1. Time to steepen?

    Published: Tue 14 March 2023
    Updated: Tue 14 March 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    Is this the time for a steepener?

    The markets have had a wake-up call with demise of Silicon Valley Bank (and Signature Bank, although that’s more of a crypto side show). For the last year or so we’ve seen the most vicious inversion of US yields on record …

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  2. Yeah, it’s a bailout

    Published: Tue 14 March 2023
    Updated: Thu 13 April 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    Silicon Valley Bank, RIP

    Well, it’s happened. A biggish bank has exploded (well, two, but Signature Bank was mainly a crypto play, it seems). It’s deja vu all over again. The Fed insists that what is clearly a bailout is not a bailout. Although shareholders of SVB have …

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  3. Oh, yeah, vim-ledger

    Published: Tue 07 March 2023
    Updated: Thu 16 March 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    Vim-ledger

    Vim-ledger plugin for vim (‘vi improved’) is a terrific bit of software. Some guy has given this plugin to the world, to help people like me get more out of plaintext accounting tools like hledger.

    I urge you to take a look at plaintext accounting, if you have any …

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  4. Digital Signatures

    Published: Thu 02 March 2023
    Updated: Thu 02 March 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    2023-03-02

    Digital Signatures

    When I used Windows, I tended to use Adobe Acrobat Reader. This allows you to import a self-signed certificate and insert a digital signature into a pdf. To me, this is much more professional than a wiggly line drawn with a mouse which looks like a five-year …

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  5. Khan Derangement Syndrome

    Published: Wed 22 February 2023
    Updated: Thu 02 March 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    2023-02-22

    Good news on anti-trust?

    It’s really not intuitively obvious to anyone why a firm which has a large market share should be problematic. Exactly what ‘market share’ and ‘market’ are hard to define. They certainly depend on what people regard as substitute goods. Some people consider tofu an …

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  6. Wrap for Jan

    Published: Fri 03 February 2023
    Updated: Fri 03 February 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    2023-02-03

    Wrap for Jan

    The new year has started with a bang. Most risk assets are up a lot:

    • SPX +6.3%,
    • FAANG +18.7% (in spite of crap earnings),
    • STOXX 60 +6.8%,
    • USTs +2.8%,
    • Other sovereign bonds (e.g. gilts +2.8%),
    • Industrial metals (Cu +10.9 …
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  7. Is inflation really the worst form of taxation?

    Published: Thu 02 February 2023
    Updated: Thu 02 February 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    2023-02-02

    Inflation as a tax

    Jeremy Hunt is saying that he can’t pay nurses any more money because doing so will cause inflation to go up and that inflation is a tax (with an implication that it’s an unalloyed Bad Thing).

    Well, in my humble opinion, there is …

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  8. Subsidies and tariff barriers are good now?

    Published: Thu 02 February 2023
    Updated: Sat 18 March 2023
    By steve

    In Markets.

    2023-02-02

    Green subsidies

    Martin Sandbu wrote a piece arguing that the US ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ which lards subsidies on ~~lobbyists~~ companies that invest in green things is a good thing, and that we should be doing it in Europe. Read it here.

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