SEC Chair Carr Signals Approval for Amazon‑Globalstar Deal
Brendan Carr is on CNBC saying he'll approve the Amazon-Globalstar deal that was announced today.
Private Equity Monopoly Inflates City Vehicle Costs, Taxes
If you love property taxes, thank a private equity exec. Private equity cornered ambulance and fire truck production and hiked prices. It turns out, I'm being told, they also did it to other specialty vehicles used by cities too. PE is...
Alabama GOP Makes Capping Electric Bills More Difficult
So Alabama Republicans, faced with a populist demand for more reasonable utility rates, changed their regulatory structure to make it *harder* to limit electric bills. https://t.co/8L6YD1plvc
Geopolitics Revolves Around Monopoly Power at Global Choke Points
A couple of observations about Trump’s blockade threat. Whether Iran and Trump threatening the Strait of Hormuz, power flows through choke points, aka monopolies. Same with China and rare earths, and the U.S. and the dollar. A lot of geopolitics is...
Private Equity Driving Surge in Ambulance Prices Since 2012
Today I released an investigative piece on something most people don't think about until they really need it - ambulances. The price of ambulances has skyrocketed since 2012. Why? It's likely... private equity. https://t.co/q4WMOV5HUD https://t.co/qRYqqQbXwH
Health Care Should Prioritize Lives Over Shareholder Profits
The basic health care platform for populists is simple. No one should die for shareholder returns.
Diplomacy over War: Buttigieg Slams Trump's Iran Stance
It was embarrassing all around, actually. Buttigieg's critique was not that the Iran war goals were bad, but that Trump should have used diplomacy. Ridiculous. Our entire approach to Iran as an enemy is the problem.
Michigan Consumer Sentiment Hits Record Low Since 1961
This month's Michigan index of consumer sentiment is at a historic low of 47.6. By way of perspective, it's so bad that pollsters have to adjust the Y axis on their chart that goes all the way back to 1961. https://t.co/3lnVNHVdpQ
Q4 GDP Slows to 0.5%, February Income Stalls
Some bad economic numbers came out today. 4th quarter GDP growth was revised down to 0.5%. And income growth was down in Feb. https://t.co/GBM4v964nK https://t.co/Hxd5nWNidS
Big AI Models Are Bloated, Not Superior
The entire AI space is based on a lie - big models are better. They aren't. They are just less efficient due to intentional bloat. Anthropic sells tokens. They want you to use more tokens. That's the deal.
NYT Reports Ryan Grim's Tip, Omits His Credit
So @ryangrim put this on X a few days ago, which is why the New York Times had to report on it (without crediting Grim, of course.) Would they have reported it if it hadn't been for Grim? I doubt...
Admin Conflict Leads CMS Changes Favoring Insurers, Wall Street Wins
My guess is Russ Vought told the CMS guys ‘redo this to make insurers happy.’ But who knows? There was a conflict within the admin and as usual Wall Street won.
Tariff‑free Tech Aims to Revive Manufacturing, at Google’s Cost
The Trump trade world is focused on making sure that software and e-commerce happens tariff-free. How does this boost of big tech help re-industrialize? Remember, if we are asking for stuff for Google, we are giving up stuff for people...
Trump Threatens Iran Tariffs without Legal Authority
Trump just threatened tariffs over Iran but also he doesn't have the authority to levy such tariffs. So there's that. Just astonishing we have to deal with this bullshit artist.
WSJ Parrots Chevron as California Refinery Demand Plummets
It's sad to watch the WSJ descend into simply rewriting Chevron press releases. Refiners are shutting in California because the state consumes far less oil than it used to. https://t.co/L0rNc3HvM4
Markets Rally Despite Escalating Middle East Conflict
So the strait of Hormuz is still shut, Iran is shooting missiles at gulf states and Israel, the U.S. is bombing Iranian energy facilities, and the market is up 1000 points over a ‘cease fire.’ Cool cool.
Trump Concedes Iran's Victory in Ongoing Conflict
Trump is rhetorically conceding to Iran on everything because Iran has clearly won this war so far. Hopefully it’s over but I doubt it.
We’re Fine with Our Couch‑side Take on Events
I mean it's probably good that there's a book coming out with the 'inside' story but most of us can sit on the couch eating Cheetos fairly comfortable with our understanding of what happened.
Newsom's Oil Refinery Regulation Sparks Unexpected Backlash
Gavin Newsom actually regulated oil refiners. And now there's a big backlash against him for doing something good.
Antitrust Division Losing Litigation Talent as Lawyers Quit
There's a massive drain of litigation talent out of the Antitrust Division as the lawyers there quit.
How the Strait of Hormuz Shapes Global Goods Flow
We did an awesome interview on the physical layout and flow of goods resulting from the Strait of Hormuz, with @mercoglianos. Listen here. https://t.co/jmVFr6LS8L
64% of Americans Fear AI Harms Education
"When it comes to education, nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) think AI will do more harm than good, while 27 percent think AI will do more good than harm." Ban AI and electronics from schools. https://t.co/EMGLWAogeL
Long‑time Netflix Premium Users Owed €500 Refund
It must be nice to live where there's a rule of law. "A Premium subscriber who has paid for Netflix continuously from 2017 to the present day is entitled to a refund of about 500 euros, while a Standard subscriber is...
Cut High‑paid Admins, Not Tech, to Improve Care
If we got rid of hospital administrators paid multimillion dollar salaries that would be a lot better than letting them destroy care with Silicon Valley snake oil. https://t.co/F2gpwYJOPq
Insurers and AI Firms Secretly Record Therapy to Cut Costs
Yes, health insurer and Silicon Valley owned AI companies are taping therapy sessions and using that data. It's a creepy situation driven by health insurers not wanting to pay for mental health care. https://t.co/zLyh5fcdvr
CBS Lacks Credibility; California Refinery Faces Clear Monopoly
Of course CBS is not credible, the refiner problem in California is fairly straightforward monopolization.
Value‑based Care: The Healthcare Villain to Scrap
The villain in health care is something called ‘value based care.’ Get rid of it.
U.S. Shouldn't Fund Iron Dome; Prioritize Rare Earths
I don't think the U.S. should pay for the Iron Dome system not just because Israel is a bad ally, but also because we need the rare earths for our purposes.
Brookings Expert Downplays Iran Crisis, Calls Elite Hobbyists
Brookings Michael O’Hanlon is on cnbc saying this Iran situation isn’t an economic disaster and he’s glad Iran won’t get a nuclear weapon. The U.S. foreign policy elite needs to be crushed. They treat this stuff like it’s a hobby.
JPMorgan Says US Must Reopen Hormuz, Doubts Iran's Credibility
JP Morgan’s chief strategist is on CNBC saying the Strait of Hormuz has to be reopened by the US because it’s unthinkable for that not to happen. It’s a ‘temporary oil issue.’ They still don’t believe Iran has any credibility. Amazing.
Trump Says War Spending Will Cut Medicare, Medicaid
And here’s a 30 second ad against every Republican in the country. Trump ran on protecting Medicare and Medicaid, he’s now explicit that Iran war spending means those programs must be cut.
Government Outperforms Silicon Valley at Weapon Development
Turns out Silicon Valley and the private sector are shitty at making weapons. Who is good at it? The U.S. government. Yup, comrades, it's true. https://t.co/ucwVpK2XDK https://t.co/jQMRytQPjE
China’s Trade Surplus Centralizes Manufacturing,
Because on the economic front they say it, and they have a trillion trade surplus, which is designed to centralize global manufacturing in China. The left just doesn’t pay attention to commerce.
ADP Shows Unexpected Job Surge in Health, Education, Small Firms
Higher than expected job growth via the ADP survey, mostly in health and education, and mostly among small businesses. https://t.co/QYIRSn6mQX
US Should Replace Iran Containment with Friendship, Blame Israel
I don't understand why the U.S. strategy is organized around containing Iran. We should be friends instead of enemies. Israel is the main problem in the Middle East. Not a realistic view, I know, but it seems pretty obvious.
U.S. Security Guarantee Now Empty, Unenforced, Unwanted
The U.S. security guarantee is not a guarantee anymore. We can’t enforce it and we don’t feel any obligation to do so.
Regulators Let Private Equity Snap Up Failed Banks
Trump bank regulators are ensuring that private equity firms can buy failed banks in a banking crisis. https://t.co/y7N6wWEt7w
Jury Defies Judge, Highlights Class Bias in Justice
Here’s the class divide in America. A judge tried to force a jury to find that Afroman had defamed cops who ransacked his house and robbed him. A jury let him off.
Larry Ellison's Net Worth Halves Amid Warner Bid
The collapse of Larry Ellison's net worth since the start of Warner bidding is something. It has fallen by more than half, and is down $60 billion this year alone. He's worth 'just' $188 billion. He's highly leveraged. https://t.co/NBLRzGFr91
Stocks Return to July Levels After Sharp Decline
The stock market has gone down so much that it is back to its levels of last July.
Lina Khan’s Past Work Explains Viral Video Surge
Why did this video from McMorrow blow up? Lina Khan worked on surveillance pricing years ago. There’s lots of legislation out there already on a state and Federal level.
Iran Attack Threatens US, Pushes Trump Toward Exit
The attack on Iran is a catastrophe for the U.S. It ends with Trump out of office, or perhaps him finding some way to concede Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Meta, Google Lose Case; Victim‑smearing Condemned
Meta and Google lawyers had ample time to make their case. They lost for a reason. And smearing a victim like this is ugly, @TaylorLorenz
Trump's Antitrust Moves Harm Real Estate Market
Corruption is costly - Trump's antitrust choices are reshaping real estate, in a bad way. https://t.co/GTF4dsuUBb
Mamdani Slashes $9M McKinsey NYC
Mamdani just cut a $9 million contract that McKinsey has with NYC. And then brags about it publicly. More please. https://t.co/hIrj9GpEJW
Convicted Meta CEO Appointed to Trump AI Panel
The day after a jury convicts Meta of illegally endangering children, Trump puts Mark Zuckerberg on a panel overseeing AI regulation. https://t.co/4N3X1BoDBC
Trump Antitrust Chief Cites Fictional Mobsters for Priorities
A very on-brand choice for the Trump antitrust chief to discuss how he models his enforcement priorities on fictional mobsters. https://t.co/KInCrSW83h
Trump's STB Shows Lukewarm Stance on UP‑NS Merger
This is interesting, the Trump STB does not seem excited about the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern mega-merger. https://t.co/PZAfunTJBD
U.S. Backstop Rescues Nations Facing Currency Crises
It's amazing what getting backstopped by the U.S. can do for a nation with a currency crisis.
Lobbyist’s Ignorance of HHI Exposes Corruption Claim
Major signpost of corruption. HHI is the standard way to measure market power in the antitrust space. But 'antitrust' lobbyist Mike Davis did not know what the term meant. Ergo he was just doing threats and relationship management.