Sovereign Bonds Are a Surprisingly Good Investment
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Tyler Cowen points to a new paper from a trio of researchers who investigated the returns from sovereign bonds over the past two centuries. It turns out they’re a pretty good investment: Real ex-post returns averaged 7% annually across two centuries, including default episodes, major…
Republicans Pounce on New York Times for Pouncing on Them
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Apparently I am not aware of all internet traditions. Yesterday the New York Times ran this headline: My Twitter feed was suddenly full of mockery. Surely even the New York Times understood that “Republicans pounce” is the dumbest kind of chiche? Tweet after tweet took…
HUD Official Who Planned Eric Trump’s Wedding Just Kicked Off a Monthlong Publicity Stunt
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. After saying that the government shutdown delayed her plans, Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Administrator Lynne Patton is moving into New York City’s public housing for one month. Patton, who once organized events for members of the Trump family (including…
Mark Kelly, Retired Astronaut and Husband of Gabby Giffords, Announces Senate Run
Matt Rourke/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Mark Kelly, the retired astronaut and husband of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, announced Tuesday that he is running for US Senate in 2020. He will challenge Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), who in December was appointed to the Senate seat previously held by Sen.…
10 Years of Privacy Violations, Disinformation, and Friend Requests From Facebook
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. As Facebook assumed its central role in the information landscape, the company quietly made decisions that boosted profits with little regard to the consequences for privacy, politics, and the news industry. When those controversial calls and other travails associated with abuses of the platform gradually…
How Facebook Screwed Us All
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. This essay is the cover story for our March/April issue. (Subscribe here!) Portions of it appeared earlier here and here. A country riven by ethnic tension. Spontaneous protests driven by viral memes. Violence and riots fueled by hateful fake-news posts, often about “terrorism” by marginalized…