Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Complicating The ARAMCO IPO

Complicating The ARAMCO IPO The Saudi ARAMCO IPO is happening on the Saudi exchange just for Saudi citizens, where apparently there is a not-so-subtle campaign on well off and connected citizens (who wish to remain that way) to buy into the IPO.  But there continues to be delays in opening it up to the rest […]

Chaos Theory And Global Climate Change

Chaos Theory And Global Climate Change I am currently attending the Southern Economic Association meetings in Fort Lauderdale, where the street facing the hotel was underwater during the most recent hurricane to pass through. Anyway, I saw a talk today that took me back to when I first learned about chaos theory, actuallly in the […]

Is Venezuela Stabilizing?

Is Venezuela Stabilizing? Maybe. It looks the inflation rate in Venezuela maxed  out in January at an annuualized rate of 192,000 % , whiich fell by September to 4,600% rate, still in hyperinflationary teritoryy, but  clearly coming down substantially.  I am not  a fan of this regime and never was, unlike some prominent economists saying […]

“ok boomer ” or “gas all boomers”

(Dan here…see previous posts VSPS get their budget deal    2015 Econospeak and Gas all boomers or at least tax and cut    2015 Econospeak  Also see Millenials and baby boomers) “ok boomer ” or “gas all boomers” Within the last week or so there seems to have been an explosion of yattering over “ok […]

The ARAMCO IPO Stumbles Out The Door

The ARAMCO IPO Stumbles Out The Door Finally after numerous delays, the potentially largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) of stock has finally become for fully state-owned ARAMCO in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).  MOst of the delays had involved an unwillingness by the Saudi royal family to publicize financial and other factual details about […]

The Death Of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi And Related Matters

The Death Of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi And Related Matters The self-proclaimed “Caliph” of Da’esh/ISIL/ISIS, Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarri, who took the name Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has blown himself up after US special forces successfully attacked his compound in Idlib province of Syria near the Turkish border after a US military dog attacked him. (His nom […]

Whither Lebanon?

Whither Lebanon? Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I should probably write about the “big success” we have in Northeastern Syria thanks to Vladimir Putin talking the Turkish president, Erdogan, into holding back some from his nation’s invasion of Kurdish territory.  But, heck, it is still hard to know what is going on there.  So instead I am […]