A recent discussion thread concerning the “lab leak” hypothesis for the origin of SARS-CoV-2 reminded me of another conspiracy theory involving claims of a bioweapon that also probably had a natural origin.The US government claimed that the Soviet Union was using trichothecene mycotoxins as biological weapons in Southeast Asia in the mid-1970s. In support of this, they pointed to the finding of mycotoxin on leaves and in the blood of people who...

Correction highly likely but big picture remains bullish.

Dow Theory says transportation and production of goods should move in tandem; what is its message now?  – by New Deal democrat Partly because mid year data is now being completed, and partly to re-examine my forecasts, I’ve been conducting a top-to-bottom re-check of my metrics. One thing that seems very important is that, despite no real downturn in business at all, commodity prices have declined -9.6% in the past 12 months, one of the 4...

 Follow on to Korybko's previous article about BRICS+ and alternative currency/payments system. Again, cutting through the hype of both an impasse owing to Chinese and Indian opposition and also the over-optimism of the cheerleaders for an alternative currency. Korybko argues that the countries involved are proceeding carefully in finding common ground in spite of competing national interests — that is, acting maturely.Naked CapitalismExplaining China’s & India’s Reported Differences...

Gunnar Myrdal’s ‘immanent critique’ of utility theory During the time period from 1925 to 1933 — when he still considered himself a ‘central-theoretician’ and a ‘pure economic theorist’ — Gunnar Myrdal wanted to apply to economic doctrines an ‘immanent method’ of criticism. His main interest was to criticize the received economic theory that had preserved structures of normative speculation built upon the concepts of utility and welfare. Many have tried to...

Blog The New Economics podcast reading list Our reading recommendations from the latest series of the podcast for you to dig in to over the summer By Katrina Gaffney 31 July 2023 From housing to unions, the care crisis to consultancies, the latest...

Earlier this year, one company’s closing is adding to national pharmaceutical shortages and capacity in its bankruptcy. The closing can be construed as more than just allowing a laissez-faire economic policy. There are greater healthcare implications for the US. The nation can rescue banks, companies such as AIG, and those gambling with CDS, countering naked CDS, tranched CDOs threatening the national economy. It fails to see the threat of the...

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from Dean Baker That line is effectively the conventional wisdom among people in policy circles. If that seems absurd, then you need to think more about how many politicians and intellectual types are approaching climate change. Just this week, John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, was in China. He was asking the Chinese government to move more quickly in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. President Xi told Kerry that China was not going to move forward its current target,...