Mike Norman Economics

Should-read. A bit longish but essential in understanding the dynamic. Requires some familiarity with the situation for full appreciation, but even if one doesn't have that, it is still useful as an introduction. About much more than the Navalny affair.Dances with BearsOLIGARCHY IN RUSSIA – ALEXEI NAVALNY’S TELLING MISTAKEJohn HelmerRelatedAbout Navalny.Sputnik InternationalWest’s Navalny Hypocrisy a Gas

When looking at bond yields, one should keep in mind that the entire yield curve is a mathematical object. A venerable research approach is to attempt to use time series econometrics to either isolated tenors or slopes. This approach leads to misleading degrees of freedom in bond yield dynamics.In this article, I will do the simplest step towards modelling the yield curve -- looking at the relationships between selected slopes. We see that slopes move together, which pins down how disjointed...

Does anyone seriously think that Bellingcat is not a front?MI6 not mentioned?Sputnik InternationalIs Bellingcat Played by the CIA?

Among the outlets in his media empire are the American Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Fox News channel, as well as the UK’s Sun and the Times, and around 70 percent of Australia’s major news outlets. In November, ex-Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd pushed for an inquiry to be set up into the massive influence the Australian-born tycoon has over politics there....RTAfter Rupert Murdoch slams ‘woke orthodoxy’ & social media censorship, critics lambast tycoon’s own...

US Capitol protest catching?Sputnik InternationalIndia Stunned as Protesters Hoist Their Flag at Iconic Red FortViolence, Death & Invasion of Delhi: Here's How the 72nd Republic Day Unfolded in India’s Capital

More shoes dropping.The probe by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Justice comes in light of a report that Trump had planned to fire his acting attorney general and launch an electoral fraud investigation to pressure Georgia State officials….Peoples Dispatch US federal agency launches probe into alleged bid by Trump to undermine election results

Building national self-sufficiency for the dragon to escape the eagles talons (economic sanctions) without the need to breath fire (go to war).Semiconductor technology. China produces 7% and consumes 33% of global production. Given the level of its consumption, it is worth investing heavily in developing self-sufficiency.Sputnik InternationalThe Task: China Must Rally 'Whole Country' to Defeat US 'Technology Blockade', Top CCP Official Says

Some interesting politics here: extremism is the problem. And I never thought of religion as a powerful way of cementing a group. It's tribal. [embedded content]

Yanis Varoufakis is on to something here, but he could not do it justice in 500 words. But the BS factor in political persuasion is worth thinking about, and it's not just conspiracy theory and gaslighting. Pseudoscience also plays a role in it, particularly in economics as a policy science. Project SyndicateTruth After TrumpYanis Varoufakis

Marx and many of his less radical contemporary reformers saw the historical role of industrial capitalism as being to clear away the legacy of feudalism – the landlords, bankers and monopolists extracting economic rent without producing real value. But that reform movement failed. Today, the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE) sector has regained control of government, creating neo-rentier economies.The aim of this post-industrial finance capitalism is the oppositeof that of industrial...