economics

We now introduce net investment, or creation of tangible wealth, into the model economy. Investment has two components: net fixed investment (the net increase in the economy’s stock of structures and equipment) and inventory investment.

This is almost total nonsense. The only possible way it could be true is if the amount of intervention in the renminbi was unaffected by the price level, and this is certainly not the case. If it were, the People’s Bank of China should anyway immediately raise the value of the renminbi substantially in order to improve its terms of trade at no cost

The growing gap between wages and productivity is just another hidden tax that transfers wealth from workers to employers.

“ On the winning side of the ledger sit producers of stranded natural gas in areas like the Permian Basin, where the fuel has sold for negative prices for much of 2024. A wave of distributed power plants constructed next to the cheapest natural gas in the world seems inevitable. In its earnings call two weeks ago, Diamondback Energy put out the

with electricity rose from less than 10 percent in 1935 to nearly 50 percent by 1945.

When we invest in commodities, we refer to a broad basket of commodities, weighted in a manner that is largely consistent with each commodity’s contribution to economic activity

Overall, these trends suggest a very significant shift in the credit landscape. Credit seems to be moving from the supply side (businesses) to the demand side (consumers) of the economy. Considering the state of economic development of India and the relatively low level of per capita GDP, this move appears to be premature. Even within consumer

3. The "Circularity" Trap Menon identifies a critical flaw in this setup: The current boom is circular and ultimately unsustainable. The Logic: Currently, companies are spending billions on AI (CapEx) hoping it will lead to massive future efficiency and sales. The Problem: For that investment to pay off, there needs to be end-market demand

So now I want you to imagine what happens if the U.S. and its allies get in a major war with China — as analysts say is increasingly possible. In the first few weeks, much the two countries’ stores of munitions — including drones and the batteries that power drones — will be used up. After that, as in Ukraine, it will come down to who can produce