Economy

Our Chinese Bay Bridge

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Our Chinese Bay Bridge

The high-speed train fiasco in China makes us worry about our San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge whose gigantic one-tower landmark suspension segment was fabricated, you guessed it, in China. In return for some paltry savings, if any, California gave up enormous economic opportunities.

A Modest Proposal

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on A Modest Proposal

What galls me the most in this entire imbroglio of our debt ceiling is the hypocritical approach of our politicians: A Congress that authorizes every dollar that gets spent, gleefully accumulating a pile of debt so vast it’s hard to wrap your brains around it; and administrations who have been eager to borrow and spend as directed by Congress.

Night of the Living Debt

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Night of the Living Debt

The worldwide night of the living debt continues with Greece, Italy, and the US. And so I mention them, nasty as I am, in the same breath with Japan.

The M&A Typhoon

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The M&A Typhoon

Another day, another series of mergers and acquisitions. Among the most prominent today: Carl Icahn’s offer to acquire Clorox Co. and BHP Billiton’s takeover of Petrohawk Energy Corp. The frenzy is blowing across the country with considerable violence. And just like the last typhoon before the financial crisis, it will leave behind massive job destruction.

Debt-Ceiling Pissing Match Seen from a Safe Distance

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Debt-Ceiling Pissing Match Seen from a Safe Distance

While Democrats and Republicans, jointly and severally, engage in an all-out pissing match over the national debt ceiling and the budget deficit that even has the Chinese worried, let’s take a moment and reflect from a safe distance on how we got here, and why nothing of significance is going to change.