Tag: economics

How Ghost Shops Triggered China’s Biggest Food Scandal

Posted on by Lone Candle

Cut-throat competition is supposed to benefit the consumer, but in China, in an effort to lower prices as much as possible, it led to cheating, cutting corners, illegality, and the spread of foodborne illnesses. This food was produced in a manner that would not pass a basic inspection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGAQ9uTRX3Q

How Big Tech Became The “Bad Guys”

Posted on by Lone Candle

Some companies use regulations to their advantage. They beat companies that are obeying the spirit of the law, by finding a loophole that absolutely destroys the spirit of the law, but technically, can be argued to follow the rule of the law. Cheating companies have a competitive advantage and the nice guys finish last.

This strategy is aided by weak regulators.

Sometimes this is bad because the regulation fails to prevent the harm it was supposed to stop. Other times it is good because the regulation was preventing new and disruptive ideas from flourishing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q37yxPUAC24

Why Japan isn’t broke yet

Posted on by Lone Candle

Japan has lots of assets like a massive sovereign wealth fund. When you subtract these assets from their debts, their debt to GDP ratio is 77%, which isn’t that high.

Japan takes money from its people in the form of taxes and then invests in assets like US treasury bonds. Because their currency depreciated over time, their debt has become worth less, while their foreign assets have become worth more.

This has benefited Japan a lot, but may backfire if the Yen goes up, foreign interest rates lower, or Japanese interest rates rise. If Japan has inflation, this could force them to raise interest rates or live with inflation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLwSSGM6tzc

Kyle Scanlon on the Disconnect Between Economic Data and Consumer Sentiment

Posted on by Lone Candle

Young men don’t believe they have a future, they don’t trust institutions, and they don’t trust each other, so they feel that they need to get rich quick with a variety of ways to gamble. Most of them lose money, which could make their trust in society even worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwT5ifxFXOk

US Says China Agrees to Spend Billions on Agricultural Goods

Posted on by Lone Candle

“Previous efforts by Trump to get China to purchase more US goods have fallen short, raising questions about whether the latest pledges will be fulfilled. China failed to meet its commitments under an agreement Trump brokered in 2020 to buy an extra $200 billion in US agricultural, energy and manufactured products over a two-year period. The Covid-19 pandemic complicated that effort but critics said the targets were unrealistic.

China has recently turned to cheaper Brazilian soybeans after meeting the initial purchasing volume from the US agreed to in last year’s trade truce between Washington and Beijing.

While the fresh discloser will likely be welcomed by farmers, who were seeking more clarity from the latest summit, the amount may not be large enough to satisfy growers looking to turn around tough economic conditions.

Farmers have been struggling for years with relatively low crop prices and high costs. Pressures have been compounded by geopolitical tensions including Trump’s tariffs, and most recently by a surge in fertilizer costs linked to the conflict in Iran.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/us-says-china-agrees-spend-181028241.html

Inflation jumps to its highest level in three years

Posted on by Lone Candle

“Prices rose 3.8% in April compared to a year earlier, marking an increase from a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.3% in the prior month. Annual inflation jumped to its highest level in three years, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.

As recently as February, inflation stood at 2.4%, clocking in just a tick above the Federal Reserve’s target level of 2%.

The jump in prices last month owed in large part to a sharp rise in costs for products impacted by a global oil shock. Gasoline prices were 5% higher in April than March, the BLS report said. Airline fares climbed 2.8% from the previous month.”

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/inflation-report-show-latest-prices-090527890.html

OpenAI’s Week From Hell — And Why Anthropic Is Winning

Posted on by Lone Candle

Spirit Airlines means nothing to the economy. The point of capitalism is that creative destruction helps us get good companies that sell us good products and services. It doesn’t work if you bailout the losers! It’s one thing if the fall of the company hurts the entire economy or much of the country, but Spirit doesn’t matter. The government had no business trying to bail it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9rXSTpd2YU