Columbia Journalism School to Cut Class Size and Staff Jobs … Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism is reducing its class size and cutting staff positions as demand for journalism schools across the country dwindles. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Good reporting will always find a market.Free-Market Analysis: What is analogous to debating how many angels can dance on the...Read More
Only mass default will end the world's addiction to debt … As global debt rises off the scale, creditors stand to take a huge hit in a threatened tsunami of defaults. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: This will end badly as it has to.Free-Market Analysis: This is another one of those hopeless articles that the mainstream media specializes in. There's nothing about it that pr...Read More
Major survey finds record low confidence in government … Americans' confidence in all three branches of government is at or near record lows, according to a major survey that has measured attitudes on the subject for 40 years. The 2014 General Social Survey finds only 23 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court, 11 percent in the executive branch and 5 pe...Read More
Only mass default will end the world's addiction to debt … As global debt rises off the scale, creditors stand to take a huge hit in a threatened tsunami of defaults. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: This will end badly as it has to.Free-Market Analysis: This is another one of those hopeless articles that the mainstream media specializes in. There's nothing about it that pr...Read More
Major survey finds record low confidence in government … Americans' confidence in all three branches of government is at or near record lows, according to a major survey that has measured attitudes on the subject for 40 years. The 2014 General Social Survey finds only 23 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court, 11 percent in the executive branch and 5 pe...Read More
Gold's Long Decline Is the Real Story … Equity markets started off this year by falling. They rallied in February, working their way back into the green. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index now is up about 1 percent for the year. Gold has traveled the opposite path … – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Gold is a bad investment.Free-Market Analysis: We track dominant social...Read More
U.S. Senators Introduce Historic Bill to Allow Full Legalization of Medical Marijuana … Three U.S. senators unveiled a new bill today that would effectively end a federal ban on medical marijuana, according to multiple sources. – MedicalJane.comDominant Social Theme: Cannabis is a scourge.Free-Market Analysis: Believe us now? Meme watching is a skill. As soon as we detected the first &...Read More
Gold's Long Decline Is the Real Story … Equity markets started off this year by falling. They rallied in February, working their way back into the green. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index now is up about 1 percent for the year. Gold has traveled the opposite path … – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Gold is a bad investment.Free-Market Analysis: We track dominant social...Read More
U.S. Senators Introduce Historic Bill to Allow Full Legalization of Medical Marijuana … Three U.S. senators unveiled a new bill today that would effectively end a federal ban on medical marijuana, according to multiple sources. – MedicalJane.comDominant Social Theme: Cannabis is a scourge.Free-Market Analysis: Believe us now? Meme watching is a skill. As soon as we detected the first &...Read More
The Fed Needs Humans … U.S. legislators … want to remove human judgment from its decisions on where to set interest rates. It's a terrible idea that could endanger the entire global economy. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed is an art form. Technocrats are the artists.Free-Market Analysis: Our ongoing effort to analyze the arguments against an "audit" of the...Read More
McDonald's Latest Sales Are Worse Than Expected … McDonald's MCD +0.6% worldwide sales fell a more than expected 1.7% in February, marking nine consecutive months of declines. This comes a week after new CEO Steve Easterbrook assumed the top job. Easterbrook, who has said he considers himself an 'internal activist,' is faced with reviving the lagging sales that cost previous...Read More
The Fed Needs Humans … U.S. legislators … want to remove human judgment from its decisions on where to set interest rates. It's a terrible idea that could endanger the entire global economy. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed is an art form. Technocrats are the artists.Free-Market Analysis: Our ongoing effort to analyze the arguments against an "audit" of the...Read More
McDonald's Latest Sales Are Worse Than Expected … McDonald's MCD +0.6% worldwide sales fell a more than expected 1.7% in February, marking nine consecutive months of declines. This comes a week after new CEO Steve Easterbrook assumed the top job. Easterbrook, who has said he considers himself an 'internal activist,' is faced with reviving the lagging sales that cost previous...Read More
India is on course to complete a remarkable turnaround … India could achieve growth of up to 8pc a year for the next decade, amazing for an economy which already accounts for 3pc of global GDP. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: India rising.Free-Market Analysis: China, Brazil and now India. Among the BRICs, only Russia and South Africa receive a measure of bad press. Russia a great...Read More
Jean-Claude Juncker calls for EU army … European commission president says this military development would persuade Russia the bloc is serious about defending its values – UK GuardianDominant Social Theme: War, the health of the state.Free-Market Analysis: The current Ukraine is the gift that keeps on giving from the standpoint of the expansion of state power.As Russia is considerably...Read More
India is on course to complete a remarkable turnaround … India could achieve growth of up to 8pc a year for the next decade, amazing for an economy which already accounts for 3pc of global GDP. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: India rising.Free-Market Analysis: China, Brazil and now India. Among the BRICs, only Russia and South Africa receive a measure of bad press. Russia a great...Read More
Jean-Claude Juncker calls for EU army … European commission president says this military development would persuade Russia the bloc is serious about defending its values – UK GuardianDominant Social Theme: War, the health of the state.Free-Market Analysis: The current Ukraine is the gift that keeps on giving from the standpoint of the expansion of state power.As Russia is considerably...Read More
Demand-led German recovery … An economic trend, like a battle plan, often doesn't survive the first engagement. Data from euro zone countries has generally surprised on the upside since the turn of the year with Germany leading the way. German growth was robust in Q4, with domestic demand to the fore. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: Europe and Germany may surprise us with a recover...Read More
Ferguson's Conspiracy Against Black Citizens … Despite the uncertainty surrounding the killing of Michael Brown, many black residents of Ferguson, Missouri, immediately thought that he was the victim of a wrongful death at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson, who shot him after a scuffle. [But] the Department of Justice concluded that there is no evidence to disprove Officer Wilson...Read More
Demand-led German recovery … An economic trend, like a battle plan, often doesn't survive the first engagement. Data from euro zone countries has generally surprised on the upside since the turn of the year with Germany leading the way. German growth was robust in Q4, with domestic demand to the fore. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: Europe and Germany may surprise us with a recover...Read More