One of the main fronts in the current culture war in the United States is the debate over "masculinity." Certain corners of the Left tell us that "toxic masculinity" is a terrible thing. Yet, it's often unclear whether masculinity is itself necessarily toxic, or if toxic masculinity is just one type of masculinity. How masculinity is defined is essential to the debate, and every pundit wants to define it his or her own way. Thus, David French, in his May 28...
Read More »Thanks to Sanctions, the US Is Losing Its Grip on the Middle East
While the US ratchets up efforts to isolate its many enemies, the Chinese, the Saudis, the Arab League, and OPEC all shrug and look to increasing international communication and trade. Original Article: "Thanks to Sanctions, the US Is Losing Its Grip on the Middle East" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Environmentalism and the Immoral Low Ground
Last month, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed new power plant regulations that would put harsh limits on the amount of carbon dioxide released while producing electricity. This comes from the same administration pushing to electrify all parts of daily life, from driving to cooking. As if slamming the power grid with artificial demand is not enough, now the federal government has also set its sights on electricity suppliers. Policies...
Read More »Living by a Premise
More than forty years ago, Leonard Read urged graduates of Hillsdale College to find a premise, a belief in a universal idea of liberty. Original Article: "Living by a Premise" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »RBA Surprises with a Quarter-Point Hike and German Factory Orders Disappoint
Overview: The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised many with a quarter-point hike and German factory orders unexpectedly fell. Reports suggest that China has asked banks to cut deposit rates. The next result is the Australian dollar is the strongest currency in the G10 and helped lift the Canadian dollar ahead of the Bank of Canada meeting tomorrow. Australian stocks sold off (~1.2%) while large markets outside of China rose in the region. Europe's Stoxx 600 is...
Read More »30 Must-Attend Sessions at Money20/20 Europe 2023
Money20/20, one of the world’s largest fintech event series, is coming back on June 06-08 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre in Amsterdam for its annual European edition. This year’s event is expected to host over 300 industry-leading speakers, including visionary executives from global banks like HSBC, Barclays, and J.P. Morgan; trailblazing fintech companies like GoCardless, Stripe, and Plum; as well as representatives from national and supranational European...
Read More »Energy and Economic Efficiency: The Market versus the Politicization of Our Energy Futures
Radical environmentalists have convinced people that we are doomed if we continue to use fossil fuels. We are doomed if we stop using them. Original Article: "Energy and Economic Efficiency: The Market versus the Politicization of Our Energy Futures" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Rise of the Effete Authoritarians
Here in the West, particularly in countries such as the United States and Canada, we have experienced radical political and cultural changes over the past several years, and the pace of these changes seems to have accelerated since 2020. In the minds of many, there is an almost palpable feeling that a switch has been thrown and that the relationship between citizens and the state has been permanently altered. Perhaps the most salient revelation in the wake of these...
Read More »Dollar Gains Extended, Oil Steadies at Higher Levels after Saudi’s Cut, US Bill Deluge Begins Today
Overview: The US dollar has extended its post-employment gains today, helped by firmer rates and several countries seeing downward revisions from the preliminary May PMI. The greenback is trading with a firmer bias against all the G10 currencies and most of the emerging market currencies, including Turkey, India, and China. July WTI gapped higher after the Saudi Arabia announced a voluntary and unilateral cut of one million barrels a day in output starting next...
Read More »“Inflation it is not an act of God”
INTERVIEW WITH GODFREY BLOOM: Over the last couple of years, the UK has been increasingly in the news – for all the wrong reasons. The cost of living crisis, in particular, has been monopolizing headlines at home and abroad. Of course, inflation is by no means unique to the country. To the contrary, it has been hovering at similar or higher levels in virtually all advanced economies for quite some time. What is unique to the UK though, is that mainstream...
Read More »