionist lobby of AIPAC and end up being labelled “anti-Semitic.” The New York...