Mike Norman Economics

A U.S. mayor claims he had COVID-19 last November, over one month before China reported its initial cases. If this was really the case, how did he get it and from where? How long ago did the virus start spreading in the U.S.? In this episode of Getting to the Point, CGTN anchor Liu Xin asks the big question! [embedded content]

There is money and power in identifying Russia and cyber attacks as the key security threats facing Britain — but not in addressing the more important issues of pandemics and climate change. Former UK intelligence chiefs are personally profiting from the ‘revolving door’ between government and business, and the public is paying the price. A real conspiracy: Britain's intelligence agencies don't know anything about pandemics or climate change, which are real security threats, because there...

A good critique of the film, Plandemic. I do love that last paragraph. It is exactly why people are prone to conspiracy theories. A good conspiracy theory turns the believer into a hero, a warrior with secret knowledge that none of the other ignorant “sheeple” know, against powerful forces arrayed against him. A good conspiracy theory almost always has a part at the end in which the “people” (in this case, the people believing the conspiracy theory) “wake up” and see what is being...

The conspiracists believe the government is implementing lockdown so that elites can take control and make a lot of money, but the countries which are the most neoliberal, that is, pro elite, were always very reluctant to impose any Lockdown, and now also want to remove them as fast as possible. And why would North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and China participate in this conspiracy? The conspiracists seem unable to think anything through. The evidence is mounting that America is steamrolling...

Online sales continue to benefit and offline sales lag, as would be expected. Probably too early to tell whether and how much this will persist.McKinseyHow Chinese consumers are changing shopping habits in response to COVID-19 Xin Huang is a partner in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office, where Sha Sha is a senior partner; Dymfke Kuijpers is a senior partner in the Singapore office; Lavonda Li is a consultant in the Shanghai office, where Chenan Xia is a partner.See also at McKinseyFast-forward...

What a shame! Warren Mosler said in a recent tweet that if money is created at the central bank to pay for a Basic Income it could work, but your playing with fire. With MMT, he says, money creation is tied to the Job Guarantee.An experiment with 'free money' in Finland made people happier but did not improve employment levels and would be 'unsustainable', a study has found.  Participants in the Finnish study 'were more satisfied with their lives and experienced less mental strain,...

Only proof of concept at this stage, but promising if/when it scales.RTChinese scientists harness fourth state of matter to create ‘air plasma’ jet engine that runs on electricity aloneSee alsoRTGame changer: German scientists find antibodies that BLOCK coronavirus from spreading further

Russian demographics based on recent polling. Russia is a pretty conservative country.IrrussianalityRussia’s not so radical youthPaul Robinson | Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa

Could be any of the MMT economists talking.Yahoo FinanceWarren Buffett explains the simple reason why the US will never default on its debtEthan Wolff-Mann, Senior Writer

More public spending money and a high deficit is not the problem if countries issue their own currency, he added, before conceding that “the market can’t solve the three great market failures of our time – a downturn, climate charge and a health crisis.” “Since 2008 we’ve had the GFC, the European crisis and now we have COVID 19,” the CIO said. “We are now entering a period of new international economics.”... Investment MagazineStatewide’s Michalakis: No choice but MMTElizabeth Fry...