Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

Yves here. We linked to reports of the discovery of so-called dark oxygen, but we did not realize that this finding could argue for restricting deep sea mining. By Felicity Bradstock, a freelance writer specializing in energy and finance. Originally published at OilPrice Potato-shaped metallic nodules deep under the Pacific Ocean produce oxygen in complete […]

Another take on the slow unraveling of the Western-dominated order, here seen as a repudiation of colonialism.

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics Charts Friday: New RCP charts (bad news for Trump); many Covid updates (a little good news); new study on Covid and traffic safety; Kamala’s VP search; aphantasia and prosopometamorphopsia. ~

New factory building shows that reshoring plans are translating into action. But how many will produce successful operations?

Israel, as John Mearshimer put in in a new post, has gotten itself in deep kimchee. Who else will it drag into its desperate mess?

Big moves are afoot on the digital ruble.

Election statistical models performed poorly in the US this year. That’s to be expected when faced with tail risk events.

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; Kamala’s VP search; Trish Greenhalgh on Long Covid; Covid and class ~

A worked example of how human activity does not just have direct environment effects but also feedback loops, here on weather.

Kamala is under scrutiny for policy flip-flops. Even worse is her lying about the badge of shame known as the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement.

Israel has just greatly upped the ante with assassinations in Tehran, Beirut, and possibly a third in Damascus. How will the Axis of Resistance respond?

Richard Murphy discusses a key, and not well understood, implication of repaying bank loans.