Unprepared for College

The University of California Needs the SAT Back
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-university-of-california-needs-the-sat-back-711afae7
Even the overwhelmingly liberal Berkeley faculty are fed up with the admission of unprepared students.
 
University of California Professors Are Begging Schools to Reinstate the SAT
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/university-california-sat-requirement-reinstate-c3e32712
Open letter cites ‘severe preparation deficits’ among incoming students. 

Seeking Alternatives to GDP

G.D.P. Is a Flawed Measure of Prosperity. Alternatives Are on the Way.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/business/economy/gdp-united-nations-prosperity-measures.html
The United Nations has a new plan for weighing economic gains alongside health and environmental progress. But consensus is elusive.  

Gold versus US Treasuries

Gold overtakes US bonds as world’s favorite investment
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/02/gold-overtakes-us-bonds-as-worlds-favourite-investment/
 
Foreign demand for American government debt is becoming much less reliable
https://www.economist.com/special-report/2026/06/01/foreign-demand-for-american-government-debt-is-becoming-much-less-reliable
A once-vital source of funding for the Treasury market is drying up. 

Impact of Trump Tariffs

Tariffs Two Biggest Losers? You And You Again
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/tariffs-two-biggest-losers--you-and-you-again-87225.html
It’s widely understood that the Trump administration’s ill-conceived decision back in April 2025 to impose broad “reciprocal” tariffs on U.S. imports from around the world, even on an island inhabited only by penguins, has made the goods that Americans buy more costly. Need new dishes? Those prices were up 15.4% in April from a year earlier. A men’s shirt? Up 7.7%. Some jewelry for a significant other? Up 16.1%. Accessories for your personal computer? Up 13.9%
Now that we have a year’s worth of data to analyze, we’re finding that the levies have had the opposite effect on the wages of U.S. workers, suppressing earnings growth and helping to explain why, more than ever, Americans say this economy isn’t working for them.   

Ricardo Hausmann on Venezuela

Harvard Economist Ricardo Hausmann:
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/how-venezuela-became-a-business-opportunity-for-trump-and-maduro-allies-by-ricardo-hausmann-2026-06
Venezuela’s oil production is rising, yet its currency is depreciating, inflation is accelerating, and foreign exchange remains scarce. The disconnect reflects a political economy built on private dealmaking and a mutually beneficial alliance between ruling elites and US President Donald Trump’s acolytes. 

Productivity Differences - US versus Europe

Why Isn’t Europe Poorer Than the US?
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/european-living-standards-will-not-stay-high-without-innovation-krugman-aghion-debate-by-dalia-marin-2026-06
 
The Mismeasurement of Europe’s Productivity
https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/paul-krugman-is-wrong-about-us-europe-productivity-gap-by-philippe-aghion-et-al-2026-05
 
Europe Versus America: A Response to the Critics by Paul Krugman
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/europe-versus-america-a-response 

How Long Will the AI-Powered Stock Boom Last?

The AI Trade Hits Overdrive, Powering Stocks to Historic Gains
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/ai-stocks-trade-e7b19a9f
The S&P 500 just posted one of its best two-month runs ever. That often means more good times ahead.

When AI is more expensive than people, why replace the people?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/01/when-ai-is-more-expensive-than-people-why-replace-people/
The AI bubble will burst, and how that will happen is becoming discernible.

 
The truth about the American profit machine
https://www.ft.com/content/362ccc0a-d6e5-40df-817f-64aea4717cc8
Ruchir Sharma:
America’s profit machine seems extraordinary by historical and global standards. But look closer, and cracks appear. Rising government deficits explain a surprising share of recent US earnings growth. Moreover, the “profitless” dotcom era is a myth. Earnings growth is not dramatically stronger today than it was in the late 1990s. Since then, speculative excess has moved into private markets, making the public markets and the economy look more robust than they really are. In short, this expansion is more dependent on government and the earnings story is less exceptional than investors realize. 

Irrational Exuberance 2.0 Has Arrived on Wall Street
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/irrational-exuberance-2-0-arrived-132600422.html 

SK Hynix joins $1 trillion club after Samsung, Micron on AI chip boom
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sk-hynix-market-capitalisation-tops-1-trln-2026-05-27/ 

The Idaho Chip Maker That Doubled to $1 Trillion in 48 Days
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/global-stocks-markets-dow-news-05-26-2026-901372fa
The run-up is a sign of how even the most basic elements of the AI build-out are getting swept up in the frenzy for semiconductor stocks.