Articles

Articles from our Weekly Newsletters

Gilligan’s Island and the Limit of Economic Innovation

Over seven years ago, I wrote a piece using the 1960s TV sitcom Gilligan's Island to provide a simple example of why productivity is the most important driver of economic growth. In this article, I present the next episode of Gilligan’s Island, describing what happens after the benefits of innovation stop driving economic growth.

Keeping Your Float Afloat: A Guide to Earning What You Deserve on Your Cash

Most of us keep a chunk of cash on hand — for rent, groceries, the occasional emergency, or simply because we haven’t gotten around to investing it yet. In the finance industry, this is called your “float.” We think the single best thing most people can do with it is own a Treasury Bill ETF — and yet almost nobody does.

The QDIA Illusion: Why Your "Managed" Account Isn't Managed

The TDF industry is an oligopoly where four firms dominate more than 75% of the $5 trillion market. Competitors that are desperate for market share have turned to “managed” QDIA accounts — a gimmick masquerading as personalization.

Venezuelan Oil Will Be Used to Refill US Reserve, Trump Says

The US plans to use its newfound assertion of control over billions of barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to refill the nation’s depleted emergency reserve, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

Anthropic’s Mega-IPO Plan Looms Over Packed US Listing Calendar

Anthropic PBC’s IPO is casting a long shadow over companies’ US listing plans, as they try to find room for their deals to grab attention after the Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday.

Kevin Warsh Said the Right Things. Now What?

For the first time in his three months on the job, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the right things. In his keynote speech Friday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual central banking event in Jackson Hole, Warsh acknowledged that inflation was elevated and widespread, and had been been so for “far too long.”

The US Economy Depends on Thriving Cluster Cities

Even more so than usual, Hollywood’s future is uncertain. For decades the Los Angeles economy revolved around the film industry, but now more movies and shows are filmed elsewhere, driven or lured away by high expenses or tax incentives.

Bond Investors Wary After Warsh Speech Fuels Rate-Hike Bets

Bond investors at firms including ABN AMRO Investment Solutions and Brandywine Global Investment Management are voicing skepticism about mounting speculation that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is poised to raise interest rates.

The $13 Billion Hugging Face Deal Would Crown Nvidia King of AI

Nvidia Corp. is not only tightening its grip on artificial intelligence, it’s also absorbing the companies fighting to keep the industry open and decentralized. On the same day the chip giant announced quarterly revenue that had doubled and would continue rising next year, sending its shares up 7%, news broke that it has reportedly agreed to spend $13 billion on Hugging Face, a platform for open-weight AI models.

Where to Invest Now as Data Centers Turn Copper Into a Hot Commodity

Copper is having a moment. It may be a long one. The metal has hit record highs in 2026 and is currently up 15% since the start of the year, trading above $14,300 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.

Investor Frenzy for AI Strips Safeguards From Convertible Bonds

Convertible bond investors chasing exposure to the artificial intelligence boom are giving up some of the protection they would normally demand, pushing the market toward levels of risk-taking last seen during the pandemic.

JPMorgan and Apollo Urge Inflation Focus for Warsh’s Big Speech

A chorus of investors is urging Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh to express a strong determination to deal with high inflation to boost the long end of the Treasury market.

Where Is Your Happy Place? Maybe It’s Slovenia

Most residents of rich, Western countries have relatively high earnings, but many also feel they can’t afford a reasonable lifestyle. Americans, for example, are getting richer but also more unhappy. Meanwhile Eastern Europeans, not generally known for their cheery disposition, are most satisfied with their comparatively lower income.

Warsh Owes Investors a Jackson Hole Reset

Kevin Warsh’s inauspicious start as chairman of the Federal Reserve has guaranteed that his speech on Friday at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole conference will command rapt attention. He might wish it were otherwise: Investors demanding clear answers to their many questions are almost certain to come away disappointed.

The ‘Burn the Bonds’ Stage of the Debt Cycle Is Here

High indebtedness has prompted a call for France to cancel part of its public liabilities. Ideas spread, so expect similarly unorthodox demands elsewhere as governments grapple with high debt, while political disruptors air increasingly unconventional policies. All those roads, however, lead to more inflation and the debauchment of financial assets.