Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Just a few hours ago Greek PM Tsipras addressed his nation imploring then to “remain calm” and reassuring them that their “deposits were safe.” It appears the Greeks did not believe him. Many were wondering where the Greek bank lines were for the past several months. Turns out the local depositors were merely waiting until…
Greek banks are to remain closed and capital controls will be imposed, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says. Speaking after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it was not increasing emergency funding to Greek banks, Mr Tsipras said Greek deposits were safe. Greece is due to make a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund…
[Rendering via VisualHouse.] There are a lot of really, really expensive apartments poised to enter the market in the next few years (we’re lookin’ at you, 220 Central Park South and Nordstrom Tower) that will join the ranks of the city’s already-inundated luxury market. A few questions have been floating around for a while: when’s…
On her first campaign stop in Iowa in April, Hillary Clinton struck a decisively populist tone, declaring that “the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.” Later, she sharpened her rhetoric on income inequality by comparing the salaries of America’s richest hedge fund managers with kindergarten teachers. Clinton isn’t alone….
Black cab drivers gum up a London street to protest against Uber. Photo by Chem Squier. This article originally appeared on VICE UK. It was seven o’clock on a cold January evening when Orhan, a taxi driver for Uber, first realized he had a problem. Well into his second shift of the day, he tried…
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles about the effects of software and automation on the economy. You can read the other stories here and here. The way Hod Lipson describes his Creative Machines Lab captures his ambitions: “We are interested in robots that create and are creative.” Lipson, an engineering…
remove the whitespace added by escenic before end of tag London Underground drivers will stage a 24-hour strike next month in a move that union leaders have warned will shut down the entire network during Wimbledon. Members of Aslef will walk out from 9.30pm on Wednesday, July 8 in a long-running row over pay and…
Slouched deep in a swivel chair, knees bouncing up and down and hands gesticulating excitedly, Michael Pettis can’t contain his enthusiasm over “an explosion of creativity” in China’s underground rock music scene. Carsick Cars, the best-known band on Pettis’s music label Maybe Mars, has just won a semi-official award for exporting culture while another, Chui…
I’m still redrafting the opening section of my book, on the concept of opportunity cost. Some applications to specific problems coming soon, I promise. In the meantime, comments and criticism, including editorial corrections and nitpicks, much appreciated. Opportunity cost What is opportunity cost? Remember that Time is Money. He that can earn Ten Shillings a…
“We believe in a strong dollar policy.” It’s a phrase that’s been stated seemingly since the beginning of time. It was famously in vogue during the 1990s when many, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, would recite the hope and fond wishes of this world-be-damned policy. Secretary John Snow also believed in a strong dollar even as it descended…