Government Interference in Economic Affairs and Corruption

A good example of how government interventions can lead to corrupt practices:

“Nucor and United States Steel, both with deep ties to Trump administration officials, have used veto power over other firms, forcing them to buy their products instead of steel from abroad.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/us/politics/nucor-us-steel-tariff-exemptions.html

How Trump’s trade war affects working-class Americans

https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-trade-war-affects-working-class-americans-100702

The Shrinking Stock Market

The Stock Market Is Shrinking. That’s a Problem for Everyone.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/business/shrinking-stock-market.html

Weekend Readings – 8/4/2018

The world's most beautiful libraries
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/jul/31/libraries-world-most-beautiful-in-pictures

In Canada’s Grocery Carts, a Boycott U.S.A. Movement Starts Rolling

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-canadas-grocery-carts-a-boycott-u-s-a-movement-starts-rolling-1533384001

Germany's Anti-Trump Strategy Begins to Take Shape

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/germany-government-begins-unveiling-its-anti-trump-coalition-a-1220471.html

China's 200 Million Singles Are a Big Business

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-matchmakers-china-s-200-million-singles-are-a-big-business-a-1221127.html

Vladimir Putin’s goal was to destabilize the United States. He’s succeeding.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/08/04/vladimir-putins-goal-was-to-destabilize-the-united-states-hes-succeeding/

Death, Diamonds and Russia’s Africa Project

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-08-04/russia-in-africa-death-diamonds-and-intrigue  

The tribulations of ‘oligarch’ No. 27

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-tribulations-of-oligarch-no-27/2018/08/02/8304c30c-8eb7-11e8-b769-e3fff17f0689_story.html

Profile of Bollywood’s Biggest Star – Aamir Khan

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/8I5PYf6QV2GsC6SXp729zH/The-Aamir-method.html

The Cognitive Biases Tricking Your Brain

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/cognitive-bias/565775/

Basic Science Research Matters

George Will notes:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/america-is-sacrificing-the-future/2018/08/03/21085a3c-9660-11e8-80e1-00e80e1fdf43_story.html

“Indifference to immediate usefulness is a luxury central to the mission of some luxuries of our civilization — the great research universities, free from the tyranny of commercial pressures for short-term results. Only government can have the long time horizon required for the basic research that produces, in time, innovations that propel economic growth.”

Return of the 'Twin Deficits'

Double trouble by DESMOND LACHMAN

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/400030-double-trouble-trump-policies-have-us-headed-for-twin-deficits

“As we should have learned from our experience in the 1980s, a sharp increase in the budget deficit is very likely once again to lead to a twin deficit problem in the U.S. — simultaneous large budget and trade deficits. It will do so in part by reducing the country’s savings rate.

It will also do so by inducing a dollar appreciation in response to Fed interest rate hikes that a higher budget deficit will require to prevent inflation. A higher dollar in turn will make our exports less competitive and our imports cheaper”.

Rise and Fall of MoviePass

Interesting case study

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/08/01/the-rise-and-decline-of-moviepass-the-subscription-service-that-flew-too-close-to-the-sun

Related:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/13/the-rise-and-fall-of-moviepass-how-netflix-for-cinemas-fell-apart

America's Pension Crisis

The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size of Germany’s Economy

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pension-hole-for-u-s-cities-and-states-is-the-size-of-japans-economy-1532972501