Archive for the 'Economy' Category
“Surveillance Capitalism” Is Now a Pandemic Necessity
April 1st, 2020Via: Bloomberg: There are no atheists in foxholes, and no tech regulators in a coronavirus lockdown.What was once thunderously described as “surveillance capitalism” is now a pandemic necessity. Twitch is where our children go to school; Twitter where epidemiological models are debated; and WhatsApp where we have drinks with friends.
Trillions in Coronavirus Spending Could Explode Deficits to World War II Levels
April 1st, 2020Trillions here. Trillions there. “Now there’s no telling just how high the deficit will go.” Via: Marketwatch: Now there’s no telling just how high the deficit will go. … Altogether, deficit spending in the next two years could drive the national debt to around $29 trillion from an estimated $23.6 trillion right now. Previously the […]
“If the Virus Hadn’t Caused the Crash, Something Else Would Have”
April 1st, 2020Via: Bloomberg: The novel coronavirus has already had a significant impact on the global economy, which will worsen if the outbreak and the shutdowns designed to contain it continue for very long. But it’s only an accelerant: If not Covid-19, as the disease caused by the virus is known, something else would have started the […]
Dr. John Ioannidis of Stanford University, Perspectives on the Pandemic
March 31st, 2020If Covid-19 hadn’t been identified as a novel disease, and it caused 10,000 deaths in the U.S., this would be, “Well within the range of statistical noise,” of routine deaths from influenza. Without the current hype, this would attract less attention than a professional basketball game, according to Dr. Ioannidis. And yet, somehow: A billion […]
10 More Experts Criticizing the Coronavirus Panic
March 31st, 2020Via: Off Guardian: Following on from our previous list, here are ten more expert voices, drowned out or disregarded by the mainstream narrative, offering their take on the coronavirus outbreak.
Macy’s Will Furlough 130,000 Employees
March 30th, 2020Via: Reuters: Macy’s Inc said on Monday it would furlough most of its 130,000-strong workforce starting this week as all stores of the department chain operator have been temporarily shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like many retailers, Macy’s has already said it would suspend quarterly dividend and withdrew its 2020 sales and profit forecasts […]
Fed: Unemployment Rate Could Reach 32%
March 30th, 2020Via: CNBC: Millions of Americans already have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and the worst of the damage is yet to come, according to a Federal Reserve estimate. Economists at the Fed’s St. Louis district project total employment reductions of 47 million, which would translate to a 32.1% unemployment rate, according to […]
Coronavirus: A New 9/11? The Propaganda of Terror and Fear, A Lesson from Recent History
March 28th, 2020Via: Off Guardian: The ongoing and unfolding reactions to the Corona Virus look set to have wide-ranging and long-lasting effect on politics, society and economics. The drive to close down all activities is extraordinary as are the measures being promoted to isolate people from each other. The deep-rooted fear of contagious disease, hardwired into the […]
“If Getting Us Into $6 Trillion More Debt Doesn’t Matter, Then Why Not $350 Trillion?”
March 28th, 2020Via: ZeroHedge: …out of the $2 trillion, only $290 billion is meant for direct payments to families, which as a reminder was the whole point of the bill. … If getting us into $6 trillion more debt doesn’t matter, then why are we not getting $350 trillion more in debt so that we can give […]
Current Estimates About Covid-19 Fatality Rate Orders of Magnitude Too High
March 27th, 2020Via: Stanford: Stanford Health Policy’s Eran Bendavid and Jay Bhattacharya write in this Wall Street Journal editorial that current estimates about the COVID-19 fatality rate may be too high by orders of magnitude. “If it’s true that the novel coronavirus would kill millions without shelter-in-place orders and quarantines, then the extraordinary measures being carried out […]
