A weak jobs report, and much more importantly the related and absurd firing of the BLS commissioner on August 1, have dominated the recent news. But the firing is a topic for a subsequent blog. For now let’s step back and take a look at the broad U.S. employment/growth picture. Employment gains have evidently slowed in recent months,…
Good morning and welcome to FirstFT. In today’s newsletter: US stocks finish quarter with biggest gains for 6 years Democratic Socialist wins Colorado primary Trump made more than $1bn from crypto sales last year Can Uniqlo take on H&M and Inditex? A quick question for FirstFT readers: what do you want to know more about?…
In the previous Armed Madhouse article, I argued that War Power has evolved into a self-reinforcing institutional ecosystem whose incentives increasingly favor preparations and actions carrying unacceptable risks of catastrophic armed conflict escalation. That assessment naturally raises a more important question. If War Power is becoming progressively less capable of performing the historical function for…
(This piece was originally published at Phenomenal World, in cooperation with the New York Policy Project.) With the failure of Eric Adams’s last-ditch effort to stack the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now in a position to fulfill his promise to freeze the rent. The nine-member RGB sets maximum rent increases for…
This ARCUS update just arrived. ARCUS had a great run and definitely helped push forward my research program. (See, e.g., my previous post.) Maybe ARCUS’ demise was a planned sunsetting, or maybe not. The update is silent on the that. In the current environment, one has to wonder what went on behind the scenes. In…
Warnings from the Bank of International Settlements, even though written in dry economese, are worth heeding. It was the BIS, specifically Willam White and Claudio Borio, who identified dangerously elevated housing prices in many markets. Alan Greenspan pooh poohed their concerns. Better credentialed economist similarly dismissed White and Borio because all they had was empirical…
In the front window of McNally Jackson, one of my favorite NYC bookstores. Against Money is now out. It’s been spotted in a number of bookstores, including the Union Square Barnes and Noble, where it turns out to be shelved next to Marx’s Capital in the Business section. As my friend Suresh said to me the other…
After nearly four decades of service to the Arctic research community, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) has now reached its sunset. This will be our final message to the community. On behalf of the ARCUS Board of Directors and all ARCUS staff, we want to thank you for the many years of collaboration,…
This article is an on-site version of the Free Lunch newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Thursday and Sunday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Greetings and happy Brexit anniversary week. Everyone and their grandmother seems to have written a report to…
