By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Our five problem states, with New York for comparison: I guess I’ll just keep doing this one until I see a peak followed by a decline. (Seems like the […]

What Can Bonobos Teach Us About the Nature of Language? Smithsonian Why we need sharks: the true nature of the ocean’s ‘monstrous villains’ The Guardian Italian mafia bonds sold to global investors FT Fraud, Short Sellers & Media Investor Amnesia Implications of financial market development for financial stability in emerging market economies (PDF) Bank of […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Readers, I hope your Fourth of July holiday was enjoyable — even if it did end on Monday morning, and not, as I thought, on Tuesday! I am not very holiday minded. –lambert #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente “This place is getting to me. I think I’m getting The Fear.” –Hunter Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I’m at a bit of a disadvantage writing about the World Economic Forum (WEF), because I’m not up on the details for the Bilderbergers, the Bohemian Club, the visitors to […]

Lambert here: This classic post from 2013 retains its relevance today; somer readers may have been unlucky enough to recognize the dynamics on this side of the Atlantic. (Also, I mistook the structure of the Fourth of July. I wrote a Water Cooler on Friday, which was actually a holiday; so I will take today […]

Why Bald Eagles Are No Longer Endangered Treehugger (Re Silc). New way to calculate dogs’ ages may unlock secret to aging ABC The only catfish native to the Western U.S. is running out of water High Country News Pink ice in Italy’s Alps sparks algae probe Agence France Presse Why the crisis marks the end […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. I thought I’d lighten up the mood by posting on a plague that’s actually visible: locusts (here is a photo essay in The Atlantic. See also previous NC posts in February and March. Wikipedia has a country round-up). Since the locust swarms of East Africa are already well-covered (“Crunch, crunch: […]

Coral Sea’s deep-water reef secrets revealed as pandemic sees research ship redeployed ABC Australa Locusts have hit east Africa hard The Economist. See NC in February and March. The Rabbit Outbreak The New Yorker Goldman Lowers U.S. GDP Forecast, Sees 4.6% Contraction in 2020 Bloomberg Fourth of July Round-up Fireworks (Los Angeles, CA): Sky5 got […]

Lambert here: New hope for The Fed? By Willem Buiter, Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and CEPR Research Fellow. Originally published at VoxEU. The US Federal Reserve – the world’s most important central bank – is not in a good place. This column outlines three flaws in the operating practices of […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Our five problem states, with New York for comparison: Politics “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51 “They […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, stories keep popping up right before I’m going to post that I have to put together, in this case the arrest of Epstein’s madame, Ghislaine Maxwell (see below). I’ll fill in some blanks in a bit. –lambert UPDATE All done. Sorry for the delay. #COVID19 At reader request, […]

Cloud cuckoo land? How one bird’s epic migration stunned scientists Guardian Fed’s Bullard says risk of financial crisis remain FT Russian Arctic sets ‘fantastical’ heat records: weather chief Agence France Presse House Democrats’ Climate Plan Embraces Much of Green New Deal, but Not a Ban on Fracking Inside Climate News Guest post: How climate change […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Our problem states, with New York for comparison: TX: “COVID-19 messes with Texas: What went wrong, and what other states can learn as younger people get sick” [The Conversation]. […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Our problem states: Slamming on the brakes when the car is already hydroplaning (“the vehicle becomes, in effect, an uncontrolled sled”). CA: “Holiday blues: 19 counties now on watch […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. The United States as a whole: Second verse, same as the first. (OK, I grant the two slopes aren’t exactly the same.) “Analysis: Governing in reaction mode, and always […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Back to the states: Our problem states again, with New York included as a comparison. Much of the coverage frames the current spiking as a Red State v. Blue […]

Effects of the characteristic temperament of cats on the emotions and hemodynamic responses of humans PLOS One. “The characteristic temperament of cats may be a key factor influencing the health benefits of owning cats.” Brussels to call for probe into German regulator over Wirecard FT Wirecard Auditors Say ‘Elaborate’ Fraud Led to Missing Billions Bloomberg […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. The three main poles of our multipolar world: If you’re asking which political system took better care of its citizens, and working class, in particular — China, Europe, or […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. States going up, with New York for comparison: Ugly slopes. Politics “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51 […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. A view for the primaries: Swing states AZ, FL, NC, PA, and WI, with NY for comparison. Getting tested in AZ, a thread: Here’s a story of an ongoing […]

First rescued snow leopard cub in India returns to mother Third Pole June snow in Siberia’s south as highest-ever Arctic heat is recorded in Russia’s coldest region Siberian Times US dollar funding: an international perspective (PDF) Committee on the Global Financial System, Bank of International Settlements China warned to prepare for being cut off from […]

“Belief is the disease that knowledge cures.” –Unknown By Lambert Strether of Corrente I am afraid that the headline will be the last coherent thing about this short and ill-organized post, but bear with me; I feel a bit like somebody with an undiagnosed illness must feel. A little off, so I’m checking my breathing, […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. A geopolitical view: Not under control. At least in the West. Politics “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist […]

Lambert here: I got into permaculture during the last Crash, as a hedge against not being able to buy food, and from there to plants (see, e.g., Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire and IN Defense of Food). So it’s not surprising to see titles like Meals Matter appearing in the zeitgeist again. By Michael […]

Summer solstice 2020 heralds changing of Earth’s seasons this weekend Space.com The cat’s whiskers: new way of counting lions could boost conservation efforts Guardian The Cave Kingpin Buying Up America’s Underground Outside U.S. Home-Mortgage Delinquencies Reach Highest Level Since 2011 Bloomberg The successes of the Fed’s dollar-swap lines The Economist The problem with Big Food […]

By Lambert Strether of CorrenteJune 14 was the third anniversay of the Grenfell Tower fire, when flammable ACM (Aluminium Composite Material) “cladding” that covered the outside of the building was accidentally set ablaze, and took the whole building with it, causing 72 deaths: Naked Capitalism has been following the Grenfell Tower fire story for three […]

There may be 36 other intelligent civilizations in the galaxy, but odds of communicating with them are small CBC. Hidden assumption, here. Arctic records its hottest temperature ever CBS With bees in short supply, soap bubbles could assist with pollination, study finds CNN The fund managers who kept faith with Wirecard FT #COVID-19 Antibody cocktail […]

By Kathryn Moore, PhD student in Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Jun Uetake, Postdoctoral Atmospheric Scientist, Colorado State University, and Thomas Hill, Research Scientist, Colorado State University. Originally published at The Conversation. The Southern Ocean is a vast band of open water that encircles the entire planet between Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere landmasses. It […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Back to the American West (linear): Not under control… Politics “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51 “They had one weapon left […]

Consider the Greenland Shark LRB Vultures are circling our fragile economies – we must not let them feast Ann Pettifor, Open Democracy Wall Street, bribery and an opioid epidemic: the inside story of a disgraced drugmaker FT We Will Be Living With the Coronavirus Pandemic Well Into 2021 Bloomberg Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center cancel fall […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. For a change, here are the world numbers (in log scale): Our slope is increasing; new cases per day are going up. On the bright side, we’re doing OK […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Doing Florida and the South today. Look at Florida go! We have some exemplary badness from Florida (not to single them out too, since after all their numbers have […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Here are the major regions of the United States since pandemic start (linear scale): This is the same chart as yesterday, updated to show how much of an outlier […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, as usual I collected too much political material over the weekend. I’ll beef up that section in a bit. –lambert UPDATE All done! #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Here are the major […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Readers, this, er, event, has been framed by some (well, Andy Ngo) as “an example of what the rioters did to Minneapolis” (wreck a former Sheraton). So far as I can tell, that’s not it. See the whole thread, which is painful: Minneapolis Sanctuary Hotel update pic.twitter.com/rwGnuGTQnz — Max Nesterak […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, this Water Cooler is short because I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Hopefully I will be back to normal, or at least baseline, tomorrow. –lambert #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Having […]

‘Resilient’ subprime borrowers spread cheer in US debt markets FT. That’s nice. The Looming Bank Collapse The Atlantic. Real economy chickens coming home to roost in the financial economy? The chicken in question, however, is the CLO. See Yves here in May 2020 when the FT ran the same story: She was dubious. Court to […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. I know I wrote on voting and legitimacy just the other day, but Tuesday’s Georgia primary was just so egregious I can’t let it go. In that post, I looked mostly at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on voting, especially in the swing states, and hence on the perceived […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Having done the South and the West last week, and the Midwest yesterday, here is the Northeast: 1000 daily confirmed cases still in New York… Politics “But what is […]

U.S. economic policy now focuses on what is already the worst business cycle downturn since the 1929 crash. As data accumulate, it may well prove to be the worst in global capitalism’s entire history.

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Having done the South and the West last week, here is the Midwest: That jump for Michigan looks like an artifact to me, but I can’t find an account […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente I was reading Consortium News’s reconstruction of Dominic Cummings’ horrid, prehensile clambering up the greasy pole of Tory Inner Party politics to become BoJo’s Chief adviser (“What Made Dominic Cummings Dash to Durham?“), when I came across this astonishing passage (I’ve helpfully lettered the gobsmacking bits in square brackets): As […]

By Lambert Strether of Corrente. #COVID19 At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart. The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. The selected states have an Rt greater than 1: Here is the source for the selected states: “If Rt is above 1.0, the virus will spread quickly. When Rt […]

Lambert: More time to do other, more important stuff… By Karen Foster, Associate Professor, Sociology and Social Anthropology and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Rural Futures for Atlantic Canada, Dalhousie University. Originally published at The Conversation. Like any crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to rethink how we do things. As we near the […]

This fantastical sea creature helps remove planet-warming gases from the atmosphere Los Angeles Times Fidelity chief warns of global corporate solvency crisis FT Gasoline Demand Recovery Seen in Saudi Arabia’s Price Strategy Bloomberg Central banks’ response to Covid-19 in advanced economies Bank of International Settlements The Great American Housing Bubble Credit Slips. Adam Levitin’s new […]

Voting in a pandemic

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels hit record high, despite coronavirus-related emissions drop WaPo Russian fuel spill declared federal emergency Intellinews. Exxon Valdez territory. Ripe as a Roadkill Raccoon Chris Jones, IIHR Research Engineer (Late Introvert). Good stuff on Iowa hydrology. Wall Street Doubts Fed’s $600 Billion Lending Plan Can Succeed Bloomberg What next for the Fed […]