Author Archives: Yves Smith

Why Chase Taylor Swift? Stop the Corporate Looting That Makes Billionaires

A case for tackling the corporate machinery driving extreme wealth, and the reforms that could truly curb it.

Iran War: More on Systemic Impact of Strait of Hormuz Closure, US Inability to Intervene as Trump Team Doubles Down on Hare-Brained Schemes to Prevail via Force

The latest Iran war update, with more detail on the Administration’s desperate escalation scheme versus the rising damage from a Strait of Hormuz closure.

Companies Report Raging Inflation, Except in Wages & Rents

Companies tamp down on wage increases thanks to double-digit inflation in employee health insurance, hurting real household incomes.

Iran War: Systemic Risk of a Strait of Hormuz Closure, US Plan to Enlist Kurds, Hezbollah Unexpectedly Pounds Israel

Today’s Iran war update starts with a sobering, must-read analysis of the catastrophic real-world damage of a long Strait of Hormuz closure.

URGENT: Please Write the FCC to Oppose Latest SpaceX World-Changing Plan, Massively Light Polluting Reflect Orbital Satellites, Which Will End the Night Sky

American readers: please submit comments pronto to the FCC to oppose two dangerously bone-headed SpaceX schemes

Shadows Over Brussels and Kiev: Corruption Scandals Challenge Von der Leyen’s Ukraine Agenda

Ursula von der Leyen runs roughshod over accountability and transparency even as Ukraine and her own corruptions scandals loom.

Autonomous AI Agents Have an Ethics Problem

AI digital assistants not only do complex tasks on their own, but also lie and scheme. Who takes responsibility when they cause harm?

Can Sheinbaum Avoid A Death Spiral After the El Mencho Killing?

Why Sheinbaum is likely to find that decapitating cartel leaders is no more likely to succeed than Israeli decapitation has in the Middle East.

Links 3/4/2026

Iran War: More on Why US/Israel Success Impossible as Israel and US Operations Take More Hits, Trump Proposes Unhinged Strait of Hormuz Escort Scheme, Western Media Misinforming Public

The latest updates on the Iran war, from kinetic, economic, and narrative perspectives.

Even Patients Are Shocked by the Prices Their Insurers Will Pay — And It Costs All of Us

The bad incentives that lead health insurers not to balk overmuch at outrageous hospital charges.

AI and the Distribution of Income Between Capital and Labour

AI is working according to plan, further enriching the owner class at the expense of workers.

Links 3/3/2026

Iran War: Israel Air Defenses Crumbling, US Base Attacks Continue as Markets Set for Wile E. Coyote Moment

The Iran war situation has developed not necessarily to the advantage of the US and Israel.

Qatar’s LNG Blackout Just Broke the Global Gas Market

More on the global impact of QatarEnergy’s LNG production stoppage and the uncertainty over when it might resume operation.