China is still suffering a real estate bubble hangover, with a lot of symptoms similar to Japan’s deflation.
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Thursday, May 14, 2026
China’s Real Estate Reckoning: Lessons from Japan’s Lost Decade
Topics: China, Credit markets, Dubious statistics, Economic fundamentals, Guest Post, Japan, Politics, Real estate
Posted by Yves Smith at 1:39 am | 3 Comments »
‘Hands Off Our Pensions’: Belgian Workers Take to the Streets in General Strike Against Austerity Measures
The latest national strike in a series over a year and a half against policies that a union leader said will heighten inequality and poverty
Topics: Economic fundamentals, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Income disparity, Macroeconomic policy, Politics, Social policy, Social values, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 1:00 am | 4 Comments »
Coffee Break: Epstein Class All-In on Massie Primary But Do Midterms Matter?
$10 million is being spent in a single primary as Congress abdicates its constitutional role and efforts to manipulate the midterms escalate.
Topics: Coffee Break
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | 22 Comments »
The Russian Triad Is Now on the Same Page Regarding Southern-Emanating Threats from NATO
The most powerful Russian agencies consider how to respond to the risk of a NATO-instigated three-front proxy war.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Europe, Guest Post, Politics, Risk and risk management, Russia
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:59 am | 24 Comments »
Links 5/13/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:59 am | 100 Comments »
Iran War: Iran Escalates With Threat of Even Higher Level of Enrichment, Assertion of Larger Gulf Control Area as US Revealed to Have Lost 39 Planes and Press Gives Ever More Coverage to Economic Damage; Israel Political Meltdown Could Stymie Further Attacks; Trump More Visibly Losing His Mind
Today’s Iran war watch: Iran ups demands as more evidence of US weakness and Trump insanity emerges, and the economy is collateral damage.
Topics: China, Doomsday scenarios, Dubious statistics, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Globalization, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:57 am | 153 Comments »
The Missing Elephant: India’s Silence on the US-Israel-Iran War
India has repeatedly stated its committment to pursuing an independent path. That resolution is missing in action in the Iran war.
Topics: Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Globalization, Guest Post, India, Middle East, Politics, Russia
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:30 am | 14 Comments »
Tech Billionaires Accelerate Homelessness Crisis
Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale leads charge for police state response that sees him and fellow techno-capitalists profit and gain more control.
Topics: Guest Post, Politics, Private equity, Privatization, Social policy, Social values, Surveillance state, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 5:00 am | 10 Comments »
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Ageing Patriots
For decades, the Patriot missile system has symbolized American technological superiority and alliance reassurance. But modern missile warfare is evolving toward saturation attacks, rapid adaptation, and low-cost offensive abundance. The deeper problem confronting Patriot may not be interceptor performance alone, but whether the institutional and industrial logic behind American missile defense can evolve fast enough to match the accelerating tempo of modern warfare.
Topics: Banana republic, Coffee Break
Posted by Haig Hovaness at 2:00 pm | 12 Comments »
AI is Hungry for Power and You Are Footing the Bill
AI promises efficiency in offices but its insatiable power needs are making life more costly for communities at large.
Topics: Energy markets, Environment, Free markets and their discontents, Global warming, Guest Post, Income disparity, Politics, Regulations and regulators, Ridiculously obvious scams, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 5 Comments »
Links 5/12/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:57 am | 147 Comments »
Iran War: More Trump Sound and Fury as Financial Times and Old Line Neocon Robert Kagan Declare War on Iran Conflict; Plastics and Other Shortages Becoming Visible
Today’s Iran war news: Trump is predictably acting as if he is doubling down as criticism from the elites gets much louder.
Topics: China, Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 174 Comments »
Is This the End of Keir Rodney Starmer (As UK Prime Minister)?
Starmer’s rapid rise and (apparent) fall are symptomatic of a broader trend unfolding across the Davos regimes of the collective West.
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nick Corbishley at 6:45 am | 31 Comments »
How the Green Revolution Went Awry: Food Systems and Policies Undermining Food Security
Big Ag, which has shaped food policies, profits more from “innovations “in food production, processing, and distribution than food security.
Topics: Africa, Agriculture, Economic fundamentals, Free markets and their discontents, Globalization, Guest Post, Income disparity, Permaculture, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:34 am | 7 Comments »
Coffee Break: Trump Admin Combines Reality Show Nonsense With Very Real Grifting
Trump’s Transportation Secretary distracts with a reality show launch as a Trump-linked company launches a $4.8 billion IPO.
Topics: Coffee Break
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | 21 Comments »


